“It was originally written as a serialized piece of fiction in the intellectual newspaper Kokkai (Diet, or Parliament), beginning in November 1891 and ending in March of the following year.
One of Genta's servants, Seikichi, is furious about Jūbei rejecting his master's offer which makes him lose face.
Seikichi goes to the construction yard of the pagoda and attacks Jūbei in a rage, cutting off his ear and severely wounding him.
She also worries about how Jubei's peers will view him if he continues to challenge Genta for the pagoda job because of their large gap in social status.
The Abbot Roen of Uda wants the pagoda built in order to utilize the funds left over from Genta's renovation of the Kano Temple.
Genta invites Jubei to a place in the pleasure quarters to congratulate him and discuss how they should move forward with the building of the pagoda.
Jubei's House Also acts as a way to display the Katagi of the wife; it is the only time we see interactions with Onami.
Here Jūbei's obsession about the pagoda is revealed, where he spends countless, sleepless nights perfecting his model.
This time Jūbei refuses to use Genta's estimates and ideas stating that if he is going to build the pagoda, he is not going to receive any help.
The introduction of Pagoda, Skull and Samurai describes him as someone who is “often lauded as a champion of modern individualism for refusing all compromises, or a ruthless social climber.
Genta's suggestion stems from the fact that he is an Edoite scrupulous in performing his social obligations yet susceptible to sentiment, and is as unbending in his principles as he is unsparing in his kindness (57).
Abbot Rōen of Uda “A priest so esteemed that at the mere mention of his name even a three-year-old would fold his palms in veneration.
Minobu, the headquarters of Nichiren Buddhism, and in his middle years he traveled throughout sixty provinces as a mendicant practicing austerity and asceticism.
Now a septuagenarian, the Abott was as lean as a crane, the result of abstinence from unclean food –meat, fish, and ill-smelling vegetables.
Having comprehended the truth of Nirvna, he was free from the taint of worldly attachment” (Pagoda, Skull and Samurai 29).
The Abbot views Jūbei through the lens of compassion and sees in him the good that everyone else overlooks because of his low status.
He agrees to meet with Jūbei after his servants attempt to throw the carpenter out, and takes pity on him when he begs for the pagoda contract, and admires his skill after he sees the model he built.
She fits the wife Katagi because although she cares a great deal for her husband, she fails to understand how his world works.
His young age and lack of experience are revealed when his faithfulness to Genta drives him to act irresponsibly and attack Jūbei.
While his dad is at the Temple to speak to the Abbot, Ino piles scraps of lumber in imitation of a five-storied pagoda, which earns him a tearful embrace from his distressed mother and a tear-muffled laughter from his father.
A dream he has about his father's head being split open with a shovel foreshadows the incident where Seikichi attacks Jūbei.
Eiji The short-tempered chief of the M crew and a contact of Genta who helps Jūbei build the pagoda(73).
Genta displays characteristics of this Katagi because honor is what motivates many of his decisions, and the reason he gives up the pagoda project.
Genta tells Jubei that Eiji has the ability to build something sturdier than “the deity Fudo’s pedestal” [pg 73].
When Jubei finishes the pagoda, it is considered a “Deva King” because of its tall stature and stability [pg 97].
Here is a synopsis from the website: Deep in the Valley interlaces a story of young romance set in Yanaka (part of old downtown Tokyo) with a Japanese period drama based on Five-Story Pagoda, a classic literary work by Rohan Kōda.
In the contemporary story, Kaori, a young woman working for a non-profit organization that restores home movies, learns that there used to be a five-story pagoda in the middle of Yanaka Cemetery.
Kaori visits Buddhist monks, a cemetery caretaker, a local historian, and traditional craftsmen in her search for the film.
In a story set in the Edo period (18th century), Jūbei, a young, obscure carpenter, aspires to build the Five-Story Pagoda alone despite the opposition of his boss, his colleagues, and his wife.
Mixing fiction and documentary, the film breaks the barrier dividing generations and fills the void of lost memories.