‘ONRYOU’ IN ‘J – HORROR’ : A PORTAL TO THE POST WORLD-WAR SOCIOCULTURAL CONDITION OF WOMEN IN JAPAN. Part 2: Social, Political and the cultural.

Before we delve into the motif of ‘ONRYOU’ IN ‘J – HORROR’, Let's talk about the SOCIOCULTURAL AND POLITICAL SCENARIO OF JAPAN. This is the 2nd post in the six part series.

An important trait of Japanese culture is its capability to integrate and transform other cultures. Japanese believed in Buddhism and Shinto. According to Shinto beliefs, the world of living (kono – yo) and dead (ano –yo) exist side by side and the world of living is always influenced by the world of Dead. Every object is possessed by ‘Kami’ – a spirit which is neither good nor bad. Japanese

Horror films, unlike many Hollywood films, never show total extermination of the ghost/spirit because according to their belief that both the world co-exist.

Before forceful democratization, Japan had always been a Feudal state ruled by an emperor. It had a strict class system, consisting of Samurai (on top of the hierarchy, followed by) Peasants, Artisans, Merchants and outcasts. It was communal in its essence and individualism was never favored. Japanese had a strong sense of duty towards their community (known as, ie system). The ‘ie system’ was created during ‘Edo Period’ which operated on the idea of ‘Giri’ (sense of duty) and ‘ninjo’ (kindness for others) ‘Loyalty and Revenge’ was the main idea behind their action and Death was always favoured over defeat.

The nation was given more importance than own family. However, pre - modern Japan always had a strong sense of duty towards the family and nuclear families did not exist. Ancestors were worshiped and extended families were the norm. Therefore, in ‘J – Horror’ nuclear families (that represents the current scenario of Japan) are the source or victim of the supernatural disruptions.

In Japanese society, women were expected to be passive and submissive to men. Women were defined by their compliance. In Introduction to Japanese Horror, Colette Balmain states, "Japan... seek to infantilise women and codify male dominance over the female as object." Till today, Japan is a male dominated society.

In 1939, Second World War started, and in December of 1941, Pearl Harbour faced an attack from Japan. From then the war between Japan and US started. In August of 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan (Hiroshima and Nagasaki) by America, to bring an end to this war. Japan was asked to surrender, unconditionally by Allied Forces. It was more shameful to them than anything else. This defeat scarred the whole nation for time to come. Allied Forces abolished the feudal system of the nation, establishing a democratic ruling structure. A nation, whose identity depended upon traditional value system and communalism, was forced into a modern, democratic structure that favors individualism. One of the primary reasons being: the west wanted to break the national identity and unity of Japan so as to reduce any threat from them in future. Many other reforms were brought like women empowerment, gender equality, and compulsory education till the age of nine (which reduced the paternal influence even more). The main idea was to break the patriarchal structure of Japan but not for humanitarian reason. In Introduction to Japanese Horror, Colette Balmain writes, "the changes were instigated by America’s desire to ensure that Japan would never again be a military threat to the West. American capitalism invaded Japanese feudalism, bringing with it the ideal of the bourgeois nuclear family and a concept of the boundaried self that was foreign to the collectivism that had underpinned Japanese society for centuries."

This forced democratization was an economic success. However, it shattered Japan’s identity and a sense of nationhood. It became a country who could neither retain its old identity completely nor could embody the given identity. Democratization of the feudal state lead had to the death of traditional values. It caused socio-cultural anxiety. On top of that, with time Japan became a capitalist country, which, like other capitalist country is more concerned with consumption of commodities than anything else. All these together created a shaking social structure that is resisting against the change. Japan can be said as an incompletely modern country and this gets reflected through monster horror films of Japan like ‘Gojiro’. The monster is a pre – modern monster whose main fight is with the modern society.

The social structure changed further when Japan experienced a ‘Miracle Growth’ or ‘Economic Bubble’ in 1953 and early 1970s. This was a result of democratization. This ‘Miracle Growth’ led to a fast expansion of ‘consumer culture’ and urbanization (more and more people started migrating towards the city). On the downside, consumerism and urbanization led to alienation of individuals. It created a society where men were constantly working for economic benefit while the women had to take care of the household and children alone. The economic growth gave material comfort and security but created rootless, alienated individuals.

After the ‘Economic Bubble’ Japan faced the recession, in late 1990s. The recession was directly linked with an increased rate of domestic violence. The economic anxiety gave rise to a feeling of crisis in the male gender, which we can call as the ‘masculine crisis'. This crisis wrongly gave birth to a need in men to maintain or re-establish a ‘masculine dominance’ and for that they used violence. The violence was primarily against women, acted inside the domestic realm. This became the backdrop of many J horror cinemas like Ju-on: Grudge.

