Yiming: Against the samurai in the name of samurai

Delia 2022-01-23 08:04:30

As a master of Cult movies, Miike Takashi has made action movies that are full of blood and violence. He is recognized as one of the representatives of violent aesthetics. He came to make a remake of "Cutting the Abdomen", which has the symbolic meaning of Japanese Bushido. He thought it would be bloody and violent, but the result was not. On the contrary, it was restrained enough and essentially launched an anti-samurai movie. It advocates not violence, no To cut the belly in order to cut the belly, it is the hypocritical and pretentious mockery of Bushido, as well as the criticism of class antagonism, and the discussion of real and fake warriors are very deep and unexpected.



Of course, that kind of ridicule and criticism was even more obvious in "Cutting the Abdomen" filmed in 1962. Takashi Miike was used in the script as a remake, so this kind of ridicule and criticism will inevitably be preserved. However, the new version is no longer called "Cut Abdomen", but "Yi Ming", which in fact shows that the main theme has been shifted. The critical function has been weakened a lot. In fact, the old version of "Cutting the Abdomen" has become a classic, and it has distinct characteristics of the times. In the early 1960s, Japan's economic and political influence was increasing day by day in the world, just like China today. In this process, some radical leftists have a critical attitude towards society, such as the old director Masaki Kobayashi, who chose to make the original novel by the novelist Yasuhiko Takiguchi into a movie, which reflects exactly Criticism of some stale things in traditional society, and at the same time full of sympathy for the upper and lower classes of society. This is a typical leftist thinking. In the 1960s, the world was experiencing such a trend. Needless to say, China's anti-rightist movement was in full swing, and the Cultural Revolution was about to kick off. At the same time, the leftists in France like Europe are also eager to try, and the United States is also experiencing the Beat generation and the hippie movement. The appearance of "Cutting the Abdomen" at this time catered to this trend, manifesting its criticism of the powerful and sympathy for the middle and lower classes in society. Time has passed, and the social ethos of the 1960s is really not enough to advocate. After the rush of thought, the result is the general loss of the world in the 1970s. It is easy for the old order to be destroyed, but it is more difficult to re-establish it. Until now, the global cultural order may not have fully recovered. Especially my Huanghuang Dynasty, I am still lost in ideology and culture, rushing from left to right and unable to find the right way.



So, although many people say "Slit Abdomen" is better, I don't like it very much. However, "Yi Ming" greatly downplays the political metaphors in "Cutting the Abdomen", but condenses the main theme to personal destiny, paying more attention to the individual's life. This has a lot to do with today's social construction. The establishment of a healthy order in modern society requires the emergence of upright social citizens. When every individual is filled with the master's mentality, the scattered sand can also become a tower, and a good society depends on every individual. Rather than conversely, there will be the collective first and then the individual. This kind of wrong thinking harms us for too long. "Cutting the Abdomen" emphasizes social criticism, and "Yi Ming" emphasizes respect for the individual. In fact, each has its own merits. "Yi Ming" emphasizes the respect for individual life, the protection of individual dignity, and the promotion of individual spirit, presenting a different samurai film.



The so-called Bushido emphasizes dignity and respect for superiors. Dr. Nitoto Inazo said in his book "Bushido": Bushido means to bear the responsibility of "shame" for one's own conscience, that is, a samurai. Don't do shameful things, otherwise you have to accept punishment. In dignity, the samurai's judgment of oneself is the greatest safeguard of one's dignity, so "cutting the belly" becomes the last choice to preserve dignity. The cruel ritual of "cutting the abdomen" was chosen because the ancients believed that the human soul exists in the internal organs. Cutting the abdomen and letting the internal organs flow out can witness the purity of the soul, and then accept the pain before death. It is the performance of self-punishment that has the meaning of responsibility.



