Dominique Lewis

March 26, 2018

HUM 359
Professor Williams

Modern Japanese Stories Response

1. In the short story In a Bamboo Grove, Akutagawa presents a historical murder mystery that
challenges the notion of truth. In this case, those who were part of or witnesses to the murder all
present a different “truth” or perspective as to what really happened. When looking backwards at
this piece, it is easy to see the modernist lens of Akutagawa presenting itself. The issue of truth is
just one aspect of human nature that Akutagawa is analyzing. The truth from the characters of
the story are a vehicle to present what each character wants to present to the authority as well as
what they see as noble. When looking at an even more modern lens, one from the 21st century, it
is hard not to put the piece in context with the events before and after the piece was written.
When taking into consideration the rapid development of the country from a feudal system to
one that is more caught up with the west, Japan’s growth in wealth and size through imperialism,
Japan’s issues with other ethnic groups, as well as a reliance on traditional values, Akutagawa
puts all of this into perspective. What is honor? What is truth? What makes you more honorable
than I? What is your own truth? These are some of the questions people, including Akutagawa,
asked during the 1920’s when faced with a changing society and values that no longer fit within
it.
7. Kushi’s Memoirs is a story of a woman facing the realities of her existence, dealing with the
fact that she is a part of a shunned minority as well as a woman. It is a story that many can relate
to, the feeling of hopelessness within a system that is made to be against you and the struggle of
everyday life. Kushi’s story emphasizes the treatment of the Okinawan people within their
homeland and their treatment as less than human. It shows they are treated as outsiders even
within their own homeland. It also shows, through the character of the uncle, how some people
have to leave their way of life behind in order to prosper in this discriminatory system. It is
unfortunate that many people felt so strongly and angry about a woman, an Okinawan one at
that, revealing how she feels and what she sees in her own life. Kushi’s defense reveals that even
within her own culture her opinion as an uneducated woman does not matter. Kushi’s story and
her defense of it reflects the issues that being a woman and a minority during this period in Japan
was a losing situation.