THE MIDNIGHT EVE GUIDE TO

NEW I
JAPANESE FILM
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NESE FILM
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Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp

Foreword by
Stone Bridge Press • Berkeley, California Hideo Nakata
Published by
Stone Bridge Press
P.O. Box 8208, Berkeley, CA 94707
Tel: 510-524-8732 • sbp@stonebridge.com· www.stonebridge.com

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Text © 2005 Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp.

Front cover image from Dolls; used by permission of Office Kitano.

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publisher.

Printed in the United States of America.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PuBLICATION DATA

Mes, Tom, 1974-
T he Midnight Eye guide to new Japanese film / foreword by Hideo Nakata; Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 1-880656-89-2
1. Motion pictures-Japan-History. I. Sharp, Jasper, 1971- II. T itle.

PN1993.5.J3M47 2004
791.43 '0952-dc22

2004022653
DEDICATED TO THE MEMORIES OF
KINJI FUKASAKU & TOMIO AOKI
TABLE OF CONTENTS

IX FOREWORD BY HIDEO NAKATA CHAPTER 5

XI INTRODUCTION 81 MASA TO HARADA
87 Kamikaze Taxi
CHAPTER 1 88 Bounce KoGals
3 SEIJUN SUZUKI
12 Kanto Wanderer CHAPTER 6
14 Gate ofFlesh 92 KIYOSHI KUR)S A W A
17 Elegy to Violence 101 Sweet Home
19 Branded to Kill 1 02 Suit Yourselfor Shoot Yourself!
21 Story of Sorrow and Sadness 1 05 Cure
23 Pistol Opera 1 07 Charisma
1 09 Pulse
CHAPTER 2
25 SHOHEI 1M AM URA CHAPTER 7
33 Intentions ofMurder 111 STUDIO GHIBU (ISAO TAKAHATA
35 A Man Vanishes AND HAYAO MIYAZAKI)
37 The Profound Desire 124 The Adventures ofHols, Prince of the Sun
of the Gods 1 25 Grave of the Fireflies
39 Eijanaika 127 Porco Rosso
40 The Eel 128 Only Yesterday

CHAPTER 3 CHAPTER 8
42 KINJI FUKASAKU 131 K AIZO HAYASHI
52 Black Lizard 1 39 To Sleep So As to Dream
54 Under the Flag of the Rising Sun 141 The Most Terrible Time in My Life
55 Battles without Honor and Humanity
CHAPTER 9
57 Cops vs. Thugs
143 SHINYA TSUKAM O TO
59 Virus
152 Tetsuo: The Iron Man
61 The Triple Cross
153 Tokyo Fist
62 Battle Royale
154 Gemini
CHAPTER 3 1 55 A Snake ofJune
67 SOGO ISHII
CHAPTER 10
74 Crazy Thunder Road
158 TAKESHI KITANO
76 Burst City
78 August in the Water 1 66 Violent Cop
79 Gojoe 1 68 A Scene at the Sea
1 69 Sonatine
171 Getting Any?
 CHAPTER 11 CHAPTER 19
172 RYOSUKE HASHIGUCHI 266 AK I HI K O S HIO TA
1 76 Like Grains of Sand 270 Moonlight Whispers
1 77 Hush! 272 Harmful Insect

