A Discourse By Three Drunkards Analysis

A Discourse by Three Drunkards on Government by Nakae Chomin explores the various values and ideas of three men, in regards to the future of Japan. This trio consists of the Gentleman, who enjoys Western ideals; the Champion, who prefers traditional Japanese values; and Master Nankai, a sage who enjoys to drink and talk politics among others. This story uses these characters, primarily the Gentlemen and the Champion, to represent political views that were present in Japan during the Meiji Period. Of the many themes discussed among them is the idea of novelty versus nostalgia, which grew into a central argument. “Novelty” or new, in this case, represents the Western influence that was entering Japan at the time; these ideas became popular with
The Champion says “It’s not easy to analyze these two elements, but we can generally distinguish them by their ages and certain regional characteristics” (Chomin 104). This makes sense in a generalized manner; the people who care for novelty are mostly people of the younger generation and people who are from regions with high mobility and commerce. The younger generation are the ones who pick up new ideas and create their own thoughts, and that is how innovation can be created. It is always the young people who can pave the future. Region-wise, having large amounts of traffic in certain regions means that the people there are exposed to many types of new things and people; Western thought is one such example of these “new things”. Analyzing these generalizations based on what the Champion said can even be compared to today’s world. For example, people who live in urban areas today tend to show more liberal views because they are exposed to so many different people and ideas, while people who live out in rural areas tend to hold more conservative values since they tend to be exposed to similar types of people and ideas in small communities. This can also be applied to age today, as well. Even now, there exists a gap between the ideas and values of different generations. Though this analysis of the people behind either side of the novelty and nostalgia debate is not
In response to this inquiry, the Champion says that he thinks the nostalgic element should be removed. This man, who favors the traditional values of Japan over the Western ideals states that the element that he belongs to should be expelled, and he even goes on to state that nostalgia is a cancer and must be cut out. This brings confusion to the Gentleman and even possibly to Master Nankai, though the latter does not comment on this statement. Looking at this part of the discussion on a surface level brings some confusion, but carefully analyzing the Champions words allows some insight into his reasoning. He understands that his nostalgic views that he and many other share are the reason that Japan may not evolve and climb the path of civilization. He knows that he and everyone who favors nostalgia are a cancer to Japan; to resolve this, he states that he will remove the nostalgic people, including himself by invading another country to establish their society elsewhere. If this was to fail, then their bodies will be left in the battlefield of a forgotten land. Either way, the Champion states they would be removed from Japan (Chomin 114). This idea is rather