According to the theories of psychoanalysis, Horror films are often a representation of male castration anxiety or patriarchal fear revolving around the sexuality of women and this fear is usually abolished by transforming this object of fear into a sexual object. However, this theory works better in terms of Hollywood cinema. Applying it to Japanese cinema produces an analysis which is reductive in nature, since Japan and west are culturally very different.

The motif of ‘Wronged women’ was a part of Edo Gothic films and literature. Gothic is a sub-genre that deals with supernatural and themes of betrayal, conspiracy and revenge. Gothic works paradoxically – it simultaneously works as a device of transgression and a mechanism of reestablishing ethical and social boundaries. Edo gothic as the name suggests, was gothic texts of Edo

period which lasted from 1603 to 1867. This was the period when Samurai became obsolete. Japanese Edo Gothic has a religious base and it is inspired from Buddhist, Shinto and Confucianism beliefs. For aesthetic purpose only, it has also taken inspiration from Christian beliefs and iconographies. However the main difference between Japanese Edo gothic and western Edo gothic lies in the belief

of ‘materiality of ghosts’. Their strong religious and psychological belief in the world of dead, explains the existence of ghost in the films. This sub-genre is quiet common in Japanese Cinema.

Edo Gothic films aim at reinforcing traditional values and expresses a type of victim consciousness or ‘Post-defeat victimisation’. According to Standish, Edo Gothic examines the “morality in an age of rampant materiality” (Introduction to Japanese Horror By Colette Balmain). The suffering related to Edo Gothic centres around the’ quest for an empty self’ (An idea derived from Buddhism). This is usually expressed as a interdependent relationship between the child and the mother. In Edo Gothic, the archetypal ‘Deceitful Samurai’ is often mutually inclusive to ‘Wronged women’. The typical Edo gothic stories often feature both the characters and the plot often presents how the Samurai, who has turned into a ronin( the one who gives more importance to self-interest than community) leaves the women (a wrong act). Then the wronged women often return after their death as a spirit, known as ‘Onryou’ to extract revenge. The ‘Onryou’ is a symbolic representation of consequences of traditional loss. This archetypal figure of ‘Wronged women’ has been present in Japanese mythology, folklore and fairy tales. In ‘Ghost of Yotsuya’, the character of ‘Iwa’ is an example of the vengeful spirit or “Onryou’. Contemporary Japanese Horror films (like ‘Ringu’)

features many such examples. The character of ‘Sadako’ in Ringu is based on the same archetype of vengeful spirit, with long, black hair and scarred face.In Edo Gothic, the archetypal ‘Deceitful Samurai’ is often mutually inclusive to ‘Wronged women’. The typical Edo gothic stories often feature both the characters and the plot often presents how the Samurai, who has turned into a ronin( the one who gives more importance to self-interest than community) leaves the women (a wrong act). Then the wronged women often return after their death as a spirit, known as ‘Onryou’ to extract revenge. The ‘Onryou’ is a symbolic representation of consequences of traditional loss. This archetypal figure of ‘Wronged women’ has been present in Japanese mythology, folklore and fairy tales. In ‘Ghost of Yotsuya’, the character of ‘Iwa’ is an example of the vengeful spirit or “Onryou’. Contemporary Japanese Horror films (like ‘Ringu’)

features many such examples. The character of ‘Sadako’ in Ringu is based on the same archetype of vengeful spirit, with long, black hair and scarred face.

In Meiji period, the value of the mother was enhanced due to political and military reasons. We will find this ‘Valorisation’ of the mother has become a popular trait in Japanese Horror films. The duality of women – as both polluted and pure – is another trait present in films. This duality of female character has been present in the myth of Shinto creation. Another important story that contributed to the creation of ‘wronged women’ character in Japanese horror film is the story of Okiku. Okiku was a maid, who was wrongfully accused and killed by her master when she rejected his sexual advances. A common physical feature of wronged women or vengeful ghost is ‘long, black hair.’ This presentation is neither coincidental nor purely aesthetic based. It is deeply rooted in Japanese religious beliefs and superstitions. In Japan, hair is considered to be a source of pollution, vessel for ‘Vengeful spirits’ or

demonic. Edo Gothic stories show the disillusion created by wealth any has a nihilistic, unchallenging attitude (mono-no-aware). It allows expressing the emotions through the figure of ‘wronged women’ and ‘vengeful ghosts’ in stories that hints at the conflict between individualism and communalism.

In the next part we will talk about, the motif of 'Onryou' - a vengeful spirit in Japanese Cinema.

To be continued...

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)