Japn 314 Higuchi Ichiyô’s Takekurabe ("Child's Play" aka "Growing Up")

 

 

Some Questions:

 

1. What do you notice as important or significant in this narrative?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My thought:

On one level, this is the story of children who are growing up together in the unique environment of "The Quarter" which embodies elements of an older Japan--the world of teahouses, brothels, and extremely high-end establishments which prosper according to the popularity of their highest-ranking courtesans.

This is the "willow world," or the "red light" district of old Japan. So "Child's Play" is often read as a poignant juxtaposition of the innocence of childhood with the tough yet seductively glamorus world of the sex trade.

 

Sadly, as these kids grow up, they must learn the reality of the tough environment in which they are living. Of course they know about it, but they cannot yet really understand or process it as adults.

 

Why should they? For now, they remain children, insulated from the harshest realities of the world around them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. What is your sense or feel of the place in which the story is set?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In sense then, can't we say that an important "character" in this story is not necessarily a person but the locale itself: the famed Yoshiwara "red light district" with all its shops, businesses, schools, temples, bath houses and the tenenment housing in which the ordinary folks must live, as they dwell mostly at the bottom of the social ladder, often struggling to make ends meet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Let's look at the opening paragraphs of the story:

 

We can read aloud the first fifteen paragraphs--one for each student!--of the story which are all about situating the reader in this unique world, where "Customs [...] are indeed a little different," as the narrator correctly informs us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Note how in the eighth paragraph we find this:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The narrator poses a central question for us as readers:

"In such a world, how are the children to escape being influenced?"

 

 

And...in the Ninth paragraph:

"It's the wisdom of the street. Children know about the quarter." (256)

 

Oh my goodness. "Children know about the quarter."

What do you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deep down, at some intuitive level, then, the children must understand their situation--yet they are surrounded by the adult world with which they cannot really identify nor are they able to express themseves clearly about it.

 

So, is this then what "Child's Play" is all about?

 

 

 

 

Is it about how the environment inevitably shapes the way in which a cohort of young people will grow up? What do you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Who do we meet in these opening paragraphs?

 

 

 

 

First

--Fujimoto Nobuyuki, or “Nobu.” He is a priest’s son from the Ryûge Temple. Quiet, scholarly, bright, introspective. Everyone undrstands that his destiny is to follow in his father's footsteps and become a Buddhist Priest. But he exudes respectability!!

 

 

 

Then,

--Chôkichi he is the 16-year old fire chief’s son; he is selfish, haughty, full of himself. Walks with his chest puffed out, baton swinging from his belt, sneering whenever he talks. He is used to getting his way.

 

Seems to be in competition with....

 

 

 

Another key "player" in our story,

--Tanaka "Shôta," the pawnbroker’s son, is comfortably well off. Goes to the private school, not the Ikueisha. People are taken with his quiet ways and his good grades. While Chôkichi is not very well-liked, his archrival, Shôta, "attracted everyone." In the past, his plans for the festival have always worked out well. Chôkichi is desperate for a win.

Chôkichi and Nobu are "opposite sides of a coin," (258) which is why he wants to recruit Nobu to his "gang." So he can add some degree of respectability and that way, maybe he can garner a few more allies.

 

"Listen, Nobu, I've had enough of them" he says. "This year, no matter how tough I have to be, I'll see that Shôta eats his words...Look, you don't have to do anything. Just so you're on our side. All we have to do is show you off. It'll attract others." (258)

 

It's really kind of funny. They just need him as a token, something to show the others....

 

 

 

Next, we have Midori (p. 259, start of new section)

– The younger sister of a highly ranked Yoshiwara courtesan, Ômaki, of the Daikokuya. She is charming and everyone appreciates "her geneerous, open nature."

When she is at the Daikokuya, she "lolls around" her older sister's room for half the day...and the adults always treat her special, always making sure she has a little extra pocket money or some gifts. The owner loves to spoil her, too!

Her appearence is "winsome," and she is described as "exuberant, soft-spoken," and "Her eyes radiated warmth." (259)

 

She is only fourteen years of age but the young men say they'd "like to see her three years from now."

 

Ah, that is the male gaze for you!

 

Therefore--whether she fully grasps all the implications or not--she is clearly living on the margins of this life in the "demimonde," the Quarter, and she seems to be getting drawn into it as though it is something natural, or inevitable.

And her parents "look the other way" while the narrator wonders, "What will become of her?"

 

 

 

What do you think about Midori so far?

 

 

 

 

 

 

It seems that very subtley, the author is introducing Midori's harsh reality to us. She is likely to become a part of this world in which young women are required to entertain men and often become their prey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. I would like to point something out in the middle of p. 258 where Chôkichi and Nobu have a little conversation. The author creates a certain atmosphere by the way she has the children talk, their rhythms, the way they go back and forth. This is another device to help capture the tone of the "quarter" with its distinctive speech patterns.

