Why was Miho confused when Rokka asked her about the earthquake? Let’s take a closer look at the events surrounding this brief bit of oddity. Hazuki and Rokka were in each other’s arms, and it would seem as though they were seconds away from making love. When the earthquake shook them out of their stupor, Rokka began to worry about her store. After checking up on the flower shop, Rokka returned to bed and started reminiscing about her husband. So what can we infer from these scenes? I suggest that we have an existential question — a philosophical question.
When you change your mind about something, that in a way changes who you are. It’s almost like a fear of death. The person you are will no longer exist, and this new person will emerge. As a result of this fear, this is why it’s difficult for a lot of people to change their minds about major issues in their lives. You define yourself by the way you think about things: “No, I don’t want this. I don’t want ‘x.’ I want ‘y.’ That’s part of what makes me me!” The problem for Rokka is that all of a sudden, “I do want ‘x.'”
Rokka has been Mrs. Shimao for a long time now — even after Atsushi has long passed away. Out of nowhere, Hazuki shows up and Rokka clearly has desires for him. To give into these desires, however, is to admit that she will no longer be Mrs. Shimao. The cognitive dissonance within her feels like a life-shattering event. To put it in another way, it is earth-shaking. It is also no coincidence that Rokka’s apprehensions manifested just as she and Hazuki were about to have sex. There’s a French saying that the orgasm is la petite mort:
La petite mort, French for “the little death”, is an idiom and metaphor for orgasm.
More widely, it can refer to the spiritual release that comes with orgasm or to a short period of melancholy or transcendence as a result of the expenditure of the “life force”…
…
The term “la petite mort” or “the small death” does not always apply to sexual experiences. It can also be used when some undesired thing has happened to a person and has affected them so much that “a part of them dies inside”.
The earthquake was a subjective event. As a result, Miho did not and could not have felt it. The earthquake also gives us another insight into Rokka’s heart. Rokka can’t see Atsushi’s ghost, but his presence lives on as the store that she now tends to. If Rokka ever decides to move on, the part of her that will have to die is necessarily linked to her husband’s memories. Naturally, when the earthquake occurs, her first concern is the store, i.e. her husband. Last week, I compared Atsushi to his beautiful flower arrangements:
Like mortally-wounded flowers in water, Atsushi was going to die — his life only prolonged due to modern medicine. But perhaps at that point in time, Rokka had become his florist. He was a beautiful husband she was desperate to preserve.
I will now suggest that even long after his death, Rokka has not given up her role as Atsushi’s florist (in more ways than one). This is simply her way to keep him alive, so to speak. So when Rokka cries after reminiscing over some old memories of her former life with Atsushi, how might we accurately characterize the conflict within her? Does she simply miss her deceased husband? Or is there a tinge of guilt in there as well?
Another telling moment occurs right at the start of the episode. In her (presumably) fever-induced dreams (“In the sea of sleep…”), Rokka remembers how Atsushi once carried her to bed when she was sick. This particular memory mirrors the events at the end of the previous episode when Hazuki had to carry the collapsed Rokka to bed. They also seem to reinforce the idea that Rokka isn’t ready to move on. Perhaps somewhere deep within her subconscious, she simply wants Hazuki to take Atsushi’s place. This way, Rokka can have her cake and eat it too: she can indulge her desires for companionship and sex, but at the same time, she won’t have to discard a part of herself — the part that makes her Mrs. Shimao.
But this can’t happen. Rather, it should not happen. If Hazuki simply takes Atsushi’s place, he’s the one who will have to suffer “the little death.” After all, his own personality and desires will be subsumed by another. First, Atsushi’s ghost threatens to kill Hazuki shortly after the latter attempted to bed Rokka. Afterwards, Atsushi tries to bargain with his rival, asking if they could swap places just so that the former can have some closure with his wife. Two problems spring to mind.
First, even if what he’s requesting is remotely possible, can Hazuki really trust a desperate ghost to return his body? Second, the process literally requires Hazuki to die even if just temporarily. Sure, his body will be alive, but he’ll have to become a ghost. It should come as no surprise that Hazuki rejected the preposterous proposal. Still, when Atsushi reminds him again of the request, Hazuki experiences another earthquake. Does this hint at a kernel of guilt deep within Hazuki’s heart? Might a small part of him actually want Atsushi to experience this closure with Rokka? Fittingly, Miho can’t recall any earthquake when Hazuki asks her about it later that day.
I’m amused to see Hazuki compare Rokka’s former husband to a cut flower. At the end of the episode, he also compares himself to a flower, albeit a potted one: “I’m not good at gambling, but it’s either a dried flower or a potted flower….” These metaphors sure sound familiar. Anyway, it sounds as though Hazuki will be rejected from the looks of things. If that is the case, what will he do now?
I want to make one more observation: at the end of his dinner with Miho, Hazuki can be seen coughing. On the surface, it would seem as though he might have caught a bit of the cold afflicting Rokka. I wonder, however, if it’s a touch of foreshadowing. What lengths might Hazuki go to in order to win Rokka’s heart? If Rokka isn’t willing to kill a small part of herself to move on, will Hazuki make that sacrifice for her?
