Fruits Basket Analyzed: Kagura Sohma
Kagura is the Boar of the Chinese Zodiac and has the impulsive quality associated with that sign [1]. She loves Kyo and poor Kyo has to bear the consequences. In spite of her dogged pursuit of him, Kagura is a loving “older sister type” always ready to help anyone in need [2]. She is a girly-girl [3] and takes to Torhu instantly. The contrast between the violence and sweetness of Kagura’s character highlights the conflict of all the zodiac characters-the balance of innocence and cruelty.
Kagura is the go-getter of the family, and we see that most in her relationship with Kyo. She wants him to love her forever and will not stop until he agrees to love her. We have no mention of Akito ever hurting Kagura or interacting with her in any way, but I have to wonder who ever taught her it was possible to beat your way into someone’s heart? No matter how many times her beloved protests, Kagura makes sure he affirms his love in the end. She even mentions a proposal that Kyo protests was given under duress as she had a knife in hand at the time [4]. (Interesting that her last resort was a knife, don’t you think? Where else have we seen this one?)
a/n: Most of this essay is taken from Chapter 68 in Volume 12, if it is not referenced look there.
Victor Hugo is quoted as saying “The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved-loved for ourselves, or rather, in spite of ourselves.” Kagura knew she was incapable of loving Kyo in spite of his worst self, and feared no one would love her. She certainly didn’t love herself, so how could anyone else? Her answer was to force others to love her, and if that wasn’t as good as being chosen, at least it was better than nothing.
Really, that determination is admirable in some ways. I was always taught to admire Thomas Edison because he didn’t believe anything was impossible. Kagura takes that same determination and applies it to people. The problem is that she’s become similar to what Akito is. She uses a combination of fear and pity to keep Kyo from abandoning her, and her desire to have Kyo around has much more to do with her own fears than it does any feelings she has for the other boy.
Being a control freak is one of the signs of abuse, one I personally exhibit. When a situation is out of my control it can turn dangerous, but when I’m in control I can make sure that doesn’t happen. By controlling Kyo Kagura never has to risk rejection. I like to keep control by talking a lot. No one can make me face unpleasant things or push too far if I’m the one steering the conversation; no one can make Kagura face rejection if she slaps them around.
Kagura equates love with acceptance, which is fair enough. The lie of abuse is the lie that one can never be accepted, and Kagura is trying to disprove it. In chapter 68 she explains that she used Kyo for that purpose-if she could accept him, maybe she could be accepted. In her own mind, if she accepts Kyo for his ugliness, she will be a kind person that has no ugliness in her own soul-she will be the person she perceives Torhu to be. Her pursuit of Kyo wasn’t based on him, but on her projection of her own fears onto him.
For me this shows up in my super-protective streak. Sure I want to keep my kids safe by not allowing certain people near them, but that’s not the emotional reason I do it. I feel like protecting them somehow makes me safer, I live vicariously through them. This reliving history bit can help a certain extent-going back and fixing our mistakes is one of the ways we can promise ourselves it will never happen again. Kagura may not have found “true love” but she contents herself with the hollow imitation she wrings from Kyo-atonement for the one time she couldn’t love him.
[Too beautiful to spoil]The problem with this is that she is trying to fix something but tackling the wrong problem. No matter how good I am at protecting my kids, my nightmares continue. My nightmares don’t come because the children were unsafe, so no matter how safe they are, my fears remain. Even if Kagura and Kyo were to have a relationship, Kagura’s disgust with herself would remain to taint the time they spent. She shows the same weakness again after she confesses to Kyo. Having said her bit she changes the subject and does not give Kyo a chance to respond-once again taking away his right to accept or reject her.
That is almost identical to the way I handle breakups-a smile and quick “Okay, I feel better now” even if I was just dumped. The reason is simple pride-I don’t want to show that I’ve been hurt, as if not showing it would make it go away. I think it’s an act all humans put on at some time, but it is dangerous to take to extremes (Kagura is similar to Torhu in that way.)
Kagura finally gives into the heart of the matter when she tells Kyo that she loves him-her loneliness is apparent at last. Kyo responds as a true friend would and stays with her as she cries. Paradoxically, when she lets go of Kyo, that’s when she gains his acceptance. When she stops forcing him to love her and allows her vulnerability to show, Kyo shows he cares about her for who she really is. I’m one of those people who doesn’t want to trust anyone so they can’t leave me. When I trust no one, no one will let me down and I will feel secure. Even though I still do it, I know it doesn’t work-trusting people will help me feel secure and give me more avenues for when I need want/help. In other words, controlling takes me away from the source of what I need. For Kagura, she could have been good friends with Kyo if only she wasn’t trying to force it. It was touching how sad the days events made Kyo that evening, but a good thing Kagura heard about it. She needed to know there was a piece of Kyo’s heart that was all hers.
It’s admirable to me that Kagura pushed Torhu into being open with Kyo for both their sakes [5]. In the end she still seems down about the fact that Kyo found happiness with someone else, yet she wants that for both of them [6]. In growing up, Kagura lost the need to control others and in return was assured of their love for her and is even at a point where she can tease Kyo about their relationship in the final banquet [7], something that would have hurt her before. It’s interesting to note that she is one of only two Zodiac members not to have a significant other at the end of the series (the other being Momiji) [8].
I like to think that she realized what she was seeking all along was not a boyfriend, but inner peace. I think she found it and I’m trying to follow suit.
