Column: Hidden Meanings
Your Lie in April is a show about a young boy, in middle school, who plays the piano. Up until his mother’s death he played the piano amazingly and was a child prodigy. His mom, who also played the piano, taught him how to play at a young age. Many people would marvel and look at him in astonishment as he played, they were surprised at how perfect he played at such a young age. However, many adults would also look down on him telling him he was his mother’s puppet, since they believed there was no other way a child could play as good as he did.
Being a small child, Kousei, took their words to heart which affected him deeply. He began to feel sorrowful and unhappy as he constantly heard the judging whispers of the crowds and the envious rumors many would start. His playing was so perfect that no one could believe it was a true person, he never lost a competition so as time went by he lost interest in actually winning. He didn't even stay at competitions long enough to see if he won and that enraged many people who started seeing him as someone conceited and ungrateful.
However, many people did not realize that Kousei was being physically abused by his mother. Many people who watched the series did not seem to realize or acknowledge this fact either. Kousei’s mother would make him train for hours a day, rarely letting him go outside to play like a child would normally do. He was not allowed to hurt or damage his hands in any way or he would be punished since he needed his hands to play the piano. Kousei was not allowed to stop playing until he had recited the piece he was supposed to play perfectly, with zero mistakes, even small ones.
His mother would often beat him, which her friend soon revealed in the show was because his mother had been sick and did not want to leave her child alone with no talent whatsoever. She wanted him to be able to survive in the world. The explanation does not excuse her actions but for many people it did. There were various other training techniques she could have used rather than beating her child every single time he made a mistake when he was playing.
As soon as Kousei’s mother died, Kousei had a panic attack during one of his performances which made him stop playing the piano altogether.
This series was just one of the many examples of how children get abused in their homes every day. But the abuse is not always physical. Emotional and mental abuse is just as harmful as physical abuse, sometimes even more so.
According to the National Children’s Alliance, in 2018 an estimated 61% of children were emotionally and mentally abused, 10% of children were physically abused and 7% of children were sexually abused. Take in consideration that this is an estimation which only counts the amount of children that came forward. There are many children who do not speak about their trauma, which is understandable but there are various people to blame. Emotional abuse does not get talked about or acknowledged as much as others, specifically because emotional abuse does not leave scars, other than the ones inside.
It is time for society to acknowledge all of the victims who suffer from all types of abuse, not just the ones that can be physically seen.