Higuchi ichiyo separate ways full text

Literary Analysis

Literary Analysis of “Separate Ways”

Born Higuchi Natsu, Higuchi Ichiyo experienced an almost meteoric rise to stardom in Japan during the late 1800s due to the success of her novella Child’s Play (Puchner 971). Her final short story, “Separate Ways”, is an almost autobiographical look at life in Tokyo’s seedy red light district. The story is about Kichizo, a young umbrella oiler and his peculiar friendship with a beautiful young seamstress named Okyo. When Okyo makes the decision to leave her life of impoverished independence in exchange for one of sexual servitude as a mistress, Kichizo reacts harshly and vows never to see Okyo again. In Kichizo’s anger, he says, “How could I have thought of you as a sister? You, with all your lies and tricks, and your selfishness” (978). At first glance, it would appear as ego-centric or selfishness on the part of Kichizo for reacting in such a manner. However, as one looks more closely at Kichizo’s life, his reaction is perfectly understandable, if not completely expected. Throughout Kichizo’s entire life, he has experienced abandonment. The feeling of abandonment he suffers when Okyo informs him of her plan for the future is merely one more in a long line of people in which Kichizo has placed his trust, love, and vulnerability, only to be let down by their eventual departures. “Separate Ways” is an excellent example of how abandonment effects Kichizo and has a formative impact on his psychological development. Furthermore, there are several examples of Kichizo being abandoned by those close to him throughout his entire life, not just Okyo. Finally, Kichizo’s reaction is perfectly understandable from a psychological viewpoint when Okyo announces she is leaving.

In order to fully understand the feelings of Kichizo as they relate to his abandonment issues, the act of abandonment must be defined as it relates to psychological development. Early in a child’s development, a bond is formed between the child and the mother in utero. Nancy Verrier, an adoptive parent and author of the book, The Primal Wound, suggests that the child grows accustomed to the sounds of the mother, including the heartbeat and her voice, and can even recognize a photo of the birthmother before actually seeing her (20). The premature severing of that bond can have lasting effects on the child. Verrier states, “When this natural evolution is interrupted by a postnatal separation from the biological mother, the resultant experience of abandonment and loss is indelibly imprinted upon the unconscious minds of these children, causing that which I call the ‘primal wound’” (1). In “Separate Ways”, the fate of Kichizo’s parents is never explained. He has no idea as to the whereabouts of his mother and father, or if they are even still alive. Either way, he feels a deep emotional void resulting from that loss. Ichiyo describes this when she writes, “He didn’t even know the date of his parents’ death, he had no way to observe the yearly abstinences. It made him miserable, and he would throw himself down underneath the umbrellas drying in the yard and push his face against the ground to stifle his tears” (976). He experiences the loss, and from an early age, is left to fend for himself. This early self-dependency has been influential in his development and contributed to him becoming distrustful of others and having issues with anger. Ichiyo describes Kichizo as “- a fireball. He had a violence about him that frightened the entire neighborhood” (976). The act of abandonment is so destructive, it is considered a key component in both the Child Neglect and Psychological Abuse categories in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-5 (718-719). Therefore, it is plain to see why Kichizo acts the way he does throughout the story, as well as when Okyo informs him of her decision to become a mistress.

Abandonment is not only a crucial element in Kichizo’s psychological development, it is experienced throughout his entire life. These continuous deaths and departures of people who love him or show him the slightest amount of kindness occur multiple times throughout the story. Early in the story, Ichiyo lets the reader know just how important Kichizo’s identity, or lack thereof, is to him. Kichizo says:

Boy, I’d sure be glad if someone like you would come and tell me she was my sister. I’d hug her so tight…After that, I wouldn’t care if I died. What was I, born from a piece of wood? I’ve never run into anyone who was a relative of mine. You don’t know how many times I’ve thought about it: if I’m never, ever going to meet anyone from my own family, I’d be better off dying right now. Wouldn’t I? (974)

This demonstrates how important family is to Kichizo and how devastated he is not to know who his family is or where he comes from. His parents are only the first to abandon Kichizo. While he is living as a street performer, he is basically adopted by Omatsu, the old woman who owned the umbrella factory. Omatsu takes him in, feeds him and gives him a place to live. She expresses belief in him by teaching him a trade and giving him a job in her umbrella factory. Kichizo develops a strong bond with Omatsu because she is caring for him the way his mother should have. Later, when Omatsu dies, Kichizo is once again abandoned by a mother figure. It is irrelevant to Kichizo whether or not Omatsu intended to leave him; there is not a difference in his eyes. He feels abandonment all over again, and it makes him that much more bitter because of it. Additionally, there is another woman to whom Kichizo has grown close to. Although she is only mentioned in one small part of the story, the reader is led to believe that the woman was very important to him. The woman’s name is Kinu and she works in the dyer’s shop. Ichiyo does not explain who she is to Kichizo, but she is important enough to him that she is mentioned along with Omatsu once he finds out Okyo is leaving him. Kichizo describes his pain when he exclaims:

What a life! People are friendly, and then they disappear. It’s always the ones I like. Granny at the umbrella shop, and Kinu, the one with short hair, at the dyer’s shop. First, Granny dies of palsy. Then Kinu goes and throws herself into the well behind the dyer’s – she didn’t want to marry. Now you’re going off. I’m always disappointed in the end. (978)

It is not that Kichizo is a narcissist, or that he believes the world revolves around him. He is expressing a pain that he does not understand. The pain in knowing that everyone he has ever felt safe with has let him down.

