THE DECLINING OF JAPANESE ARISTOCRACY AFTER WORLD WAR II REPRESENTED BY KAZUKO’S FAMILY IN OSAMU DAZAI’S THE SETTING SUN

  

THE DECLINING OF JAPANESE ARISTOCRACY AFTER

WORLD WAR II REPRESENTED BY KAZUKO’S FAMILY IN

OSAMU DAZAI’S THE SETTING SUN

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

  Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  By

LUTFI HANDAYANI

  Student Number: 044214014

  

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

  

THE DECLINING OF JAPANESE ARISTOCRACY AFTER

WORLD WAR II REPRESENTED BY KAZUKO’S FAMILY IN

OSAMU DAZAI’S THE SETTING SUN

AN UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

  Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Sarjana Sastra in English Letters

  By

LUTFI HANDAYANI

  Student Number: 044214014

  

ENGLISH LETTERS STUDY PROGRAMME

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS

FACULTY OF LETTERS

SANATA DHARMA UNIVERSITY

  

A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis

THE DECLINING OF JAPANESE ARISTOCRACY AFTER WORLD WAR II

REPRESENTED BY KAZUKO’S FAMILY IN OSAMU DAZAI’S THE

SETTING SUN

  Dra. Th. Enny Anggrai ni, M.A January 9, 2009 Adventi na Putranti , S.S. M.Hum Januar y 9, 2009

  

L E M B A R P E R N Y A T A A N P E R S E T U J U A N

PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH UNTUK KEPENTINGAN AKA DEMIS

  Yang bertanda tangan di bawah ini, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma : Nama : LUTFI HANDAYANI Nomor Mahasiswa : 044214014

  Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang berjudul : The Dec lin ing of Jap anes e Ari sto crac y aft er Wor ld War 11 Rep res ente d by Ka - zuko’s Family in Osamu Dazai’s The Setting Sun besert a peran gkat yang diperl ukan (bila ada). Dengan demik ian saya member ikan kep ada Pe rpu sta kaa n Uni ver sit as San ata Dha rma hak unt uk men yim pan , me - ngalihkan dalam bentuk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data, mendis tribus ikan secara terbat as, dan mempub likas ikann ya di Intern et atau media lain untuk kepentingan akademis tanpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya maupun mem- berikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencantumkan nama saya sebagai penulis.

  Demikian pernyataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya. Dibuat di Yogyakarta Pada tanggal : 19 Februari 2009 Yang Menyatakan ( LUTF HANDAYANI )

  "In the end, it will all be ok. If it’s not ok, then it’s not the end!"

  (Jason Castro)

  

For

MyBeloved Parents

andBrother

  

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  First of all I present my greatest gratitude to Allah SWT. Secondly I want to thank my advisor Dra. Th. Enny Anggraini, M.A who always helps me in making this thesis by guiding me and giving me advice to finish my thesis, then Adventina Putranti S.S. M.Hum, my co-advisor, who gave a lot of suggestion and correction.

  Then I dedicate this thesis to my father Sugiyo Prayitno, my mother Siti

  

Romlah, and my brother Nur Yudha Bakti Prasetyo. The big family of Tukiman

Mulyoharjono especially my cousins Ati, Topo, Happy, Hera, Jal, Jatu, Artono,

Dwi, Iyas, Jaya, Ama, Enggar, Bagus, Ewi, and my beloved nephew Gerald and

Rizky. The big family of Harjowirono especially Yuni.

  This thesis cannot be finished without the help from my best friend Putu and

  

Nyoman, my friends who have the same advisor dita ndutz, elin, tiny, my classmates

siska, pita, disti, sheilla, indri, amel, nofi, Martha, caca, astrid, dita, nanang,

risky, lisis, ucok, ison, feme, sis, jati, soni, cory, ririn, dede, Edward, santi, acid,

fian, tony, gallon, my KKN friends dika, udel, aily, patje, nicey, iwan, wiwin,

verty, my “Jalesa” friends abim, bambang, benar, charin, gaplex, ucox, pak jink,

mas casli, My BMJ friends henry, dedi, joko, ndeot, my BI friends itok, joko, reni,

puji, slamet, my travelmates bli komang, arne linhorst, andreas maass, my CS

  friends Andrei, ayu, setyo, albert, vira, yosi, mariza, adit, Guido, my Holland friends Ernst, Richard, Chantal, eva, maryke, Patrick, and Bastian.

