Early Summer is the story of a society in which women are expected to marry before the age of 29, often in arranged marriages negotiated by their family, especially fathers and brothers. Yet at the same time, Noriko rejects the candidate chosen for her by her boss and family and -- on the spur of the moment -- agrees to marry a family friend. What is this movie saying about patriarchal structure, marriage, and women's liberation in the modern Japan of the 1950's?
Early Summer depicts the patriarchal structure (and by greater extent, the marital structure of East Asia) as something that’s detrimental and antiquated. This can be seen throughout the movie, where Noriko doesn’t want to marry the candidate chosen by her parents, and repeatedly even says “I won’t get married” and “not being married is better.” This largely implies that she believes not being married to the candidate is a better option for her than marrying the candidate, as when she learns of the family friend’s desire to marry her, she almost immediately obliges. This could either be because she saw the candidate her parents chose as such a bad choice, she would marry anybody else, or that she genuinely did want to marry the family friend without any motive related to the candidate. I, however, think it’s the first reason, rather than the second. Given that the movie doesn’t show how their relationship (or even their wedding) plays out, it signifies that those scenes aren’t as essential to the story as the ones already shown. If the assumption that she would rather not be married than be married to the candidate is correct, it would make sense for her to try and marry someone else instead so her parents don’t keep bugging her about the issue of marriage. Her decision is not as well received with the parents, however. Even when she’s decided to marry him, the parents are still debating over whether or not he’s a good fit and should marry Noriko. It’s obviously good that her parents don’t continue to pressure Noriko about her decision and actually decide to support her one they realize her mind is made, but given that Japanese marital culture was largely more antiquated than Western Europe and America, it wouldn’t be impossible that other families at that time would also try and impose arranged marriages on their children. Japan in the 1950s was at a crossroads in its culture, where it decided to merge many of the positive aspects of their culture (good work ethic, ethical/moral education, etc.) with positive values from the West. Luckily, it was during this time that many reforms were made to marriage policies and the role of women as Japan was essentially a developing country after WWII and needed every person available to rebuild and produce goods for the country. Women’s liberation was a part of these cultural reforms, as Japan needed a larger labor pool to help with industrial development.
ReplyDeleteEarly Summer highlights the opposition to the social norms and traditions surrounding marriage, freedom, and independence for Japanese women in 1950’s Japan. A great example presented in this film is when Noriko’s family is attempting to finalize her marriage. They constantly try to establish a marriage between Noriko and Mr. Manabe despite Noriko’s obvious disapproval. Eventually, Noriko counters her family’s wishes and plans for her by deciding to marry Kenkichi without her family’s full consent. In this moment, Noriko finds independence by deviating from the common Japanese tradition of arranged marriage and rebelling against her family’s choices. In reaction to Noriko’s decision to marry an unapproved suitor, Noriko’s brother is the most opposed to her decision. To no avail, Noriko’s brother constantly tries to get Noriko to double-guess her decision to marry Kenkichi. Noriko’s father and brother seem to have the most say and power in the family, but their ultimate acceptance of Noriko’s decision demonstrates that the patriarchal structure of her family is beginning to weaken; showing that women were truly gaining more freedom and power, especially within their families, in the 1950’s. Furthermore, Noriko’s friends exemplify the growing autonomy of women during this time period in Japan. One of Noriko’s friends mentions that modern women do not marry. In a Japanese society where the older men in the family have sparked the “need to marry early” through a system of arranged marriages, the declaration to not marry depicts the downfall of such a patriarchal family structure and a rise in the freedom and independence of women during the 1950’s.
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ReplyDeleteThe Film Early Summer by Yasujiro Ozu demonstrates that the patriarchal structure of modern Japan in the 1950s is slowly breaking down because women are gaining autonomy and a voice in their marriage. Throughout the film, most women are shown to care for children or take care of the home instead of working, which was an expected precedent before the end of WWII. However, post-war, Japan is transitioning through a period of modernity and change, primarily through social regard. This change in culture and women’s role in society is best demonstrated by the characters Noriko and Aya Tamura, Noriko’s close friend. Both Noriko and Aya are shown to work for Satake’s business, which is uncharacteristic for women because they were not expected to work a job, let alone support the family with their salary.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, Noriko and Aya’s rejection of marriage throughout the majority of the film demonstrates the breakdown of the patriarchal structure of modern Japan in the 1950s. While Noriko and Aya should be married at their age, both characters poke fun at getting married and are satisfied with their single livelihoods. While women were expected to marry and move into the man’s family, Noriko and Aya show that women can be independent and self-sufficient, further demonstrating the social change and breakdown of the patriarchal structure of post-war Japan.
While Noriko decides to get married by the end of the film, her decision-making process further exemplifies the breakdown of the patriarchal structure. Before the 1950s in Japan, the women’s family (primarily the men) decided on the women’s marriage partner and expected them to be content with their decision. However, Noriko rejected the partner (Manabe) her family endorsed and independently chose her husband in her close friend, Kenkichi Yabe. While Noriko’s brother adamantly rejected her decision, his coming around to support Noriko shows the breakdown of the Patriarchal structure. Furthermore, by rejecting the patriarchal tradition of an arranged marriage and making an independent decision about her future, Noriko demonstrates that the patriarchal structure of Japan is becoming less significant in modern Japanese society in the 1950s.