It's hard to say because the viewer doesn't see Motome through his own viewpoint. Motome is always shown from another's viewpoint. When he's doing the bamboo blade seppuku, the viewpoint is from the Ii clan's chief retainer.
But looking at the film itself, what I saw in Motome's reactions were complex and conflicting emotions. On one hand, the emotion of shock when he sees the bamboo wakizashi presented to him. And then the explanation from Omodaka (the retainer assigned to be his second) that "the sword is the soul of the samurai; that is your soul." And the realization that he is being mocked and degraded by the clan.
But also, there is his tremendous self-hatred. He was unable to support his family. Of course this was through no fault of his own, but he doesn't see it that way, he was brought up to believe that he is a failure because he wasn't able to support his family. So he sees himself as a failure. Plus he is someone who has sold his samurai "soul" (his swords). Furthermore, he has come to do what he had condemned in an earlier scene, that of trying to extort money from a clan by a request for seppuku when what he truly needed was money for his desperately sick family.
But then there is defiance. He may very well have seen that what the Ii clansmen thought would happen was that he would try and run and escape and then they could cut him down. So instead, he hurls the seppuku sword stand at the clansmen and then carries on, doing what they wouldn't expect him to do. At the very end, rather than continue further with the mockery, he bites his tongue and takes himself out rather than wait for and expect his second to do so.
I think that he was quite brave in handling the situation the way he did. If he had tried to fight with the bamboo wakizashi, he would have quickly been cut down. Or else perhaps the Ii retainers would have "toyed" with him for a while and then cut him down, which would have been a worse mockery.
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joly24601
17 years ago
The self-hatred idea is interesting, but I really didn't see that in Motome. All I saw was desperation borne out of love...but I am female, perhaps men have a deeper feeling of disgust for themselves when they fail at something like supporting a family.
The fact that Motome *voluntarily* (to my eyes) went through with it made the moral punch of the film rather weaker imho than it could have been...yet I understand that this is a Japanese film made for a Japanese audience, who would not question why Motome followed through.
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WaveTossed
17 years ago
I am also female. I don't think it makes a difference. Women who find themselves unable to support and care for their families will dispair just as much as men would.
As far as going forth with the seppuku rather than fighting back: It would seem to me that fighting back might be the more "macho" thing to do. However, if you are raised in a society that values rituals of politeness, of "doing it the proper way," then fighting back in a hopeless cause, would do nothing other than lead to even more mockery. As I said before, the Ii retainers may very well have "toyed" with him before cutting him down, which would have done nothing other than prolong the cruelty.
I think that his having gone forth the way he did, and especially taking himself out once he realized that the Ii retainers weren't going to spare him any of the agony, showed his strength rather than any weakness.
Now if Motome could have fought back with real swords, that would be different. Hanshiro, with his real swords, had the means to conduct a meaningful fight. But Hanshiro had earlier castigated himself for refusing to part with his "useless tokens" of rank and prestige; he praised his son-in-law for his willingness to sacrifice his "soul" for his family.
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joly24601
17 years ago
I see your point...The whole value of ritual, politeness, and social expectations is correct, but see, it was something Hanshiro was brutally criticizing--though his son-in-law took part in it, to his undoing.
At a certain point survival is more important than any show of strength or personal dignity. For his family's sake, Motome should have made every effort to survive...even it turned out to be absolutely useless, at least he'd have taken a stab at it, like Hanshiro did as a form of protest.
Now, I can see the differing Japanese concept of honor and strength and how the story has to work to be as effective and powerful as it is--but I am also able to argue from my Western worldview. :P
There was also an interesting point in the booklet that came with my DVD--that this film is also a social commentary. Today we have films like "The Last Samurai" in which American actors gush about and romanticize bushido, but the older Japanese directors knew better. They knew firsthand what the whole "samurai spirit" got them during WWII. Watch any black & white samurai film...you will see a condemnation of the samurai class. So Kobayashi's point is well-taken, and the truth of the story resonates deeply--it applies to more than to just Japanese people or the feudal times in which it takes place, which is why it's such a dang good film.
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thenoah-573-524560
10 years ago
I haven't seen the film in a while, but if Motome was a samurai (I don't remember), his blind faith (an ignorance obviously not present in Hanshiro) towards the Bushido code would have called for his suicide; Motome was notably simpler than the wizened Hanshiro.
And, he would invariably have died; it would have been best to do it with what was commonly upheld as "honor".
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