‘ONRYOU’ IN ‘J – HORROR’ : A PORTAL TO THE POST WORLD-WAR SOCIOCULTURAL CONDITION OF WOMEN IN JAPAN. Part 6: Ju – On : Grudge by Takashi Shimizu

This is the final part of the six-part blog post about "Onryou in J-Horror". In this part we will discuss about the 2002 film, Ju – On : Grudge by Takashi Shimizu. We will not consider any prequel or sequel or Hollywood remake for this discussion.

Domestic violence during recession forms the premise of Shimizu’s Grudge. This film contains the motif of ‘Onryou’ in both the form of ‘wronged women’ (Kayako) and ‘vengeful foetus’ (Toshiko). Takeo (Kayako's husband) going through a financial crisis and a sense of failure as a 'man', tries to reconfirm his masculine identity by subjecting the wife and child to his aggression and ultimately killing all.

The ‘Economic bubble’ followed by the recession of late 1990s changed the gender roles which threatened the Patriarchy. It caused a backlash in form of male violence; which was primarily exhibited in the domestic arena. The idea was to reestablish the male dominance. In Grudge this theme has been presented through the murder of Kayako under the false accusation of adultery (a patriarchal fear). Recession also caused the breakdown of ‘Japanese style extended family’ (Represented through the abandoned old woman).

The contrast between Takeo’s aggressive shots and Kayako’s passive dead body establishes the whole context of Male violence and Female passivity towards it. Takeo’s anger infects the house and creates two vengeful spirits who perpetuates the curse. Kayako and her son, Toshiko (Vengeful foetus) were

apparently the monstrous figure. However, they themselves were victim of violent male behaviors and oppressive patriarchal treatment and their existence becomes a reaction against the male malice and violence (Presented by Takeo).

The theme of abandonment and emptiness is an integral part of this film (Initially Toshiko was shown alone in the house, the old woman was living

alone in the house, even the protagonist used to live alone.) Grudge has linked isolation with death and fatal consequences.

The mise-en-scene also helped in portraying the alienation and emptiness. The montage (Of Takeo aggressive behavior and Kayako’s dead body) establishes the mood and ‘organizational logic’ of the film, which is a nonlinear, tangled narrative consisting 6 episodes.

The three films which have been discussed in this series of posts shares the same theme of abandonment, isolation and lack of tradition. To summarize, forced democratization of Japan caused ‘Economic Bubble’ and changed the

gender role. It also prioritized individualism over communalism. With recession, the extended family system of Japan came to an end. That led to a form of isolation and abandonment of younger and older individuals (The old woman in Grudge). The feminist movement and granting equal rights to women changed the gender role and made women self-sufficient. This increased the divorce rate in Japan (Reiko of Ringu and Yoshimi of Dark Water). The family structure changed. One downside of this change became further alienation and loneliness within the family (Yoshimi, Mitsuka and Ikuko of Dark water). The changing gender role and the recession challenged the Patriarchy (at least from the patriarchal point of view). Patriarchy’s reaction was to re-establish a male dominated society through violence, especially domestic violence (Takeo in Grudge). There are double ended resistance in Japanese society–

1. Against the changing nation, in order to hold on to the pre-modern Japan: an on-going conflict between individualism and communalism.

2. Feminism resisting against Patriarchy and Patriarchy resisting against gender equality. These resistance causes social upheaval, which gets portrayed in horror films.

The motif of ‘Onryou’ represents these social concerns and wrongdoings of the society. It works paradoxically: it tries to reestablish the old Japanese structure while criticizing the patriarchy and portraying the women as victim of Japanese society. We can say they show both side of the coin.

Films and literature are mirrors to the society. The unconscious distress of both the individuals as well as the nation takes form of horror. Horror films are a direct portrayal of national psyche. Every archetypal characters or motifs represent certain side of a society, culture and mythology. ‘Onryou’ (which means the vengeful ghost) in Japanese cinema represents the ‘victim’ of Japanese society.

And on this note, I end this particular series of blog posts.

Let's give credit where it is due. The books I referred to :

Cherry, Brigid. ‘Horror’, Routledge Taylor and Francis Group, New York, (2009)

‘Horror to the extreme’, Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong, (2009).

McRoy, Jay, ‘Nightmare Japan’, Rodopi, New York, (2008).

Balmain, Colette, ‘Introduction to Japanese Horror films’. Edinburgh University Press, Great Britain, (2008)