When Okyo finally announces to Kichizo that she is leaving, she becomes one more reinforcement to him that it is unsafe to get close to anyone. Kichizo and Okyo had become very close. Kichizo looked up to Okyo like he would an older sister. She was always available to him, to listen to him, to offer advice, or just someone he could vent to after a hard day of oiling umbrellas. When the other boys would tease him for being so small, he would counter with the fact that he was always welcome in her house. While all of the other men could only admire her from afar, he was the one she would invite into her home at any hour of the day or night. When they tease him, he would only say, “If you’re so manly, why don’t you ever visit Okyo? Which one of you can tell me each day what sweets she’s put in the cookie jar?...I’m the one who can go there any hour of the night, and when she hears it’s me, she’ll open the door in her nightgown” (976). Therefore, when Okyo informs him that she is leaving to be a rich man’s mistress, Kichizo is once again faced with the pain of being abandoned by someone close to him. Okyo had been most like a family member to him since the death of Omatsu. He had grown to finally trust and rely on her like he was not able to do with anyone else. He had allowed himself to be vulnerable, and in his eyes, the thanks he was receiving was yet another departure of someone that can be described as a caregiver. Not only is he faced with losing another loved one, but it is the conditions in which she is leaving that makes it doubly painful. Kichizo is a proud young man. He believes that working hard and being poor is better than receiving help to improve his station in life. That belief is also a by-product of his attachment issues. When one has been faced with a lifetime of abandonment, he begins to lose the ability to trust in anyone. People who suffer from attachment disorders have been responsible for taking care of themselves for so long (for Kichizo, since birth), that they can no longer rely on anyone. This is exemplified when Kichizo tells Okyo, “Even if someone came along and insisted on helping me, I’d still rather stay where I am. Oiling umbrellas suits me fine. I was born to wear a plain kimono with workman’s sleeves…” (974). As a result, when Okyo explains why she is leaving, he is faced with a feeling of revulsion. Kichizo is so distraught, he makes the claim that he will never associate with anyone again. He says, “This is the last you’ll ever see of me. Ever. Thanks for your kindness. Go on and do what you want. From now on, I won’t have anything to do with anyone. It’s not worth it” (978). It is not that Kichizo suddenly despises Okyo, but he is so devastated by losing another person he has seen as a caregiver, he does not know how to process it. Following another significant abandonment such as Okyo’s, he may be correct when he says he will never rely on anyone again.

The short story, “Separate Ways”, by Higuchi Ichiyo gives the reader an insider’s view of the impoverished working class in Tokyo in the late 1800s. Ichiyo is very adept at painting a exceptionally clear picture using dialogue almost entirely. The characters are fairly likeable, even the pugnacious anti-hero, Kichizo. At the end of the story, when Okyo informs Kichizo that she is going away, Kichizo is devastated and, instead of trying to support Okyo in a time when she is scared, confused, and apprehensive regarding what her future will bring, he berates her and takes it as a personal rejection of himself. The devastation that he feels is caused by the lifetime of abandonment and grief he has been subjected to. Throughout his entire life, every person who has assumed a role of caregiver, someone in which he could rely on, has suddenly and without warning deserted him. Whether it was the disappearance and presumed death of his parents, the death of Omatsu and Kinu, and finally the abandonment of Okyo, Kichizo has been forced to internalize that pain and find a way to move on. These traumatic occurrences have taken a harsh toll on the young boy, making him bitter and angry, but also strong willed and self-reliant. This repeated abandonment trauma has played a major part in Kichizo’s psychological development, molding him into the person he has become. Finally, the last two lines of the story sum up a lifetime of pain for the young Kichizo. Ichiyo writes, “He stared at her with tears in his eyes. ‘Take your hands off me, Okyo’” (979). For Kichizo, Okyo is only another person he made the mistake of being vulnerable with, and now he will have to pay for it.

Works Cited

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: DSM-5. 5th ed. Washington, D.C.: American Psychiatric Association, 2013. Print.

Ichiyo, Higuchi. “Separate Ways.” The Norton Anthology of World Literature Volume II. Ed. Martin Puchner. third ed. New York: Norton, 2013. Print. 973-979.

Verrier, Nancy Newton. The Primal Wound: Understanding the Adopted Child. Baltimore: Gateway, 1993. Print.