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Family Representation in the Lives of the Kimoto Family in “The River Ki”
The novel, “The River Ki”, represents and accurately portrays three generations of a declining traditional family and how it changed in the modern world by spanning over sixty years, before, during and after World War II (1900-1960). The three generations represented by Hana who is seen as the apple of Toyono Kimoto’s eye (her grandmother) is raised and bred as a traditional Japanese woman, is married and gives birth to Fumio. Fumio is the next generation who despite Hana's efforts and wishes, rebels against the traditional arts and culture of her upbringing and ultimately her own daughter wants to learn more about the traditional, conservative lifestyle of a Japanese woman. In the novel, Ariyoshi establishes a strong link between women and the natural world in the context of a family. Each woman's life, (which is seen as a representation of a family generation) contrasts the others as the intense social and technological changes of the period affect their initially rural Wakayama Prefecture of Southern Japan.
Changes Found in Family
Hana is a girl about to enter an arraigned marriage to an ambitious man of a lesser family. The story begins with her very traditional, arranged marriage to a first born son in a town located down stream on the River Ki. Hana, the main protagonist, held tradition and superstition very dearly representing the initial Kimoto family’s attributes. She is an intelligent and strong woman, but one who believes that she should live the life of a traditional Japanese housewife. She and her daughter Fumio are opposites. Fumio represents the transition from the old traditional ways of the Kimoto family to the new modern way. An instance where this is exemplified is where Fumio’s teacher, Mr Tamura is expelled from the school leading to her reacting really harshly and critically towards her mother Hana (Ariyoshi 97). Fumio is portrayed as a modern, educated girl of the twenties being athletic but she forsakes her kimono and marries for love and later she and her husband travel abroad. This portrays the disingenuous early start of Japanese families’ expansionism and their westernization. It also depicts the varied conflicts that are presented to tradition and the acceptance or rejection of modernity. Over time, various changes occur such as the main characters dying and one learns about it several years later only due to a small passing reference which is not the norm in many unusual with most modern novels that mostly revolve around a single protagonist's fate. Another change in the Kimoto family is also in seen when we look at Hana who held tradition and superstition so dear and it is easy to see that she is frustrated by her role and her deep sense of duty. Her daughter, Fumio, on the other hand bursts out with intelligent, modern and quite enthusiasm that is deviating from the norm. Her acts throughout the novel such as her feminism, rejecting of the tea ceremony, playing the koto and flower arranging including taking up instead bicycle riding show how constant change. She is seen telling her mother that she is so hopelessly old-fashioned and that she is making herself an enemy of all Japanese women by keeping her in shackles (Ariyoshi 120). This is a clear depiction of the changes that are taking place to the Kimoto family. Hana's husband, being a politician, is a mover and shaker, but for some reason that seems to be irrelevant to the world of home and family. Fumio’s daughter, Hanako, builds a relationship with her grandmother and it is through this relationship that we see a respectful blending of the old and the new customs which is yet another change in the family.
Importance or Meaning of Family to the Characters
A lot of meaning is attached to family throughout the read and this is on different levels.
Your father once said that he wish you had been a boy. Seiichiro had disappointed him relatively early. After that I did all I could do to see that Seiichiro did not disgrace the family. Fumio I felt so lonely when you ignored my efforts (Ariyoshi 235).
This is one instance where the importance of family is clearly depicted. Hana had been trying very hard after her Keisaku, her husband died to keep her eldest son Seiichiro as the head male of the family. Hana clearly felt hurt, because her daughter Fumio doesn’t see the hard work that she had been trying to do to keep their family together. Her utterances are highly figurative and the language descriptive, because in detail, it describes how Hana had been feeling das she dealt with the issues of trying to keep her family together, and at the same time attempting to stay close to her daughter Fumio. Family value is also seen where it is described to Hanako that the Meiji and Taisho eras of the family have come to a close with their grandfather's death (Ariyoshi 191). This is an example of how deeply rooted the family is in the story. Fumio is amused by how her own daughter rebels against her and regards her grandmother with affection (Ariyoshi 222). Hanako wrote to her grandmother, Hana and attempted to keep close to her by telling her about how she was, and her feelings about her mother, Fumio. She clearly placed a significant amount of importance on family. It is also explained how Kosaku often came to visit the main family (Ariyoshi, 65). This was his attempt to maintain close family ties meaning he regarded family highly.
