Today's movie, the second in our series, is Yasujiro Ozu's masterpiece "Tokyo Story," which first premiered in 1953. I first watched this film when I was a student of architecture, recommended by my professor who said it was good to "consider the circumstances of the people living in a house when designing it." Although it's a 70-year-old film, it's a masterpiece that skillfully portrays the sense of distance and subtle sadness in modern Japanese family relationships, as well as human kindness.
Synopsis
Shukichi (Chishu Ryu) and his wife Tomi (Chieko Higashiyama), who live in Onomichi, entrust their youngest daughter Kyoko (Kyoko Kagawa), a school teacher, with looking after their home and set off for Tokyo.
They stay at the home of their eldest son Koichi (So Yamamura), who runs a small clinic in downtown Tokyo, but when they try to go sightseeing in Tokyo, an emergency patient arrives, and they end up unable to go out.
Later, they visit Shige (Haruko Sugimura), who runs a beauty salon in downtown Tokyo, but both Shige and her husband (Nobuo Nakamura) are busy. The parents are unable to go out anywhere and are simply housed on the second floor of their home without being attended to. Shige, unable to bear it, asks Noriko (Setsuko Hara), the wife of her deceased second son, to look after her parents. Noriko specifically takes time off work to take them to tourist attractions in Tokyo, and in the evening, she does her best to entertain them in her small apartment.
The next day, the couple, seen off by everyone, boarded the train for their return journey, but Tomi fell ill and they got off in Osaka to stay at the home of their third son Keizo (Shiro Osaka). After Tomi recovered, she and Shukichi lamented how unkind their children had been, yet they talked about how good their lives had been.
Shortly after the couple returned to Onomichi, a telegram arrived stating that their mother was in critical condition. Their three children and Noriko rushed to Onomichi, but Tomi passed away without regaining consciousness.
On the day Noriko returned to Tokyo, Shukichi expressed his gratitude for Noriko's kindness, telling her to remarry quickly and find happiness, and gave her his wife's keepsake watch. Noriko cried aloud.
The next morning, alone in the deserted room, Shukichi gazed at the calm sea of Onomichi.
"Something (humanity)" that this story reminds us not to forget
Families in the city. Daily work is busy, always rushing through life. Even when tired, it's hard to rest.
Then, a sudden visit, even from parents. Whether it's from the wife's side or the husband's side, wouldn't many people find it troublesome to have to be more considerate?
How many people today would have the kindness and emotional余裕 (yoyu: capacity, flexibility) to do what Noriko in the movie did—when her deceased husband's parents came to Tokyo, she kindly guided them around the city, let them stay at her home, and even gave them a small amount of pocket money?
This movie reminds us of "something" we tend to forget when we work long and busy hours in the city.
