OVERLAY REPORT

In Michio Takeyama’s novel *The Burmese Harp* (and its famous film adaptations by Kon Ichikawa), the parrots serve as the primary narrative device for the emotional climax and the resolution of the protagonist Mizushima’s character arc. Their significance can be broken down into the following specific details: ### 1. The Parrots as a Bridge of Communication The central plot involves the Japanese soldiers of Captain Inoue’s platoon trying to confirm if a mysterious Buddhist monk they see in Burma is actually their missing comrade, Mizushima. Because Mizushima has taken a vow of silence (or simply refuses to speak to them to maintain his monk persona), the parrots become the only way for the two parties to communicate their true feelings. * **The Platoon’s Parrot:** The soldiers obtain a parrot and spend months training it to say, *"Mizushima, let’s go back to Japan together"* (*Mizushima, issho ni Nihon e kaerou*). They give this bird to an old Burmese woman who has contact with the monk, hoping the bird will prompt him to return home with them. * **Mizushima’s Parrot:** Mizushima, having committed himself to the task of burying the thousands of uncollected remains of Japanese soldiers scattered across the Burmese countryside, trains his own parrot. ### 2. The Climax of the Message The most significant moment occurs at the end of the story as the soldiers are being repatriated to Japan by ship. The old woman brings them a parrot—the one Mizushima had been keeping. As the ship pulls away from the shore, the parrot speaks the words Mizushima could not say in person: **"Ah, I cannot go back"** (*Aa, jibun wa kaeru wake ni wa ikanai*). This is the definitive moment where the platoon realizes that their friend has not merely "gone native" or lost his mind, but has made a profound spiritual choice to remain as a "corpse-burying monk." ### 3. Symbolic Significance The parrots carry several layers of symbolic meaning: * **The Voice of the Soul:** Throughout the story, Mizushima uses his harp to communicate emotions that words cannot express. The parrots represent the transition from the abstract emotion of the harp to a concrete moral commitment. The bird speaks the "voice" of Mizushima's conscience. * **The Transformation of Identity:** The parrot’s change in phrase mirrors Mizushima’s transformation. The first parrot represents the pull of the past (Japan, family, survival), while the second parrot represents the acceptance of a new, sacrificial identity (Burma, the dead, spiritual duty). * **Nature as Witness:** The use of a tropical bird—native to the land where so many soldiers died—to deliver a message of mourning suggests that the land of Burma itself is speaking to the survivors. It highlights the contrast between the lush, living nature of Burma and the "white bones" of the soldiers that Mizushima is dedicated to burying. ### 4. The Moral Weight The parrots underscore the theme of **survivor's guilt.** By having the parrot deliver the final message, the story emphasizes that Mizushima’s decision is not an act of desertion, but a response to a higher calling. The bird’s repetitive, haunting delivery of "I cannot go back" serves as a lingering reminder to the soldiers returning to Japan of the human cost of the war they left behind.