Rashomon and Showa

  Essay: Sentiments and characteristics of the Showa era of Japan

            The Showa period in Japan was a time of political uncertainty and many social changes in the archipelago. In spite of the political and social temperatures that rose in that period, many of the filmmakers concentrated on producing films about the war. Most of the Japanese had a feeling that the movies produced focused post-war period in Japan to distinguish them from the pre-war Japan. *There was a need for getting away from the past that haunted their lives. Among the filmmakers at that time was Akira Kurosawa, who had many movies relating to the live in Japan during the era of Showa. The post-war films depicted the people of Japan as victims of war*. They rose against one another and also the Chinese attacked them. They felt that they subjected themselves to the problems experienced in the pre-war period. Their leaders led the military to war with the aim of benefiting from it.

            *Kurosawa portrays a history of the Japanese militarism as a person executed on suspicion of espionage during the war. The film criticized the Japanese militarism using the artistic expressions*

   

            The picture shows the agony experienced by the militants in the war despite the fact that they had conquered many other nations before the Second World War. They had gone a period of three and a half centuries without any defeat. In the Second World War, the military were heavily defeated that made many of them die. As shown in the picture, the Showa period was characterized by many problems that arose due to the defeat in the war. Showa subjected the country too weak tactics in the war that led to the agony for the militants.

            *Another characteristic of the Showa period was that the military engaged in the war unwillingly*. It is like their leaders wanted to gain something from the war. In return, Japan underwent one of the worst moments of bombing and death of many soldiers in severe cases. The picture below shows the experiences that the soldiers had in the war. They were killed and tormented harshly by their enemies in the war. A common characteristic of the Showa period was the plight of all those affected by the war.

            *From the film Kurashowa, one of the sentiments experienced by the people of Japan was assassinations*. The Showa period was a utilitarian dynasty that had a lot of criminal activities. Kurashowa shows the picture of the social evils in the community. The movie revolves around some characters that did not have similar information about the incident they claimed to witness. The bandit, wife, and the woodcutter involved themselves in an incident that had death and rape. It further stresses the idea of moral degradation during the Showa era.

            *Another characteristic of the Showa era was the desire to improve the living standards and become developed especially after the Second World War*. A quote from the film states, “Progress in the sense of better and happier lives…” It shows off the desire they had to move forward and forget the experiences of the war. However, in any place where there are such issues, there have to be violence, unhappiness and uneasiness like that shown in the film.

            Due to the Second World War, the country was left desolate and with faces of despair. The citizens were left to start laying the foundations of their country. Most of the scenes in the film show the state of the nation with unoccupied and destroyed buildings.

            *The Showa period was a time of assassinations, attempted coups, and military actions. The book by Mizuki, Shigeru Showa 1926-1939 depicts of the political incidences that occurred. He claims that his stupidity made him be shipped to the front in New Guinea. He calls this, “the greatest mistake of my life.” In relation to the Showa era; the things that the citizens went through during the Second World War, was due to the mere negligence of the elite and the leaders. They allowed the soldiers go to war without proper planning and coordination that led to their defeat.

            The book shows the stages of how technological developments and the changing of the economic stability played a role in shaping the foreign policy in early twentieth century. In relation to the Showa era, the country had advanced technology in most of the sectors before the world wars. The country had a real basis in terms of military, but problems arose during the Showa era. Sentiment is evident, by the way, the country changed and all the gains they had shattered by the wars.

Work cited

Akira Kurosowa's movie, Rashomon

Mizuki, Shigeru. Showa 1926-1939, A History of Japan. New York: Drawn & Quarterly, 2013 book
Nick Redfern Film style and narration in Rashomon. Leeds, 2006 Trinity University

Sherry Roberts is the author of this paper. A senior editor at MeldaResearch.Com in urgent custom research papers. If you need a similar paper you can place your order from nursing school papers services.