[Week 7] Essay - Japanese Fairy Tales vs Modern Entertainment

(Creepy Japanese dolls from Wikimedia Commons)

                While I was reading the stories in the Japanese Fairy Tales (Ozaki) unit, I realized that it had something in common with the other Japanese unit that I read. The stories in both of them tend to differ from the other things I’ve read for this class in that they are less tragic. Most of the ones I’ve read either end tragically or in a gory way, or they contain similar elements. The Japanese stories sometimes have sad elements but the imagery tends to be less disturbing and it usually ends on a good note. In many cases, the ending will say something like, “and he lived happily for many years until the end of their days, and their children took over the farm and it was very prosperous.”

                This was also surprising to me because in most of the modern Japanese media I’ve read or watched, the themes tend to be pretty tragic. There are many dramas (TV series) that centers on the main character’s last days before they die of a horrible illness. A lot of movies have also been made that are full of gore and horror. I don’t watch much anime, but from what I’ve seen and heard there are a lot of series that have the same kind of tragic subject matters.

                Of course, not all modern Japanese media is like this. Japan is also famous for its crazy variety shows and adorable cartoons. In my experience, though, there seems to be an equal amount of dark stories in a way that I'm not really used to seeing as an American. After reading such nice Japanese fairy tales, I can’t help but wonder if there was a reason for a shift in interest. People don’t talk about it much so I’m not sure if it’s true, but I’ve heard that there was a big shift in thinking in Japan after WWII (or earlier) similar to the shift that took place in Germany. Perhaps the dark history of their country has lead writers to focus on the darker parts of life.