Similarities of the Stories "Bears of Nametoko" and "Separate Ways"

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While reading Bears of Nametoko by Miyazawa Kenji and Separate Ways by Higuchi Ichiyo, I came across several interesting bits. The two stories are quite different and make use of different characters. However, there are some similarities that seem to emerge as one reads them closely.
Separate Ways discusses man’s cruelty to one another and this is depicted through the life of Kichizo. Having been left alone after the death of his parents, Kichizo finds himself in a cruel world where people seem to make fun of him and others seem to leave him. Kichizo’s pears had developed the habit of calling him names. They called him a “dwarf” and taunted him saying “the tiny monk who’ll never grow.” These words did hurt him but he found kindness and compassion in Okyo who accepted him the way he was. Okyo shone a light in Kichizo’s life and gave him the courage to ignore the insults and the taunting by his peers. Bears of Nametoko also discusses man’s cruelty towards fellow man and also towards nature and animals. Kojuro was a good man and this is depicted in how he conducts his life and his guilt whenever he hunts down a bear. However, despite his goodness, he is shown the cruel side of mankind, especially while interacting with the shopkeeper. Even though he was greatly revered by the bears, he always took a submissive character the moment he met the shopkeeper. “The brace Lord of the hills” as Kenji calls him was never paid his worth but he remained contented. We also get to see man’s cruelty through the actions of Kojuro who kills bears to make a living. While his reason does seem legit, he is depleting natu...