Sanshō the Steward and Sanshō the Bailiff

Introduction

A beautifully developed story,  oddly  titled  after the overtaxed  and  merciless antagonist  hero Sansho  the steward or Bailiff is a powerful narrative  of loss,  revenge, morality  and  extreme  social classes  divergences nature. This is a simple  tale  grounded on  tear  jerking  futility and  atrocities  and a basking  of hope  and love with an epic sensation  that can be attributed by both  the covered time  and  full triumphant circles journeyed  by the protagonists and the endurance to the  bloody  path  of attaining freedom (Mori, Dilworth, and Rimer 153). Sanshō the Bailiff is an established Japanese periodic movie that was produced in the year 1954 and directed by Mizoguchi.  The movie’s is grounded on a short story written by Ogai Mari by the title ‘’Sansho the Steward’’ as a follow up of two different aristocratic kids sold into the life of slavery (Mori, Dilworth, and Rimer 153).  The story features different subjects such as poverty portrayal, a critical perspective of the women’s position in the contemporary Japanese society and self sacrifice.  ‘’Sanshō the Steward and Sanshō the Bailiff ‘’ are a historic story and film that is set in a feudal Heian Japan period (Mori 4).  The story  is  so exceptional since it tells  is  complicated narrative with the utilization  of simple  images as well as creating  order from  the worst  type of moral  chaos. The narrative’s and movie’s story presents a depth understands of the human condition and can thus be described as a simplicity masterpiece in compelling its setting.

 The story clarifies the human condition and offers enough time for the readers and those watching to think.  The presence of affectation to Sansho  is not there, more so  the story is  based on the simplicity of well identification and explanation of  the overarching  ideas of integrity  and  honesty  as the most  significant  characteristics that  should be possessed by  humans (Mori, Dilworth, and Rimer 154). The story is an unflattering demonstration of a classic perseverance and slavery tale. The story is one of the highest accomplishments that have been made in the slavery stories and films history. The story concerns a family that has been separated after the governor who is the father has been exiled based on his morals principles (Mori 2).  After the attempt of the remaining family which is made up of the helper, mother, son and daughter to look for the father they are sold into the world of prostitution and slavery. The story is a positive measure of the  suffering  of humans via the experience of slaves despite the fact that  it can be considered as an  old  fable  from the Japanese  society  that  is based  on compassion and mercy as the  primary virtues. When the province governor declined the execution and crack down request of some protestors, he was exiled with his family (Karimberdi 5:37).  The separation leads to slavery as the wife gets sold to brothel while the siblings are bought by Bailiff who is a mansion overseer that belongs to the right minister.  The slaves conditions can be described as deplorable but the children are necessitate to time bide to get an opportunity to escape and meet their parents.

A thoughtful compassion meditation and mercy, ‘’Sanshō the Steward” and Sanshō the Bailiff’’ builds is authority via ethical wisdom of the story and the explicit beauty and authority of its general visual expression (Mori, Dilworth, and Rimer 153). Sanshō the Bailiff film outlines a heroic journey of the sea and land via time as well as space.  Actually in the case of Sansho a number of quests are entwined and every rhyme off on the others so that a harmonic wholeness can be created.  The underlying quest  for  a sister and  his brother  for their biological mother , the quest of  freedom by  the slaves, a quest by a boy  for  his  father  and the  involved principles  for which his  fathered vowed for. The story is mainly based on morality, greed, poverty, women’s position in the Japanese society and redemption.  It is a nature’s nature not  to  demonstrate mercy ,  however  mercy  is  completely inherent  in nurturing  human beings, even  when  mercy  seems  to have  been  hindered  by the loads of suffering (Mori  7).  For Matsu he needed to survive so that he can accompany his sister to meet their parents (Karimberdi 33:32).  He did not want to abandon his father’s virtues by becoming cruel to the slaves who wanted to escape and die free but he had no option.  He showed no mercy nor compassion as his father had always urged.  Brutality  was his only way of surviving  through  slavery  and get an opportunity  to  escape  to meet  his separated  parents.

Sanshō the Bailiff presents a story for a time when mankind had not stimulated as full human beings which is a grief’s story.  The film is the greatest on the grounds of all the films produced by Japanese since it is an emotional and tragic shattering movie (Mori, Dilworth, and Rimer 153).  The  movie  is generally about  the virtues  for a young man which are  altered and tortured , and in the end emerging  to be  triumphant  partially. The film was produced in a period of brutality in the Heian period since the ethical governor stood ground on compassion and love virtues.  The governor held that a man can be compared to a beast without the existence of mercy, all humans are created as equals and thus everyone is entitled to happiness (Mori 6).  The story is no doubt a wrench tears its existing injustices being demonstrated at the end by the mercy and compassion virtues. Anjou and Zushio endures numerous years of slave’s hardship as they work for a ruthless Sansho Bailiff. However Taro who is Sansho’s son does not agree with the treatment and to hide their identity they are given other names and urged to bear the tormenting (Karimberdi 36:17).  Mutsu  forgets his  father’s virtues of and in order to survive  he adopts  prayer and  hope  futility  and  abandons  compassion  as he is  ordered to kill other slaves.

In conclusion, the notion that individuals hold little sympathy for matters that does not particularly apprehend them is well demonstrated both in the story and the film. This is accomplished with an adequate revelation of humanity depression as well as injustices in the slavery period.  The story is grounded on performing the right things as well as performing against the majority that holds contrary views.  The governor’s nobility in particular was destroyed which caused an assessment of righteousness over the continuous history driven by corruption and chaos.  ‘’Sanshō the Steward” and Sanshō the Bailiff’’ are saddening  relation  that  does not offer  any comic relief but offers  an affective  and  wrenching  satisfaction  and thus ranked  amongst the  highest  resolutions among  all the  foreign films.

 

 

 

 

            Work Cited

Karimberdi. Sansho the Bailiff (1954). Retrieved from http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x10ckxw_sansho-the-bailiff-1954-pt-1_creation

Mori, Ōgai, David A. Dilworth, and J T. Rimer. The Historical Fiction of Mori Ōgai. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1991. Print.

 Ogai Mori. Sansho the Steward (1862- 1922). translated By Rinner J. Thomas. PDF