One of the perennial traps of political commentary is that it encourages us to make hard-edged, definitive statements about subjects we know little about. "America is a racist country," "the Japanese are a group-oriented people," these are the kinds of words that flow easily off the tongue when we wish to judge an entire culture at once. One of the worst things any of us can say to a political radical when we wish to sympathize with their cause and they wish us to act upon it right away is "Let me think about it." In response to such a lack of urgency they will tell us, "But you are not thinking critically enough!" to which we can only say, "Well, neither are you."
One of the outstanding features of the 2022 NHK drama KAZE YO, ARASHI YO is that it asks us to understand its subjects first before we come to any judgment about them. That requirement alone will rankle political activists, for one of their abiding credos, regardless of political affiliation, is that a person's biography, personality, or character has absolutely nothing to do with winning the political battle. The drama honors two great political activists from a hundred years ago, Ito Noe and Osugi Sakae, by attempting to give us insight about who they were as people first before telling us about the causes they fought for. The drama doesn't shy away from showing us their tragic end and the kind of culture that would crush them. Historians of anarchism and feminism will probably be dissatisfied with the portrait, but this drama isn't really aimed at them. Since I am interested in anarchism, I have had Osugi's writings in my "To Be Read" pile of books for a while now. The name Ito Noe was completely new to me. So I am the kind of person the NHK production was aimed at, and having been delighted, moved, and provoked by the story, I am now inspired to learn more about its subjects.
For those of us currently watching this year's NHK Taiga drama HIKARU KIMI E, and are delighted by Yoshitaka Yuriko's depiction of the literary genius Murasaki Shikibu, this drama is a great one to watch, for she plays a writer once again, and is convincing once again in playing the part of a highly passionate person, even though Yoshitaka's style itself is largely intelligent, reserved, and sweet. She doesn't come across as an intellectual, scholar, or firebrand at all, so it is interesting to observe the way she successfully portrays Ito Noe the radical. That she played Ito Noe as a woman first before we ever really see her as an activist is what makes this drama a moving, meaningful one to watch.
Ito Noe's introduction into the world of literature and political activism came from the example of her teacher, who not only inspired her to do great work but who also asked her to be his wife. As the drama depicts it, the marriage is another instance of Ito's knack for accomplishing what she sets her mind to do long before she ever considers the consequences of her actions. One of the things I learned from KAZE YO ARASHI YO is that back in the Taisho Era, people with a desire to become a writer could go to something of a dojo to learn the craft as one would a martial art. In this respect, Ito's greater teacher was Hiratsuka Raicho, a name that will be familiar to those of us with an appreciation for Japanese literature, played by Matsushita Nao. As a writer, activist, and woman, she was already accomplished, and saw promise in Ito, and for those reasons understood the challenges she faced greater than Ito's husband did, greatly encouraging though he was.
It's a shame that this drama was limited to only three episodes, what amounts to a movie feature. Raicho is a significant historical actor, whose ideas about motherhood and unconventional sexual arrangements were highly controversial for her time. We see the influence Raicho has on Ito, but I didn't really get to feel much for Raicho because she serves as no more than a character without trajectory, a figurehead, a series of gestures for the sake of Ito's story. Ito, as she began to move past her husband's influence, was highly unconventional too, but we don't really see the direct influence Raicho's teaching had on Ito's choices either, only that Ito imitated her and aspired to her position in society.
In a scene like the following one, Ito looks upon Raicho's fearlessness and social power with admiration and awe, but in a rather innocent, naïve, pure way. We can assign this to Ito's youth, but as the drama develops Ito never really loses her innocence and purity, which is fascinating to watch considering that she is also seen to be taking on important social issues for which being innocent and pure of heart can only serve as a handicap. One of the great questions the drama is asking is, will the woman still be able to be a woman through the corrupting influence of politics and ambition? This is a very important question that has not lost its steam, for many feminists today write and speak and act as if the question of biology is of no concern. Because the drama honors this question, not only does it show respect to women's biology, it shows respect to the most important, highly debated aspects of the Japanese feminist movement of Ito's time. If all feminism was really about was gaining the vote for all, I don't think we'd still be arguing about it today.