CHAPTER 12 CHAPTER 20
180 TA K ASHI Mil KE 275 THE OTHER PLAYERS
1 88 Bird People in China 275 The Man Who Stole the Sun (Kazuhiko
1 90 Young Thugs: Nostalgia Hasegawa)
191 Ley Lines 277 Family Game (Yoshimitsu Morita)
193 Audition 279 Fire Festival (Mitsuo Yanagimachi)
1 95 Ichi the Killer 281 Tampopo (Juzo Itami)
2 82 The Mystery of Rampo (Rintaro
CHAPTER 13 Mayuzumi, Kazuyoshi Okuyama)
197 MAKO TO SHINO ZA KI 2 86 Gonin (Takashi Ishii)
2 02 Okaeri 288 Love Letter (Shunji Iwai)
2 04 Not Forgotten 291 MARKS (Yoichi Sai)
292 Memories (Koji Morimoto, Tensai
CHAPTER 14
Okamura, Katsuhiro ()romo)
206 HIRlKAZU KOII:-EDA
2 95 Organ (Kei Fujiwara)
211 After Life
296 Shall We Dance? (Masayuki Suo)
CHAPTER 15 298 Kichiku (Kazuyoshi Kumakiri)
214 SHINJI AOYAM A 3 00 Onibi: The Fire Within (Rokuro
22 1 Two Punks Mochizuki)
222 A n Obsession 303 Raigyo (Takahisa Zeze)
224 Shady Grove 306 Peifect Blue (Satoshi Kon)
226 Eureka 308 Gamera 3 : Revenge ofIris (Shusuke
Kaneko)
CHAPTER 16 3 10 Gohatto (Nagisa Oshima)
228 N AOM I KAWASE 313 The New God (Yutaka Tsuchiya)
2 35 Suzaku 3 17 Scoutman (Masato Ishioka)
2 37 Hotaru 3 19 Tokyo Trash Baby (Ryiiichi Hiraki)
323 Uzumaki (Higuchinsky)
CHAPTER 17 324 Avalon (Mamoru Oshii)
240 SABU (HIRlYUKI TANAKA) 326 Bad Company (Tomoyuki Furumaya)
246 Dangan Runner 328 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within
247 Monday (Hiranobu Sakaguchi)
248 The Blessing Bell 331 Firefly Dreams (John Williams)
333 GO (Isao Yukisada)
CHAPTER 18
336 Kaza-Hana (Shinji Somai)
251 HIDEO NAKATA
337 A Tender Place (Shunichi Nagasaki)
2 60 The Ring
341 Blue Spring (Toshiaki Toyoda)
263 The Sleeping Bride
344 Bokzmchi: My House (Junji Sakamoto)
2 64 Chaos
346 BIBLIOGRAPHY

349 INDEX
 FOREWORD

by Hideo Nakata
In 1991, I decided to go to England for a documentary film in England before I di­
year. I thought it was important for me to rected my first studio feature film. My des­
get away from Japan for a while and think perate hunger for making films overcame
over my situation within the Japanese film the financial difficulties. In the meantime,
industry. I was an assistant director work­ Japanese film studios seemed to be afraid of
ing for the Nikkatsu film studio, which taking risks in film production. This kind of
had at that time ceased producing feature mentality gradually killed the enthusiasm of
films and was just making TV dramas or the people who worked at the studios. Then,
straight-to-video films. I couldn't think of independent filmmakers were spotlighted.
any way to get out of the situation other They knew how to make good films on low
than by taking a break in a distant foreign budgets and their enthusiasm never faded.
country. It was foreign film festival directors who
Thanks to this decision, I experienced responded to their works very quickly. One
a complete change in my career during the of the strongest bridges between the festi­
1990s. The Japanese film industry seemed vals and the independent filmmakers was
to go through a complete change as well. Takenori Sent<), who produced two of my
Nikkatsu went bankrupt in 1993. Sho­ films. Vigorously and strategically, he sent
chiku decided to sell all of its production his films to a large number of foreign film
facilities in 1999, closing its lot in Gfuna festivals. It was a good opportunity for him
in 2000. These were two of the five major to sell the films as well as to receive awards.
studios in Japan, both with long and glori­ This may sound quite normal, but surpris­
ous histories. ingly, most of the Japanese film companies
Despite this, there were many filmmak­ were rather reluctant to enter their own
ers who made their first theatrical features films unless invited. They did not think
during the decade. Half of the directors Japanese films were competitive enough in
introduced in this book made their debuts the market. Sent6 is a pioneering figure in
in the '90s. Many of them were indepen­ this respect.
dent filmmakers. I also shot an independent The '90s was the decade of starting over

