As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases
A recent Polygon article broke the news about a recalled statue made for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Shadows game#ad, scheduled for release in February of next year.
The statue features the game’s two protagonists, the Black samurai Yasuke#ad and a female shinobi named Naoe. Innocent enough, but the trouble starts with a key piece in the background: Naoe is shown bounding off of a broken one-legged torii gate.
Image by PC Gamer
Torii are an essential part of Japanese culture, tied to the Shinto religion. They serve as the entrance to Shinto shrines, a gateway for both gods and people alike. Iconic torii such as Fushimi Inari Shrine in Kyoto and the “floating” ocean gate of Itsukushima Shrine in Hiroshima have long served as one of the most recognizable symbols of Japan.
The issue does not lie within the torii gate itself, as seen in advertisements and promotional images for the upcoming game, but rather with how it is specifically depicted on the statue. The statue version shows a torii broken cleanly in half, tilting to the side as its shimenawa rope dangles loosely.
Upon the design’s release, the statue faced immediate backlash. The image of a broken one-legged torii gate is most closely associated with Sannō Shrine, located in Nagasaki. During WWII, the United States dropped a second atomic bomb, three days after Hiroshima, on Nagasaki City on August 9th, 1945. 39,000 people were killed and 25,000 were injured as a result. Located a mere 900 meters from the epicenter, the blast completely obliterated half of Sannō Shrine’s torii gate, but the other half, almost miraculously, remained standing.
Image by Discover Nagasaki
Rather than rebuild the torii, the city of Nagasaki has preserved it as it was. Much like the Hiroshima Peace Memorial, more commonly known as the Atomic Bomb Dome, Sannō Shrine serves as a reminder of the atrocities of nuclear weapons and the lasting devastation it inflicted upon the Japanese people. Both are extremely valuable and significant symbols for the hibakusha, or atomic bomb survivors, who continue to advocate for world peace.
It is not clear why collectibles maker Pure Arts, the manufacturer behind the statue’s design, made this “creative” decision in the first place, when a standard torii gate standing behind the characters would have sufficed, if such an object was really needed in the first place. It almost seems purposefully cruel to include the broken torii as a quirky ornament when surely asking for input from a native Japanese person, or a simple Google search for that matter, would have made it clear to the designers that such a detail would cause controversy.
In any case, people were vocal about Pure Arts’ insensitive and ignorant use of this culturally significant symbol, and the statue has since been recalled with the company claiming they are “reworking the design” of the collectible.
In the current political climate, it may feel as though anything and everything is on the verge of getting canceled for something, but the reality is that this wouldn’t happen so often if people weren’t so damn stupid. How easy would it have been for a room full of (presumably non-Japanese) executives, who are creating a video game and an accompanying collectible rooted strongly in Japanese culture, to just get an outside opinion? With the entire Internet’s worth of knowledge and information at our fingertips, why are companies still making these idiotic mistakes in the first place?
Pictured: Ghost of Tsushima. Image by Variety
In an age where more and more people are putting in the work to make meaningful and respectful art that borrows from other cultures, cultural sensitivity should be the norm. But it’s not. These spaces are still overwhelmingly white, with very little input from minorities. How many more “incidents” like the Shadows statue have to happen before this begins to change?
Featured Image by Ubisoft
The Path/パス is an online bilingual journal of arts, culture, and entertainment bringing you in-depth reviews, news, and analysis on the hottest properties in sci-fi fantasy film, television, and gaming.
Through in-depth research on intellectual properties and major franchises, we develop content covering your favorite books, series, films, games, and shows, such as The Witcher, Cyberpunk 2077, Lord of the Rings, House of the Dragon, Fallout, and Shogun.
If you enjoy our takes, consider buying us a coffee! Your support will help us continue producing excellent pop culture writing in English and Japanese for a true East-meets-West entertainment experience! Arigatō gozaimasu!