Kenkichi and Makoto’s Father-Son Rupture

A Man

Kenkichi Kobayashi’s crimes and earlier violence leave Makoto Hara struggling to separate his own body and moral worth from his father’s legacy.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

Violence at Home Violence at Home from "A Man". A Family Formed by Fear An abusive household Kenkichi Kobayashi beats his wife and child, while outsiders may still see the household as ordinary.

Violence at Home from "A Man". A Family Formed by Fear An abusive household Kenkichi Kobayashi beats his wife and child, while outsiders may still see the household as ordinary.

A Family Formed by Fear An abusive household Kenkichi Kobayashi beats his wife and child, while outsiders may still see the household as ordinary. Harm before the crime Hara’s later trauma did not begin with the murders alone. The violence in his home helps explain his lasting fear of his father’s blood and face.

The Murders of 1985 The Murders of 1985 from "A Man". A Father Becomes a Killer A violent robbery Kobayashi kills a family, including Hara’s friend, then sets their home on fire.

The Murders of 1985 from "A Man". A Father Becomes a Killer A violent robbery Kobayashi kills a family, including Hara’s friend, then sets their home on fire.

A Father Becomes a Killer A violent robbery Kobayashi kills a family, including Hara’s friend, then sets their home on fire. A son made visible The crime turns Hara into the child of a notorious murderer. Others treat him as responsible for acts he did not commit.

Letters from Prison Letters from Prison from "A Man". An Apology That Does Not Reach A father writes Kobayashi sends letters expressing guilt and asking his son to remember their happy times.

Letters from Prison from "A Man". An Apology That Does Not Reach A father writes Kobayashi sends letters expressing guilt and asking his son to remember their happy times.

An Apology That Does Not Reach A father writes Kobayashi sends letters expressing guilt and asking his son to remember their happy times. Hara rejects the appeal Hara believes the letters center his father’s suffering rather than the victims. The father’s remorse cannot restore trust or undo what happened.

An Execution Without Reconciliation

The Father Dies State punishment Kobayashi is executed while Hara is eighteen. Hara does not visit him in prison and never says he wishes his father had lived. Questions remain The death closes the possibility of a conversation but does not settle how much the father’s violence shaped the son.

A Son Fears Resemblance A Son Fears Resemblance from "A Man". The Body as Inheritance Fear of becoming him Hara sees his resemblance to Kobayashi and worries that violence may emerge from within him.

A Son Fears Resemblance from "A Man". The Body as Inheritance Fear of becoming him Hara sees his resemblance to Kobayashi and worries that violence may emerge from within him.

The Body as Inheritance Fear of becoming him Hara sees his resemblance to Kobayashi and worries that violence may emerge from within him. An imposed identity His attempts to master that fear through boxing and self-punishment show how the father remains present even after death.

Hara’s early childhood

Summer 1985

During Kobayashi’s imprisonment

1993

Hara’s young adulthood