An acolyte of Raicho and the magazine she heads (青鞜, or "Bluestocking," amusingly), Ito notices in the streetcar that female students are reading Raicho's words that announce "I Am The New Woman." A little research tells us that this essay from Raicho was published in the journal Chuokoron in 1913 (Year 2 of the Taisho Era). This excites Ito to see directly the impact words can have on a readership, only to see the authorities put an end to it right away in the form of a classically gruff, overzealous, censorious police officer (whenever I think of the authorities of the time that's exactly how I picture them). How could such boring trash ever get published in magazines, the officer wonders. A man who can do nothing but bark (like a dog) is even more boring than that, says Raicho.
This is a charming scene played light, but it foreshadows a darker time when Koreans living in Japan will get blamed for the 1923 earthquake, an ugly moment in Japanese history the drama touches upon to show a facet of Ito and Osugi's philosophy.
Though Yoshitaka was excellent for showing us Ito Noe as a woman more than as an activist, the real star of this drama was Nagayama Eita for his portrayal of the anarchist Osugi Sakae. I have seen Eita in over a half dozen dramas, and because of his warmth and good nature, of that very pleasing, rare quality he has, I find it impossible to dislike anything he does. He played an anarchist the way I would expect one to be played. A sense for irony doesn't suit feminists very well not unlike having a sense for common decency does an anarchist. Any women gifted with a natural wit, something few people possess, understands that she would be squandering her true talents if she ever committed to politics. Whenever we run through our minds the most noteworthy feminists over the past 150 years, ones with a knack for wit do not come to mind. I have read hundreds of pages from Simone de Beauvoir's memoirs, and though I have enjoyed reading them, not once have I ever cracked a smile. Not true for the anarchists. I am thinking specifically of the French art critic Félix Fénéon. When he was put on trial for suspected terrorism, and questioned under oath, he was asked about a time when he was spotted speaking with an anarchist behind a gas lamppost. Seeking clarification, Fénéon asked the prosecutor what part of a gas lamp is its behind? Joan Ungersma Halperin had published an excellent biography of Fénéon in 1988, and the minutes of his trial show that he had many ready-at-hand quips like these.
Eita plays the anarchist Osugi Sakae in this same spirit. I was pleased that the drama showed that anarchists like Osugi were engaged with the French intellectuals of their time, as we can see in the writings of the poet and feminist Yosano Akiko, and so I'd like to imagine Osugi was engaged with the thought of Fénéon as Yosano was with the poet Stéphane Mallarmé. I don't see much wit among the Japanese literary class of today, but I could be just looking in the wrong places. If the French model has been supplanted by the American model, that would certainly explain it. We are good at sarcasm, snark, and honest, biting commentary, but wit and subtlety is absolutely not one of our strengths.
In the following scene we can see Osugi's anarchism at work in the realm of human relations. Osugi and his comrade Watanabe witnessed Ito's breakout speech at a conference where she established a name for herself as an advocate for women's rights. It was a remarkable performance, and the two men have come to pay her a visit at her home a year and a half later with strong memories of it. However, Osugi cannot help but express disapproval with what he sees, and, sounding rather like a traditionalist, his words wound Ito.
Watanabe, seeking to create an alliance between leading thinkers on feminism and anarchism, introduces Osugi to Ito by telling her how greatly impressed Osugi was with her speech at the conference. Osugi says indeed, it was wonderful. Ito, moved by the gesture, that he would even go so far as to come and meet her face to face, takes it as a great honor. Osugi says it is he who wishes to pay his respect.
All is well until the baby begins to cry, and Ito needs to attend to him right away. Watanabe responds as anyone would respond, by commenting on how cute the baby is. Maybe because his tone reminds me of so many elders I have met, Ishibashi Renji's 子どもは実にかわいいよ [Aww, your baby is truly a cute one] I find especially delightful. But Osugi isn't impressed with neither Ito's mothering, nor the baby, and let's her know it. "It has only been a year and a half since we've last met. It's amazing how women can change in a blink of an eye. Look at you, the complete mother now."
Does Osugi mean it or is he just trying to provoke Ito? I would say that this is normal anarchist behavior, at least for its time (today's most notable anarchist Noam Chomsky isn't very amusing or subtle either), and judging by Eita's acting it looks like Osugi's remarks are meant to be seen as kidding, but with a kind of joke that is meant to hit at the truth. So you think you're a radical, huh? he is telling her. Aren't you just doing what every other woman is doing, raising a child, being loyal to your husband? Aren't you being a little hypocritical demanding that the system should change?
