Marriage Across Ozu - Part I (Isabelle Kirschbaum)

Marriage is a significant theme in each of the four films by Ozu (not counting I Was Born, But) that we have watched. Although the storylines are all fairly similar, I think that the slight deviations in each movie allow for some interesting observations about how the theme can be approached from different perspectives. I’d like to explore these differences and see what ideas come to light. 

Tokyo Story 

I see two main perspectives on marriage portrayed in Tokyo Story (besides the marriages of Koichi and Shige, which I think are secondary to the main themes). The first is the marriage of Shukichi and Tomi, and the second is Noriko’s widowhood and refusal to remarry. We don’t get very many explicit details about the nature of Shukichi and Tomi’s marriage, but from what we do get, it seems that their relationship is reasonably good. There are some allusions to troubles that they had in the past, like Shukichi’s drinking, so we know that their marriage went through some trying times. But since we get so little information about what exactly those times were like and how bad they really were, it’s hard to speculate about what the earlier stages of their relationship were like. However, I think I can say with some certainty that at the time the film takes place, Shukichi and Tomi have a close relationship and care deeply for each other.  They have a mutual understanding that comes from decades of marriage—one that allows them to frankly discuss things like whether they like they children or grandchildren better. Being so open about such potentially sensitive topics can only come from a genuine closeness. There are many moments throughout the film when they share a silent joke or a moment of understanding, usually indicated by a smile or a “mhh.” They don’t say much, but they still understand each other. They hold no grudges and feel no resentment. Their relationship might not be the most glamorous or romantic, but in my opinion, it’s a positive portrayal of marriage. 

Now let’s talk about Noriko. Her character in this film is still a puzzle to me. I think the main reason why I don’t understand her motivations is that I don’t buy the argument that she still cares so much for Shoji that she can’t bear to remarry. If I did buy it, her storyline would make a lot more sense than it does, but I don’t believe that it’s true. She appears to live her life in memory of her husband, but it seems like just an excuse not to remarry. For whatever reason, Noriko would prefer to live a solitary life. She doesn’t want a husband or children. Occasional visits from distant relatives are enough for her. 

Tomi’s concern for her seems valid to me. She says that Noriko will be lonely when she gets older, just as Shukichi will be lonely after Tomi’s death. The message seems to be that it is not right for people to be alone, and that marriage is a natural part of life and a way to ensure that someone has a social structure to rely on, through both their spouse and their children. There’s a lot to be said for both sides of this argument (is marriage natural or just a societal expectation?), but it certainly seems to me that Noriko’s chosen lifestyle is lonely and rather undesirable. I don’t necessarily mean that she’s not happy living the life she does, because if she wasn’t happy, she would probably have every opportunity to change it by getting married again. But, as I’ve said on a previous blog post about Tokyo Story, there’s something strange about Noriko. She shouldn’t want to live a solitary life at her age. I don’t want to try to make any arguments about marriage on a societal level, but I do think the fact that her character’s desires come off as odd and even unnatural (in my opinion) says something about the natural inclination of people towards close personal relationships, including romantic relationships. 

Early Summer 

This was my favorite version of Noriko. Her motivations were still something of a mystery, but they were far more relatable than Tokyo Story Noriko. This Noriko is part of a happy family and has a social life outside of that family. Her lack of desire to get married is not so strange as the other Noriko, because she has plenty of close, meaningful relationships. She doesn’t have an emotional void that needs to be filled by marriage. This Noriko is also more well-off financially than the other Noriko. She helps support her family and has enough money to go to cafes with her friends and buy shortcake just because she wants to. Her financial freedom gives her more social independence. It’s easy to see why she wouldn’t want to give up this happiness in order to be a wife. 

That said, while I understand this Noriko's reasons for not wanting to get married far better than I understand Tokyo Story Noriko’s, Early Summer Noriko is not perfect. Like all the Norikos, the war has impacted her childhood and young adulthood in ways that we as the audience are not explicitly (and sometimes not even implicitly) told. In some ways, the war probably forced her to grow up much more quickly than she should have. In other ways, it probably stunted her growth. As we discussed in class, she sometimes seems childish and immature. This immaturity isn’t necessarily a bad thing—she seems to be a capable and responsible person, but she lacks experiences and the wisdom that comes from those experiences. Although she should have been married by this time, according to all social expectations, she seems to want to go on living in her family’s house with her parents forever. 

But what’s wrong with her continuing to live this life forever? Why is everyone so eager for her to get married? The answer, I think, is not so much related to marriage specifically, but to growing up in general. Children are not meant to live as children forever. While Noriko does have a job and a social life outside her family, she still resembles a child in many ways, particularly in her desire for her life to go on exactly as it has been. Her life is good, but it is not meant to be like this forever. She is an adult and needs to live her life as an adult. Things will change for everyone when she gets married, and sometimes life will be harder, but overall things will be better in the long run because they will grow and develop in the natural way. Her parents want her to get married because they want to see her happy and thriving the way she should be, not living in a semi-childlike state for the rest of her life. Getting married is essentially the only way for this to happen for Noriko. 

The idea that people “should” grow up and be independent (which generally means that they “should” get married) is essential. Everyone in this movie has an understanding that marriage ought to happen sooner or later in a person’s life, and that regardless of how it might change things, it will make the person “happier” in some sense, because it’s part of the natural course of life. I don’t think that the obsession everyone has with getting Noriko married off is a blind conformity to arbitrary social norms. These people care about her and have wise insights about marriage and what brings meaning to life that Noriko couldn’t possibly have yet, because she lacks the experiences that taught them those things. So, even though they can be nagging and irritating with their relentless attempts to get her married, I don’t think they should be dismissed. It’s easy for Noriko (and us) to shrug off marriage as an outdated social construct, but it should be treated with respect. There’s a reason why Ozu made so many movies about marriage and the struggles surrounding it, and why marriage is and has always been such a huge part of culture. 

At the end of this film, Noriko has come to terms with the inevitability of her marriage and is relatively happy. After all, she was the one who proposed the marriage in the first place. The conversation she has with her sister-in-law near the end is particularly uplifting. She welcomes marriage as an exciting challenge—a way to exercise her skills in resourcefulness and self-sufficiency. She likes the doctor, even if she doesn’t love him, and she will probably be happy. Late Spring Noriko’s father has some interesting insights into happiness and marriage that are relevant to this movie as well, but first I’d like to talk about the third Noriko. 

To be continued. . .