ix
x FOREWORD

for the Japanese film industry. Some film my personal drives. It is obvious that Japa­
critics like to say, "Japanese filmmaking nese film production and distribution will
seems very active now. And the films are re­ become increasingly borderless, not only in
ceived very well at foreign festivals." It may East Asia but also universally. Some might
be true in a sense, but I am neither optimis­ say, "Let's make films which an� appealing
tic nor pessimistic, because starting over in to foreign audiences." I firmly believe a very
the '90s also meant the end of traditional Japanese film that is different from others
studio filmmaking. can easily cross borders. Although I am now
Every Japanese filmmaker has to find his trying to make Hollywood studio movies, it
own way to keep going. Curiosity for the is important for me to make uniquely Japa­
new and envy for other good filmmakers are nese films, as well.
 INTRODUCTION

This book grew out of four years of watch­ over these past four years (in a good way,
ing and writing about Japanese cinema we hope), but also to make the writing fit
for the website MidnightEye.com. In the in with the format of this book. So, not to
course of those four years we've had the worry, you have not spent your precious
great privilege and fortune to meet and pennies on something that is already avail­
speak with some of the leading figures in able for free on the net.
the Japanese film industry, as well as watch The choice to focus on contemporary
a huge number of brilliant films. Japanese cinema was inspired above all by
The original idea for this volume was to the dearth of proper writing on the subject.
create something along the lines of "Mid­ Aside from Mark Shilling's fine, if somewhat
night Eye: The Book," collecting the best outdated, Contemporary Japanese Film, what
reviews, interviews, and essays from the writing there is largely remains somewhat
website into a single volume. In the course superficial, usually with one-paragraph, or
of developing this concept, however, the at most one-page descriptions of contempo­
idea grew into something much more am­ rary filmmakers and their work. W ith the
bitious. Rather than simply gathering what amount of talent that has emerged in Japan
already existed, we decided to use that ma­ over the past two decades, the international
terial as the starting point for a brand new acclaim many of them have received, and
book, one that would focus on who we felt above all the challenging and probing na­
were the leading filmmakers working III ture of their work, this writing certainly
Japan today. hasn't done justice to its subject.
The vast majority of the material in The existence of this watershed be­
this book is entirely new. Even in the rare tween past and present Japanese cinema is
cases where we used writing that was pre­ understandable, though. The watershed in
viously published on the website, this was question is embodied by the collapse of the
extensively rewritten, expanded, updated, Japanese studio system, a gradual process
and revised. We did this not only because that lasted decades but came to a head in
our opinions and knowledge have evolved the late 1970s. The six major studios (Toho,
xi
XII INTRODUCTION

