Sansho the Steward

I very much enjoyed reading Sansho the Steward by Mori Ogai because I did not expect the plot to change for Zushio at the end. It felt liberating as a reader when Zushio's life turned around 180 degrees after the strife he went through. The story is very poignant and contains many emotional points. I think children and adults of any age would have many things to learn from this story, especially in regard to the depth and importance of human relationships. For children the obvious lesson is to be cautious of strangers and not follow anyone who lure them with candy because there are "bad" people like the Sansho who would separate families and take advantage of them. However, what stood out to me the most was how well the human relationships were illustrated in the story. The nurse commits suicide because she "cannot live without the children," then Anju turns taciturn after putting Zushio through the pain of "branding" and eventually plots a sacrificial escape not for herself but for her little brother, committing suicide in the process. Zushio then meets the Chief Priest, Morozane, and becomes Masamichi, as if the Jizo amulet that Anju had given him had opened a new door to a bright future just to match Anju's benevolence and her "honorary" death. In the story, Anju tells Zushio that he will be okay if he meets good people. It is a lesson that who you meet in life is significant and special, that they can lead you to many places and alter your course of life. The ending is a very emotional scene as Zushio, now Masamichi, meets his mother who had become blind. I like how Mori Ogai did not explain how the mother had turned blind because the reader is left to imagine the terrible course of strife she must have gone through. The song she was singing at the end was exemplary of her emotional hardship. This story also teaches to persevere in life and to have faith in strife for life will have a positive turn. 

Zushio's life is changed for the better at the night he sleeps at Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto, which is a world heritage site today. I had the privilege of visiting it this summer and it was magnificent. So I think that Mori Ogai wanted to include it in the story. What do you think is the significance of the temple?