Political Exiles: Give me Liberty
For the past few weeks, in Non-Western Art class, we have discussed later Japanese artworks and how it relates to the theme of social justice. Out of the many featured artworks, we have covered, An Exiled Emperor on Okinoshima intrigued to me the most and thus motivated me to do an extensive research on it. The person who was exiled on Okinoshima Island was identified as Emperor Go-Daigo, the 96th Emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Go-Daigo’s reign spanned merely the years from 1318 to 1339. Even though he only reigned for 21 years, his is known to be one of the most prominent among other Japanese Emperors. He was famous for his exiles on Okinoshima Island led by his fails attempted to overthrow the Kamakura Shogunate. In Japanese history, people who committed political crimes were put onto isolated island as a way of punishment. The first Japanese Emperor to get exiled was Gotoba. After the successions of 14 rulers, Emperor Go-Daigo was exiled on the same island. After centuries have passed, the rule of his banishment is still relevant to today political world as encounter by many refugees. In this paper, I will talk about the cause of Emperor Go-Daigo banishment, what happen during his exile, the outcome after his release, and compare it with Cuban exiles as how it relates to current day.
The painting of Exiled Emperor on Okinoshima is read from left to right. In this majestically painted screen, we first see the drawing of crashing wave in five different pieces and not until the last piece of drawing we see the emperor. The emperor is seated under a small pavilion on tatami mats. The position that he is sitting could be described as lotus position as he is longing toward the sea. Besides the emperor, on the left and near right there are blossom cherry trees. The belief is that the blossoming cherry might signify the Spring season. The structure, however, is very skimpy and barren. In front of the structure, there is a small gate. From a far distance of the entrance gate, there is a man wearing some sort of hat trudging toward the emperor. Far left behind him, there is a boat that is moored along the shore. Also on the left side of the man, the strong wave is crashing against the shore. From seeing the man walks and his clothes flying toward the right, we can sense the wind blowing at a very fast speed. The color grading in this painting consists of gold and silver to represent mist and cloud. Most importantly to show the solitude and somber mood of exiled emperor Go-Daigo.
Before he was an emperor, his was called by the name of Takaharu. His emperor name came from 9th century Emperor Daigo and added “Go” as a way of naming himself later Daigo. At the early age of 31, he became the emperor of Japan. During this time, the nation was at the unstable stage of its history. The government was divided into two form. “One is called the de jure government and the other is known as de facto,” (Shinoda 2). The emperor reigned under de jure government. On contrary, the shogun falls under de facto government. Both governments have little to no power in uniting their people and ended up being the puppet of wealthy families. Even before Emperor Go-Daigo took the throne of power, he always had plans to overthrow the shogunate. His ambition was to take them down and restore the power of the imperial court. After two failed attempts, he was sent to the Okinoshima. There he was confined to the secluded island. Later that spring, one of his loyal supporter came and rescued him at the island. After returning to the imperial court, “he continued to make the same mistakes that had led to his first exile” (Keene 2). In a matter of time, he and his armies were forced to leave the city of Kyoto. They moved to Yoshino Mountain and established their own court, where Go-Daigo died in 1339.
The cause of Emperor Go-Daigo banishment was him committing political crimes. During the 14th century, plotting against another form of government was viewed as a high sin and their punishment was to exile them on a secluded island. Destroying the empire of shogun was something that Go-Daigo always wanted to do even before he became the emperor of Japan. His biggest ambitious was to restore the imperial government and make samurai the second class as it happened prior to the establishment of the shogun in 1192. His plans to overthrow the shogun was first discovered in 1324. After seven years have passed, his second plan was again discovered. The difference this time is that he was betrayed by his close companion Yoshida. After the discovery, he was immediately sent to Okinoshima island. Arguably the Cuban political refugees have the same reason as to why they exile themselves from the government of Cuba. The important cause of this massive exiles was due to their prime minister Fidel Castro adopting communist party in Cuba. When a new party emerged, one that is totally different from their own, fear began to strike across cities in Cuba. Similarly, this is what happened during the reign of Emperor Go-Daigo. The Kamakura shogunate, who used to be the second class in Japan, suddenly rose to power in 1150 and the fear of imperial losing power led Emperor go-Daigo to plot against them. His fear for the future caused him to get exile. Comparably, Cuban exile themselves from their country due to the fear of communist indoctrination. The Emperor Go-Daigo and Cuban wants freedom, security, and one form of government they used to have.
During the time spent in Okinoshima Island, “the emperor was filled with sorrow, lonely, and nostalgic,” (Keene 23). The evidence can be seen by looking back to the picture of An Exiled Emperor on Okinoshima as the Emperor seated crossed legs in a praying lotus position inside a small tent and yearning toward the sea. In correspond to the Emperor feeling, it is viable to say that people who exiled from Cuban felt the same way as he did during centuries ago. After Fidel Castro took power in 1959, the first wave of Cuban exiles began to take part. The first group of these were known to be more of elites or high-status people. These people left their houses, cars, and relatives thinking that it will be temporary. However, Castro’s proved to them wrong and keep the communist party for centuries. Majority of Cuban refugees do not have a choice but to reside in the U.S. As these people adjust new life in a new nation, “they felt grief over the distance from their relatives whose still live under communist party,” (Lazo 14). The feeling that these Cuban have could be related to the same feeling Emperor Go-Daigo had as he lives the “grief” life on the desolated island of Okinoshima.
The painting of An Exiled Emperor on Okinoshima illustrated the last day of Go-Daigo in the island as his loyal supporter came to rescued him. When he returned from exile, he still holds the same belief and goal. Even after spending years in a lonely island, he still wants to overthrow the shogun and re-establish the imperial court in Japan. For a short period of time, he was filled with joy to know that Takauji sided with him. But not until very long he began to call him a traitor as Takauji decided to overthrow Kamakura by himself and claimed that he is ahead of shogun. After the alliance was broken between the two, “Go-Daigo left Kyoto and moved to Yoshino Mountains and established his own court,” (Shinoda 9). Thereafter he lives in a court that was built by him and his people and eventually died there. In correspond Emperor Go-Daigo, Cuban refugees want to overthrow Castro’s and bring Democracy government in Cuba. Some people even form a parliamentary group in Southern Florida to assassinate him. They named themselves Alpha 66 and “hired a gunman to assassinate Fidel Castro during his speech at the United Nations,” (Garcia 143). However, they were caught my Castro’s spies and quickly uncovered the incident. This explained the common goal between Cuban refugees and Emperor Go-Daigo, which is to overthrow a government that is different from their own. Not until the late November 2016 when Castro’s death was announced and Cuban-American began to celebrate. Many people were filled with joy, contentment, and relief as hearing his death.
The painting of An Exiled Emperor on Okinoshima is important to the current day as many people still facing political exiles. For centuries, Cuban refugees had to leave their island and learn to adapt in a new nation without family and relatives. Many people find it difficult to live away from home and family. While the communist government is still in power, they do not have the option to return home. The need for a stable government and political liberty caused some people to form a parliamentary group to assassinate Fidel Castro. Similarly, Emperor Go-Daigo wanted to restore the imperial government by overthrowing the Kamakura shogunate. Even after failed the attempt to overthrow their rivalry, both learned to fight for their political liberty. Instead of accepting surrender, Emperor Go-Daigo moved to Yoshino Mountain and gained his political freedom there. On the other hand, the Cuban political refugees learned to let time heal by itself and celebrate as the communist leader Castro’s died at the age of 90.