Shochiku, Nikkatsu, Toei, Daiei, and Shin­ on shoestring budgets. This development
toho) collectively formed the Japanese film took over a decade to come to a boil, re­
industry, and the work of acknowledged sulting in a full-blown re-emergence in
masters like Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizo­ the 1990s when a new generation of film­
guchi, and Yasujiro Ozu were the products makers appeared, the vast majority coming
of this system. Even as the positions of the from roots that lay outside the traditional
studios started to weaken, "New Wave" film industry. They came from 8mm un­
directors like Nagisa Oshima and Shohei derground experimentalism, from the
Imamura began setting up their own in­ ranks of film critics, from the erotic "pink
dependent production companies to make film" or porn, from television, and from
fascinating, idiosyncratic work. But the the straight-to-video filmmaking that had
New Wave reached its peak in the '60s, be­ shot up in the late ' 80s in the wake of the
coming less productive in the decade that boom in home video player ownership.
followed. Once the studios had bitten the These were young filmmakers whose atti­
dust there seemed little activity at all hap­ tudes and philosophies of cinema were en­
pening in Japan in the 1980s, certainly from tirely different from those of the old studio
a foreign viewpoint. The year 1983 yielded period. They were independent in spirit:
the Cannes Film Festival selections for artists with nothing to lose, but with ev­
Oshima's Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (a erything to gain.
British co-production) and Imamura's The Today, these filmmakers are regulars on
Ballad afNarayama, the latter being awarded the international film festival circuit, criti­
the Palme d'Or. These and two high-profile cally lauded, and the subject of cult worship
Akira Kurosawa films (Kagemusha and Ran, by a growing legion of devotees the world
both foreign co-productions) remain the over. As more and more of their films are re­
only international accomplishments of note leased theatrically and particularly on DV D
for much of the decade. The 1980s was a around the world, some are even courted by
period in which even former iconoclasts Hollywood. The phenomenon of remakes
became conformists, churning out crowd­ of Japanese hits, kick-started by the Ameri­
pleasers for wealthy but cinematically chal­ can version of Hideo Nakata's The Ring, has
lenged private film producers, simply to be now advanced to a point where the direc­
able to keep working. The resulting films tors themselves are invited to Tinseltown
were, for the most part, hardly reason for to helm the remakes of their own films, as
keeping much faith in the future of Japa­ with Takashi Shimizu and his tale of ghost­
nese CInema. ly apparitions The Grudge (Juan).
Yet, at the same time as the studios There is every reason to look at Japanese
lost their foothold and just about anything cinema today with great interest. It's always
else that wasn't essential for their surviv­ much more challenging and exciting to ven­
al, a renaissance was already under way. ture into uncharted territory rather than
The second half of the '70s saw the slow walk the well-trodden paths. Therefore this
emergence of true independent filmmak­ book is an attempt to give contemporary
ing: young enthusiasts with 8mm cameras Japanese film its due as well as an attempt to
making their own short films and features fill a gap, carefully avoiding laments about
 Introduction • xiii

the good old days. Those days certainly and illustrations in this book: Stephen Alp­
were good. But so are these. And there is ert of Studio Ghibli, Keiko Araki and the
no reason why we shouldn't treat them with PIA Film Festival, Mari Hashimoto of IMJ
the same respect, devotion, and enthusiasm Entertainment, Stephan Holl at Rapid Eye
Movies, Shozo Ichiyama of Office Kitano,
as the past.
Tetsuki Ijichi of Tidepoint Pictures, Kiyo
Certainly, all is not rosy. Japanese film­
Joo of Goldview, Kaijyu Theater, Kana
makers for the most part still have to work
Koido and Tetsu Negami at T he Klock­
with very low budgets and government sup­
worx, Hirofumi Kojima of M3 Enter­
port for the industry is minimal, but com­ tainment, Helmut Krutsch of Asian Film
pared to fifteen or twenty years ago there Network, Yoshihito Kuroki of KSS ME,
has been great progress and a huge pool Keiko Kusakabe of There's Enterprise,
of talent currently occupies the directors' Martin Mes, Dai Miyazaki of Omega Mi­
seats. This book attempts to present a se­ cott, Hidehiro Ito and Yuka Morioka of
lection from that talent pool, presenting Excellent Film, Asako Nishikawa of TV
twenty of its leading lights and their work, Man Union, Yasue Nobusawa of Nikkatsu,
plus a good number more besides. This is Takahiro Ohno of Sedic International,
Tadayuki Okubo of Toei, Martin Rycroft
not a book that compares figuresj, but one
of 100 Meter Films, Yasunari Satake of
that salutes and makes an effort to under­
Bitter's End, Siglo, Yutaka Tsuchiya and
stand and value the work of some of the best
Video Act, Hyoe Yamamoto of Kino Inter­
filmmakers in world cinema today.
national, and Yukiko Yamato of TBS.
Furthermore, our thanks go out to:

