Ali Tashpulatov

East Asian Studies

Professor Tom Havens

3/5/2015

Which character in Tanizaki’s Naomi (1924), the husband Joji or the wife Naomi, seems more

considerate of the other’s feelings?

Tanizaki’s Naomi describes in intricate detail the relationship between man and wife in early 20th century Japan, but the relationship described is far from the conventional ideas of the time. Although it the novel might be perceived as a story of gender empowerment, in reality it is more of a description of a post-marriage gender role reversal. Moreover, the novel documents the paradigm shift from a relationship of a father and child to the relationship of husband and wife, and although peculiar this relationship is an ubiquitous phenomenon. The novel is comparable not only to the somewhat analogical story of Lolita, but also to many other works such as Pygmalion or even The Great Gatsby. Naomi follows the progression of Joji and Naomi’s relationship, narrated entirely by Joji; Although Joji remains the narrator, he eventually loses the role of the protagonist to his spouse. Throughout the novel, Joji’s feelings and consideration of Naomi’s feelings have no limit, but Naomi never shows or speaks of her care towards Joji’s feelings or even well being. The first example of such inequality is the housing arrangement that the two adopt. Having moved into their first “ever so Western” (Tanizaki 1924: 9-10) home the two reside in separate rooms, and when Naomi’s bedding turns out to be that of a maid, Joji kindly offers to give up his own for her comfort (Tanizaki 1924: 9-10). Although his room is only slightly bigger, and his bedding only a bit better, Joji is willing to give it up as a symbol of his consideration of her well being and comfort. Once married, the couple sleeps in the same bed and shares a bedroom, signifying equality in living quarters, even if Naomi was gaining an upper hand in all other matters. Towards the end of the novel, the two once again sleep in different bedrooms, however now Naomi’s quarter is far more superior to that of her husband where she has her own lady’s bathroom (Tanizaki 1924: 131). The living situation is one of the many representations of the progression of Joji and Naomi’s relationship, and is also an explicit means of demonstrating who is more considerate of their spouse’s feelings. With her education, Naomi further and further develops her indulgence in “Westernization”, she stops wearing her hair in the traditional Japanese manner and transforms her wardrobe into a more “Western” one as time progresses. Throughout the novel, the words Western and modern are used interchangeably, especially when Naomi’s family describes her new appearance as modern on one of her trips back to Senzoku (Tanizaki 1924: 11). Tanizaki appears to have purposefully used the terms synonymously as that was the attitude towards modernisation in Japan at the time. Moreover it is fair to note that in the United States women gained the right to vote just four years prior to the publishing of the book, which might have contributed to gender-empowerment as an element of modernity. Just like the concept of gender empowerment is far over exaggerated to the point that it is invasive and hostile, the view of modernization and Westernisation of Japan might have been perceived as such by Tanizaki, since it was believed by some to be aggressively taking over the Japanese culture and tradition. Such a connection can also be drawn to the fact that Naomi refused to be a geisha (Tanizaki 1924: 7), but instead chose the life of a “Western” woman. Geishas have traditionally been women who would cater to a man’s every need and care deeply about his his feelings. Although heavily hyperbolised, Naomi’s example of a Western woman proved to be the complete opposite of the most desirable female behaviour in Japan. Thus, the novel also uses Westernization as one of the reasons as to why Naomi becomes progressively neglectful and uncaring towards her husband. Joji’s affection and consideration towards Nomi’s feelings grow stronger as the years pass and they are faced with more challenges due to Naomi’s uncanny nature. Naomi on the other hand, is selfish and self absorbed, and much like Joji’s attributes hers grow exponentially throughout the novel. Although it is unclear whether if Joji’s consideration of Naomi’s feelings was so immense or whether if he felt trapped in his relationship, it is disappointingly sad to see him forgive Naomi time after time for misconduct and most astoundingly; Adultery. At the very beginning of their relationship, Joji asks Naomi as to what flowers she prefers, her answer is tulips (Tanizaki 1924: 7). As it turns out, the life of a tulip serves exactly as a metaphor for their relationship. Tulips begin their life cycle as bulbs, that need nurture in order to develop into the flower. Much like Naomi, whom Joji adopted and nurtured as a bulb, in order for her to eventually blossom into a flower that springs far above its modest roots. Moreover, tulips are often used to symbolise hopeless and eternal love, and the black core represents the lover’s heart burned to coal by passion. This elaborate symbolism foreshadows the further development of the novel, as Joji’s heart disintegrates in the fire of his affection. Like the flower, Naomi shows no gratitude towards the man, besides simply being aesthetically pleasing to him; And for Joji, that is enough. It is evident that Joji and Naomi’s relationship is that of a caring father and a capricious daughter, and it continues to be so far past their marriage and arguably up until the end of the novel. Thus one might find it paradoxical that Joji states the following when describing his life prior to meeting Naomi. “Though I was the eldest son, I was under no obligation to send money to my parents or siblings. My family was engaged in farming on a large scale; as my father was dead, my elderly mother and a loyal aunt and uncle managed everything for me” (Tanizaki 1924: 2). To some extent, Naomi becomes a child to him, exactly the same way as he was to his parents. Therefore it could have been his upbringing and attitude towards his parents, that left him as a subordinate parental figure in his own marriage. In conclusion it is fair to say that Naomi and Joji’s relationship was far from mutualistic. Although living in symbiosis, the two adopt completely different stances where Naomi is a parasitical creature and Joji is a Maecenatic host. Joji truly lives to see his life transform into the tale he learned of in class, about the vile nature of women embodied in Cleopatra (Tanizaki 1924: 24-27). Nonetheless, Naomi is not entirely to blame, in the words of Joji, he wanted to "keep her like a little bird” (Tanizaki 1924: 10), and birds are made to fly rather than sit in a cage.

Bibliography
Naomi
Tanizaki, Jun ‘ichiro. Naomi, trans. Anthony H. Chambers. New York: Vintage Books, 2001 [1924].
The Meaning of Tulip
Kakuzo, Okakura. " ." Meaning of Tulip Flowers. Flower World, n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2015. .