Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

The Makioka Sisters

 The Makioka Sisters
type
TVTItem
 The Makioka Sisters
label
The Makioka Sisters
 The Makioka Sisters
page
TheMakiokaSisters
 The Makioka Sisters
comment
Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_1'); })The Makioka Sisters is a highly regarded Japanese novel by Jun'ichiro Tanizaki telling the story of the four sisters of the Makioka family. The first part was originally serialized during World War II but the book as a whole was only fully published after the war due to running afoul of wartime censorship. The action takes place from Autumn 1936 to April 1941.Sachiko, the second sister, is the novel's main viewpoint character. Loosely based on Tanizaki's wife, she is outwardly brisk and businesslike but in fact very introspective and conservative. Sachiko spends most of her time trying to find a husband for the third sister, Yukiko, who is thirty years old at the beginning of the novel and subtly being deliberately as unhelpful as humanly possible to register her displeasure with the situation and desire to stay with her sisters and niece rather than be forced to move away with an unfamiliar man. The youngest sister, Taeko, is something of a problem child and her amoral and acquisitive behavior makes it harder to get Yukiko a match.Advertisement:propertag.cmd.push(function() { proper_display('tvtropes_mobile_ad_2'); })The eldest sister, Tsuruko, has been Demoted to Extra since before the beginning of the main plot and mostly appears to pass judgment on the other sisters' actions, although she and Sachiko maintain a positive relationship most of the time.Tsuruko and Sachiko are both married. Sachiko's husband, Teinosuke, is the most prominent male character in the novel; Tsuruko's husband, Tatsuo, is judging by other characters' reactions the closest thing the novel has to an antagonist. Sachiko's daughter Etsuko is also prominent, as are some of Taeko's boyfriends.There is no central driving plot.A film adaptation, directed by Kon Ichikawa, was made in 1983.
 The Makioka Sisters
fetched
2020-12-22T01:07:45Z
 The Makioka Sisters
parsed
2020-12-22T01:07:45Z
 The Makioka Sisters
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The Makioka Sisters / int_1439161f
type
Heroic BSoD
 The Makioka Sisters / int_1439161f
comment
Heroic BSoD: Sachiko hits the bottle starting about halfway through the novel.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_1439161f
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_1439161f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_1439161f
 The Makioka Sisters / int_146e133b
type
Tamer and Chaster
 The Makioka Sisters / int_146e133b
comment
Tamer and Chaster: Far less racy than most of Tanizaki's other novels (many of which have pronounced BDSM themes), although several of the characters' sex lives are still relevant within the story.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_146e133b
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_146e133b
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_146e133b
 The Makioka Sisters / int_1da5941e
type
The Quiet One
 The Makioka Sisters / int_1da5941e
comment
The Quiet One: Yukiko, who in one scene sinks a marriage prospect by answering a phone call from her suitor but being unable (or refusing) to speak into the phone.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_1da5941e
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_1da5941e
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_1da5941e
 The Makioka Sisters / int_1f6983f7
type
Ambiguous Situation
 The Makioka Sisters / int_1f6983f7
comment
Ambiguous Situation: Do Yukiko's engagements keep failing through no fault of her own due to her Love It or Hate It personality or (as This Very Wiki assumes) is she sabotaging them on purpose?
 The Makioka Sisters / int_1f6983f7
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_1f6983f7
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_1f6983f7
 The Makioka Sisters / int_28ddc48d
type
Seasonal Baggage
 The Makioka Sisters / int_28ddc48d
comment
Seasonal Baggage: The novel is famous for this (somewhere between the Motif and Montage variants). Stand-out scenes include spring cherry blossom viewings and a midsummer firefly hunt.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_28ddc48d
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_28ddc48d
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_28ddc48d
 The Makioka Sisters / int_3287773c
type
Lovable Alpha Bitch
 The Makioka Sisters / int_3287773c
comment
Lovable Alpha Bitch: The entire main cast, relative to the rest of Japanese society.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_3287773c
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_3287773c
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_3287773c
 The Makioka Sisters / int_3eb0f889
type
Pun-Based Title
 The Makioka Sisters / int_3eb0f889
comment
Pun-Based Title: The original title is Sasameyuki, a word referring to a type of light, powdery snow. Since the book takes place in Osaka, it doesn't snow very much; the title exists essentially as a pun on the third sister's name, which means "snow child" ("Flurries of Yukiko" might capture the meaning, but not the pun, in English). So greatly was this Lost in Translation that, rather than trying to replicate the meaning of the word "sasameyuki" or the nature of the pun, translator Edward G. Seidensticker just gave the book a completely new title.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_3eb0f889
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_3eb0f889
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_3eb0f889
 The Makioka Sisters / int_52c3c556
type
Blade-of-Grass Cut
 The Makioka Sisters / int_52c3c556