Acknowledgments TOM MES: Hiromi Aihara, Jonathan

Clements, Keiko Funato and Celluloid
Firstly, we would like to thank all the film­ Dreams, Luk van Haute, the Internation­
makers covered in this book, whose aston­ al Film Festival Rotterdam, Herman and
ishing work has been an inspiration to us Marijke Mes, and Joep Vermaat for being
for years and will remain so for years to one of the site's co-founders. And of course
come. to Kuriko Sato, without whom no book of
Secondly, we express our appreciation mine could ever see the light of day.
to Peter Goodman, Barry Harris, and all
at Stone Bridge Press for making this proj­ JASPER SHARP: Firstly, to Ian and Erica
ect a reality, as well as to Beth Cary for her Sharp, for launching me on my path in life
very detailed editorial work. and inspiring me with a natural curiosity
Thirdly, we are greatly indebted to about the world.
Martin Mes, the vital link in the ongoing I'd also like to thank Michael A rnold
process of making the website Midnight­ for his vigorous feedback and interesting
Eye.com, from which this book originated. barroom digressions during the writing of
He deserves far more recognition for his this book, the Barnstaple and Bath crowds
outstanding design work than he's getting. for all those years of blithering, Stephen
A huge round of thanks goes out to the Cremin for being such a mine of infor­
people and the film companies who gra­ mation, Roland Domenig, Aaron Gerow,
ciously provided the many gorgeous stills Jason Gray, Shinsuke Nonaka of Studio
XIV INTRODUCTION

Ghibli for the fact checking, Hideo Na­ Asako Fujioka. And last, but by no means
kata for his ungrudging assistance, Lou­ least, my love and deepest affection to
ise James for her tolerance and friendship Sharyn Chan, without whose endless
over the years, Mark Nornes, Junko Sa­ patience and support none of this would
saki for her selfless assistance and inter­ have been possible.
pretation, Daniel Sharp and Andy and my
new little niece Maddy, Nicholas Rucka, And to all the readers of MidnightEye.com
John Williams, Alex Zahlten, the staff of for their support over the years.
Tokyo Filmex, Tokyo International Film
Festival, and Yamagata International Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp
Documentary Film Festival, in particular
THE MIDNIGHT EVE GUIDE TO

NEW I
JAPANESE FI LM
 CHAPTER 1

Seijun Suzuki
n*mJlffi
"What Suzuki represents to me is anarchy. He's to look at it, for more than forty years Suzuki
a complete anarchist, and he's the only person has adorned our screens with some of the most
i n Japanese cinema who could get away with colorful, extraordinary, unpredictable, and
a fi lm l i ke Story of Sorrow and Sadness. I was downright fun pieces of visual entertainment
born i n 1964 and so I was in my early teens that are likely to be found anywhere in world
when I experienced punk, and on me Jean·Luc clllema.
Godard and Seijun Suzuki had the same sort of Suzuki's films are marked out by a style
i m pact. "-Shinji Aoyam a which seems to be devoid of any influence from
outside sources. They work to their own pe­
Japanese cinema has been lucky to have such culiar logic, and one which often seems based
a colorful figure as Seijun Suzuki as one of its more on aesthetic than narrative concerns. Why
ambassadors. Hovering over four decades of does the nail polish of Reiko, the central charac­
filmmaking like a kindly old wizard, with his ter in Story ofSorrow and Sadness, dramatically
horn-rimmed specs and scraggly goatee he cer­ change in hue through yellows and blacks in key
tainly looks the part of the bohemian artist. In­ scenes? Why is there a sandstorm raging out­
deed, in 1 98 5 he was even voted "Best Dressed side the window as a heroin-addicted prostitute
Man" by the Tokyo Fashion Society. receives a whipping from her pimp in Youth of
Some have seen him as an iconoclast, a the Beast? Why does Tetsuya Watari's renegade
cinematic rebel out to break every rule in gangster in Tokyo Drifter continually break into
the filmmaking book-more likely discard­ song between his numerous violent scuffles? Su­
ing it entirely-and one whose increasingly zuki would doubtless answer all of these ques­
mischievous sense of humor was to land him tions with the same no-nonsense pragmatism as
in hot water with his employers at Nikkatsu he did in an interview with Koshi Deno for his
in the late '60s. Others view him as an aes­ 1 986 book, Suzuki Seijun, Zen Eiga [trans: Su­
thetic genius, reconfiguring and reinventing zuki Seijun, all his films]. When asked why he
cinema to fit his own uniquely skewed visual never followed the standard shot-reverse-shot
perception of the world . The self-effacing technique of matching the eyelines when two
Suzuki would probably shrug off both assess­ lovers speak, instead having them seemingly
ments and laugh, wondering what all the fuss gazing offscreen into space, his reply was:
is about. The truth is, whichever way you want

