Battle of the Ego, SuperEgo, and Id

Haruki Murakami’s “Super Frog Saves Tokyo,”  takes place after the Great Hanshin earthquake in Tokyo, Japan. “SuperFrog Saves Tokyo” presents Katagiri: who work as a debt collector for Tokyo bank and tells a story through his unconscious mind where one day he suddenly meets a giant frog that tries to convince him to fight in a battle with a worm.The story gives a deeper look into Japanese society in 1995 after the Great Hanshin earthquake and takes place in Katagiri imagination and how he finds fulfillment. With the development of Katagiri with the frog and worm, Murakami illustrates that there are some obligations a person must assume in life, even if recognition or reward is unlikely in a society that he is living in, which is aided by the Freudian’s concepts of wish-fulfillment, Id, Ego, and Superego

One of Freudian concepts that can be seen in the story is wish fulfilment. After the death of both of his parents, he took on the responsibility of taking physical and financial care of his siblings. Frog explains to Katagiri, “You raised your teenage brother and sister single-handedly, put them through college and even arranged for them to marry, all at great sacrifice of your time and income… They have shown you no respect. I almost wish I could beat them to a pulp on your behalf” (Murakami). Katagiri, going his whole life feeling unappreciated and unthanked for all his sacrifices for his family, was finally recognized by the frog. Katagiri was from the Kabukicho neighborhood where old time gangsters, korean mafia, drugs, money and death is a typical thing. Katagiri works in harsh conditions dealing with violent crimes without ever receiving the praise he deserves. The Frog says “I, however, can see what a sensible and courageous man you are” ( Murakami). The frog brings light to how much Katagiri gave to his family for them to reciprocate nothing but disrespect and he is the only who recognizes his hard work. Through a Freudian lens, we can examine the frog as Katigiri’s wish fulfilment. In Freud’s, “Five Lectures on Psychoanalysis”, he states, “We humans find reality unsatisfying quite generally, and for that reason entertain a life of phantasy in which we like to make up for the insufficiencies of reality” (Freud 2235). Freud defines wish fulfillment as being displeased from reality causing us to make up our fantasies, as Frog was a part of Katagiri’s fantasy. Katagiri wants to be recognized for his hard work and sacrifices he made. But he never expresses these feelings for praise and recognition. He doesn’t value himself and so in his unconscious mind he creates his own fantasy and imagines the Frog appreciating and acknowledging all the work he has done for his family and job. This allowed for Katagiri fantasy to be fulfilled. Wish-fulfillment was needed in Katagiri’s life due to the lack of value and respect in his life, which led him to fantasize the Frog appreciating him. Therefore, it is clear to conclude that Katigiri’s wishful fulfillment is a reason that Frog was created in his imagination as the superego; to guide Katigiri, and value oneself. 

In the story the Super Frog Saves Tokyo, Katagiri is the ego, the frog is the superego, and the worm represents the id. Katagiri represents the ego because he is the one in control of both the frog and the worm as he decides what is acceptable in society. In Freud’s lecture “Civilization and Its Discontents” discusses the ego and id. According to Freud, “ego is that portion of the id which was modified by the proximity and influence of the external world…” (Freud). The ego is what balances the interaction of the superego and id to adapt to what is acceptable in society. Freud believes humans face a conflict between their desires and the resistance to those desires, which is usually connected to the ego. In, “Haruki Murakami’s Storytelling World”, by Patricia Welch, it states, “ Though his protagonists are ordinary individuals, they can do extraordinary things if they live their lives with meaning… Above all, they must choose to act but also to accept that in some circumstances they might be their own worst enemy”(Welch 59). This quote demonstrates the ego because the ego deals with reality, trying to meet the desires of the id in a way that is socially acceptable in the world. In Super Frog saves Tokyo Katagiri says “ I don’t have the kind of muscle it will take to fight Worm in the darkness”. Katagiri does not believe himself and can be seen as not confident. But the Frog (Superego) tells Katagiri that he believes he is “sensible and courageous” and that he only trusts him. According to Freud in The Dissection of the Psychoanalysis “ The part which is later taken on by the superego is played to begin with by an external power, by parental authority. Parental influence governs the child by offering proofs of love and by threatening punishments which are signs to the child of loss of love and are bound to be feared on their own account” ( Freud). Superego according to Freud is composed of the internalized ideals that we have acquired from our parents and society. Frog is considered the super ego who is created within Katigiri’s imagination because in the story, “Super Frog Saves Tokyo,” he mentions to Katigiri, “The world is like a great big overcoat, and it needs pockets of various shapes and sizes. But right at the moment, Worm has reached the point where he is too dangerous to ignore.” By Frog, the super-ego, telling Katagiri, he was letting Katigiri know that it was time for him to not allow society to determine how he should live his life. Frog (super-ego) demanded that he realize his place in society and his value as an individual. Murakami has described Worm as a symbol of inner evil. According to Freud id is “ It is the dark, inaccessible part of our personality;..” (Freud). The id is the idea that every wishful impulse should be satisfied immediately, regardless of the consequences. Worm represents the id because the worm represents darkness hidden inside the city of Tokyo. He may also represent the terrors of the imagination, a notion that Frog discusses often throughout the story. However, Frog says that he doesn’t consider Worm to be “the embodiment of evil.” Worm is not evil himself; rather, he is like a vessel that collects hatred from other sources” (Murakami). This is an example of the Katagiri negative and dark feelings in the unconscious mind which Frog tries to help Katagiri fight his inner desires. 