  Lastly I would like to dedicate this thesis to Alessandro Nesta who always

  

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE…………………………………………………………………… i APPROVAL PAGE…………………………………….………………………. ii

ACCEPTANCE PAGE………………………..……………………………….. iii

MOTTO PAGE…………………………………………………………………. iv

DEDICATION PAGE………………………………………………………….. v

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………. vi

TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………. vii

ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………….. viii

ABSTRAK……………………………………………………………………..... ix

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION A. Background of The Study…………………………………………………

  3 C. Objectives of the Study…………………………………………………...

  12

  39

  26 B. The Social Condition of the Declining Aristocracy after World War II represented by each Character……………………………………………..

  22 CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS A. The Description of Major Characters and Events happening to them…….

  21 C. Method of The Study……………………………………………………...

  20 B. Approach of the Study…………………………………………………….

  18 CHAPTER III: METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study………………………………………………………..

  17 D. Theoretical Framework…………………………………………………...

  14 b. Hierarchy………………………………………………..

  14 a. Society………………………………………………….

  2. The Social Condition after World War II…………………………

  11 b. Hierarchy……………………………………………….

  3 D. Definition of Terms……………………………………………………….

  1 B. Problem Formulation……………………………………………………..

  11 1. The Social Condition in Japan before World War II……………..

  10 C. Review on the Historical Background……………………………………

  3. The Relation between Literature and Society……………………

  9

  2. Theory of Setting…………………………………………………

  7

  7 1. Theory of Characterization……………………………………….

  5 B. Review of Related Theories………………………………………………

  3 CHAPTER II: THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies………………………………………………..

  11 a. Society………………………………………………….

  

ABSTRACT

  LUTFI HANDAYANI (2009): The Declining of Japanese Aristocracy after World

War II Represented by Kazuko’s Family in Osamu Dazai’s The Setting Sun.

Yogyakarta: Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University.

  The Setting Sun is the one novel of Osamu Dazai’s which tells about the

  declining of aristocracy in Japan. The existence of Japanese aristocracy is declining after the World War II, after 1945s. The life of aristocrat before the World War II was precious, wealthy, and powerful. The Setting Sun represented some aspects of Japanese aristocracy which is declining.

  In this study, there are two problem formulations to guide the analysis. The first is to describe the major characters and the events happening to them. The second is to describe the social condition of the decline of Japanese aristocracy after World War II represented by each character.

  The methodology which is used to accomplish this undergraduate thesis is library research. Many references are collected from books and supporting sources from internet. Socio-historical approach is applied in this study to analyze the main characters and depiction of the declining of Japanese aristocracy.

  The finding after analyzing the novel, there are three major characters. They are Kazuko, Naoji, and The Mother. Kazuko is intelligent and well-educated woman. She loves her family. When she looses her treasury, she works as a coolie to fulfill her family’s need. She is a protective sister, although sometimes she feels jealous to Naoji because mother loves Naoji more than loves Kazuko. As an aristocrat, her marriage was planned, but finally she divorces her husband. Naoji is Kazuko’s brother. He is proud of being an aristocrat but he looses his power and treasury after World War II. He has to join the army and he is sent off to the battle field. In the end he commits to suicide because of economic condition. People around him jeer him because of that condition. The mother is a real aristocrat. She is gentle and has taste and good manner. Finally she dies when she is in the poor condition. The social conditions which show the decline of Japanese aristocracy are the arranged marriage, the lost of the power and the treasury. Kazuko represents an aristocrat woman who fights against planned marriage which is usually done by the aristocrat. Naoji represents an aristocrat who looses the power and treasury. He cannot struggle for his life. The mother represents an aristocrat woman who is still proud of being an aristocrat although she is poor.

  

ABSTRAK

  LUTFI HANDAYANI (2009): The Declining of Japanese Aristocracy after World

War II Represented by Kazuko’s Family in Osamu Dazai’s The Setting Sun.