After your complaints about the lack of comments on last episode’s post, I was alarmed that you were going to take a different approach to Natsuyuki Rendezvous, but I can now rest assured. For the earthquake, I think of it simply as Atsushi’s anger causing it, but your explanation fits just as well. However, even if it is just limited subjectively to that room, there are still things falling off of cabinets. It physically doesn’t work, but this argument is probably mute, since it’s a supernatural anime. The reason I link the earthquake to Atsushi’s pain is because he threatens to kill Hazuki. He scrapes Hazuki with an object, so I think he really does cause the earthquakes to vent his anger. Can you dissuade me with your subjective earthquake argument?
If the store embodies the memories of Atsushi, then it would literally have to close down for Rokka to move on. Although you meant it figuratively, it’s quite possible, since Miho mentions at the end of the episode of the store closing down. It sucks that Hazuki shares Atsushi’s bony fingers.
I had a teacher who was obsessed with sex and the little death, so this brings back memories. And I’m not sure what you mean by your last paragraph about foreshadowing. By the way, is Rokka to blame for Atsushi’s inability to rest in peace? The anime keeps going back to the same “Please don’t leave me” line.
I ran out of time.
It’s all about perception. Rokka perceives an earthquake, i.e. she can feel the ground shaking. Miho, on the other hand, doesn’t feel anything. We can thus ask, “Is perception limited to just the sense of touch?” In other words, if the sensation of the ground shaking is subjective, can’t Rokka’s other sensations be subjective as well? We see things fall off of cabinets. At the same time, however, we are observing the scene from the perspective of the characters in the room. Rokka sees things fall, but did they really fall in reality, i.e. the objective world beyond her subjectivity? Of course, if you accept my argument, that’s not really a question we can ever really answer. But, I mean, it’s not like we see her picking stuff up.
As for who caused the earthquake, I would agree that the anime initially leads you to believe that Atsushi is responsible for it. After all, Hazuki immediately calls it “heavy-handed.” We, however, only see Atsushi curl up into a fetal position. We don’t really see him cause the earthquake. Still, that doesn’t disprove the idea that he may have caused it, and I don’t think I can disprove it myself. So why do I nevertheless think that the earthquakes are symbolic of something else instead? Because I feel as though there’s a great disparity between the two earthquakes that we see. In one scene, Atsushi is about to watch another man sleep with his wife. So perhaps his immense sorrow manifested in an earthquake. In the other scene, he’s merely begging Hazuki for the second time to switch places. There’s no sense of deep pain or desperation. If Atsushi is the cause behind both earthquakes, they don’t feel consistent.
Or let’s put in a simpler way. If the earthquake was real, then why couldn’t Miho feel it? The real has to obey physical laws. Even supernaturally, how do you cause one floor to shake without affecting the rest of the building? Something that is supernatural is just what we can’t understand exerting itself upon reality. His powers to summon an earthquake might be supernatural, but everything after the fact is still a part of reality.
Later episodes might just prove me wrong, but for the time being, I think my subjective take on the earthquake is more elegant.
Sickness is a precursor to death. Rokka isn’t ready to move on. Hazuki might have to become Atsushi in order to advance their relationship, which would mean — in some small part — a death of himself. Either he acts more like Atsushi, or perhaps he accepts Atsushi’s request for them to switch places temporarily.
I personally think so.
I’d say your explanation on the earthquakes sounds aesthetically pleasing, but I’m quite sure Miho did see a pot fall and break downstairs at the shop. This suggests the motion must have been physical and not perceived, just not very widespread.
You don’t know why the pot fell though; you only see it. Miho could’ve accidentally dropped it for all we know. Why would she claim that there was no earthquake if the pot fell as a result of said earthquake?
Another moment I felt was standout was when Hazuki said “I don’t mind being the second choice all my life”. Initially Rokka I’m not sure what Rokka’s reaction to that was since that immediately leads into their attempt to have sex. Perhaps she didn’t intuit what he was saying right away, but later on she flashed back and realized the real meaning behind those words. I feel like Rokka might have initially been happy with having Hazuki as a replacement when he first said the words but upon looking back she sees how selfish it is for her to just accept them offhand. Meanwhile Hazuki whom I think was not necessarily being sincere in that moment, by the end of the episode realizes that the words he said may have to be the truth of the matter.
In addition I also thought that the earthquakes were purely Atsushi inspired but I’m glad that your post introduces some much needed doubt into that proposal in order to keep the show nuanced and interesting.
Thirded on the earthquakes— I thought it was the ghost, but your explanation makes sense as well. The ghost does seem to have some sort of poltergeist powers, since he was throwing clocks at Hazuki (I think?) so it seems to fit in the same pattern of moving things. A very odd scene either way.
Oh you crazy wamouras.
For show that isn’t airing, you should obv talk about Bihada Ichizoku.
“There is a World Beautiful-Skin Competition…”
Newp.
For show that isn’t airing, I’d suggest Tsuritama.
Well, I was thinking about doing a concluding post on Sakamichi no Apollon if people wanted to read my take on it.
Sounds good to me.
I second this motion. Maybe even compare and contrast the love triangles in Sakamichi no Apollon and Natsuyuki Rendezvous?
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