Cultural Values in Sakura Sögo
KRWH
(Note: Can't figure out how to get footnotes to paste in - will play around and keep trying in the next hour or so)
As Anne Walthall notes in her anthology of Japanese peasant uprisings, national folk tales, such as the story of Sakura Sögorö can allow readers to “tap the sources of the nation’s most enduring ideals, myths, aspirations, and historical griefs.” This rings true even when examining an image of the story, as with the print of Sakura leaving his family by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. The image portrays a loving, emotional man who is heartbroken at the task of deserting his family and facing almost certain death. At first glance, this print of Sakura appears to be a contradiction to the standard perception of Tokugawa culture as revering samurai valor, warfare, masculine strength, and obedience, as is expressed in the “Way of the Samurai.”
Rather than depicting the heroic act of surprising the shogun with the petition or Sakura’s brave acceptance of death, Tsukioka choses to capture a tender moment shared between the peasant and his children; and his clearly distressed wife. The print emphasizes the emotional aspect of Sakura’s task and his dedication to his family. His role as a fighter is played down, with a face that shows sadness - not steel resolve - and a subtle, almost hidden sword. These careful choices can be understood as evidence of an additional, yet equally important aspect of Tokugawa culture in this period. Tsukioka’s depiction of the story presents Sakura as “the peasant martyr,” reflecting the emerging respect for the values of selflessness, honor, and sacrifice.
Thus, this print was produced in order to capture and praise the values that Sakura represents, rather than detail the exact events. The print contains no hint of the time period, location, or specifics of the event, and is not a very logical portrayal. The family is shown in quite ornate, colorful dress, yet the broken, decaying house is a sign of their alleged poverty. But, this lack of attention to detail would not have been damaging to the print’s reception. The vagueness allows the image to be universally acceptable to the general public who were accustomed to the many versions of the story that was memorialized in plays and folklore throughout Japan. It was produced much later (1885) than the event is said to have occurred, and as a print would have been accessible throughout Japan, a testament to the enduring popularity and general appreciation for what Sakura Sögorö stands for.
The set of cultural values that Tsukioka captured and praised in this image are reflective of the overall changes that were occurring in this historical period of peace and prosperity. Japanese society had undergone a massive shift as the samurai class were no longer needed as solely war-faring people; they were now regulated to administrative and civilian tasks. With this new role had come a change in the definition of the samurai, and thus the ideals of masculinity. Fighting skills, pointless death, and valor were less respected; rather, qualities such as honor, duty, and selflessness emerged as the most important. Whilst not himself a samurai, Sakura Sögorö was still admired for encapsulating these heroic qualities, as was represented and circulated through this print.