Westernization
In the opening of Tokyo Story we see a black train cutting through the town of Onomichi. It is a day’s travel to Tokyo by train. It is a much slower paced town than Tokyo and Ozu uses it to show how the western world has begun to change the culture in Japan. Just as the train cuts through the town and swiftly carries on, so this new generation has come to have little value for traditional Japanese culture. In 1948 a new Civil Code began an era of re-growing that was based on western capitalist ideas and simply destroyed the traditional family values that had been inherent to Japanese culture for centuries. We see that the Hirayama children are now caught up in this face paced lifestyle that demands they work day and night. That the focus on the family has become less of a priority. We see this in Koichi’s house when he leaves his home in order to take care of a patient. He is leaving his parents behind, but also his children who don’t seem to get any of his attention either.
Shige is another example of how the traditional cultural values in Japan have been replaced by westernization. She and her husband own a beauty salon in their home. They sleep feet from where they do business, and they are constantly working in order to make money, get ahead, strive. Whereas Shukichi and Tomi grew up in a culture that held on to honoring time with their family, respect and honor for one another. Ozu has shown us that this has been wiped out by the business of life. The children haven’t seen their parents in eight years at this point. Even the mourning process is cut short when Shige and Koichi must get back to Tokyo in order to attend to business. Shige simply grieves, asks for her mother’s clothes that she wants and leaves. Thus when Kyoko is angered by the actions of her siblings we understand that they are living in two different worlds. The post WWII Tokyo striving to catch up with the world, and the Japan that defined itself on its cultural values.
Children Growing Apart from their Parents
It has been eight years since Shukichi and Tomi have seen their children who now live in Tokyo. Keizo, who lives in Osaka doesn’t even respond to telegrams from his parents that they are coming through his city and want to see him. The ability to communicate between parents and children changes over the years and in many cases, such as this example in Tokyo Story the communication nearly ceases. The children have grown apart from their parents in an attempt to forge their own identities, to build their lives based on what they believe.
We begin to understand that Koichi and Shige share difficult memories of their parents from their youth. Ones that seemingly have grown into barriers between them. Shige still recalls her embarrassment at her mother breaking a chair in her school because she was fat. And both Koichi and Shige recall their father’s drinking issues as children. An issue that Kyoko, the youngest child didn’t have to bear because Shukichi stopped drinking before she was born. Thus we see that this hurt is carried with them into the present day where it burdens their ability to truly communicate with their parents, and ultimately separates them from truly having a fruitful relationship with them in their later years.
Acceptance
Throughout the film there is a steady serving of politeness that Shukichi and Tomi receive from their children. It creates a shallowness to their relationship as we hardly see them and their children speak of anything of great meaning. We only see Tomi open up to her husband and Noriko. And Shukichi speaks candidly to his wife and to old friends after having a few too many drinks. What they speak of during their drunkenness is how they expected their children to be more than what they are. How they lie to people about the positions their kids hold in their jobs in order to save face. But, Shukichi makes an important statement that he may be disappointed, but he and his wife are lucky to have children be as good as they are as many parents would only wish for that. We are beginning to see the acceptance that he has for who his children are, which they don’t reciprocate to he and Tomi.
In one of the final scenes we see Kyoko angered by her sister and brother simply taking what they want and leaving. That they have no respect or honor for their parents. Noriko, in response, tells her that she must realize that they are doing the best that they can do, and that she is too young to fully understand. Thus we see in Shukichi and Tomi, Noriko and Kyoko how at different ages in life we view the actions of our family, and that only when you’ve truly walked through the fire of life do you understand how to accept others for who they are.
