Double Suicide

Double Suicide

Double Suicide (Shinjû ten no Amijima), originated as a puppet drama written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon in 1721 and was met with much success. The play was said to be based off of real life events that had happened the previous year. Double Suicide is the story of a paper merchant who forsakes his family for the love of a courtesan. Their forbidden love is wrought with heartbreak and contradictions that eventually end in death. The director Masahiro Shinoda beautifully translated the story from the play into a melodramatic film that was created in 1969. The characters Jihei and Koharu both face ethical and moral dilemmas which are enhanced by the overwhelming emotions and violence in the film.

Ninjō and Giri

One of the main themes of the film is the battle between ninjō (emotions) and giri (duty to society). Jihei's battle is between the responsibility he has for his family and business (giri) against the love he holds for Koharu (ninjō). In the pursuit of his love, he loses his family, and the failure to fulfil his duties as husband and father pushes him toward suicide. Koharu experiences a battle of her own between her duties as a courtesan and her love for Jihei. However, she also faces another element - her duty to Osan (Jihei's wife) who requests for Koharu to leave Jihei and her family alone, and which presents itself as a form of giri. They both are unsuccessful in fulfilling their societal responsibilities and so choose suicide as the release from all duty.

In addition to the battles present for each character, there is an overarching ethical dilemma. The question that is presented is: Should you leave your family for a courtesan? As the story goes, the answer is 'no'. Ninjō, in the presence of giri, is not possible unless one wishes for the story to end in death.

The Duality of Good and Evil -- The Wife and the Courtesan

Osan, no doubt, presents as an ‘ideal wife’ and is morally correct throughout the film. In spite of her husband’s infidelity and lack of attention, she does her best to raise the kids and operate the business. She goes as far as to defend Jihei in front of her parents when he says he has forgotten about Koharu. She is also the moral opposite of Koharu, who, in stealing away someone’s husband and plotting suicide with them, attempts to save both from taking their lives. Even as a scorned wife, she feels duty to save the life of her husband’s lover.

The contradiction between good and evil confuses itself in the film and overturns the traditional social structure. Osan, because she is married, and to a business owner, should have social standing and power above Koharu. However, Osan finds herself begging Koharu to leave Jihei alone. The act of a proper wife begging to the ‘lowly’ courtesan is backward and offers a distorted view of the powers of love and duty. Love, disguising itself as being the stronger of the two, finds a way for Jihei and Koharu to come together and consummate their love. That may have been their initial goal, to be together, but in the end, the morally impure (Jihei and Koharu), sacrifice themselves for the failure in duty to the morally intact (Osan).

This duality is augmented by the fact that Osan and Koharu are played by the same actress. They are two versions of the same dilemma, one being pure and the other being immoral.

Emotions, Violence, and Setting

The film artistically lacks non-diegetic music and sound, but does include background music at particularly melodramatic points. The final scene, especially, is imbued with deep bells tolls and disconcerting, high-pitched music. The music is played with still shots of Koharu’s death as viewers see the terror on her face and the viciousness on Jihei’s. The scene is particularly horrific, not only because of their expressions, but also because of the blood on Koharu’s face and the presence of the kurogo. The kurogo provide all the tools for Jihei to orchestrate his own suicide. This preparedness speaks to the outcome of the battle between ninjō and giri where the only conclusion is death. This conclusion is also foreshadowed in the previous scene where both character consummate their love in a graveyard, a place of death.

Another scene where emotions are magnified is the scene after Osan is dragged away by her father. Jihei’s scream is not accented with any music; the scream is pure and clear. Jihei is centered in the middle of the screen and the audience is focused only on him. The moment non-diegetic music enters the scene is during a slow motion of Jihei destroying the house. The music is direct and disjointed and the fluttering papers only heightens the melodrama. By destroying the house, the viewer knows that giri has failed, and the family setting can no longer exist. The kurogo, again, are present, disrobing Jihei so that he can destroy the house, then cleaning the destruction and preparing the film for the next scene.