In my previous blog, I did a short analyzation of Jujutsu Kaisen's Nanami Kento's Character. However, in this post, I would like to back up my reasoning with theory readings. I was fortunate enough to participate in the Science Internship Program at UCSC, and I was able to explore this topic thoroughly with a PhD student. We know that Nanami Kento is portrayed as a Salaryman. The Salaryman trope is commonly used in anime to describe a trope that is either used as a gag or to exemplify the seriousness of certain characters. At the beginning of the series, Nanami is portrayed as the Salaryman, but Gege Akutami (the author) creates an interesting character that rejects the professional, corporate life while having a serious character. We see throughout the manga that Nanami is very money-centered. He is very focused on making enough money to retire comfortably, highlighted in the panel below.
He specifically states that "I don't need to deal with curses or other people as long as I have money...". I believe that this is a very interesting point, believing that all of your problems will be solved through financial security. This is a commonly held belief in our society. Having enough money will allow one to live comfortably.
In CONTEMPLATION FOR ECONOMISTS. TOWARDS A SOCIAL ECONOMY BASED ON EMPATHY AND COMPASSION by Krzysztof T. Konecki, he quotes American scholar David Loy, who created a list on what purpose money has to people, stating
“According to Loy, money today serves four functions:
It can be transformed into many things and activities. Money is accepted today as a having a pure value.
We think that money is immortal; it does not vanish. It has a super value in the context of death and perceived impermanence. This creates the psychological problem that you can never have enough money and goods.
Money becomes a symbol of ego. We evaluate ourselves by the amount of money or goods we have, with the exchange rate of money for them in mind" (Konecki, 4)
Similarly, Konecki questions why we are so concentrated on making money, and why it’s a measure of success in our society.
Konecki claims that the problem…” is that people “...block out from our minds some very important concerns that we should be aware…there is no such thing as an ego-self…The death of the ego is dreadful“ Making money gives us some security in this “ontologically insecure” world” (5) To Konecki, there is no such thing as a sense of one’s worth, an ego-self, but people are “...afraid of becoming nothing…” (6).
This text led me to infer that even though Konecki believes that money may not give us a sense of our selves and our lives, for many people money is a way of accomplishment in life. However, it is important to note that Nanami is a little different from what Konecki claims. Konecki claims that the reason why money is so valuable is that having/chasing money gives people a sense of self/life, even though he claims that it does not exist. However, Nanami doesn’t believe in a “purpose in life”. He claimed that he’d never thought about what his purpose on earth is. Instead, he believes that by earning enough money to retire, he can get away from people and curses and live a peaceful life. (as seen above) Using Konecki's text, I developed a thesis statement about Nanami Kento's character:
Using Krzysztof T. Konecki’s concept about the Buddhist approach to the economy and considering that Buddhism is one of the two most practiced religions in Japan, I argue that Nanami Kento’s internal moral conflicts are strongly influenced by the tension between securing a peaceful life through financial security despite the corporate greed he saw and following his moral compass in order to save the weak.
This internal conflict symbolizes how important money is in society. Money allows for one to live a secure life in a constantly unstable/uncertain society (when wealth can change quickly) Ultimately when it comes down to choosing between a morally right choice and choosing for oneself, this promise of security often outweighs the former.
Manga panels from Offical Jujutsu Kaisen Manga
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