When Loyalties Collide: Familial and Religious Alliances in "Dr. Ogata, a Memorandum" and "O-Gin" Courtney E. Parsons College

Loyalty is a character trait which is held in high esteem throughout the world, and even people who do not explicitly value loyalty still have loyalty to certain ideas. Whether it is to people, ideas, religions, or objects, most people carry numerous loyalties to things that they care about. However, occasionally two loyalties collide with each other and become mutually exclusive with one another. This is the case in two of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s short stories. In both “Dr. Ogata, a Memorandum” and “O-Gin”, characters are forced to choose between their loyalty to beliefs and loyalty to their family. Although the stories are different, by examining the similarities and differences between them such as the situation the protagonist is faced with and the bias of the narrator, one can discern Akutagawa’s beliefs on whether loyalty to people or loyalty to religion is more important.

“Dr. Ogata, a Memorandum” follows a woman named Shino who is a believer in the “Kirishitan”, or Christian faith and is told from the village Doctor Ogato’s point of view. Following the death of Shino’s husband, she converted from the traditional faith system to a new faith, Christianity, much to the chagrin of those around her. She took her faith very...