Sakuran+Mis-En-Scene+Analysis

__**Sakuran Film Analysis**__ Choosing what time to do something can really effect the outcome of the situation; it can either be in your favor, or go against it. In the film Sakuran...
 * Images are at the bottom of the page.**
 * Introduction:**

A village girl from the north of Japan is sold by her family to a brothel in Yoshiwara to become a courtesan. The girl takes on the name Kiyoha and is placed under the supervision of the Shohi-Oiran. Kiyoha resents the idea of going to become a courtesan and escapes twice, only to be caught by Seiji, a male employee at the brothel, each time. Seiji makes a promise to Kiyoha that he will bring her out of the brothel to be free when the cherry tree in the nearby Inari Shrine (a shrine for fertility, rice, agriculture, foxes, industry, and worldly success) blossoms. Kiyoha grows up to be the most popular courtesan. She is promoted to Oiran status, taking on the name Higurashi-Oiran, after the departure of Shohi, and the death of Takao, the Oiran that succeeded Shohi. Higurashi eventually catches the attention of the samurai Kuranosuke Matsomoto, who intends to marry Higurashi. Higurashi is uncertain about the marriage, still remembering the promise Seiji made. At the same time, Seiji was arranged to be married to the brothel boss’ niece. Higurashi finds out she is pregnant with someone’s child and tried to use it as an excuse to reject the marriage, but in vain, as the samurai claims to be foolish enough to accept the child. Higurashi looses the child one day when visiting the old Inari Shrine, where the cherry tree has still not bloomed. She is told by the loyal customer Mr. Konoya that all cherry trees bloom. When she visits the shrine again, she meets Seiji there, and they both discover a flower on the tree. They both escape from the brothel, as well as escape from their planned marriages.
 * Background:**

What does the main character want; what does the character need to do; what emotions are transferred/conveyed through the staging/lighting/sounds. How are they presented in each scene/shot.
 * Question:**

What are the symbols that are shown on screen? How do these symbols, and their meanings, tie into the theme of the overall story?

The main character wants to leave the brothel, but before she can do so, she needs to wait for the cherry tree in her nearby Inari Shrine to bloom. The theme of choosing the right time to do something is portrayed by the blooming of the cherry tree in the temple near the brothel. Ten key scenes are chosen here to show how Kiyoha sets herself up for the moment when the cherry tree blossoms.
 * Thesis:**

Below I have picked out ten scenes to analyze for the purpose of this film analysis.

The first figure I have selected for analysis is a close-up that appears at the beginning of the film showing the character Kiyoha. In this shot you can see the expression on the character’s face reveals that she is feeling down. Also take note that there is one color that stands out, and that color is red. Red ties in the how the character is in the Red Light District of Yoshiwara. The character is tied down the to brothel she is working for, therefore red is a symbol of her imprisonment in the brothel. Her imprisonment ties into the theme that the character has to wait for the right time before she can leave, be released from her bond.
 * Body 1:**

The second scene I chose for this analysis is of Kiyoha and other courtesans sitting in the display room of the brothel. The courtesans are put on display in this diamond embellished room. Again you see the color red in the tiles and as well as the wood on the tatami boards. You can see that the director has carefully matched the colored diamonds on the wall for an aesthetically pleasing image. The diamonds on the panels in the back of this shot represents a fishnet. This is evident because at one point in the film, the courtesans are referred to as goldfish, as well as the recurring shots of goldfish trapped in fish tanks. The symbol of a fishnet shows again how Kiyoha is trapped within the brothel. It ties to the theme that she can only get out at the right time, and that the time for her to leave has not come yet.
 * Body 2:**

In the third figure we are given the perspective of Kiyoha. From her perspective we can see large red bars that keep the courtesans inside the brothel, and perhaps keep people out. The use of red for the bars make the bars symbolize the bond that Kiyoha has with the brothel, the bond that keeps her from leaving the place. We see through the bars, men looking into the brothel display room, checking out the courtesans. The bars can also symbolize how the men are also locked into some sort of bond. These men that go into the brothel are draining their pockets of money they worked hard on. The bars can also be caging in the men outside instead of the courtesans inside, because the world inside the brothel appears to be a wonderful little world that has everything. The world outside is full of grey shady tones as presented in this shot. The bars link to the theme that there is a barrier keeping Kiyoha from her freedom, and Kiyoha will have to wait for the right moment to be able to leave the brothel.
 * Body 3:**

The fourth scene I chose for analysis shows young Kiyoha being punished after being caught escaping the brothel. This scene uses orange light shining on top of the smoke breathed out by the brothel owner’s wife. The makes the smoke hovering over Kiyoha’s head look like fire. The fire symbolizes the fiery stinging pain she would receive if she were to escape again. This ties in to the theme that if chose the wrong time to leave the brothel, she will be caught and will have to suffer the consequence of being beaten. It shows how she will suffer/not survive outside if she picked the wrong time to leave.
 * Body 4:**

Figure 5 shows Shohi with a client from Kiyoha’s point of view while looking through a fish tank. This ties in with the idea that the courtesans were gold fish trapped in the metaphoric tank of the brothel. The significance of this shot is that it has gold fish swimming around while Shohi is pleasing a client in the background, and although she appears to be enjoying herself, she is still trapped. This is similar to how a gold fish may live a “happy” life in a tank, having the water, oxygen, and food it needs to survive. This ties into the theme of choosing the right time to act, because if Kiyoha left too soon, she would still be a gold fish and not be able to survive in the outside world, but if she were to grow into a full grown carp, she will be able to pull her own weight in the outside world.
 * Body 5:**

