Thousand Cranes

Kurimoto Chikako functions as an antagonist in the novel, declaring herself the “villain,” although it is only in the final lines of the book that Kikuji himself acknowledges her as his “enemy.” While it is clear that Kikuji’s father used and exploited her during their affair, any sympathy that such treatment may elicit is counteracted by her personality and actions. She is manipulative and cunning, using her role as a mistress of tea to arrange meetings that further her own goals, tainting the sanctity of the traditional ceremony with her ulterior motives. She lies blatantly, seemingly without self-consciousness or remorse, in order to elicit reactions from the people around her, as when she lies about Fumiko getting married.

She is an outsider to mainstream society because of the large disfiguring birthmark between her breasts, which precluded her from fulfilling the traditional female roles of wife and mother. After Kikuji’s father ends their affair, she partly embraces this position as an outsider, defying traditional gender roles by becoming “sexless” and a “neuter,” which she believes gives her insights into men and women. She defies many conventions in order to further her own aims, barging into Kikuji’s home and interfering with his life against his wishes, exploiting Kikuji’s self-acknowledged weaknesses.

Kikuji frequently associates Chikako with shadows and the color black. This is in direct contrast to the bright red and white imagery associated with beauty throughout the novel. Her negative, harmful words and the emotions of spite, jealousy, and anger that motivate them are repeatedly referred to as “poison” and “venom.” Kawabata likens Chikako to a dangerous snake, striking out at the people around her without compassion or remorse.

Mrs. Ota is a character defined by her own weakness. She is repeatedly described as “soft” and “vulnerable” and seems accustomed to taking on the role of victim. Part of Kikuji’s attraction to her comes from the knowledge that he can be cruel toward her without remorse or retaliation. For example, when Kikuji talks of Chikako’s birthmark and the match with Yukiko after they sleep together, she is deeply upset but still stays the night with him. After they sleep together she falls ill and loses a lot of weight, becoming even more fragile and weak. She is ashamed of their affair, repeatedly bemoaning how unhappy she is and asking plaintive rhetorical questions about the things that she does, but seems unable or unwilling to keep herself from making the decisions that harm her.

She is shameless, however, in recounting details of her affair with Kikuji’s father to Kikuji himself, and Kikuji notes that she expects sympathy as her due. This brazenness is contrasted with Fumiko’s awareness and obvious mortification. Mrs. Ota relies heavily on her daughter, who takes on the role of caretaker to compensate for her mother’s weaknesses. It is Fumiko who tries to protect Mrs. Ota from her damaging relationship with Kikuji and Fumiko who is left alone to deal with the aftermath of Mrs. Ota’s suicide. Even when Fumiko was a child, Mrs. Ota was too preoccupied with her own suffering to protect her daughter; for instance, when Fumiko is upset at Chikako’s berating her mother, instead of consoling Fumiko or sending her away, Mrs. Ota simply takes Fumiko into her arms so that they can weep and suffer under the onslaught of Chikako’s wrath together. Not only does she fail to protect her daughter, but Mrs. Ota also relies overly on Fumiko to take care of and support her, harming Fumiko in the process.

Despite her failings, Mrs. Ota is nonetheless presented as a decidedly sympathetic and pitiful character. She clearly feels deep sorrow from the losses of her husband and lover, and warm affection for both her daughter and Kikuji. She’s a beautiful, sensual woman whose loveliness is enhanced precisely because she is juxtaposed with the vindictive and desexed Chikako, informing the theme of The Juxtaposition of Beauty and Ugliness. She is made even more beautiful after her death by the warmth of nostalgia; the memory of her that is elicited for Kikuji by the Shino jar seems without flaws and almost makes him fall in love with her posthumously. Even his love for Fumiko began initially as a fascination for the daughter who could function as a proxy for the deceased mother.

Ota Fumiko is the daughter of Mrs. Ota, and Kikuji’s lover following her mother’s suicide. Kikuji initially sees her as a proxy for the deceased Mrs. Ota, noting the numerous similarities between the two of them. In time, however, he begins to fall for Fumiko on her own merits, and after they sleep together he considers her “without comparison” and unparalleled in his estimation. Despite the physical similarities between Fumiko and Mrs. Ota, and the numerous little things that they share in common such as a fear of storms, Fumiko’s personality is contrasted to her mother’s. Fumiko is practical and independent, capable of selling her home and getting a job even whilst grieving. With a penchant for Western-style dress, she is representative of a new generation of Western-influenced young women who won’t necessarily follow in their mother’s footsteps.

Fumiko is deeply affected by her mother’s actions, ashamed on her mother’s behalf of the affairs between Mrs. Ota and Kikuji’s father and then Kikuji himself. Since childhood, she has been forced to share in her mother’s suffering. She has repeatedly stepped up to act as a caretaker for her mother and her mother’s interests. During the war, for instance, Fumiko would bravely fetch supplies and escort Kikuji’s father home despite bombing raids, and she tries to deter her mother from pursuing a harmful entanglement with Kikuji. She continues to protect Mrs. Ota in death by covering up her suicide, thereby saving Mrs. Ota’s reputation.

Despite Kikuji’s affections and her own warm feelings for him, Fumiko is hesitant about pursuing a relationship with him. She makes repeated efforts to distance herself or sever contact with Kikuji, efforts which culminate in her breaking the female tea bowl in the married set that she and Kikuji inherited and abruptly abandoning Kikuji. This leaves both him and the reader uncertain as to whether she followed Mrs. Ota’s example and died by suicide, too, giving the novel an ambiguous ending that reflects the uncertain future of Japan.