comment
Blade-of-Grass Cut: The film has some lovely close-ups of cherry blossoms in the rain.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_52c3c556
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_52c3c556
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_52c3c556
 The Makioka Sisters / int_581f6468
type
Hero of Another Story
 The Makioka Sisters / int_581f6468
comment
Hero of Another Story: Katherine Kyrilenko, whose story is actually more interesting than the main plot and would completely eclipse it were the novel not Slice of Life.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_581f6468
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_581f6468
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_581f6468
 The Makioka Sisters / int_643060dc
type
Fleeting Passionate Hobbies
 The Makioka Sisters / int_643060dc
comment
Fleeting Passionate Hobbies: Taeko develops intense interest and then loses said interest on dollmaking, western style sewing and embroidery and traditional Osaka dance.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_643060dc
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_643060dc
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_643060dc
 The Makioka Sisters / int_65bc92fc
type
Four-Temperament Ensemble
 The Makioka Sisters / int_65bc92fc
comment
Four-Temperament Ensemble: Tsuruko is phlegmatic, Sachiko is choleric, Yukiko is melancholic, and Taeko is sanguine to a fault.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_65bc92fc
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_65bc92fc
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_65bc92fc
 The Makioka Sisters / int_6bda9a30
type
Meaningful Name
 The Makioka Sisters / int_6bda9a30
comment
Meaningful Name: Subverted. Sachiko means 'Bliss Child'. Sachiko is not a happy person.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_6bda9a30
featureApplicability
-0.3
 The Makioka Sisters / int_6bda9a30
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_6bda9a30
 The Makioka Sisters / int_6f66bef7
type
But Not Too Foreign
 The Makioka Sisters / int_6f66bef7
comment
But Not Too Foreign: Averted. The Stolzes are 100% German and the Kyrilenkos 100% Byelorussian.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_6f66bef7
featureApplicability
-1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_6f66bef7
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_6f66bef7
 The Makioka Sisters / int_71e8a5c5
type
Trauma Conga Line
 The Makioka Sisters / int_71e8a5c5
comment
Trauma Conga Line: Taeko gets put through the wringer late in the novel (broken relationships with her sisters; ilness; her daughter dying during birth).
 The Makioka Sisters / int_71e8a5c5
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_71e8a5c5
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_71e8a5c5
 The Makioka Sisters / int_767f84ea
type
Does Not Like Men
 The Makioka Sisters / int_767f84ea
comment
Does Not Like Men: Yukiko.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_767f84ea
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_767f84ea
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_767f84ea
 The Makioka Sisters / int_786bf97f
type
Real Life Writes the Plot
 The Makioka Sisters / int_786bf97f
comment
Real Life Writes the Plot: Tanizaki's wife's abortion is split into two different plot points: Sachiko's (involuntary) miscarriage early in the story, and her contemplating coercing Taeko into aborting a socially scandalous pregnancy towards the end. (She eventually decides not to because putting Taeko through it would be more trouble than it would be worth.)
 The Makioka Sisters / int_786bf97f
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_786bf97f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_786bf97f
 The Makioka Sisters / int_7db984b1
type
Rule-Abiding Rebel
 The Makioka Sisters / int_7db984b1
comment
Rule-Abiding Rebel: Tanizaki writes characters who quietly dissent from a lot of the most toxic social and political trends of wartime Japan, but only very quietly.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_7db984b1
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_7db984b1
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_7db984b1
 The Makioka Sisters / int_7e081ea0
type
Slice of Life
 The Makioka Sisters / int_7e081ea0
comment
Slice of Life: It's been described as "pre-war Japanese Seinfeld".
 The Makioka Sisters / int_7e081ea0
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_7e081ea0
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_7e081ea0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_7eebe99c
type
The Alcoholic
 The Makioka Sisters / int_7eebe99c
comment
The Alcoholic: Mimaki, Yukiko's eventual husband, is a heavy drinker and chosen partially because his probable neglect of Yukiko will leave her on a longer leash than a marriage to a more upstanding man. Sachiko.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_7eebe99c
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_7eebe99c
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_7eebe99c
 The Makioka Sisters / int_82fc5bdf
type
Bratty Half-Pint
 The Makioka Sisters / int_82fc5bdf
comment
Bratty Half-Pint: Makioka "Japanese D.W." Etsuko.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_82fc5bdf
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_82fc5bdf
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_82fc5bdf
 The Makioka Sisters / int_8386a7a
type
Three-Act Structure
 The Makioka Sisters / int_8386a7a
comment
Three-Act Structure: The book is divided into three sections that do follow somewhat different sets of events and relationships, although any given event in one section may or may not be relevant in later sections (see Random Events Plot and Slice of Life).
