[Oshima's Boy] is one of the bitterest satires ever to be made on the Japanese family…. Oshima argues, not that he is realistically representing a typical Japanese household, but that the entire situation symbolizes the essence of family life in Japan. The power relationships between parents and children, exaggerated through the outrageous fraud, are nevertheless meant to suggest those beneath the surface of all Japanese families. (p. 353)

The psychology of the typical young Japanese … is characterized by frustration and repression of one's deepest longings. Oshima's boy hero experiences each day a total violation of his personal integrity. He hates the cheating and fraud he is forced to perpetrate. But, recognizing the power of the family over his life, he says nothing. Pathetically, he is also intensely loyal to his parents. At first this may seem unrealistic, given their vicious exploitation of him. But they are all that he...