I only have the Japanese version of this, so I don't know what the English sub says. But there is nothing offensive in what the women says. Her initial observation about him becoming lonely is simply in response to his children going back to Tokyo. It is NOT about his wife dying. The final time she mentions loneliness just before walking away is a little ambiguous, but it's not offensive. She is showing sympathy with the man by what she says, not throwing harsh reality in his face. It's not like, 'Man! You sure are going to be lonely now!' It's more like, 'I feel for you, being by yourself now.' Obviously, they have known each other for a LONG time, so she has a right, nay an obligation, to show some sympathy toward the man. How can you show sympathy if you just avoid the painful yet obvious fact that the man is alone now?
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underwearhero
15 years ago
I see what you're saying. But the problem was that she had a smile on her face while saying it. I guess it's a cultural thing. I understand she didn't mean to offend him, but in western culture it seems a little weird.
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kriege10
15 years ago
The Japanese smile a lot when they have something unpleasant to say, especially when it concerns a death. Lafcadio Hearn wrote an essay about this and admitted that the Japanese smile is not always appealing to Westerners. People will tell you of the death of their close ones while grinning. Fundamentally the practice goes back to the idea of not offending or upsetting others, so if you have news to impart that is likely to bother people, you should smile as much as you can to sweeten the bitterness. To foreigners, this just seems phony, but it is a long tradition among the Japanese.
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Tin_ear
8 years ago
Useful info, and a great Lafcadio Hearn shoutout, btw. The entire movie I was trying to figure out why the miserable, young widow is grinning constantly.
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