Naomi By Henry Ship Analysis

Improved Essays
After Meiji Restoration, Japan had almost completed its modernization stage. During its modernism period, the flourish of mass media brought various doctrines and ideologies into Japanese people minds namely Capitalism, Marxism, and Militarism. Compared with the literature written in Meiji Restoration era, the ideology of Success Advancement now was not main focusing point as before. In my opinion, the reason is that after Meiji Restoration, Japanese people gained the confidence on their rapid development of economy and society. Therefore, modernism became a part of the country itself and Japan obtained the equality with western countries. As a result of changing in ideology from success advancement to more various doctrines in Japan, in this paper, I will hire two great Japanese modernism literatures – Naomi by Tanizaki Junichiro and The Crab Cannery Ship by Kobayashi Takiji, to demonstrate the different perspectives of the authors on the prosperity of Japan during the time between 1920s and 1930s.

Tanizaki Junichiro’s Naomi was firstly serialized from 1924 to 1925. The story is about a middle class worker, Kawai Joji, rescues a café waitress, Naomi, and tries to grow her to be a
…show more content…
The essential of this change is that the ultimate desiredness of Kawai is to possess a real western wife. If Naomi can become perfectly western look woman, then Kawai will pay everything in order to keep her. As a result, the change of the power balance between Naomi and Kawai is manipulated by the change of Naomi’s both inner and outer appearances. In other words, Naomi possesses the power to modify the balance. This transformation of the power is firstly demonstrated in the second conflict between them.
Naomi suddenly changed her attitude again, as if she were saying to herself, “I botched that one, didn’t I?” She rose quickly to her feet and said, “I’m going, then,” in a perfectly normal tone of

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    “Feudalism” as a term has been controversial since its conception. Its origin is the German “feudalismus,” and was first used in the English language in its current meaning in the 17th and 18th centuries. There is difficulty defining this term because of its inherently large scope; a feudal system is one in which there may be a social, economic, or political system of seigniorial landownership and general dues of the peasantry. This naturally describes many societies throughout history, and so, many historians would argue that to effectively narrow the subject and thus reasonably study the idea of a feudal structure, one must focus on specific criteria. Barendse would agree with this sentiment, as he states in his article, “The Feudal Mutation,”…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Japan Dbq Analysis

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Japan’s glorious victory as the first Eastern nation to win against a Europeans power established Japan as a threatening and rising competitor in the pool of Western powers. Japan’s political reform allowed Japan to erase its weak status and get acknowledged as a momentous…

    • 366 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Introduction Fukoku-Kyōhei, meaning “enrich the country and strengthen the military” quickly became the motto for a reinvigorated Japan stepping onto the global stage commanded by the West, while also acting as the mold for which they would inevitably fit through their rather abrupt transformation: The Meiji Restoration (Christensen 1). What may have ultimately began as an endeavor to modernize, may have also become the trigger for exponential societal change and an undertaking that would eventually boast Japan’s military confidence and induce drastic social change. The Meiji Restoration had significant rippling effects around the world during the late 1800’s and allowed Japan to become recognized as an influential world power, but also an…

    • 289 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Causes Of Ww2

    • 1400 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The end of the first world war was not as fulfilling as one might have initially thought. The so called “War to end all wars” as stated by Margaret MacMillen, was just a ripple before the tidal wave. World War I was successful only at forming new problems and expanding others. Firstly, WWI was caused by Nationalism, Imperialism, Militarism, Industrialism, and Alliances that were governing powerful countries across the world. These drove the globe into its first World War and in return led to World War II as well.…

    • 1400 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Matthew perry forced Japan to become more modern in 1853 a d 1854 Japan was becoming westernized The 1871 changes were made in Japan, and the resembled those of western ideas Meiji reforms Akin Japanese did not support the changes made to the government Students were sent away to get a western education and learn about western government The ancient values of the people were still enforced Foreign success Meiji Japan was aggressive and became stronger over time Japan was the first Asian nation to trade with Europeans as equals The Russo-Japanese War Of 1904-1905 ended in Asian victory…

    • 1390 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Japan Dbq Analysis

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Japan's security and economic survival was ahead of Asian values. Without Japan becoming more powerful East Asia wouldn't have been saved from the west. What made Japan so powerful was the economic exploitation of its neighbors. They are both centralized, protected by the water that surrounds them, and easy passage to the Atlantic.…

