Archetypes in Japanese Film Archetypes in Japanese Film The Sociopolitical and Religious Significance of the Principal Heroes and Heroines Gregory Barrett Selinsgrove: Susquehanna University Press London and Toronto: Associated University Presses © 1989 by Associated University Presses, Inc. All rights reserved. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use, or the internal or personal use of specific clients, is granted by the copyright owner, provided that a base fee of $10.00, plus eight cents per page, per copy is paid directly to the Copyright Clearance Center, 27 Congress Street, Salem, Mass- achusetts 01970. [0-941664-938¢ + $10.00 7/88־ pp, pc.] Associated University Presses 440 Forsgate Drive Cranbury, NJ 08512 Associated University Presses 25 Sicilian Avenue London WC1A 2QH, England Associated University Presses P.O. Box 488, Port Credit Mississauga, Ontario Canada L5G 4M2 The paper used in this publication meets the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials Z39.48-1984. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Barrett, Gregory,1938- Archetypes in Japanese films• Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1 .Motion pictures—Japan. 2. Characters and characteristics in motion pictures. 3. Archetype (Psychology) I. Title. PN1993.5J3B37 1989 302.2,343,0952 8743126־ ISBN 0 7 ־941664־93־ (alk. paper) PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA to my mother Contents Acknowledgments 9 Note on Film Titles and Personal Names 10 Introduction 13 1 The Loyal Retainer and the Tormented Lord 22 2 The Chaste Warrior 43 3 Ydkuza Heroes 64 4 Wanderer 77 5 Vengeful Spirit 97 6 All-Suffering Female and Weak Passive Male 118 7 Prodigal Son, Forgiving Parent, Self-Sacrificing Sister 141 8 The Archetypal Family—Extended and Rejected 160 9 Modern Archetypal Antitheses 179 Conclusion 211 Notes 222 Bibliography 238 Index 243 Acknowledgments All stills are courtesy of Kawakita Memorial Film Institute, Tokyo, and I selected them with the help of Ms. Kyoko Sato there. I wish to thank Tadao Sato, Donald Richie, and Keiko McDonald for all their advice and help. 9 Note on Film Titles and Personal Names At the first reference to a film in the text, the Japanese title is given in parentheses after the title in English; all subsequent references have only the English title. The Index contains a listing of all films under both their Japanese and their English titles. Personal names follow the Western order with the surname last, except for legendary or mythical figures. For example, in the case of Momo Taro, while Taro is a common given name, Momo, meaning *,peach,״ is not a family name. 10