Onibaba response 1

According to wikipedia, the director intended the film as a allegory for the aftermath of the atomic bombs being dropped during WW2, with the disfiguring mask representing the radiation burns suffered by victims of the bombs. I think that this is an interesting perspective to analyze the film from, because it is in effect a rejection of Japanese nationalism. In the film, the samurai wearing the mask is extremely conceited, saying that he is the most beautiful man in Japan, while on the other hand, the mother wearing it was jealous of her daugters affair, while at the same time, wanting her to find a higher class partner. From this lens, the characters represent the national character of Japan during WW2, desiring to conquer and plunder all of asia, and having a complex of racial supremancy, leading to a pit of economic ruin. It's interesting how just 20 years after WW2 ended, artists were this quick to recognize the mistakes that Japan made.