Ito's response, where she takes Osugi's comments very personally and where her emotions are written all over her face, shows how unprepared she is for real political battle. She shows no ability to strike back like Raicho had when she responded to the officer in the streetcar.
Eita's brilliance in the scene is shown when Ito's husband returns home. As a political liberal and a scholar the husband couldn't show any more contempt for Osugi if he tried, mistrusting him and his politics in a way that his wife cannot seem to resist. And maybe he knows that too, because he sees that she has allowed this anarchist into their home. Obviously Osugi's reputation precedes him. But Osugi shows no desire at all to subordinate himself to Ito's husband. Notice the way Osugi cheekily introduces himself, not taking the introduction very seriously. He most definitely gets a rise out of the husband, which isn't that difficult to do. The husband shows his contempt for the anarchist. This was the reaction Osugi wanted. And yet watch the way the drama filmed Eita and stayed focused on his reaction. Now this is great acting. We have a pretty good sense for the range of emotions Eita is processing, from disgust at being looked down upon by his superiors again to self-satisfaction for having gotten a rise out of one of them. What a first-rate scene.
Taken at face value, this scene would tell us that Osugi and Ito are off to a rough start. But soon they will develop a relationship as comrades and lovers, enough that Ito decides to leave her husband behind.
Throughout the drama, Ito is shown responding to the plight of others without much regard for rationality and discussion. When she hears about a humanitarian crisis that involves an entire village submerged due to flooding, we see her eyes well up with tears rather than say something that we might say, like, "Oh, isn't that awful," for instance, before we get back to working on one of our petty, daily tasks.
With her feminine compassion and common decency and his genius for political strategy and planning combined with his fearlessness in the face of public scrutiny, Ito and Osugi make for a good couple. But not in the eyes of the majority of their country, then or now. If NHK is treating the lives of these two individuals as recently as the year 2022 then that must mean that Ito Noe and Osugi Sakae have gained public acceptance. But it is obvious to anyone who scans the culture that most viewers of Japanese television drama prefer cute and relatable couples over the politically engaged and controversial ones.
With that in mind, there was a key scene late in the drama where Osugi's comrades, seeking leadership, wonder why Osugi isn't responding immediately to a crisis involving the abuse of Koreans. They are being over emotional and responding without thinking clearly. Osugi levels his comrade with a strong left hand and berates him for being stupid about the political reality. Anarchism and terrorism are not the same thing, screams Osugi while pinning his comrade down, get that through your thick head! Ito, frightened by seeing Osugi act violently, nonetheless is shown nodding along. Osugi, feeling a little bad now after having knocked his comrade down, gives him some important advice: 自分よがりの革命なんてくそ食らえだろう [To hell with any revolution that cares only for itself.] It is truly stunning how easily that thought is lost on our political classes and the political movements of our time.
[Photo: 吉高由里子 Yoshitaka Yuriko, promotional photo for the 2022 風よ あらしよ Kaze Yo Arashi Yo, from the drama's website]
Scripts
風よ あらしよ From Episode 1
Noe: らいてうさん
Woman 1: ご覧になって 「新しい女」ですって
Woman 2: へえ
Policeman: つまらねえ雑誌 出してんじゃねえ
Noe: 大丈夫ですか
Raicho: ただほえてるの男のほうが よっぽどつまらないわ
Magazine article title: 「私は新しい女である」
風よ あらしよ From Episode 2
Watanabe: ほら 去年の２月にやった 青鞜社の講演会あったろ
Noe: ええ
Watanabe: あのときの君の言葉を聞いて 大杉君 えらく感動したんだ
Osugi: すばらしかった
Noe: 大杉さんに そう思っていたかけるなんて 光栄です。まさかこうしてお会いできるなんて ありがとうございます
Osugi: いやいや 僕がお礼を言いたい
Noe: ああ そんな あっ すみません はいはい 坊や どうしたの
Watanabe: かわいいね 子どもは 実にかわいいよ
Osugi: あれから まだ１年半ほどなのに 女の人は あっという間に変わっちまうもんだな
Noe: えっ
Osugi: もう すっかりお母さんだ
Watanabe: おっ 君のお帰りかな
Noe: おかえりなさい
Watanabe: よう
Osugi: お留守の間 お邪魔してすいません 大杉栄と申します