Yogyakarta: Jurusan Sastra Inggris, Fakultas Sastra, Universitas Sanata Dharma

  The Setting Sun adalah salah satu novel karya Osamu Dazai yang

  menceritakan kemerosotan aristokrasi Jepang. Keberadaan aristokrasi Jepang merosot setelah Perang Dunia kedua, sekitar tahun 1945an. Kehidupan aristokrat sebelum perang dunia sangat makmur, kaya, dan mempunyai kekuasaan. The Setting Sun merepresentasikan beberapa aspek aristokrasi Jepang yang merosot.

  Dalam penelitian ini terdapat dua pertanyaan yang dirumuskan untuk memandu analisis. Yang pertama, mendiskripsikan karakter tokoh dalam novel dan kejadian-kejadian yang terjadi pada tokoh-tokoh utama. Yang kedua adalah mendiskripsikan keadaan sosial dalam kemerosotan aristokrasi Jepang setekah Perang Dunia Kedua yang direpresentasikan oleh setiap tokoh.

  Metode yang digunakan untuk menyelesaikan skripsi ini adalah penelitian pustaka. Referensi yang digunakan dikumpulkan dari banyak buku. Sumber lai yang digunakan adalah internet. Pendekatan sosio-historikal digunakan untuk menganalisis karakter-karakter utama dan menganalisis penggambaran kemerosotan aristokrasi Jepang.

  Hasil yang didapat dari analisis adalah ada tiga karakter utama, yaitu Kazuko, Naoji, dan Sang Ibu. Kazuko adalah wanita yang pandai dan berpendidikan. Dia sangat mencintai keluarganya. Ketika dia kehilangan harta bendanya, dia bekerja sebagai kuli untuk memenuhi kebutuhan hidup keluarganya. Dia adalah kakak yang sangat melindungi adiknya, walaupun kadang-kadang dia merasa iri kepada adiknya yang lebih disayang ibunya. Sebagai seorang aristokrat, di dijodohkan, tapi akhirnya dia menceraikan suaminya. Naoji adalah adik Kazuko. Dia sangat bangga menjadi seorang aristokrat tapi akhirnya dia kehilangan harta benda dan kekuasaan setelah Perang Dunia Kedua. Dia harus bergabung menjadi tentara dan dikirim ke medan perang. Akhirnya dia memutuskan untuk bunuh diri karena orang-orang di sekitanya mengejek dia karena sekarang dia miskin. Sang Ibu adalah seorang aristokrat sejati. Dia adalah sosok yang lembut dan bercitarasa tinggi dan berkelakuan baik. Akhirnya Sang Ibu meninggal saat dia menjadi miskin. Keadaan sosial yang digambarkan mengalami kemerosotan dalam novel adalah perjodohan, kehilangan kekuasaan, kekuatan, dan harta benda. Kazuko merepresentasikan wanita yang melawan perjodohan yang biasa dilakukan oleh aristokrat. Naoji merepresentasikan seorang aristokrat yang kehilangan harta dan kekuasan. Dia tidak bisa berjuang untuk hidupnya sendiri. Sang Ibu merepresentasikan seorang yang masih bangga menjadi aristokrat walaupun dia miskin.

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. Background of the Study Japan has very beautiful traditions, arts, and culture in the past time and even

  today. They are very beautiful because most of them are high values. They also have their own philosophy. The traditions are usually done by the noble people or aristocrat families. The Japanese aristocracy is interesting to be talked about because the existence was declining after the World War II. The life of aristocrat and noble people in the past was precious. Most of them lived in wealthy condition and sometimes they got a title or a noble from the emperor. After the World War II, the aristocrats had to survive because of the different condition

  The life of the aristocrats is strict and they must have very good manner in daily life. They had to learn everything about beauty and art such as Ikebana, tea ceremony, and eating properly. The marriage of aristocrat is done by having a marriage arranged by someone with the same or higher rank than those being married, as most had few opportunities to meet the future husband or wife. Most aristocrats married the aristocratic family.

  The Setting Sun , a novel by Osamu Dazai, tells about the aristocracy and its

  declining in Japanese society. It represents the situation of Japanese aristocracy in reality, as stated in the book Theory of Literature, Rene Wellek and Austin Warren social institution correctly, it is false, it is the common place, trite, vague if it means only that literature depicts some aspects of social reality (1956:95) According to Tsushima Shuji, the real name Of Osamu Dazai, he said that The

  

Setting Sun is a tragic story of life in postwar Japan, it is dealing with the fall of an

  aristocratic family, and how tradition is destroyed by the war. Dazai created The

  

Setting Sun in 1947, when Japanese was in difficult condition because Japan was

defeated in World War II.

