Twilight of a Crane is a love story between a husband and a wife. Does this sum up the main theme of the Drama? Justify your answer with close reference to the play.
Junji Kinoshita’s ‘Twilight of a Crane’ is basically a drama that examines the theme of love in a rather different manner, and the unconventionality comes from the unconventional character play of the show. Romantic love is usually associated with two human hearts, but in this case, Tsu is a crane that takes the form of a human female, who falls in love with Yohyo. Tsu, is beautiful and pure, and is capable of showing great love, and understands the value of love, and struggles to stick to that image of a perfect relationship. Yohyo, however, falls prey to the temptation for greediness for money and ruins this beautiful love story. Its a touching love story that leaves us with a sense of sadness.
Twilight Crane, however, is not just a love story only as there is a strong element of conflict that highlights the overpowering and corrupting influence of money. With the arrival of two villagers, Sodo and Unzu, the conflict begins. They tempt Yohyo to earn more and more money by pressing his wife to produce Semba Ori. He is torn between his love for her and the allure for money, finally yielding to the latter. The crane wife finally leaves him as he looks at the sky broken-hearted.
The play demonstrates how greediness for money destroys peace and happiness. Before money tainted their innocent lives, Tsu, the crane wife, and Yohyo were living a life of pastoral simplicity and innocence. They also lived in the company in children who symbolize innocence:
Yohyo: Forget the supper.Tsu, let’s go
Tsu: No, no I can’t.
Yohyo: Stop worrying about supper. You have got to come.
Let’s play together!
With the arrival of Zodo and Unzu, pastoral life changes into one of cold business an unpleasant talk. Tsu becomes increasingly alienated from his loving wife due to the enormous pressure applied to him by the two villagers to get his wife to produced Semba Ori for selling. She gets weaker and weaker with sheer fatigue finally facing the choice between life and death. She decides to leave Yohyo and fly away to her own world.
In this way, the dramatist shows how the greediness of money can destroy peace and happiness. This theme is so overwhelming that it overshadows the theme of love in this drama. The play also reminds us of the moral fable about the hen that lay golden eggs, which conveys the distilled traditional wisdom regarding the disastrous consequences of excessive greediness for money. Thus, the play is not only a love story but also about the overpowering influence of money on human lives.
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