Child's Play was one of my favorite expressions of a poet that I have read in class. I call it an expression because it really was a part of Ichiyo's life. Ichiyo was a young woman who lived on the edge of a "red-light" district or prostitutional district in Japan. She used her surroundings and observations as inspirations for her short story. In
Child's Play, Ichiyo spun the tale of a typical love triangle with dynamic twists. While one boy, Shota, was too young to understand the emotional toll Midori dealt with because of her sister's occupation and her family's dependency on the income, the other was too introverted and embarrassed to share his feelings of love with her. While I was reading the story, I often forgot how young the characters were because they dealt with "adult-like" situations. Nobu was a reserved scholar who saw his religious father as a hypocrite because he was so interested in material possessions and making money, he lost sight of the importance of religion. He decided he was going back to the traditional way of living and left for the seminary at the end of the play. Shota, a boy of only thirteen, was consumed by looking older and trying to grow up faster. He used Midori as arm candy and enjoyed it when she looked beautiful like her older sister who the reader assumes is a geisha character, or a beautiful woman who has many customers and ends up marrying a rich politician. His grandmother was a tough old loan shark, and he was thought to be stingy like her because he would soon be taking over the business. The person who struggles the most through this age in her life is Midori, a young girl of about fifteen or sixteen who is sassy, strong, and outspoken in the beginning of the play. She is a beautiful young girl who goes through a change in her life where she loses her innocence of childhood and becomes a wistful young woman who is not happy with her situation in life. Because her sister is such a prominent geisha or high-class prostitute, Midori sees no way out and realizes she is destined to follow the same path. The unrequited love between Nobu and Midori further deepens the plot and Ichiyo shows how young children can be tethered by the standards and statuses of adulthood.
One of the most important symbols in this play comes at the very end of the story when Midori finds a paper narcissus inside of the gate. I think that Nobu gave the flower to Midori as a token of his undying love for her. When I looked up the meaning of the Narcissus flower however, I received mixed results. It can represent rebirth and new beginnings, which makes sense to the story because Nobu was leaving for the seminary. It can also mean chivalry and singular love which makes sense because Nobu clearly had feelings for Midori and because he is going to the seminary, he isn't supposed to be romantically involved again. The conflicting view is that if given a single paper narcissus, it can represent misfortune. Ichiyo could have done this on purpose because Midori had already lost her life and spirit to her occupation and Nobu may have sensed this and sent the flower to remind her of what she has chosen. Overall, I thought the story was beautifully written and found the symbolism of the paper narcissus very intriguing.