  The Setting Sun also created an immediate sensation when it first appeared in

  1947. The phrases “characters of The Setting Sun” which came to be applied as a result of the novel to the whole of declining aristocracy has now passed into common usage and even into dictionaries. All the characters in this novel represent the typical not only the aristocracy but also the larger class of Japanese who were impoverished by the war and the succeeding inflation and land reform. (Keene, 1991: xiii-xiv)

  The major characters’ characterization in this novel is very interesting to be talking about because they have a relationship with the aristocracy life which influences their life. Each family member has their own problem related to aristocracy. Kazuko, she has a planned marriage which usually done by the aristocrats and noble people but finally she divorced her husband. Naoji, he commits suicide because after the World War II he becomes poor aristocrat and people around him jeer him. He used to be proud of being aristocratic family. The Mother can do nothing, she has to sell her treasury after the World War II.

  The relation between the characters’ description and the decline of Japanese influenced by the aristocracy. There will be a comparison of the life in the novel and the life in the real world. There also will be some findings about the similarities of the life in the novel with the life in the real world.

  B. Problem Formulation

  1. How are major characters presented in this novel and what happen to the major characters?

  2. How is the social condition of the declining of Japanese aristocracy after World War II represented by each character?

  C. Objectives of the Study

  In the end of making the thesis, the writer is expected to find out how the major characters are presented and what happen to them. Then, the writer identifies how the social condition of the declining of Japanese aristocracy after World War II represented by each character.

  D. Definition of Terms

1. Aristocracy

  According to The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Japan, Aristocracy in Japan deals with the rank powering system in Japan. There are eight basic ranks powering the system in Japanese. One of them is aristocratic families. Aristocratic families major inflection to the Chinese theory of ruling of meritocracy. Aristocracy can also refer to the highest class in society even if they do not rule directly. (The Cambridge Encyclopedia of Japan, 1993:54-55 & 236)

CHAPTER II THEORETICAL REVIEW A. Review of Related Studies In Ivan Morris’ study about Heian aristocratic life in his book The World of

  

it is shown that Japanese aristocratic

  society developed to its fullest extent during the long Heian period. Aristocratic culture of the Heian period is particularly fascinating because many of its values, practices and customs differed sharply from those of today's world--in Japan or elsewhere. A study of Heian-period life can therefore help to de-familiarize contemporary cultural values that may seem obvious or "natural." Moreover, studying the Heian period is simply interesting. It starts with basic information about the aristocracy and then turn to select cultural values and aspects of their lifestyles.

  In the same book, Morris also explains about the habit of Heian aristocrats in spending their spare time. Most of Heian aristocrats are well educated people, so the Heian aristocrats spent little time and energy writing scholarly essays and the like. The majority of what they wrote was poetry, and sometimes poems even substituted for memoranda in government offices. Nearly any event or occasion, public or private, called for rounds of poetry. A person deficient in poetic skills would have been at a serious disadvantage in Heian society. In their poems, the aristocrats delighted in obscure references and plays on words. Poetry was the ideal medium for

  In George Sansom’s study about the beautifulness in Heian period, The Heian aristocrats made a cult out of beauty. Of course, what a Heian aristocrat might consider beautiful, someone in different cultural circumstances might consider ugly. In terms of personal appearance, for example, Heian aristocrats regarded white teeth as ugly, particularly for women. "They look just like peeled caterpillars" wrote one critic of a woman who refused to blacken her teeth. To blacken their teeth Heian women applied a sticky black dye to their teeth so that their mouths resembled a dark, toothless oval when open. This particular custom of blackening the teeth (haguro) persisted until the 1870s among certain elite groups of Japanese women.

