The Makioka Sisters (film)
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The Makioka Sisters (細雪 Sasame-yuki?, lit.small snow flakes) is the name of three films based on the serial novel of the same name by Tanizaki Junichiro. The third of these films, released in 1983, is the most famous. It was directed by Kon Ichikawa.
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[edit] Characters
[edit] The Sisters
- Tsuruko Makioka: The eldest Makioka sister is described as being phlegmatic, and most of her voice throughout the novel is heard through letters she sends to her sisters. Tsuruko lives in the "main" Makioka house in Osaka, and is not only removed physically from her sisters, who live in a branch house in Ashiya, but also seems to be removed emotionally.
- Sachiko Makioka: The second eldest Makioka sister who is the mistress of the branch house in Ashiya. Sachiko is good-tempered and indulgent of her younger sisters, who live with her instead of, as tradition would have it, with Tsuruko.
- Yukiko Makioka: Melancholy Yukiko is still unmarried at thirty, because, when the Makioka family was in its heyday, all of her marriage proposals were turned down as not being good enough. Now, with the family in decline, marriage opportunities are much more scarce, and Yukiko's stoicity and shyness do nothing to incite her suitors' attentions. So shy that she cannot even speak on the telephone, Yukiko is sometimes frustrating, but ultimately loved by her sisters.
- Taeko Makioka: The youngest Makioka sister embraces both Western clothing style and Western attitudes toward the world more than any of her sisters. Taeko smokes, has affairs and willfully defies the orders of the main Osaka house. This is mostly because she is impatient waiting for Yukiko to marry, which she must do before Taeko is allowed. Taeko is called "Koi san" endearingly, by her two older sisters in Ashiya. Calling the youngest sister "Koi san" is something commonly practiced in Osaka.
[edit] Other important characters
- Tatsuo Makioka: Tsuruko's husband, who took the Makioka name when he married her, and is now the master of the Makiokas. The three Ashiya sisters find Tatsuo abrasive, and somewhat dull. Tatsuo is employed at a bank.
- Teinosuke Makioka: Sachiko's husband who also took on the Makioka name. Teinosuke is kind, respectful of the sisters and brilliantly smart, especially when it comes to literary arts, such as poetry and letter-writing. Teinosuke is an [[accountant].
- Etsuko: Sachiko's school-aged daughter, who is especially fond of Yukiko.
- O-Haru: A maid at the Ashiya house. Sachiko took O-Haru under her wing and tries to teach the gossipy maid manners and decorum.
- Mrs. Itani: The owner of a beauty salon that the three younger sisters frequent. Mrs. Itani's gossip and love of matchmaking often help the sisters find prospects for a husband for Yukiko.
- Okubata: Also called "Kei-boy" by the Ashiya sisters, is one of Taeko's suitors with whom she tried, and failed, to elope ten years before the story's beginning.
- Itakura: A photographer friend of Taeko's, a stranger to the Makioka family, to whom Taeko is attracted.
[edit] Setting
The story takes place in pre-World War II Japan, a little after the Taisho period and during the early Showa era. This is pretty common for Tanizaki novels; his Some Prefer Nettles (Japanese: Tada Kuu Mushi) and Naomi (Chigin no Ai) were both set in the 1920s-30s. The sisters live in the area around Osaka, but travel to Tokyo and other prefectures throughout the novel.
[edit] Commentary
The Makioka Sisters is strikingly Austenesque, in that its main theme is marriage and its main characters are strong females with the males as almost peripheral characters. Tanizaki's plot development is also tantalizingly slow, and the ending is quite anticlimactic and, after about 530 pages, seems incomplete. The ending, however, is like an unprofessional photograph, in that it's not framed off neatly, and some objects might be cut in half at the ends. Thus, Tanizaki creates an appreciative, realistic story.
[edit] Links and references
- The Makioka Sisters at the Internet Movie Database
- Tanizaki, Junichiro. The Makioka Sisters, 1957 Alfred A. Knopf, Inc
