MovieChat Forums > Tôkyô monogatari (1972) Discussion > Shige a Villain? (Minor Spoilers)

Shige a Villain? (Minor Spoilers)

posted 19 years ago by Xuesheng
8 replies | jump to latest

On my first viewing of the film, I was struck by how much the characters of the film resembled my own extended family. The character of Shige (the daughter who runs the beauty salon), in particular, has an uncanny semblance of an aunt of mine, from her penny-pinching ways to her brash way of speaking.

I never thought of Shige as despicable person, however. Yes, she is not as generous with her parents as she ought to be, and she's more than a little thoughtless, but she seems entirely too ordinary and human to be "the bad guy." I was surprised, then, to hear a commentary track which labeled her as essentially the villain of the story. She, along with her complacent doctor brother, are faulted for not being considerate enough of the elderly parents.

I found this a bit unfair as I would characterize the children's actions as merely commonplace and self-absorbed rather than villainous. Granted, they should and could have done more--but they had their own lives and own worries as well. I guess what I’m trying to say is that I have difficulty in condemning the children, even Shige.

What do you all think? Was Shige a villain?

[–] RossLikesMovies 19 years ago

I certainly think that she is the villain. Near the end where she breaks down in tears seems phony to me. Though most reviews I've read think that this is genuine anguish. I suppose its a matter of opinion but on the basis that she is so cold throughout the parents visit makes me feel that she is crying out of duty. Also the way she takes her mothers clothes very soon after she has died suggests that she isn't that upset. But I also think she may act in this way as a kind of cover, as if she thinks that she cannot show emotion as the rest of the family know her as a cold bitch. Another fact that suggests phonyness is the comment she makes about her mother embarassing her as a child. She was fat and once broke a chair. She may have come to hate her for always embarassing her.

Hard to say really.

[–] spqrclaudius 19 years ago

I tend to agree with the original poster--I think that she was only a "villain" insofar as she was a source of a lot of negative behavior, not that she was basically depicted as a wicked person. Essentially, I agree that her faults were self-absorption and general callousness.

The reasons I believe that her character's "evil" is somewhat mitigated is:

1. The whole point of the movie is bound to the sad fact that in the western(ized) world, children grow up and become so caught up in lives of their own that they neglect their parents. That's why the line "isn't life disappointing" is so poignant, and why the kind daughter in law tries to explain to the youngest daughter that the selfish behavior of the older children is natural considering their age and their own problems. Shige is a married woman who has a career; part of the reason the daughter in law is sympathetic to the parents is that she is also so alone in her life--I think she realizes that if she had a family of her own, she might also be more callous and self-absorbed, hence her self-loathing toward the end and her line that she might become that way "in spite of herself."

2. Shige seemed sincere when reminiscing about the boat ride after the funeral. She also seemed sincere when she expressed frustration that her father drank too much and caused her mother heartache.

3. The father says that Shige used to be "much nicer," or something to that effect, but that "a married daughter is like a stranger." This shows the film puts more of a blame on circumstances than on her character.

Still, despite all of this, I do believe that although Shige is not evil, she is not of a strong or essentially caring character. I think that the daughter-in-law character shows the possibility of basically good people who still make an effort to care about others, but that they're rare for a reason. It's easier for others to kowtow to circumstances and become blind to the hearts of others.

[–] Mentalillnesscredentials 18 years ago

If one was to apply the funky Vladimir Propp theory to Tokyo Story, Shige would probably be labelled so, though I wouldn't say it's necessarily the case.

[–] 18 years ago

[deleted]

[–] kerpan 18 years ago

...not a villain.

Her "stinginess" is so pronounced, it is intended to make one smile. And yet, when she gets her comeuppance (when her drunk father and his friend show up in the middle of the night), the obvious comedy is laced with a certain degree of pain. She would have experienced such behavior on a frequent basis when she was a little child -- and it would have been "scary" to her.

Good analysis , Xuesheng!

MEK

Every dream is a prophecy: every jest is an earnest in the womb of Time.

[–] PoppyTransfusion 9 years ago

Shige was not a villain and those who label her so lack some sense of life and its characters to judge her so.

A bird sings and the mountain's silence deepens.

[–] Aticusfinch 8 years ago

Forgive me for my rudeness, but rather than a villain I would say that the proper word to describe her is "b...h." There are many traces of it along the movie:

She obviously ressents her mother - her first comments are that she embarrassed her because of her size and than told that stupid anecdote with the chair, this meaning: "I thought you were great till´I realized that you´re only human"-.

She ressents her father as well for having been a heavy drinker; I recognize that that´s a better reason but as I understand it, drinking is pretty much a social habit in Japan rather than a private vice. Also the fact that the father stopped drinking when Kyoko was born hints at Kyoko being his prefered daughter and being disappointed with Shige.

The whole Atami springs thing was a ruse to get them out of her home; she obviously cannot simulate her dismay when they come back so soon and immediately tries to convince them to spend the night outside - and it´s probably no mere coincidence that the father gets drunk that same night.

She puts much more emphasis on the facade; she tells off Kyoko and Noriko for not bringing in the mourning clothes, when it´s obvious that they mourn the mother much more sincerely than Shige.

The cream of the crop; she has such a contempt for her parents that she even negates them and tells that client that they´re friends. If it wasn´t for anything else that alone would disqualify her as a daughter and as a person.

[–] [deleted] 9 months ago

she wasn't very nice.