  In Aryaningsih’s undergraduate thesis entitled A Study on the Major

  

Character’s Motivation in Revealing the Theme in Osamu Dazai’s The Setting Sun ,

  she reveals the motivation of the major character (Kazuko) to survive from her desperate live. Kazoko has the high spirit of life. Inside, she has the motivation to be a mistress and having an illegitimate child from her lover. These motivations make her survive, and it revealing the theme of The Setting Sun, although her motivations have contradiction with the proper etiquette in that time. In her effort, she finds a lot of troubles but she concerns with her purposes. Finally, she gets her dreams.

  Rimmer in the book Reader's Guide to Japanese Literature said that Dazai’s

  

The Setting Sun became the symbol for people especially for the aristocrat who lost

  their money, places, and their treasury at the end of the war. Dazai showed the

  The story, told in a series of diaries, memoirs, and other documents, creates brilliantly the degraded and spent atmosphere prevalent in Japan at the time. (Rimmer, 1978:183)

  According to Keene, the translator of The Setting Sun, the characters in The

  

Setting Sun are typical of modern Japan as seen in the main character, Kazuko. She is

  described much ignores the Japanese morality and begin to stylist herself in western culture. She attacked the proper etiquette in Japanese culture especially for the aristocrat classes (Keene, 1991: x).

  Osamu Dazai’s private life influences so much his works. In reading this novel, The novel cannot be separated from the author, Dazai is not only the story teller but also a participant (Keene, 1991:xiv). Dazai always creates his work based on his experiences in his life. That thing is also shown in The Setting Sun, one of Dazai’s masterpiece. He chooses the setting on aristocracy life like himself that bring different motivation in creating The Setting Sun.

B. Review of Related Theories

1. Theory of Characterization

  According to Abrams in the book A Glossary of Literary Terms, character is person presented in a dramatic or narrative work, which are interpreted by the readers who are given with the moral and the quality of emotion which are expressed in their conversation or dialogue and their action (Abrams. 1993:23).

  Murphy gives nine ways on how the author creates the character in his book

  Understanding Unseen (1972: 161-173): b. Character as seen by another: the author can describe the character through the eyes and opinions of another.

  c. Speech: the author can give us an insight into the character of one of the person in the book through what that person says.

  d. Past Life: by letting the readers learn something about person’s past life, the author can gives us a clue to events that have helped to shape a person’s character.

  e. Conversation of Others: the author can also gives us clues to a person’s character through the conversations of other people and the things they say about the character.

  f. Reaction: the author can also gives us clue to a person’s character by letting us know how the person reacts to various situations and events.

  g. Direct Comment: the author can describe or comment on a person’s character directly.

  h. Thoughts: the author can gives us direct knowledge of what a person is thinking about. i. Mannerism: the author can describe a person’s mannerism, habits or Idiosyncrasies which also tell us something about the character.

  There are two types of characters which are defined by E.M. Forester in his book Aspect of the Novel. They are flat character and round character. A flat character builds around a single idea or quality and presented without much individualizing character which is easily recognized and represented only, or mainly in one aspect. A round character is a character that is always capable in surprising the readers in convincing way. He/she is more like than the flat character because in real life, people are not simply embodiments of single behavior. His/her temperament and motivation are more complex that they are can not described in a single sentence.

2. Theory of Setting

  Setting is a part of the complex perspective on people and action that is offered to a reader, it helps to set the tone and the mood and it also helps to realize both the character and the plot of literary work (Beaty & Hunter, 1989: 11). Setting is always important to the way a piece of literature affects us and thus, it is an important element to consider in reading. Holman and Harmon (1986: 468), state that there are some elements which the setting is composed. They are: a. The actual geographical location includes its topography, scenery, and such physical arrangements as the location of the windows and doors in a room.

  b. The occupation, daily manner, and activities of living of the characters.

  c. The time or periods in which the action takes place, for example: the year, season, and epoch in history or scene of the year.

  d. The general environment of the characters, for example, religious, mental, moral, social and emotional conditions through which the people in the narrative move.

3. The Relation between Literature and Society

  In writing novel, the author is usually influenced by his or her surrounding aspects such as social, cultural, political, historical, and economic aspects around him or her because the author is a part of society. There is a relationship between literature and society as is stated by Rene Wellek and Austin Warren in the book Theory of Literature:

  The relation between literature and society is that literature is an expression of society. It is assumed that literature at any given time mirrors the current social institution correctly, it is false; it is the common place, trite, vague if it means only that literature depicts some aspects of social reality (1956: 95).

