I had a hard time deciding what I was going to do for this assignment, until I reread the dreadful scene and I realized how beautiful the scenery had been throughout the love story. I wanted to create a collage, a way to show how I pictured everything in my head. Though I had my problems with Chikamatsu’s story I still found parts of it as intriguing and beautiful. I talked about before in a other post how bothers I was with the whole Romeo and Juliet aspect of love suicide, but then multiple people commented and had me looking at things a bit differently.
When they are first reconnected they talk of the moon over the river, it seemed so magical and lovely that I wanted to include it. when drawing my attention in I like to read about amazing scenery and true love, and in some way this story contained both, even though I’m not exactly the happiest with the ending. If Koharu didn’t go with Jihei, she would be stuck in a life she didn’t want in the first place, hence the bondage.
“Hand in hand the desperate lovers walked like persons in a trance until they had put the place of her bondage behind them. Then they cane to a standstill, wondering which direction to take. Should they proceed north or south, east or west? After consideration they decided to go opposite the direction of the moon borne upon the current of the Shijimi River. They continued walking east.” (33)
I like how they chose a beautiful place to end these lives, I also like that they believe of lives after the one they are living. They say that even though they couldn’t wed in this lifetime they would be wed in each one after that. That is a really beautiful thing to me. The love they felt for each other ultimately made them kill themselves, but only because they believe in the eternal lifetimes after the one they are living now.
“‘What have I to regret? Not in this world can we wed each other, but remember, not only in the next world shall we be husband and wife, but also in the world beyond, in the world beyond that, and so further and ever further” (35).
Each time a new scene and setting came up I could see myself picturing exactly what they were looking at. whether is was talking about the bridge or the houses with the clothes and drawers or if they were just talking about walking down the street, it was like a movie playing in my mind.
Here are the links to the photos in the collage, I tried to make the pictures bigger and add less of them so everyone could see the collage as best as they could!
The moon over the river (top left): https://nature.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/2259179/
The bridge at night: https://www.locationscout.net/japan/9657-tenjin-bridge
The red Shinkyo Bridge: https://www.fun-japan.jp/en/articles/10185
Two people laying down: https://melodramajapan.blogspot.com/2014/09/the-love-suicides-at-amijima-and-double.html
Japanese river garden: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/487162884687193648/
River with mountain in back: https://hdqwalls.com/sakura-river-japan-wallpaper
Sprockets and Springes 