家族 KAZOKU (family) in film and literature, and news on the JLPT?
Last Saturday, I went to the Depot cinema in Lewes with Brighton Japan Club to watch the anime, 岬のマヨイガ MISAKI NO MAYOIGA (The House on the Lost Cape).
The film is set in the aftermath of the 2011 tsunami in the remote, mountainous prefecture of Iwate. The story follows two girls who are adopted by a kind old lady.
One of the girls lost family members in the tsunami. The other ran away from home to get away her violent father.
Unrelated by blood, the 3 strangers bond, and become like a family.
This film, like all of the films in the program, show a part of Japan not normally given widespread coverage in the west.
Home - Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme (jpf-film.org.uk)
As one Japan Club member mentioned after the film, the one of the themes of the film, KAZOKU is everywhere in Japanese film and fiction.
At one point, the older girl shouts out: 私たち、家族なんだから WATASHI-TACHI KAZOKU NAN DAKARA (Because we are family).
Becoming an unconventional KAZOKU is explored in many other popular Japanese productions.
Some of you may have seen the Hirokazu Koreeda film released in the UK a couple of years ago, 万引き家族 MANBIKI KAZOKU (Shoplifters).
The English title just translates the 万引き MANBIKI (shoplifting) part.
The word KAZOKU (family) is dropped from the English.
The plot of the Japanese book I am currently reading follows a similar them. It’s the story of literally stealing a family: abducting a baby.
Written by Mitsuyo Kakuta, the award-winning book is called: 八日目の蝉 YOUKAME NO SEMI (Cicada on the 8th Day).
The 2nd part of the story tells the story from the abducted babies viewpoint.
When Kaoru, the 4 year old was finally returned to her real family, she goes on to experience a very neglected child.
Later in the book, while onthe route she took across the country when abducted, Kaoru recalls her experiences with her real family:
家族旅行とかしたことがなかった もん。KAZOKU RYOKOU TOKA SHITA KOTO GA NAKATTA MON. (We never did anything like go on a family holiday).
Not many people are engaging in 家族旅行 KAZOKU RYOKOU (family holidays) at the moment.
A family holiday is another big way of bonding with family. A Japanese friend told me a 家族旅行 KAZOKU RYOKOU (family holiday) was the only real quality time he ever spent with his father.
The particle とか TOKA (etc) that appears in the quote above came up in a class this week. It’s very useful. とか TOKA indicates that the noun before it is just an example.
There are other things not mentioned (and so on).
とか TOKA is very common in conversation, but rarely treated in textbooks.
Finally, the KAZOKU theme is also important in the Japanese A Level text キッチン KICCHIN (Kitchen) by Yoshimoto Banana.
Kitchen is the uplifting short story of a orphaned University student who discovers the kindness of strangers, and finds herself a new KAZOKU.
Speaking of exams, it looks as if the Japanese Language Proficiency Test will run this year after a 2 year absence.
Applications will open on March 17th. Click below for more details:
Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JPLT), SOAS Language Centre, SOAS University of London
There will be a new Shimaguni newsletter coming out next week with news on new courses and spring events.
We also plan to have a cheery blossom party of some kind this year. Please subscribe to the newsletter from the homepage if you haven’t already.