Genjuro, a potter, is the most important character in the film, “Ugetsu” directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. Genjuro’s character can be said to be an important one as he is the main protagonist of the main plot. There are two main characters in the movie: Genjuro and Tobei. Genjuro’s story occupies a major part of the film and contains an instructive and moral lesson. The Lady Wakasa sequence of the plot explores the idea of straying from the right path is search of materialistic things in life.
Genjuro walks away from a happy marriage to attain riches. He foolishly deludes himself that he is only doing his duty within the individual psychological context and within the Buddhist context. Soon, he realizes that his ambition is only self-serving. However, he is tempted by Lady Wakasa and her assistant to stay with them for a few days during which time Genjuro starts to fall for Lady Wakasa. However, he soon yearns for the family he left behind. In the climax scene, Genjuro escapes from the mansion of Lady Wakasa and returns home where to his relief and comfort, he sees his son asleep and Miyagi waiting for him.
But, in the morning, Miyagi has disappeared and Genjuro is told that she died long ago. Genjuro realizes that it was only her ghost who welcomed him home and all that remains of Miyagi is the memory of her voice, which he hears as he returns grief stricken to his lonely routine. In this scene, the movie shows clearly the huge price of ambition and the illusory nature of happiness. This scene also illustrates the potential horrors of getting absorbed in the pursuit of happiness and how one might become responsible for causing suffering to loved ones, learning too late what truly matters in life. The significance of the scene lies in its emphasis on the theme that it is not easy to get back to one’s past once a person chooses to move away from it and “happiness” wrought by material desires can only be illusory.