1. Magoza showed Bushido in many ways. When he talked about how the way of the warrior is to not have feelings, this reflected the teachings of Bushido. At the early times of Bushido, Zen Buddhism had a very large impact on the belief. It taught that you must have control of the mind, to be calm at all times. This would include the desire to want, or miss someone. It would be dishonorable if he did not have complete control of these feelings, so by stating that he did not he showed his Bushido. Another instance where he showed Bushido, was the fact that he didn't tell his oldest and dearest friend why he left the night of the raid. This showed his loyalty to his lord, for he was given a command and he carried it out to the letter despite his owns wants.
2. Obligation means an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment. Giri is more of a self-sacrificing devotion in order to keep harmony. They are similar yet not the same. Obligation is more of a personal thing towards something or someone. Giri seems to be more of a cutural understanding that you are required no matter what to fulfill an act or the need to give something back to someone.
3. While their are some similarities between Bushido and Girri, they are two separate entities. Bushido is the way of the warrior. It only can be implied to those of the warrior class. An example of pure Bushido would be when Kichiemon went out to all the families at the beginning of the movie and gave money to the families of the dead warriors. This was a sense of the lord paying back the dead warriors for their acts of valor. It also was Bushido because Kichiemon did not rest until after the last family was given their monetary gift. Girri is more of a concept that can be applied to all people, including the warrior class. It is more of a self-sacrifice to perform a social obligation. An example of this can be seen when Kane makes a robe for Magoza for all his time and devotion he has put into raising her.
4. There are many scenes that show the Japanese ie system. One would be when the father of the merchant family is the one that makes the decision on whether or not this Kane is a suitable match for his son. In the end, even though his son finds her very attractive, it was known that his father had all the say in whether or not she would marry his son. Another scene that showed this system was when Magoza came to sell his wares to the merchant, and while the son was present, in the end it was his father that he had to go see in order to sell the vase.
5. There are many conflicts that appear between Magoza and Kane under the ie system. The best example of this conflict is during the dinner scene where Magoza and Kane had a power shift over where Magoza was to eat. While he was the equivalent of the father and therefore the head of the household, Kane was still, while she didn't know, the head of the household that Magoza was pledged to serve his whole life to. This created an interesting scene where we could visibly see a power shift between the two characters within the movie.
6. I feel that in American culture, women are treated better than men within a family. Women are told to be precious flowers that we have to love and respect, and their is no debating that idea. There has been many times where my sister was given a better treatment within my family solely because she is a girl, despite the fact I am only 1 year older than she is. Also, I can't even count all the times I have been told by peers, my parents, my grandparents, and even complete strangers that you must treat women with respect and practically put them up on a pedestal. Overall, while some would disagree, I feel women are treated better in a relationship and are given the benefit of the doubt more often then men.
7. Magoza's wish as the head of the house was to follow his Bushido and to complete the task that was set before him by his commander. He wanted to make sure that Kane had a suitable marriage and that she would be happy in the marriage that she would be in. However, Kane had the wish to marry Magoza which wasn't going to fulfill all of the commands set before Magoza, for he wouldn't be a suitable match. I would say that Magoza did not ignore her wishes at any time, if he were to ignore them, he would have made the match the second the merchant father had set upon him to find Kane. He waited until the omiai was accepted by Kane, rather than just throwing her into it.
8. I feel that the ending of this story will be a love suicide by both Kane and Magoza. It has been forshadowed many times within the play in the movie. Since this love would be considered dishonorable in some way, for Magoza didn't follow his commands by marrying her. This would follow the concept of Bushido where people "are driven to commit suicie when they want to clear an unsavory reputation or when they want to apologize for their sins or mistakes."
9. I think they use the concepts of Kenkyo and Amae very effectively within the film. Magoza is the very definition of Kenkyo in my opinion. Everything he does is an act of modesty and he really never takes praise and jsut pushes it under the rug like it was nothing. Amae can definitely be seen in the relationship between Kane and Magoza. Kane needs Magoza to feel happy, and in turn Magoza needs Kane. It is very easy to see this "need of benevolence" between the two characters throughout the film.
10. I feel like this film is very interesting overall. It seems to really show how important Bushido was and still is the the Japanese people today. However, I find many aspects very strange and even annoying. The best example of this that I can give is the Japanese play, I do not understand how anyone in any time of history could ever consider that art form good. However, different strokes for different boats.
* Why eww?
I feel that the this want for a romantic relationship with someone who she could consider her father is very gross. I feel that in American culture, the want or desire to have a romantic relationship with a parent or parental figure is considered very taboo. It is ingrained into our social structure that that desire is very wrong and should be shunned. That's why I feel I was saying ewww.
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