1. Open-minded
Coldmoon as a former student of Mr. Sneaze often comes to his teacher‟s house
to chat in his spare time along with Waverhouse and sometimes Beauchamp, a friend of Coldmoon also show up in Mr. Sneaze‟s house. Most of the time they spend inside
Mr. Sneaze‟s study, they chat in various objects from suicide, womanhood, even East- West culture. At one time, Coldmoon does not come to Mr. Sneaze‟s house and
Madam Conk Mrs. Goldfield comes to his house and asked about Coldmoon in order to know more about him and judge him whether Coldmoon could marry her daughter
or not. Waverhouse showed her one of the printed postcard from Coldmoon and she gives her compliment to the scribble underneath the picture.
“If it could be played on the samisen, then it‟s real McCoy. Well how about these?” asks Waverhouse picking out postcard after postcard.
“Thank you, but I‟ve seen enough. For now, at least I know that Coldmoon‟s not a straight-
laced prude.” Soseki,2002: 96 From the compliments given to Coldmoon, it can be seen that Madam Conk sees him
as a vast-minded person. She tells it clearly at the end of the quotation that Coldmoon is not a straight-laced prude. Which means Coldmoon is an open-minded person that is
also not easily shocked by anything related to sex since Coldmoon mentions „tiny whore‟ in that postcard. At that particular period in Japan, the things related to sex
were still seen as taboo and not many people saying anything related to that openly.
Further observation on how open-minded he is can be seen from the quotation below when he suggests something new for Beauchamp.
“It‟s neither a comedy nor tragedy. Since people these days are always fussing about whether a play should be old-style drama or new-style drama, I decided to
invent a totally new type and have accordingly written what I call a haiku-pla y.”
Soseki,2002: 214 From the quotation above, it can be seen that Coldmoon has an interest in literature
that is outside of his study as a Bachelor of Science. He even writes his own piece of haiku and suggests it to Beauchamp. Coldmoon also try to invent a new style of play
that is called haiku-play in which only consists of single scene since it is taken from haiku style of poetry. He is doing this because that days many people always fussing
on how a play should be whether it is old-style or new-style drama and also whether it is a comedy or tragedy. He thinks outside of the box which many people may not think
about. In the scene of haiku-play that suggested by Coldmoon, there is a woman
washing herself with a cotton towel. This immediately strikes a problem to the others but not to Coldmoon. It can be seen from the quotation below.
“If you scholars, the intellectual cream of Japan, remain straight-laced in your ancient bigotry, there‟s no real hope for the future of Japan. What‟s the
distinction betw een painting and drama? Are they not both arts?” Coldmoon,
very evidently enjoying himself, lashes out at the prudery of his listeners. Soseki,2002: 215
From the conversation above between Coldmoon and his listeners, we can see that Co
ldmoon‟s listeners unlike Coldmoon are straight-laced. They are worry if a play with nude scene will not be allowed by the police to be shown to public. When the
listeners of Coldmoon argue about it, Coldmoon only express his opinion as fellow scholar that they are too straight-laced and still have an old mindset about nudity. He
knows that time, nudity still seen as taboo for the society yet Coldmoon who study art and now is a part of intellectuals on the other hand, sees both painting and drama from
a different perspective. Both of them are works of art and Coldmoon can see it because he broadens his minds. Even though he graduates from a major of science, he also
study and appreciates literature and art in which he receives more knowledge without being restricted to old mindset anymore.
After explaining the rest of how the haiku-play staged, Waverhouse argues that haiku lacks of constructive positivism and undermine the morals of Japanese nation as
he known it from the essay and articles about spirit of haiku. On the contrary, Coldmoon only lets out his opinion.
Coldmoon looks slightly huffed. “Do you think its effect is as demoralizing as all that? Myself, I think it‟s constructive, positivist, definitely yea-saying.” He is
seeking to vindicate something too unimportant to merit vindication. “The point
is that Kyoshi actually makes the crow fall in love with the woman. His lines having the effect are, I consider, an affirmation of life, and that, I think, is very
positivist.” Soseki,2002: 216
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