In the long shot of Kiyoha and Shohi (Figure 6) we can see objects in the mise-en-scene that can give us a clue about the reality behind the prothel, and the personality of Shohi and Kiyoha. In the background to the left are some dark dangling vines. This reveals to the audience that Shohi is a person that is devious. This is quite true because in other parts of the film, she reveals that nature of herself. One example of that is when Shohi leaves the brothel to be married, she gives a gift to Kiyoha in front of other girls and tells her that the more a girl is gifted, the more the others will hate her. Another element in the shot is the silver tiled wall. Silver and grey are often used to the feeling of loneliness or desolation and also depression. Having both characters stand in front of such a wall shows how they are alike in this aspect. Both characters appear as rather solitary characters throughout the film. On the right of the scene are drawers, and it is revealed later on in the film that a courtesan’s drawers are usually empty. The drawers are pretty on the outside but empty on the inside, symbolizing how Kiyoha, even though she may have looks, still does not have to know-how of surviving in the brothel. This in particular shows the theme that it is important choosing when to do something. Kiyoha can only leave once she has mastered the skills of a courtesan and is takes on the top rank of being an Oiran.
 * Body 6:**

Figure 7 shows Higurashi and Seiji looking up at the cherry tree planted at the Inari Shrine near the brothel. Inari Okami is significant because it is a Kami (God) that governs fertility, rice, agriculture, foxes, industry, and worldly success. On the lower right corner of the shot, we see two white statues of foxes. White foxes, in Japanese culture, are messengers of Inari. The presence of the foxes in the shot is like Inari giving the characters a message, telling them the time is right, it is time to leave the brothel. The shot that comes after this one in the film is a close-up of a white cherry blossom on the tree, reinforcing the idea that the time is right. The use of the color white in both the foxes and the flower symbolizes freedom, making it the time for freedom. This goes back to the theme of Kiyoha/Higurashi waiting for the right time to leave.
 * Body 7:**

In Figure 8 we are presented with a little girl holding a pouch of candy out int the sun, with only three candies left in the pouch. The girl is standing on a balcony inside the brothel. She says that she will leave one candy for Seiji and one for Higurashi, while putting the third one into her mouth. Red appears again in this scene, but it does not stand out as much as before. The red appears to be covered by shadow. In the back is a shadow of a white cherry blossom carving. The shadowed red and the appearance of the white cherry blossom in the brothel shows that even though Higurashi has left the brothel, she has left some hope for people like herself within the brothel that want to escape.
 * Body 8:**

The ninth figure I have selected for analysis is a figure of Kuranosuke Matsomoto standing in a room after he has discovered that Higurashi has left the brothel with Seiji. You can see that back lighting has made the samurai dark, expressing his emotional state of feeling betrayed by Higurashi after he has told her that he would still have her for his wife no matter what. His decision has lead him to stand in between the red space. He is trapped at a dead end. This relates to the theme that you have to pick the right time to act if you want to be successful.
 * Body 9:**

In Figure 10, we can see Higurashi and Seiji running on an open field of yellow flowers towards the horizon of pink cherry blossoms. Along with the blue sky, this symbolizes the freedom they have long been waiting for. They had picked this time of the year in particular to escape so that when they left the brothel, they would be greeted by this magnificent sight. Although there is still red on Higurashi’s robe, the color red is below her, she is running away from it, leaving it behind, and gradually the red gets smaller and smaller and it changes to a medium shot of the two characters, with not red on them. They both waited for the right moment to get out, completing the theme of the story.
 * Body 10:**

Extreme Close-up of Kiyoha Canted Shot High key side light from the right Low key side light from the left
 * Figure 1:**

Wide angle shot of courtesans Kiyoha staged on left Rules of Thirds vertical axis Low key side light from the right High key side light from the left
 * Figure 2:**

Wide angle shot of artist Artist staged on right Rule of Thirds vertical axis High key side light from the left High key side light from the right
 * Figure 3:**

Close-up of brothel owner’s wife Wife staged on left Rule of Thirds vertical axis Low key top lighting Low key side lighting from the right
 * Figure 4:**

Long shot of Oiran Oiran staged on top horizontal Rule of Thirds axis High key front lighting High key top lighting
 * Figure 5:**

Long shot of Kiyoha and Oiran Both characters staged on vertical Rule of Thirds axies Low key side light from the right High key side light from the left
 * Figure 6:**

Medium shot of Seiji and Higurashi-Oiran Staged two foxes one the bottom right corner of the frame Both characters staged on vertical Rule of Thirds axies High key top lighting Low key side lighting from the left High key side lighting from the right
 * Figure 7:**

Medium shot of girl Girl is staged on right vertical Rule of Thirds axis. Low key side lighting from the left
 * Figure 8:**

Long shot of Kuranosuke Matsomoto Kuranosuke Matsomoto is staged slightly off the center Low key back lighting High key top lighting
 * Figure 9:**

Long shot of Higurashi and Seiji Setting on a field of yellow flowers with a row of pink cherry blossom
 * Figure 10:**

Rule of Thirds Wide angle shot Canted shot Close-up Extreme close-up Focal point High key light Low key light Side lighting Back lighting Frontal lighting Top lighting Bottom lighting Staging
 * Terms:**

Inari Shrine - Fertility Higurashi - Cicada Baby - Something to own Baby - Something lost Baby - Sacrifice
 * Symbols:**