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The post-World War II era was a time of great reflection for the people of Japan. Many writers such as Yukio Mishima, Isao Takahata, Yimou Zhang, and Kenzaburo Oe explored and described the effects of the war on the Japaneese people. Their themes include personal sacrifice, national pride and obligation, family relationships, political repression, and many war atrocities. This paper will examine the methods of how each author describes these messages in their works. Isao Takahata’s Grave of the fireflies(1988) focuses on latter part of World War II. A boy and his sister, orphaned when their mother is killed in the firebombing of Tokyo, are left to survive on their own in what remains of civilian life in Japan. As the situation grows increasingly worse in the war, things on the homefront are affected at the same rate. We follow Seita and Setsuko as they do their best to survive in the Japanese countryside, battling hunger, prejudice, and pride in their own personal battle. It is in some ways uplifting in its illustration of simple beauty in the darkest of situations and the strength of the human spirit. This tale of two children standing up in the face of adversity and slowly falling victim to a host of human fralties(suspicion, predjudice, and pride) is unforgiving and deeply tragic from start to finish. At first glance, one might get the idea that Grave of the Fireflies is some kind of anti-American propaganda. In truth, it is nearly the opposite. Although the children fall victim to the hardships brought on by the war, no Americans ever show up, and they are rarely mentioned. If anything, on one level, this movie could be seen as a metaphor for the entire country of Japan during the war: fighting a loosing battle, and too stubbornly proud to admit defeat or accept help. Similarly, it can be seen as a condemnation of pride; harshly depicting the result of Seita's unwillingness to seek help or resort to theft to obtain food, and ultimately allowing his grief to consume and punish him for that decision. Metaphor and symbolism aside, the enemy in this movie is painted as the kind of human weaknesses that come from and even create war: pride, the suspicion that falls upon two children trying to live on their own, and the prejudice leveled against a healthy young man who doesn't want to fight.
Approximate Word count = 1489
Approximate Pages = 6
(250 words per page double spaced)
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