Ergo Murasaki?
Murasaki is an odd little girl. Disurbing, even. Last night, I watched episodes 3 and 4 of Kure-nai and it’s striking just how composed and eloquent she is for a 7-year-old, so much so that, at some points, I started to question her purpose in the story. After all, if she isn’t a realistic character, what purpose is she serving? A proxy for the likes of director Kou Matsuo, perhaps? Obviously, Murasaki looks like a young child, all innocent and wide-eyed, and therefore, she isn’t expected to play by society’s unspoken rules of etiquette. She can point out how hypocritical and self-centered the adult-world often is without much reproach. Specifically, I’m thinking of when she steps up to those granny-bashing train-punks and gets all worked up; it’s almost as if Matsuo is exploiting her unique perspective (as a child) to criticize Japan’s lack of morality.
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She’s definitely an exaggerated character - I’m pretty interested in how her role as outsider/social critic relates to her upbringing. She isn’t so much devoid of etiquette as she is acting according to the manners of an old-school pampered rich kid. Makes a fascinating contrast to Shinkurou too.
Don’t know if you’ve seen this piece on the train-scene - http://animegeijitsu.wordpress.com/2008/04/22/kure-nai-murasaki-and-japans-culture/
What irks me more than anything about Murasaki is her inability to understand the nuances of power in situations of moral hazard. Of course, she has seen first hand how society’s customs can fall insufficient to protect the weakest individuals. And maybe from that she irrationally seeks overcompensation: correction of every wrongdoing at every turn. But I feel drawn to Shinkurou’s sense of morality, which may be the show’s point. That violence is not a valid judgment upon immorality. That it should be used to protect one’s beliefs, and not as an instrument of coercion.
Murasaki’s purpose is to be herself (however unrealistic that may be) because Shinkuro isn’t. Simple as that.
that said, i think her naming was rather purposeful, being named after after Murasaki Shikibu, of ‘Tale of Genji’ fame, who was nicknamed as such after the character within the novel, and her upbringing seems to follow both, to a certain extent. Notably the author Murasaki’s mother died young, and the character Murasaki, an orphan, is held in isolation by Genji as he teaches her to be “the perfect lady”. Throughout the ridiculously long novel, Murasaki, nestled away in Kyoto, often serves as Genji’s relief from the Edo court life/drama/etc, and though he never marries her (and instead, has countless affairs and other wives) by most literaries who study the novel, Murasaki is considered Genji’s true love.
If we further this comparison and set Shinkurou as Genji.. well, that’s too much for me to handle at 11:30 at night, but let me note that Genji’s mother died young as well, though his father surrvived to old age.
this was a longer comment than i expected it to be. and probably irrelevant, but oh well.
@coburn: On that contrast with Shinkurou, I do wonder whether Murasaki exists just to critique him (and by extension, Japanese society as a whole). I wonder if she has much else to offer though? And that review you’ve linked says the exact same thing, it wasn’t plagiarism, honest!
@Dan: That’s an interesting way of looking at it. Though Murasaki berated him for it, you’re actually more inclined towards Shinkurou’s perspective? To be honest, I agree with you, in that her idealism (and therefore, the moral values the writers are trying to force on us) is naive and not applicable to the real world. Perhaps more importantly, as you so well put it, Shinkurou’s refusal to use his overwhelming strength was, though at first quite frustrating, far more reassuring with hindsight. Thinking about it, that reminds me of a certain scene from One Piece!
@Celeste: This ‘Tale of Genji’ sounds quite sad. I guess I’ve always found it hard to accept this kind of ’secret lover’ story, I see it as a terrible waste of life to have spent so much time living in the shadows of others. It strikes me as incredibly selfish on the part of Genji too. Love conquers all though, right? Anyway, going what you’ve said, I don’t think there’s any doubt that Kure-nai was heavily influenced by that novel.
I’m not sure if social commentary was the main aim in these scenes but they certainly point out a few things about human nature. I daresay it was trying to highlight how Murasaki and Shinkuro react differently in certain situations, and how they might learn from each other too. I won’t fill up too much space here when I covered this topic at length in my own blog but I do think the dynamic between the two of them goes a long way to making the show so special. Although there is a strong moral element I think Murasaki has far too much depth and personality to be a mere channel for the writer’s own points of view.
Am I the only one incredibly perplexed by people calling Murasaki “this season’s most realistic 7 year old”? Kyōko of Dennou Coil is much more in-line with what I expect from a realistic 7 year old; a snotty runt that’s constantly running around screaming “poop” at everyone. Murasaki is anything but realistic, which, I guess, is what makes her character seem so vivid.
@ Paul- no, you not the only one perplex by people judgement on Murasaki, but probably for a different reason. My perlexion is more wondering how many 7 year old children most people know who make that comment. Teach quite a few and they do range from Kyoko to Murasaki in temperament, curiosity and moral values (nothing like getting morally bitch slapped by a 7yr old).
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