 The Makioka Sisters / int_8386a7a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_8386a7a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_8386a7a
 The Makioka Sisters / int_970c790a
type
Big Bad
 The Makioka Sisters / int_970c790a
comment
Big Bad: Downplayed with Tatsuo. He is manipulative and demanding towards the rest of the family. He and Tsuruko force Yukiko to move to Tokyo for no real reason and constantly pass unedifying moral judgment on the other sisters' actions. The lack of a core driving conflict and the novel's refusal to sermonize prevent him from being presented as an outright villain.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_970c790a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_970c790a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_970c790a
 The Makioka Sisters / int_9843be73
type
As You Know
 The Makioka Sisters / int_9843be73
comment
As You Know: Quite a bit of expository dialogue in the beginning of the movie, like one of the sisters referring to "our late father".
 The Makioka Sisters / int_9843be73
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_9843be73
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_9843be73
 The Makioka Sisters / int_a07afea2
type
Random Events Plot
 The Makioka Sisters / int_a07afea2
comment
Random Events Plot: The more action-heavy parts of the novel can feel like this due to the serial format and generally loose plot structure.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_a07afea2
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_a07afea2
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_a07afea2
 The Makioka Sisters / int_a201dad2
type
Passive-Aggressive Kombat
 The Makioka Sisters / int_a201dad2
comment
Passive-Aggressive Kombat: A Signature Move for the women (and, on occasion, the men) of the Makioka family.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_a201dad2
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_a201dad2
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_a201dad2
 The Makioka Sisters / int_ad22fa80
type
Apocalyptic Log
 The Makioka Sisters / int_ad22fa80
comment
Apocalyptic Log: Hilda Stolz's letters from Germany as World War II rages.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_ad22fa80
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_ad22fa80
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_ad22fa80
 The Makioka Sisters / int_b6b6355f
type
Politeness Judo
 The Makioka Sisters / int_b6b6355f
comment
Politeness Judo: Yukiko's main survival mechanism. Sachiko and Tsuruko are also quite capable of this.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_b6b6355f
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_b6b6355f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_b6b6355f
 The Makioka Sisters / int_bec0417c
type
Happily Married
 The Makioka Sisters / int_bec0417c
comment
Happily Married: Sachiko and Teinosuke; Tsuruko and Tatsuo.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_bec0417c
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_bec0417c
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_bec0417c
 The Makioka Sisters / int_c74c35f4
type
Monochrome Past
 The Makioka Sisters / int_c74c35f4
comment
Monochrome Past: The flashbacks (in the movie) to Taeko's elopement are in black-and-white, except for one particularly long flashback segment, which starts out in black-and-white but shifts into color.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_c74c35f4
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_c74c35f4
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_c74c35f4
 The Makioka Sisters / int_cfdb9e17
type
Cerebus Syndrome
 The Makioka Sisters / int_cfdb9e17
comment
Cerebus Syndrome: The flood and Itakura's death herald in a steadily darkening plotline for the second half of the book.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_cfdb9e17
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_cfdb9e17
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_cfdb9e17
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d01cffbc
type
Badass Longcoat
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d01cffbc
comment
Badass Longcoat: Itakura wears an overcoat that is explicitly stated to look like one out of an American Film Noir.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d01cffbc
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d01cffbc
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_d01cffbc
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d139ffaf
type
Genre Throwback
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d139ffaf
comment
Genre Throwback: Tanizaki wanted to write something like a Jane Austen "novel of manners," set in the modern day and in his own country.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d139ffaf
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d139ffaf
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_d139ffaf
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d3427b48
type
YamatoNadeshiko
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d3427b48
comment
Yamato Nadeshiko: Yukiko weaponizes it.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d3427b48
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d3427b48
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_d3427b48
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d53ad027
type
Cheerful Child
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d53ad027
comment
Cheerful Child: Etsuko.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d53ad027
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_d53ad027
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_d53ad027
 The Makioka Sisters / int_daecc607
type
BigSisterBully
 The Makioka Sisters / int_daecc607
comment
Big Sister Bully: Tsuruko often pulls rank on the other sisters and attempts to circumscribe or pass judgment on their behavior, usually with good intentions but often in an unhelpful and self-righteous way.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_daecc607
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_daecc607
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_daecc607
 The Makioka Sisters / int_eb8ec7c8
type
Jerkass
 The Makioka Sisters / int_eb8ec7c8
comment
Jerkass: In addition to Tatsuo, Okubata, although events late in the novel reveal that he has been much more solicitous towards Taeko than the other characters had any reason to believe.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_eb8ec7c8
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_eb8ec7c8
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_eb8ec7c8
 The Makioka Sisters / int_ed874c14
type
Self-Made Man
 The Makioka Sisters / int_ed874c14
comment
Self-Made Man: Itakura, Taeko's second plot-relevant suitor, which horrifies the other Makiokas.
 The Makioka Sisters / int_ed874c14
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_ed874c14
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_ed874c14
 The Makioka Sisters / int_name
type
ItemName
 The Makioka Sisters / int_name
comment
 The Makioka Sisters / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Makioka Sisters
hasFeature
The Makioka Sisters / int_name
 The Makioka Sisters / int_name
itemName
The Makioka Sisters

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

(none found)