Literary Analysis: Exploring Love Suicides at Amijima - English 2302

This essay analyzes Chikamatsu Monzaemon's play, 'The Love Suicides at Amijima,' focusing on a close reading of specific pages, primarily from Act 3. The essay examines the characters of Jihei, Koharu, and Osan, exploring their roles and motivations within the context of the play's themes of duty, desire, and societal constraints. It delves into the allusions to Buddhist concepts and the tragic ending of the lovers, highlighting the play's commentary on social order, religious beliefs, and the complexities of human relationships. The analysis also explores the play's visual and musical layers, emphasizing the emotional impact on the audience. The essay references the real-life inspiration for the play and provides insights into the play's symbolism and multiple layers of meaning.

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Name of the Student
Assignment
Class Meeting Time
“The Love Suicides at Amijima” is a play that was written by Chikamatsu
Monzaemon, that was performed somewhere in the year 1720. The play was based on a real
event that took place as a result of the brothel system. It is a story about Jihei who is in love
with Koharu, a brothel girl. Jihei is not wealthy enough to release Koharu from the brothel.
The play revolves around duty as well as desire that ultimately lead the couple to a tragic end,
as the conservative society cannot accept their love (Shimazaki). The main aim of the essay is
to discuss the best seven pages of the text along with main characters, allusions and message
that the author tries to give to the readers.
The essay will discuss the third act of the play. The very first reading of the play
explains what the modern and contemporary readers were expecting from Chikamatsu’s play.
The play has many layers of meaning. The characters are types that are expected from
Chikamatsu’s play. Jihei, Koharu and Osan are the main characters of the play. The author
creates Jihei as a person who is undeserving of both the woman that is present in his life. He
is unable to fulfil the role of a father, a businessman as well as a husband. Even when he is
separated from Koharu, he does not transform his behaviours though he had promised to
reform (Groot). However, it should be noted that Jihei is the most burdened man in the play;
he has to show duty towards his wife, children, aunt, brother and father-in-law. It is this
reason that Jihei resorts to telling lies and making false oaths in front of his family. Amijima,
with the representation of Jihei, depicts the complex as well as a real relationship that is filled
with conflicting emotions. He is someone who reacts without reflecting on things. Jihei’s
character is complicated as on the one hand he loves Koharu but on the other, he spies on her

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and does not trust her (Groot). Koharu, on the other hand, is shown as an innocent woman,
who is colourless that is a manifestation of her opaque nature and the difficulty that one faces
while comprehending her real character. However, this is not true; she is an enigmatic figure
in the play who eludes the audience with her true feelings and emotions. Her outburst on
Mogoemon is different from her character although she must have done this to protect Jihei,
and her speech is hidden with a sense of truth. The play does not allow the readers to get an
insight into Koahru’s mind; therefore, the readers might misinterpret her true intentions. In
Act 3, she at last commits suicide (Groot). This shows that her love for Jihei is genuine so
much so that she sacrifices herself because of her love. A close reading of Act 1 and 3 show a
clear sign when it is juxtaposed against each other and thereby gives the readers a chance for
an alternate interpretation. Koharu’s suicide makes it clear that she fears physical pain and
therefore commits suicide. Osan on the other hand is Jihei’s wife who is also a shady
character. The readers can feel her presence in Act 2, where Jihei’s domestic life is explored.
The narrator introduces Osan to the audience and shows her as a responsible wife and mother.
She is also the one who keeps the family business afloat. Osan has variable emotions. Her
feelings towards her husband oscillate from hatred to affection (Groot). Osan is a caricature
of a typical household wife who longs for her husband. It is she who instigates the lovers'
suicide by showing the letter to Jihei. She intended to protect Jihei but it leads to reverse
outcome (Groot). There are not many shifts in the characters in the play. They remain
constant.
The opening sentence of Act 3 “The shoals of love and affection are here at the
Shijimi River” recalls to the mind of the readers the opening of the famous book Pride and
Prejudice by Jane Austen. Bothe the openings show the dubious nature of the explicit
message. The end of the lovers and the play raises practical questions as to what will happen
to Osan and her children. How will they be able to regain their finances? In Act 3 nothing

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seems entirely correct and nothing seems altogether wrong. The death of Jihei and Koharu in
the last act makes the text a tragedy. The brief conversation that the couple has before
committing suicide is the belief of them reaching enlightenment that gives a religious reading
to the play (Monzaemon). The verse in the first act of the play is filled with multiple
interpretations that are understood in Act 3. The imagery in the last act when the lovers walk
towards the bridge suggests a journey that is undertaken by two spirits who have been
separated from their physical body and is travelling to the lower sphere of existence, into a
path where they will experience reflection as well as suffering that will ultimately bring about
their salvation. Since it is a play based on a real event, the last act of the play hints at the
release of the lovers from their violence of suicide. The net in which the body is clung is used
as a symbol because it has a connection with fishers (Monzaemon). It recalls to the reader's
mind about Buddha’s promise to save and offer salvation to all every creature who is caught
in the net and is also evident when the Chanters say “people…caught in the net of Buddha…
gain salvation…” Even the arrangement of the body is made a manner that was similar to the
death position of Buddha, thereby hinting at the couple’s deliverance that they will receive
after their death (Monzaemon). The reference to “westward-moving moon” in the third act is
used as a symbol of Buddhist enlightenment. There is also an allusion in this act to the poem
of Otomo no Yakamochi “pheasant in the hunting grounds” where a man cries for his mate as
Jihei cries for his beloved. The River of Three Fords is again a river of the Buddhist
underworld that was compulsory to cross to reach the world of the dead (Monzaemon). The
author also alludes a line from the Buddhist text Karma Sutra which means that to know
about past cause one needs to know about the immediate effect.
The text tries to show that the actions of human beings are unpredictable to
themselves. The play shows the irrational society that cannot accept people who are
genuinely in love with each other because of the societal norms. The author reveals the harsh

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truth that the community is not made up of unity; instead, it is made up of multiplicity that
expects people to follow the norms irrespective of their individual choices. The play has
references to religion, tragedy as well as comedy. The play portrays the social order that was
prevalent in that time. The cycle of Buddhism is also reflected in the suicide of lovers.
Therefore to conclude, it must be noted that the play is a complex one with many
allusions and symbols that are difficult to understand. It is embedded with multiple meanings
that arouse empathy from the readers through simplicity and beauty. The characters are
visually portrayed as archetypes whereas their emotions are portrayed through techniques.
The play not only focuses on the importance of salvation but also about the significance of
life. The musical as well as visual layer in the play add colour to the text and also enhances
the emotional experience of the audience.

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References
Groot, Kirsten. The Love Suicide at Amijima as a Performance: the construction of
Chikamatsu’s characters. BS thesis. 2019.
Monzaemon, Chikamatsu. The Love Suicides At Amijima. Columbia University Press, 1998.
Shimazaki, Satoko. "Chikamatsu Monzaemon: Historical Drama and Love Suicide Plays." A
Companion to World Literature (2020): 1-12.