Iwo Jima

1.       At first they are distant and Saigo does not let Shimizu sleep next to him. They move through hedataru and deepen their friendship by najimu when Shimizu opens up and tells Saigo about how he was discharged for not killing a dog. Another incident that helped them move to najimu was when Shimizu gave Saigo the advice to stay back and crawl on the ground.

2.       One focus of Do Spirits is repetition and ritual. This can be seen when the general gives the men a speech and then raises his arms and shouts. Even the soldiers who did not believe in the cause followed the ritual. This put most of the soldiers at ease and prepared them for battle. Another aspect of do spirits is appreciation of nature and beauty. This shows up in the movie when the soldiers debate whether their lives are worth the barren island, for many of the soldiers it was.

3.       General Kuribayashi used drinking to move from hedataru to najimu with the Olympian. For him it was a sign that he wanted to open up and deepen their friendship. It was a sign of such because alcohol was rare in that situation and therefore saved for special occasions. This scene reminded me of the American smoking culture. At social gatherings there is always a point when the smokers have to go outside and then there is this division of people who go outside and deepen their friendship.

4.       One negative effect was the general became an outsider for going to America. This resulted in his men not listening to him, which led to a mass suicide and a foolish attack. It also led to an officer almost murdering Saigo. If uchi to soto wasn’t so integrated in the mindset of the officers, they would have obeyed their general.

5.       Two negative groupism scenes was the mass suicide and the almost murder of Saigo. In the first scene many of the soldiers were reluctant to commit suicide but as more soldiers gave in even the most reluctant committed suicide. Then when Saigo escaped that situation he was almost murdered for not going along with the group.

6.       One connection between the two movies was the need to follows orders and die admirably. For example, Bushido can be seen in both of the suicide scenes. Dying with honor was rooted in Bushido and is why the soldiers committed suicide. In the first movie he died when his final task was complete and in Iwo Jima they died because their orders were to die before giving up their position.

7.       General Kuribayashi was different because he visited America for some time and therefore has a humanized perception of American soldiers. However, he was still maintaining his patriotism and loyalty to the Emperor by taking his military position seriously. An example of his softness towards the Americans can be seen when he gave the American soldier medicine.

Saigo hated his position and often voiced his negative opinion of the emperor and the war. He had these feelings because his county took him away from his family and made him fated to die a meaningless death. This influenced his decision to not commit suicide.

Shimizu was serious about his military duties and was a loyal patriot with favorable views of the emperor. This is because he trained at a prestigious military academy. This effected his decision not to commit suicide and was why he was convinced when Saigo brought up the point that a dead soldier is worthless soldier.

8.       This is a memorial for all Japanese soldiers who died in war, including those of WWII. It is controversial because the souls of war criminals reside there. I don’t think it should be a problem for officials to visits this site because even though it houses war criminals, it also honors loyal soldiers who died for their country.

9.       The movie was unlike American war films. In American films the soldiers don’t have a need for “honor” but they have a desire to die fighting. Also, American culture is more understanding of the fact that if you were drafted you put your own life ahead of the country. This difference can be seen by comparing this movie to Saving Private Ryan, where even though the soldiers have mission, they are mostly focused on their own survival.

10.   Do you think that because of hedataru and Najimu, that the pistol held more significant for the Japanese general as opposed to the American one?