  The relation between literature and society is very close in which the reader can catch literature as an expression of all society as well as in the author’s era (Wellek and Warren, 1956: 95). According to Elizabeth Langland in Society in the Novel explained that society in the novels does not depend on points of absolute fidelity in an outside world in details of costume, setting, and locality because a novel’s society does not aim at a mirror of any real thing. The society in the novel is not always resemble or same with the society in the real life. The society in the novel can be an independent aspect in a novel which is not influenced by the outside world. Society in the novel cannot always be found in the real world, but there is a possibility that we can find it in the real world, although it is not exactly the same. Society in the novel might not be an absolute realistic mirror society in our life (1984: 5). The society in the novel has a possibility to become a social criticism in the real life of society.

  Langland also explained that everything which is seen such as norms, conventions, codes, background, places, peoples, institutions are included in society. But its particular manifestations in a novel will be determined by its role within the work (1984: 6-7).

C. Review on the Historical Background

1. The Social Condition in Japan before World War II

a. Society

  Reischauer explains in his book The Japanese that there is a balance between the individual and the group. The human race is made up of individual, but each is born and for the most part lives his life in a group context. Japanese will be quite content to conform in dress, conduct, style of life, and even thought to the norms of their group (Reischauer, 1980:127).

  In Japan, there are many kinds of group that make their own society. They usually influence other societies and offer more of a sense of individual self- identification. Aristocrats and noble people are the examples of group society in Japan (Reischauer 1980:132).

  To make the group system successfully, the Japanese group society try to taken is arranged marriage. The official go-between couple is particularly employed a central role in arranging marriage ceremony it self (Reischauer 1980:135-136).

  In the book The Japanese Reischauer said that they (the Japanese aristocrats) passionately desire to own their homes, which is no means easy because of high land values and many seek meaningful private. They think that by having their own home is very meaningful, they have their own memories and their proud ness. Home also showed their status in the society (1980:147). The more beautiful and high value, the higher the social status.

b. Hierarchy

  In the book The Japanese Today (Change and Continuity) Reischauer emphasized that hierarchy in Japan undoubtedly derives in part from the long history of hereditary power and aristocratic rules in Japan. Class divisions, hereditary authority, and aristocratic privileges characterized all Japan’s pre modern history (1977:149). A hierarchical structure is often achieved through election of officers and the recognition of status by age and length of membership.

  In the book the Japanese is stated that the Japanese consider different ranks, status natural, inevitable. In fact, their interpersonal relations and the groups into which the device are usually structure on the assumption that there will be hierarchical differences (Reischauer 1980:157).

  In the book The Japanese Today (Change and Continuity) Reischauer stated that even the arts during the feudal times fell into the hereditary pattern. All artistic flower arrangement, for instance, may be highly organized on a family pattern, and the supreme authority in them may still be transmitted by inheritance (Reischauer 1977: 150).

  In Japanese aristocracy, marriage was arranged. A person could not see her/his future couple before the day of marriage and love didn’t give important role in marriage. Lehmann also stated that

  “In the case of the ideal aristocrat marriage, neither courtship nor pre-marital sex took place, the bride was chosen by the family in consultation with and through the help of an officially appointed go-between (nakodo) and the marriage was not so much a contract between individuals as between families; thus personal choice, of either groom or bride, had very little to do in the matter, nor, needless to say, did love.” (Lehmann 1982:97) Marriage is the way to maintain aristocracy between families in Japan. The families ignore the bride and the groom’s feeling. The bride and groom can not reject because their marriage is already planned by the Nakodo.

  In Seth Friedman’s study entitled Women in Japanese Society: Their Changing

  

Roles cited from ( explained

  “Women could not own property, and according to a Portuguese trader, a woman's "...husband may kill his wife for being lazy or bad." Women could learn to write only hiragana, and thus were prevented from reading political and business transactions or great literary works, which were written in the more formal kanji. Women were in all ways subordinate to men.” Friedman actually wants to show that the position of women were inferior. Women did not have their rights of education because men placed them as “Queen” in their house and had to care of their children.

  

The Japanese Today that woman should in youth obey her father, in maturity her

  husband, and in old age her son still has some validity. He actually wants to show that women are for men, from young to old.