Since the children are inclined to sing, the repetition in their words produces a musical effect. Often they repeat words or phrases like “mada mada ka,” and “omoshirokunai, omoshirokunai,” to enhance the aural side of the prose.

So, looking at this little exchange on p. 258 where Chôkichi is trying to convince Nobu to join his gang.

 

The tempo of their back and forth exchange is musical and comical:

 

Datte boku wa yowai mono.

だつて僕は弱いもの。

Yowakute mo ii yo.

弱くても宜いよ。

Mandou [萬燈 lanterns] wa furuwasenai yo.

萬燈は振廻せないよ。

Furuwasenakute mo ii yo.

振廻さなくても宜いよ。

Boku ga hairu to makeru ga ii kai?

僕が這入ると負けるが宜いかへ。

Makete mo ii no sa.

負けても宜いのさ

 

(See p. 258, middle; or, Section 2 in the Japanese version, near end of middle paragraph)

 

These are free-flowing, but patterned, speech rhythms, a childlike "give-and-take" which echoes the melodious harmonies of the pleasure quarters. In this sense, the dialogues offer an alternative to the more confined world of adult life structured by the continuous, metronome-like beating of time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7. Now let's review and look at the rest of of the main characters in "Child's Play."

 

 

Where should we start?

 

 

 

 

 

It might be fair to say that initially, at least, Ichiyô’s narration provides only brief snapshots of these children’s lives and their daily activities. No one individual character stands out in the very beginning of the work. . .and yet which characters stand out to you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have:

--Midori, 14

– The younger sister of a highly ranked Yoshiwara courtesan, Ômaki.

Her eyes radiate warmth.  She hangs around her sister’s house, the Daikokuya, a lot, meets all the girls and many men as well. So she is on the margins of “the life” in the Yoshiwara, the "pleasure quarters" or locale of Geisha houses and brothels going back to the Edo Period.

 

Midori is quite spoiled by all these people she hangs out with.  They always give her money for treats so she can buy things for her friends.

She and her parents live in the house of the gentleman procurer who found her sister in the Kishu area and brought them all to Tokyo.  Her father keeps the books for a third rate "house," while her mother takes in sewing. Midori has already picked up the language of the quarter and does not feel embrarrassed by it.

 

 

 

 

 

Midori is juxtaposed with a polar opposite:

 

 

--Fujimoto Nobuyuki, or “Nobu.” But, of course, opposites attract, right?

So who is Nobu?

 

 

 

- Nobu is a priest’s son from the Ryûge Temple. Quiet, scholarly, bright, introspective. No real affiliation with either of the two rival gangs – the Main Streeters and the Backstreet Boys, who square off against each other in friendly competition during festival time - but he is recruited heavily by Chôkichi of the Backstreet Gang to lend them some respectability because of his stature, maturity and wisdom.

 

 

The narrator foreshadows Nobu’s future by noting that: “In time, his thick, black hair would be shorn, and he would don the dark robes of a priest.” Nobu’s transformation from child to adult will culminate at the end of the story when he leaves the pleasure quarters to the Temple and don Buddhist Robes.

 

 

This moment will be a central component in the poignancy of this story.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then there is...

--Chôkichi

 

- The 16-year old fire chief’s son; he is selfish, haughty, thuggish, quick to anger and to become violent.  He is a regular street ruffian. Leader of the Back Street Gang, he is fully aware of his father’s prominent position in society so he haughtily patrols the fall festival with his “baton swinging, and belt low around the hips.” (257)

 

 

And his nemesis,

 

 

--Tanaka "Shôta"

 

 

 

 

 

- He is the pawnbroker’s son, so is comfortably well off. He is younger, only 13, but charismatic, a natural leader. He is smart, attends private school, but is disliked by Chôkichi because Shôta and his Main Street Gang have won all the recent contests in which they have engaged over the last few festivals.

 

 

But all of this is typical kids stuff, all part of "growing up." (That's how "Take" "Kurabe" is sometimes translated.)

 

 

 

 

 

One More:

--Sangorô

 

 

 

 

 

- a comical, short, stocky kid, son of a rickshaw puller, who is a 15-yr old, and generally affable. They call his father "Groveling Tetsu" because his occupation requiries him to be subservient to everyone.

 

On pp. 260ff, there occurs an incident:

Midori has offered to foot the bill for whatever activity the kids want to do at the festival. They decide on a "magic lantern show," and gather at the paper shop on the evening before the festival. The kids are all hanging out in the paper shop, waiting for Midori, who is taking her time with her evening "toilette," so they can start their magic lantern show. (261) Since Midori is late, Sangorô is dispatched to get her.

Meanwhile, Shôta's grandmother summons him home for dinner so when Midori arrives (late) she doesn't want to start the show without him.