    • 276 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Plague of Progress: Mishima’s Characterization and Views of Westernization A common misconception is that change always equates to progress, yet sometimes change can strip a society of its fundamental characteristics. Japan endured similar events, surrounding World War II that resulted in an increasingly Westernized country that lost it’s integrity and beliefs. In this allegorical novel, The Sailor who fell from Grace with the Sea, Yukio Mishima uses the characters Fusako, Ryuji and Noboru whom symbolize the different states of Japan to illustrate the plague of Westernization and convey the value of tradition in Japan. Primarily, Fusako embodies modern Japan with her obsession with foreign goods and focus on economic growth, which conveys…

    • 1444 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Japan's production increased more than 2.5 times more than what the US produced from 1895- 1915 (Gordon 96) Japan adopted Western ways of increasing their industry: Production Japan was opened to world trade Military Every male had to serve at least 5 years Abolished samurai Political organization Moved away from…

    • 661 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This is until the United States comes to Japan in 1853. The Japanese were amazed when they saw the US ships coming into their harbor that they wanted to change the way that they were living. After signing the American’s unequal treaties the Japanese feared that the foreign power was going to take them over. This led to Meiji era where Japans goals were to Industrialize, create Nationalism, and to have a strong military. The industrialization of Japan brought them many new ideas and inventions to help their nation over time.…

    • 908 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Modern History Assessment Term 2: Jack North Source A gives a useful insight into the roles and influences of western nations with respect to Japan, elucidating the instrumental nature of the foreign: ubiquitous in the Meiji Restoration. Spanning the wake of this epoch, defined by the probing bows of the “black ships”, through to fin de siecle occurrences, foreign power attested as vital in the shaping of a contemporary nation. When regarding context, this source poses as exemplary of the transformations garnered by Japan, visually indicative of Japan’s acquired martial potency. Only mere decades previously, Japan resided as a state enfettered to tradition, feudal hierarchy and an agrarian…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Seaman Abel Analysis

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages

    As a reader evaluating the character of Abel from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes (1988), a feature that I primarily notice is his archetypical representation as a victimized figure who is particularly “susceptible to physical harm” (OED). The reflection of this characterization is initially apparent through the use of the gutters on page three. On this page, the gutters seemingly appear to encompass the panels with blood. Thereby, this visual icon of the gutter’s “bleed” by lead artist, Sam Keith perhaps metaphorically suggests that, as with the panels, Abel, who is fixated solely within them, is similarly continuously surrounded by the threat and effects of his brother’s propensity for murder (Gaiman np).…

    • 696 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the early 1970 s, David Bergamini transforms the study in Japan’s Imperial Conspiracy: How Emperor Hirohito led Japan into war against the West, by returning to Butow’s arguments on the surrender. In his history, Bergamini examines the history of Japanese culture in two volumes. Bergamini supports Butow’s claims while offering new schools of thought on what caused Japan’s capitulation. A native of Tokyo, Bergamini argues that Japan’s military culture and the position of power that Hirohito held placed the nation in an unwinnable war with the United States.…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Spirited Away, the anime film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, depicts a fantasy story of a young girl Chihiro accidentally enters a town ruled by witches and gods. Chihiro need to find a job in order to survive and save her parents who are turned into pigs. During her stay, Chihiro works hard and finally finds a way to save her parents and go back to the real world. In this essay, I want to discuss how does Spirited Away reflected issues of Japanese society in 1990s. Japan experienced strong economic growth in the second half of the 20th century.…

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Introduction Japan, in the nineteenth century, has gone through much reform. Prior to the Meiji Period, much of what the citizens knew was based around farming and agriculture . Japan had not yet explored trade with other countries, aside from China, which happened during the Taika Reform. The Taika Reform, happening in mid-sixth century, “opened Japan to the incorporation of new ideas and institutions from China .” Many scholars associate the Meiji Reform to the Taika Reform, although the Taika Reform was thought out, and carefully executed .…

    • 1855 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Great Essays

    Kokoro Analysis

    • 1205 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In his novel titled Kokoro, Natsume Soseki explores the values of both the traditional society and the modern ideals brought about in the Meiji Era. The Meiji Era is a period of Japanese history (1868-1912) in which Emperor Meiji took the throne and enforced extreme social change. Prior to the Meiji Era, the Japanese culture withheld Confucian values that placed emphasis on a harmonious, collective society, education, extreme respect to authorities, and focus on human relationships rather than deities or metaphysics. Emperor Meiji's reforms, however, reflected upon influences of western philosophy; modern ideals emphasized ethics of the individual, loyalty to the state, a deepened sense of equality, and justice and duty to the family. During…

    • 1205 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Great Essays