  In the book The Roots of Modern Japan, Lehmann stated “Japanese women have suffered neither physical disgrace nor impairment: there was no female circumcision in Japan, no binding feet, widows were not burnt at the pyre of their deceased husband, nor were they forced to cover their faces with a veil. There were a few custom associated with the female sex, though none of these were of a particularly barbarous nature.” (Lehmann 1882: 89)

2. Social Condition after World War II

a. Society

  Hirohito’s surrender broadcast was a profound shock to Japanese citizens because many people knew that Japan’s military could get their victory but the reality was the opposite, Japan could not get its victory and it was proven in the space for a few minutes. But for many people, these were only secondary concerns since they were also facing starvation and homelessness.

  Japan faced the worst economic condition which is called Occupation era from 1945 to 1952. This condition made many people lost their treasures, they had to sell Occupation began, families were still selling off their possessions to make ends meet. An Asahi Newspaper survey discovered in November 1946 that only 51 percent of people survived on their wages alone. The rest relied on a combination and salaries and what they called “Red Ink Income,” a euphemism for the sale of family possessions”. It shows that the economic condition at that time was unstable. Many families had to sell their own possession for their living. The impact was felt not only poor people but also rich people such as merchant and aristocrat (Chapman, 1991: 8).

  In the book Japan: A Documentary History, David J. Lu wrote about the women condition after World War II, the legal position of women was equal to men, it can be found in the rights clause in the 1947 Constitution and the revised Civil Code of 1948. Women as well as men were guaranteed the right to choose spouses and occupations, to inherit and own property in their own names, to initiate divorce, and to retain custody of their children. Women were given the right to vote in 1946 (Lu, 1971:395).

  The public role of women has changed markedly since the beginning of World War II. During World War II the role of women changed. Almost 2.5 million men served in the Japanese armed forces, this represented 10% of the male population or 17% of the male working population. At the end of the war 7,190,000 men were serving in the armed forces. With millions of men removed from industry, women found themselves working in coal mines, steel mills, field, and arms factories. With their husbands gone, wives were now in complete control of the home. Japanese wives

  The role of the women also changed after The 1947 Constitution is established. The 1947 constitution established the equality of sexes. In Article 14 is said “there shall be no discrimination because of race, creed, sex, social status or family origin.

  Women have to work for their family because men are sent off to the war. In the book Japan: A Documentary History, David J. Lu quotes from Sub-Lieutenant Wada Minoru, the author of diary of Document 11, graduated from the First High School and was a student of Law Faculty of Tokyo Imperial University when he volunteered for naval duty. He told that he and many of his classmates were forced to go to the battle field. Many students had to meet dishonorable fate because they were sent off to the battle field. Many students of high schools also are also sent off to the battlefield.

  Many people were in depressing condition at that time, people committed to suicide to finish their suffer. According to Peter Harris, Chief Editor of J@pan Inc Magazine stated in that suicide is become more popular in Japan. The bullying also increases the number of suicide among teenager in Japan.

  Suicide in Japan is caused by alcohol-drinking culture. According to Yukio Mishima, Japanese nationalist writer, considers his suicidal end as a noble ‘Japanese’ act. He considers suicide as a ‘respectable” death. It means that suicide is the way to maintain their proud. In British Journal of Psychiatry (no.188,2006) quoted from

  In Japan there are many people addict to drug and drink. Elmer Irey stated in the website many men addict drugs during the war, especially in Japan. Many people cultivate opium because opium is the source of money. There is a huge market in Japan. There are also so many demands for opium.

  Another reason of suicide is economic reason. The bad economic condition is also the caused of suicide. In Kayoko Ueno essay which entitled Suicide as Japan’s

  

major export? A note on Japanese Suicide Culture quoted from

, it is stated that suicide

  cannot be separated with the economic recession and deficits of the social welfare system.

b. Hierarchy

  In Ben-Ami Shillony and Louis Frieberg (Chair in East Asian Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem) study’s entitled Japanese Monarchy: Past and Present as cited in the Japanese aristocracy, composed of the old nobility and the new peerage was dissolved. It can be proved in the Article 14 of the 1947 constitution said: "All of the people are equal under the law… Peers and peerage shall not be recognized." This single sentence put an end to the aristocratic class.