Sangorô drags Midori to the paper shop and when she arrives, they start singing and having fun. But she wants to wait until Shôta gets there.

"Is Sangorô there," Bunji calls out. "Come over here a minute."

Unsuspecting, he gets sucker punched by Chôkichi when he responds to the call(264). His anger is really directed at Shôta but he takes it out on poor Sangorô.

Midori steps up and calls out Chôkichi: "If you want to fight with Shôta, fight with Shôta. He didn't run away and he's not hiding. He's just not here...This is our place. You're such a creep!"

 

"Yeah," he retorts, "You're nothing but a whore, just like your sister." He grabbed his muddy sandal and threw it at her:

"This is all you're worth!"

The muddy sandal hits her square on the forehead. Ouch!!

So this is a significant moment. It is symbolic: Midori is now sullied and dirty. The mud of the quarter is upon her.

 

 

Shôta feels terrible for her. He likes her, though, and they spend some nice time together the next day.

 

She is such a beauty...but she seems drawn to Nobu, right? They go to the same school, the Ikueisha.

After hanging out with Shôta, playing games and such, an incident from last April is recalled, when Nobu got carried away and stumbled over a pine tree root landing hands first in the mud. Midori offers him a crimson handkerchief to help him clean up....Again, this seems symbolic.

 

But, anyway, others get jealous of these attentions.

 

 

[Note: a very similar scene is repeated later on, pp. 279-280, something to do with the link between, mud, dirty sandles and a crimson cloth...does this color red signify something?]

 

 

 

 

 

What does Nobu do? What transpires between them?

 

 

 

 

 

Nobu seems to be intentionally mean. As a result...

 

 

 

 

 

"A great river now stretched between them that all boats were forbidden to cross. Each of them walked alone on separate banks of the stream. (269)

 

 

Is all of this just part of "growing up," of young teens trying to navigate their way?

 

 

 

 

Midori is hurt and frustrated and feels she can longer attend school. IS her pathway through life narrowing right before our eyes?

 

 

 

 

8. So, now we come to a big question, one we can think about for next class:

 

How does Midori transform over the course of the narrative? Think about a couple of things that you notice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

See More Commentary

 

 

 

 

 

 

8. How about some pivotal moments?

There is one in which Chôkichi rather crudely calls out Midori with the harsh reality of her sister's occupation.

"You're nothing but a whore, just like your sister." (264)

He picks up his muddy sandal and throws it at Midori's head, verbally abusing her:

"This is all you're worth."

With a splatter, it struck her square on the forehead. She turned white...(264)

Ouch! What do you think of this passage? Reflect and discuss.

 

9. And there is another on p. 271, the narrator makes a very important observation:

Midori had no notion of what price Ômaki might have paid to reign supreme in her profession. To her it was all a game. She knew about the charms and tricks the girls would use. (271)

 

What do you think? Please react to and discuss this passage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a way, this passage gets right to the heart of the matter doesn't it? Clearly, Midori does not yet fully comprehend the implications of becoming a prostitute. This makes the story all about how her awareness of this reality grows.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. We can also look at the passage near the end of the narrative involving Nobu and Midori found on pp. 279-280.

Three things come together here:

Mud, sandals and a crimson handkerchief.

 

The sandal to the head mentioned above, along with the mud, seem to represent the dirt and degradation that the quarter has in store for Midori. It points to the world in which she will have to muck about.

 

And now the addition of her red handkerchief captures her maturation, the onset of her womanhood; it is the spark that signals the end of her childhood.

 

This is powerful stuff. Shall we read aloud and discuss?

 

What do you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. Now to kind of sum up, let's look at the poem/popular song that appears on p. 283:

Growing up,

she plays among the butterflies

and flowers.

But she turns sixteen,

and all she knows

is work and sorrow.

 

What do you think? Please reflect and comment.

 

 

 

12. More thoughts on all of this can be found on the Commentary Page, but it strikes me that we see a lot of language here about Midori's FEELINGS of awkwardness, embarrassment, discomfort, anger, plus the reference to vague feelings that arise in Midori that she she is unable to comprehend or articulate.

On p. 285, the narrator says:

There were just sad things, vague things. Feelings....She couldn't put them into words. They made her cheeks burn. Nothing she could point to--yet lately, everything discouraged her. So many thoughts; none of them would ever have occurred to the Midori of yesterday. This awkwardness all of a sudden! How was she to explain it? (285)

And how are we to think about it? Where do these mysterious feelings come from? Sad, vague feelings tht make her feel uncomfortable, embarrassed. Her cheeks burn.

What do you think might be causing all these feelings? Are they strange to you or familiar?

 

 

In creating this page, I have relied heavily on an ASPAC paper presented by Marc Yamada. Many of the quotes come from his essay. See https://www.academia.edu/22991859/The_Emergence_of_Evolutionary_Narratives_in_Higuchi_Ichiy%C3%B4_s_Takekurabe