Culture, Identity and Community:

When reading Thousand Cranes, the effect of war on a culture can be seen in how Kawabata entwines the air raids of World War II with Kikuji’s story; as a result of the unique wartime conditions, complex and circumstantial relationships are created and developed, nurtured by the trauma of conflict. For example, the deep connection between Mr. Mitani and Kumiko was formed during the air raids, entirely unknown to Kikuji until several years later, as Kumiko was willing to risk her life to see her father figure to safety; a connection that would arguably not have formed without this unique bonding experience.

‘Then Kikuji remembered: during the air raids ,she had seen his father as far as the gate.’

This relationship between Mr. Minati and Kumiko, fostered by the war, has ongoing effects, as Kikuji and Kumiko’s relationship is forever altered it. Kikuji learns suddenly that she has a relationship with his father as much as he does, a revelation which he recognises in the quote ‘I hope we will have a chance sometime to talk about my father’, and acts on when he sees her ‘to the gate’, mirroring her actions towards his father all those years ago. This interaction implies that an unspoken connection has been created between them as well, not as a direct result of the war, but because of it’s generational ramifications.

The civilian death toll in Japan from Allied bombing was between 330,000 and 900,000, with a countless many more affected in smaller, more subtle ways, like those that can be seen in the extra-familial relationships of Thousand Cranes. I would that imagine that other families have similar stories about the air raids, and wonder what other unlikely relationships were created in that time of crisis.