The types of "cut belly" mainly include: 1. Failure in war; 2. Responsibility: taking responsibility for negligence; 3. Sacrifice: saving the lives of subordinates or colleagues with one's own sacrifice; 4. Remonstration: to persuade the lord ; 5. Reputation: martyrdom in order to save his face; 6. First abdomen: set foot on the path of death before the lord; : In order to bring blessings to the family and descendants; 10. Interrogation: Caesarean section that drank tears of regret; 11. Anger: Caesarean section that was indignant at the sin of unfoundedness; 12. Sentence: Penalty for samurai only. The above are the reasons for the samurai to choose, but in "Yi Ming", there is the thirteenth kind, that is, the hypothesis is smashed, that is, the unowned samurai, the ronin, goes to the daimyo's house, and borrows the treasure. In order to preserve the samurai's final dignity, the daimyo is either kind or impatient, and often prevents him from cutting his belly, or accepting or giving money to dismiss the matter. As a result, it created a ethos, and hypothetical stubbornness became popular for a while, and it became an embarrassing behavior that insulted Bushido. Just like Kong Yiji wearing a long gown but committing himself to the poor streets and doing some sneaky tricks, he is naturally despised by Confucianism and Taoism, thinking it is insulting to gentleman.



In "Yi Ming", in order to treat his wife and children on the bed, the poor scholar Qian Qianyan had to go to the home of Ii, the important minister of the Tokugawa shogunate, to use the porch. As a result, the veteran Saito of the Jingyi family was persuaded by his retainer, Xiezawa, to make the fake play, and really borrowed the land to let Qian Qianyan perform a abdominal incision. Qian Qianyan was shocked, and had to use the bamboo knife in his hand to cut his belly, completing a very miserable scene. As a result of Saito's actions, not only Qian Qianyan died, but also Qian Qianyan's wife and children who were waiting for Qian Qianyan at home died because they missed the chance to treat and follow each other. A tragedy caused an even greater tragedy. In grief and anger, Senchiiwa’s father-in-law, Tsumo Hanshiro, was in righteous anger. He also wanted to prove to Saito what a true samurai is and what a fake samurai is. Saito's samurai fought the flowers and water, and at the same time proved that they are not true samurai, they are all clowns for their own destiny. Tsumo Hanshiro defeated a samurai with Senseniwa's wooden sword, and then with the courage of moths to fight the fire, he calmly died.



A person is inherently dead, either lighter than a feather, or heavier than Mount Tai. As a scholar, Qianqianyan is wise and shameful, but in order to save his family, he has made the last move. As a samurai who pays attention to dignity and the spirit of Bushido, there is something wrong with him, but it is excusable; and Tsuun Hanshiro Knowing that he died, he even flew moths to the fire, first exposed the hypocritical masks of Xiezawa and others, and then mocked the so-called Bushido, tearing apart the rigid and stubborn orthodoxy. It's like Jing Ke's assassination of Qin. Although he was unsuccessful, he still gave a warning and left a deadly sound.



Orthodoxy can be changed. Confucius lamented the loss of the Zhou system, the collapse of rituals and music, and the unrest of the people. But unexpectedly, this kind of sigh, not only Confucius, has become the theme of every era in the future. Even today, the post-60s are still lamenting the dissatisfaction of the post-80s. In ancient times, the post-80s lamented that post-00s are hopeless. Like Bushido, I’m afraid that there won’t be much in Japan today. Looking back, to the early days of the Tokugawa Shogunate, there is also the problem of the Bushido spirit not being retro. This kind of vision is also very interesting to see "Ichimei". Things.

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Extended Reading
  • Vaughn 2022-03-14 14:12:29

    One bamboo knife, one leaf and fruit, the surviving life is left in vain. Three ounces of money and three top buns, the red armor was helpless to correct it again. Fifteen abdominal incisions, a broken egg, and a dead cat are all magical strokes, and every stroke hits the dead spot. Instead of focusing on class antagonisms and focusing on Bushido itself, the overall priorities are just right, but killing the array is a failure. It's a pity that it tastes right, it tastes too right.

  • Francesco 2022-04-21 09:03:24

    What kind of bravery, kindness, courtesy, sincerity, loyalty, and kindness between real men and fake samurai?

Hara-Kiri: Death of a Samurai quotes

  • Motome Chijiiwa: A husband must provide for his wife and child.

  • Hanshirô Tsugumo: They taste better with someone.