3
4 SEIJUN SUZUKI

"Yes, that's right, I never use shot-reverse-shot barely out of high school when he was drafted
In those cases . When a man and a woman talk into the army and sent off to fight in the Pa­
about love In Japan, they don't look each other cific War. Rescued from a sinking ship en route
in the eye. They look at a certain part of the to Taiwan after it was attacked by the American
body. In these cases I focus on that part of air force, he returned to a rubble-strewn Japan
the body, a woman 's h i ps or legs, for example. once the war had ended.
I n foreign films you hardly ever see two lov- If we are to believe his own account of things,
ers looking into each other's eyes from very Suzuki's entry into the film industry came be­
close u p , whereas in Japanese films, especially cause it was the first job he could find in the
h istorical ones, they do. I think this has to do turmoil that followed in the wake of Japan's de­
with the color of the eyes. Because foreigners feat. Having failed the entrance exams to Tokyo
have IIght-colored eyes, they only see a refiec­ University, in 1 946 he instead enrolled in the
tion of themselves when they look i nto each film department in Kamakura Academy before
other's eyes . " he entered Shochiku's nearby studios in Ofuna as
an assistant director in the same year. The stu­
Of course, Seijun Suzuki wasn't always a dios would become the breeding ground for a
filmmaker. B orn in Nihonbashi, central Tokyo, generation of new talent such as Nagisa Oshima,
on May 24, 1 92 3 , as Seitaro Suzuki, he was Masahiro Shinoda, and Shohei Imamura. Like

Filmography • Love Letter (Rabu Retta) • Blood Red Water in the Chan­
• Passport to Darkness (An­ nel (Kaikyo, Chi ni Somete)
1956
koku no Ryoken) (a.k.a. Bloody Channel)
• Harbor Toast: Victory Is in Our • Age of Nudity (Suppadaka no • Million Dollar Match (Hyaku­
Grasp (Minato no Kanpai: Nenrei) man Doru 0 Tatakidase)
Shori 0 wagate m) (a.k.a. (a.k.a. Million Dollar Smash
Cheers at the Harbor: Tri­ 1960
Aim at the Police Van (Sono and Grab)
umph in Our Hands) •