[1] Mangaka interview Fanbook
[2] Volume 16, pgs 49 & 75
[3] Volume 16, pgs 49 & 75
[4] Volume 1, Chapter 5
[5] Volume 20, Chapter 114
[6] Volume 23, Chapter 136
[7] Volume 23, Chapter 132
[8] Volume 23, Chapter 136
Kagura is the go-getter of the family, and we see that most in her relationship with Kyo. She wants him to love her forever and will not stop until he agrees to love her. We have no mention of Akito ever hurting Kagura or interacting with her in any way, but I have to wonder who ever taught her it was possible to beat your way into someone’s heart? No matter how many times her beloved protests, Kagura makes sure he affirms his love in the end. She even mentions a proposal that Kyo protests was given under duress as she had a knife in hand at the time [4]. (Interesting that her last resort was a knife, don’t you think? Where else have we seen this one?)
a/n: Most of this essay is taken from Chapter 68 in Volume 12, if it is not referenced look there.
Victor Hugo is quoted as saying “The supreme happiness in life is the conviction that we are loved-loved for ourselves, or rather, in spite of ourselves.” Kagura knew she was incapable of loving Kyo in spite of his worst self, and feared no one would love her. She certainly didn’t love herself, so how could anyone else? Her answer was to force others to love her, and if that wasn’t as good as being chosen, at least it was better than nothing.
Really, that determination is admirable in some ways. I was always taught to admire Thomas Edison because he didn’t believe anything was impossible. Kagura takes that same determination and applies it to people. The problem is that she’s become similar to what Akito is. She uses a combination of fear and pity to keep Kyo from abandoning her, and her desire to have Kyo around has much more to do with her own fears than it does any feelings she has for the other boy.
Being a control freak is one of the signs of abuse, one I personally exhibit. When a situation is out of my control it can turn dangerous, but when I’m in control I can make sure that doesn’t happen. By controlling Kyo Kagura never has to risk rejection. I like to keep control by talking a lot. No one can make me face unpleasant things or push too far if I’m the one steering the conversation; no one can make Kagura face rejection if she slaps them around.
Kagura equates love with acceptance, which is fair enough. The lie of abuse is the lie that one can never be accepted, and Kagura is trying to disprove it. In chapter 68 she explains that she used Kyo for that purpose-if she could accept him, maybe she could be accepted. In her own mind, if she accepts Kyo for his ugliness, she will be a kind person that has no ugliness in her own soul-she will be the person she perceives Torhu to be. Her pursuit of Kyo wasn’t based on him, but on her projection of her own fears onto him.
For me this shows up in my super-protective streak. Sure I want to keep my kids safe by not allowing certain people near them, but that’s not the emotional reason I do it. I feel like protecting them somehow makes me safer, I live vicariously through them. This reliving history bit can help a certain extent-going back and fixing our mistakes is one of the ways we can promise ourselves it will never happen again. Kagura may not have found “true love” but she contents herself with the hollow imitation she wrings from Kyo-atonement for the one time she couldn’t love him.
[Too beautiful to spoil]The problem with this is that she is trying to fix something but tackling the wrong problem. No matter how good I am at protecting my kids, my nightmares continue. My nightmares don’t come because the children were unsafe, so no matter how safe they are, my fears remain. Even if Kagura and Kyo were to have a relationship, Kagura’s disgust with herself would remain to taint the time they spent. She shows the same weakness again after she confesses to Kyo. Having said her bit she changes the subject and does not give Kyo a chance to respond-once again taking away his right to accept or reject her.
That is almost identical to the way I handle breakups-a smile and quick “Okay, I feel better now” even if I was just dumped. The reason is simple pride-I don’t want to show that I’ve been hurt, as if not showing it would make it go away. I think it’s an act all humans put on at some time, but it is dangerous to take to extremes (Kagura is similar to Torhu in that way.)
Kagura finally gives into the heart of the matter when she tells Kyo that she loves him-her loneliness is apparent at last. Kyo responds as a true friend would and stays with her as she cries. Paradoxically, when she lets go of Kyo, that’s when she gains his acceptance. When she stops forcing him to love her and allows her vulnerability to show, Kyo shows he cares about her for who she really is. I’m one of those people who doesn’t want to trust anyone so they can’t leave me. When I trust no one, no one will let me down and I will feel secure. Even though I still do it, I know it doesn’t work-trusting people will help me feel secure and give me more avenues for when I need want/help. In other words, controlling takes me away from the source of what I need. For Kagura, she could have been good friends with Kyo if only she wasn’t trying to force it. It was touching how sad the days events made Kyo that evening, but a good thing Kagura heard about it. She needed to know there was a piece of Kyo’s heart that was all hers.
It’s admirable to me that Kagura pushed Torhu into being open with Kyo for both their sakes [5]. In the end she still seems down about the fact that Kyo found happiness with someone else, yet she wants that for both of them [6]. In growing up, Kagura lost the need to control others and in return was assured of their love for her and is even at a point where she can tease Kyo about their relationship in the final banquet [7], something that would have hurt her before. It’s interesting to note that she is one of only two Zodiac members not to have a significant other at the end of the series (the other being Momiji) [8].
I like to think that she realized what she was seeking all along was not a boyfriend, but inner peace. I think she found it and I’m trying to follow suit.
[1] Mangaka interview Fanbook
[2] Volume 16, pgs 49 & 75
[3] Volume 16, pgs 49 & 75
[4] Volume 1, Chapter 5
[5] Volume 20, Chapter 114
[6] Volume 23, Chapter 136
[7] Volume 23, Chapter 132
[8] Volume 23, Chapter 136