Watching this video reminded me of one of the terms we discussed last week, distortion. This ocean centric language proposal in Deterritorializing: Preface mentioned switching from clarity to distortion, as many things underwater are distorted and how this distortion should be a baseline condition. I saw this distortion in the video we watched this week, as there were both visual and auditory distortions when the camera was underwater. Looking up at the land, one could not see as clearly as one should be able to, and there were light distortions through the water. When an audio clip of someone talking played, it was muffled and incomprehensible. It was interesting to see the world from what a mermaid’s perspective might be, and how separated from the human world this perspective is. When the camera was underwater and pointed up at the surface, the land beyond seemed so far away. If we did switch our language from clarity to distortion, it would allow us to consider other perspectives, and perhaps understand that our personal perspective is not truly clear; rather that it is distorted, as is everyone else’s.
I also thought the locations chosen by the director were interesting. There was a sharp contrast between the snowy land, that was just nature for miles and miles, untouched by man. Then, where the mermaid was swimming, there was concrete and industrialization. As it states in the description, the mermaid is exploring an old, decommissioned NATO base, which also goes to show that even when humans think they need land, they are willing to just abandon it after it has served its purpose. Perhaps this contrast is making commentary on mankind’s effects on the environment. While some parts are unscathed, others are dominated by the effects of industrialization and humans’ need for land. And by changing the raw environment, it makes it more difficult for the natural world to navigate. Instead of this mermaid having the ability to roam in an open space (as shown in the video at 4:53), the mermaid is confined to tunnels and canals. As humans, we are able to manipulate the world in a way that affects many more species than just our own.
During the latter half of the 19th century, Japan made the transition from a feudal military country to a colonial power under the Meiji Era. Along with the adoption of Western ideas came the industrialization of the country (“A Brief History”). The Meiji Era ushered in coal and chemical plants, mills, refineries, copper mines, and pollutants (Seagrove 2). These new technologies brought new language too–the coining of the word “kogai” which Seagrove (1) describes as “industrial pollution that damages human health and the environment” (p.1). Despite the awareness of the negative environmental costs of industrialization, Japan continued to prioritize economic development as they gained global power. In the Japanese tale The Mermaid, the middle-aged man’s decision to release the mermaid reflects this human-first attitude adopted during the industrial revolution in the 1890s.
The Mermaid follows the story of a middle-aged man who lives by himself, having never married. When fishing one day, the man catches a mermaid. On page 206 of The Penguin Book of Mermaids, the passage reads: “ ‘Desinit in piscem mulier formosa superne.’ The mermaid’s face was tearful, for the hook was in her cheek, and there was also the shame of being forcibly dragged out of her native element; and the angler was a man of tender heart” (p. 206). The strong use of imagery in this quote, of the hook in the cheek and forcible dragging, represents the strong hand of the Japanese in trying to conquer the environment through technological advances. The usage of the phrase “native element” also reveals the use of a mermaid as a symbol for the environment, and the relationship between this man and mermaid represents interactions between Japanese and the environment. The Latin words, at the beginning of this quote, and presumably stated by the man, loosely translates to ‘the beautiful woman ends in a fish’s tail’. The structure of this sentence (and in the quotation) reveals how he sees the mermaid as a human first, and then secondly an element of nature, reflecting the human-first frame of mind this story was written in.
The man then contemplates what to do with the mermaid. The way that he ponders about what to do with her represents the commercialization of the environment that Japan was undergoing: “Gently extracting the hook from her jaws, he held her in his hands and meditatively speculated on the money which he could gain by selling her to an itinerant exhibition, or the long life which he might obtain by eating her flesh” (p.206) Many new technologies, such as power plants and mines were sources of economic gain from the environment in Japan. Not only does this quote represent commercialization and the commodification of nature, but it also illustrates the tensions in the transitional period that the Meiji Era brought. Choosing to sell the mermaid to an exhibition may have resulted from the newfound international trade brought in by the new era, while eating the mermaid comes from a Japanese belief involving immortality, and is more connected to the traditional eras of Japan. The man’s struggle between this choice represents the economic tug of war between an isolated, feudal Japan and the new, colonial Japan that was developing. In addition, the imagery of the man holding her in his hands contributes to the idea of Japan dominating and controlling nature, through how small and powerless it makes her appear.
Despite the two initial choices presented, the man decides to release the mermaid back into the water. However, his reasoning behind the release is not of respect for nature, or pity. The author states: “But his soul revolted at the thought of eating this fair creature, that whimpered and cried like a human being, and so after another long gaze he threw it back into the waves, when the mermaid, waving its grateful adieux, speedily dived out of sight” (p.206). The man does not choose to release the mermaid for any reason but that it reminds him of himself. This reflects the human-first attitude that the Meiji Era brought as it prioritized human advancement over preservation and respect for the environment. Had the mermaid not “whimpered and cried like a human being”, the man would not have returned her to the water, and would have made the choice between selling or eating her. Although the text describes the man as “a man of tender heart”, it seems his tenderness only extended to those who look and act like himself, not to all living beings in the world. This description of the mermaid also reflects how nature is at the mercy of the industrialization of Japan, since the man is the one in control. The mermaid’s gratefulness also contributes to this power dynamic.
Interestingly enough, this tale was published in English in a magazine in Tokyo. This decision to use the English language, as opposed to Japanese, may be another hint toward the Westernization of Japan at this time–as many citizens were sent to Europe to learn about how their country operated. Whether this story can be considered propaganda for the government and modernization, or perhaps a tale created from integration of European ideas and the story of Melusine, is unknown, but it does comment on many concepts of the Meiji Era–of modernization, power, transition. This developmental era in Japan’s history brought about much change for all of Japan, and this tale is an important representation of the attitudes toward nature in Japan during the Meiji Era.
Works Cited
Bacchilega, Cristina. Penguin Book of Mermaids. Penguin Publishing Group, 2019.
Japan, Heartland. “A Brief History of Japan from the Late 19th Century to the Early 20th
Century. – Heartland Japan.” Heartland Japan – Your Gateway to the Heartland of Japan.
Heartland Japan Offers Unforgettable Experiences for Walking, Cycling, Hiking, and