Furthermore, Murakami critique on  the Japanese society in 1995 after the Kobe earthquake also known as the Great Hanshin Earthquake through his story “The Super Frog Saves Tokyo”. During this time Japanese society was going through an economic crisis. It devastated many homes, leaving many families poor and in financial crisis. In the 1980s, bad loans were a big part of the economy. The bubble was caused by the excessive loan growth by Japan’s central bank, the Bank of Japan, through a policy mechanism known as the “window guidance”. According to the East Asia Forum, “ Japan Earthquake and Its Economic Impact” written by Drysdale Petter, he says “ But the damage to physical capital stock in Kobe was US$114 billion, 2.3 per cent of Japan’s GDP and around 0.8 per cent of Japan’s physical capital stock at the time — fully three times the recorded cost of any disaster in history” ( Peter). This led Katagiri, a debt collector, to work in harsh conditions dealing with violent clients in a dangerous part of the city without ever receiving the praise he deserves. Peter also says “ These achievements are testimony to human resilience, but particular testimony to the resilience and capacity of the Japanese people — not only their remarkable capacity to face natural calamity stoically but the human capital, skills and organisational know-how they bring to dealing with it on a grand scale and with great efficiency. This relates back to the “ The Super Frog Saves Tokyo”story because Murakami wanted his readers to understand that Japan was in a time of need. Murakami stressed the fact that the people needed to connect and become unified in order to help each other grow and build back to where they were before the earthquake. According to the short story the frogs says “ People will be made to realize what a fragile condition the intensive collectivity known as ‘city’ really is” (Murakami). Frog argues that an earthquake in Tokyo will make people understand the fragility of their city and the fragility of their life. Katagiri develops an awareness of his own weakness, but he also gains a sense of fulfillment from the experience.

Overall, The Super Frog Saves Tokyo portrays the Japanese society in 1995 and Murakami expresses his concerns for individuals to unite in a time of need and that everyone is capable of beneficial change. He also portrays the effect the earthquake had on society including the economy and the people. More importantly, The Super Frog saves Tokyo portrays ideas of Wish fulfillment ,id, ego, and superego. Katigiri was a man whose main desire was to receive recognition, which was given to him by Frog, his super ego. He himself (the ego) had to accept and realize his worth, instead of giving in to the darkness which was worm (the id). 

Work Cited Page 

• Murakami, Haruki, and Photography by Furi Furi. “Super-Frog Saves Tokyo by Haruki Murakami – GQ June 2002.” GQ, www.gq.com/story/haruki-murakami-super-frog-saves-tokyo-full-story. 
•   Freud, Sigmond. “Civilizations and its Discontents: the id, ego, and super-ego”.         The Id.pdf ,  The Ego.pdf  , SUPER_EGO_Lecture XXXI The Dissection of the Psychical   Personality – first excerpt.pdf
• Drysdale, Peter, et al. “Japan’s Earthquake and Its Economic Impact.” East Asia Forum, 14 Mar. 2011, www.eastasiaforum.org/2011/03/14/japans-earthquake-and-its-economic-impact/. 

WELCH, PATRICIA. “Haruki Murakami’s Storytelling World.” The Free Library, 1 Jan. 2005, www.thefreelibrary.com/Haruki+Murakami%27s+storytelling+world.-a0128252828.