The Influence of the Changing Historical Context of Prewar Japan on the family life
This book takes describes events occurring a little time before and during the Meiji Restoration and the way Japan was governed during the Meiji Period. These changing events in Prewar Japan are seen to influence family in various ways throughout the novel. As time changes, the views of the characters are altered differently. For instance, when Hana reads a leaflet with words printed in bold letters (We must fight to the finish! Please shorten your kimono sleeves at once! The Japanese Women’s Association, Tokyo Brach), her response is her wondering what could be done with the leftover fabric from the kimono sleeves as opposed to thinking about equal rights for women (Ariyoshi, 205). Hana fails to make sense of how this is a way of speaking up for all Japanese women, and how she finds The Japanese Women’s Association to be pointless and it is clear from her sentiments that she has refusal to change. On the other hand, her 18 year old daughter Fumio converses with her uncle, Kosaku saying how intolerable it is that her mother hasn’t changed at all and she will never be old fashioned like mother (Ariyoshi 113). This is the effect that the changes occurring in Prewar Japan have on family, a divide in their conceptualization of various issues. Fumio has been leading quite an exciting life and she says that since men and women have equal rights, women should go to places frequented by men (Ariyoshi 116). As she decides how to raise her family, she lives a fulfilling life going so far as to travel abroad, and eventually in the end she is seen trying to define the meaning of life. In traditional Japan, young ladies were raised to go to school and to learn how to raise a family. An uprising conflict in the book as modern occurrences in Prewar Japan influence younger generations to forego old customs held so dear by the elder generations. It is believed that a woman’s role in family is to bear children in order to preserve and continue the family line (Ariyoshi 9). Hana embodies this role fully. She graduates from Wakayama Girls’ School and is raised within the traditional Japanese values and the customs instilled in her. Hana later has a daughter Fumio who rebelliously fights in many levels including her way follow modern customs. This can also be attributed to the changes that are taking place such as westernization. As she tries to hold her family together, Hana faces the challenges of raising her family in Japan’s valuable customs while her daughter decides to follow modern contemporary values of other cultures. As Hana and her family lives, there are drastic changes that occur from war to the Meiji Period. Hana endures these trying times. Hana’s granddaughter Hanako saw the ancient tower burn to the ground and she cries out to her grandmother in alarm as Hana, who had been holding her hand, staggered and fell to her knees (Ariyoshi 212). Throughout the novel the author tells the story of family through a list of events in history that directly affect the family life.
Continuity in Family
In Japan, tradition is very integral or important to their society. When the rules of society are broken, a whirlwind of changes are seen to take place and the novel The River Ki exactly expresses that. It is the desire of parents in general to pass family values to their children to have continuity in family system and this is depicted by the characters in the novel The River Ki. Utmost respect for the Matani family was there, which had provided the village headman for generations (Ariyoshi 70). This maintained structure in the family which culminated in the values of the family being maintained. There are however challenges that develop as the story continues as can be seen by the character changes in some of the generations. The main protagonist Hana leaves her home to be married. She marries Keisaku who is well-known politician with a family that Hana mostly gets along with. Hana embodies the family values taught to her of a Japanese woman and she is seen to hold them close to her heart and embracing them. She eventually has children with her husband and starts her own family, but then begins to have different struggles with her children, in-laws, and the rapid modernization of Japanese society. This is what poses an eminent threat on the propagation of the family values to the later generations mostly her daughter Fumio. The River Ki takes place in Japan when family and therefore society is undergoing major changes which also serve to threaten the family values. Hana, the main protagonist is a static character since she failed to change and she kept following her traditional ways. Her daughter Fumio, on the other hand, has a dynamic character, because at first she believes in modern ways, but eventually, she begins to realize that her mother only wanted what’s best for her, and ultimately she then considers believing in and following traditional ways keeping to family values. Fumio’s daughter is expressed as a character that is keen on family. She has a somewhat strong bond with her grandmother Hana and she even writes to her.
Generally, The River Ki clearly represents and accurately portrays three generations of a declining traditional family represented by the three women Hana, her mother and her daughter and each woman's life contrasts the others leading to a clear picture of how the family progresses over time. There are changes in some aspects but there are various values that are retained. The novel is an interesting read that gives insight into the Japanese culture and how time has affected it.

Work Cited
Ariyoshi, S. The River Ki. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1981. Print.