Relationships In The Old Capital, Woman In The Dunes

Relationships in Japan “Nuclear Family” is a term I had not heard of until this past year. It is defined as “a couple and their dependent children, regarded as a basic social unit.” This is what the typical family looks like, however, in the three works we read and watched in class, The Old Capital, Woman in the Dunes, and Ikiru, the families are not typical. The Old Capital centers on a girl named Chieko, who is adopted by a loving couple, but she learns she has a sister and that her biological parents are dead. In Woman in the Dunes, the main character, Jumpei becomes trapped in a sandy village with a resident woman, who he eventually builds a relationship and possibly has a child with. Lastly, in Ikiru, Watanabe is a man who works at a …show more content…
He leaves her to go on a weekend trip to collect more insects for his collection, but does not return. He went to a sandy area in search of a beetle, but instead, finds a village. It starts to get late, so he stays in the village overnight and expects to leave the next day. They do not allow him. He stays in a sandpit with a resident woman who tells him about life there, and her husband and child, who died in a storm. He tries various ways to escape, including faking illness and injury, protesting work, and escapes at one point, but is captured. He eventually submits, decides to stay with the woman, who he has sex with multiple times, and at the end of the novel, possibly has a child with. Jumpei had his family and normal life stripped away from him, but was replaced with another, who he would grow an attachment …show more content…
There is something off about each of them. The Old Capital, being about Chieko, with a twin, who was abandoned and later adopted. The movie, Ikiru, has Watanabe who has a deceased wife, and a nasty son and daughter-in-law. Lastly, in Woman in the Dunes, Jumpei had a wife at home, but has that taken away and given another woman who he conceives a child with, though he is somewhat held against his will. The Japanese people have been very traditional, they hold many festivals that have been held for centuries, they continue to wear traditional clothing, although, less often now. Perhaps the Japanese writers are trying to tell their people relationships don’t have to be traditional, like with arranged marriages in The Old Capital. Or in contrast, maybe they are saying the people should have traditional relationships. In the Old Capital, both Chieko and Naeko seem to have some fear of being shunned because they come from a strange situation. In Ikiru, Watanabe gets a hard time from his son for being seen with a much younger woman. Finally, in Woman in the Dunes, the man is trapped there, for the rest of his life, all he can do is become adjusted to his position with the woman. These are not “happy” turnouts, therefore, maybe the writers are saying if someone takes part in a nontypical, nontraditional, relationship, they will be