  The postwar constitution of 1947 has cleared up all these problems. The emperor’s function is described as purely symbolic and it is expressly stated that the emperor shall not have power related to government (Reischauer 1980:247).

  Soichi Watanabe explained in the book The Peasant Soul of Japan that the nobility had been done away with, and the big commercial combines had been dissolved (1989:149-150).

  David J. Lu quoted from The Reconstruction in Japan about the private property as stated in his book Japan: A Documentary History. In The Reconstruction of Japan in Section 2 is stated Limitation on private property.

  Limitation on private property: No Japanese family shall possessed property in excess of one million yen. A similar limitation shall apply to Japanese citizens holding property overseas. No one shall be permitted to make a gift of property to those related by blood or to others or to transfer his property by other means with the intent of circumventing this limitation (Lu, 1997:413).

  It showed that rich people could not increase their treasury because the limitation.

D. Theoretical Framework

  The theories that the writer used for this novel are characterization, setting, and theory of relation between society and literature. All of the theories are needed because each theory has the contribution to solve the problem. The theory of characterization is used to answer question number one. To know the characterization of the characters can be analyzed by applying the theory of characterization. The theory of setting is used to answer both questions. We can find the Japanese aristocracy by using the time and place setting which will give us clue of event or era and literature is used to compare the social reality in literature and in the real life. After that, the writer will analyze the social condition of the declining aristocracy after the World War II represented by each character. Finally, the writer draws a conclusion about the social condition of the declining aristocracy after the World War II represented by each character. Part C is used to compare the history in the novel and the history in the real world and find the events in the real world which are represented by the characters.

CHAPTER III METHODOLOGY A. Object of the Study The object of this study is a novel entitled The Setting Sun. This novel is

  written by Osamu Dazai who has the real name Tsushima Shuji. The original title of

  

The Setting Sun is Shayo, it is known as one of Dazai’s masterpieces. The Setting Sun

  was published to show the declining condition of Japanese nobility after World War II and show how the tradition is destroyed by the war. Dazai also addressed many social, human and philosophical issues through this novel.

  The Setting Sun was written by Osamu Dazai in 1947 in Japan. It was published for the first time in 1947 and it was translated by Donald Keene in 1956.

  The influence of this book has made the term “people of the setting sun” (i.e., the declining aristocracy) a permanent part of the Japanese language. Osamu Dazai is leveled with other Japanese author such as Yasunari Kawabata, Junichiro Tanizaki, and Natsume Soseki. The writer uses the novel published in Tokyo Japan by Charles E. Tuttle Co. in 1997 by special arrangement with New Directions Publishing Corporation, New York to analyze the work. This book is the sixth printing and it is printed in Singapore. This novel has 175 pages and divided into 8 chapters, they are:

  1. Snake, 2. Fire, 3. Moonflowers, 4. Letters, 5. The Lady, 6. Outbreak of Hostilities, 7. The Testament, 8. Victims. brother and her mother after she divorced her husband. She married her husband because of arranged marriage, she had to marry a man who was an aristocrat. Her life was getting worse since she and her mother had to move to small town in Izu. Her mother died in Izu because of TB. Since her brother came back from the war, she also had to help her brother in drugs addiction, and finally he made a decision to suicide. When she was tired of that condition, she made a rebellion of herself, she did what she wanted to do. She worked like an ordinary women, she wanted have a baby from man she loved without married the man. It showed that her tragic life which is caused by aristocracy could be solved by herself, her willingness to make herself happy.

B. Approach of the Study

  Literary works such as novels, poems, and plays are always contain intrinsic and extrinsic elements. According to Guerin in the book A Handbook of Critical

  

Approach to Literature said that in analyzing a piece of literary work, it is not only the

  intrinsic elements that are counted, but also the extrinsic elements such as author’s biography and the historical background of the work (Guerin, 1979:20). The extrinsic element that will be used in analyzing this novel is the social condition in Japan after World War II. The story in this novel is influenced by the condition in that time which made the characterization of the characters clearly appeared in facing that condition.

  The writer considered that the socio-historical approach is the most suitable to make a study of this novel. Rohnberger and Woods in the book Reading and Writing