• Pure Emotions of the Sea Gososha 0 Nerae) 1962

(Hozuna wa Utau: Umi no • Sleep of the Beast (Kemono • High-Teen Yakuza (Haitiin
Junjo) no Nemuri) Yakuza)
• Satan's Town (Akuma no • Clandestine Zero Line (Mikko • Those Who Bet on Me (are ni
Macht) Zero Rain) Kaketa Yatsura) (a.k.a. The
• Everything Goes Wrong Guys Who Put Money on Me)
1957
(Subete ga Kurutteru) 1963
• Inn of the Roating Weeds Rghting Delinquents (Kuta­
(Ukigusa no Yado)
•
• Detective Bureau 2-3: Go
bare Gurentai) to Hell, Bastards (Tantei
• Eight Hours of Terror (Hachi­
jikan no KyOfu) 1961 Jimusho 2-3: Kutabare
• The Naked Woman and the • Tokyo Knights (Tokyo Kishitai) Akutodomo)
Gun (Rajo to Kenju) • Reckless Boss (Muteppii • Youth of the Beast (Yaju no
Taisho) (a.k.a. The Big Boss Seishun) (a . k.a. The Wild
1958 Beast of Youth / Wild Youth
Who Needs No Gun)
• Beauty of the Underworld • The Man With the Hollow-Tip / The Young Rebel/The
(Ankokugai no Bijo) (a.k.a. Bullets (Sandanju no Otoko) Brute)
Underworld Beauty) (a.k.a. The Man With a Shot­ • Bastard (Akutaro)
• The Spring That Didn't Come gun) • Kanto Wanderer (Kanto Mu­
(Fumihazushita Haru) • The Wind-Of-Youth Group shuku)
• Young Breasts (Aoi Chibusa) Crosses the Mountain Pass
The Voice without a Shadow 1964
•
(Tage 0 Wataru Wakai Kaze) The Flower and the Angry
(Kagenaki Koe) (a.k.a. New Wind over the
•

Waves (Hana to Doto)

1959 Mountain)
 Seijun Suzuki 5

Imamura, Suzuki jumped over to the much better Suzuki had himself progressed to the director's
paying Nikkatsu studios when it restarted pro­ chair with his first batch of films, beginning with
duction in 1 954 after a break of over ten years. Harbor Toast: Victory is in Our Grasp ( 1 95 6) cred­
At the time, Japanese studios still worked ited to his birth name of Seitaro Suzuki. In 1 95 8 ,
under an apprenticeship system, wherein an as­ h e directed his first film a s Seijun Suzuki, Beauty
sistant could work his way up the hierarchy of the Underworld.
under the guidance of a mentoring director, from Throughout the latter half of the ' 5 0s and
whom he would be instructed in all the tricks and the '60s, Nikkatsu was involved in safe, commer­
techniques of filmmaking. Suzuki trained under cial vehicles starring such celebrated enka sing­
-

Hiroshi Noguchi, who was to direct Suzuki's first ing matinee idols of the era as the immaculately
screenwriting effort, co-written with Motomu groomed Akira Kobayashi and Yiijiro Ishihara.
Ida, Rakujitsu no Ketto [trans: Duel at sunset] The latter, who died of liver cancer in 1 98 7 , was
the year after Suzuki j oined Nikkatsu. Noguchi the brother of the current controversial gover­
also directed Chitei no Uta [trans: Song from the nor of Tokyo, Shin taro Ishihara, whose highly
underworld] in 1 956, based on the same serial influential first novel published in 1 9 5 5 , Taiyo no
for the Asahi Shinbun newspaper by Taiko Hi­ Kisetsu [trans: Season of the sun] was adapted by
rabayashi that was later adapted by Suzuki him­ the studios for the screen. A tale of delinquent
self as Kilnto wanderer. It was not long before teenagers and their tearaway exploits, the film

• Gate of Flesh (Nikutai no A Duel (Aisaikun Konban Wa: Rames (Hana Fubuki: Honoo
Mon) Aru Ketto) [TV) ni Mau Ichiban Matoi) [video)
• Our Blood Won't Allow It (Ore­ 1969 1983
tachi no Chi ga Yurusanai) • There's a Bird inside a Man • Cherry Blossoms in Spring
1965 (Otoko no Naka ni wa Tori ga (Haru Sakura: Seijun Sakura
• Story of a Prostitute (Shunpu­ Iru) [TV] Henso) [TV] (a.k.a. Seijun's
den) (a.k.a. Joy Girls) 1970
Different Stages of Cherry
• Stories of Bastards: Despite • A Mummy's Love (Miira no Blossoms)
Being Born under a Bad Star Koi) [TV) • The Choice of a Family: I'll
(Akutaroden: Warui Hoshi no Kill Your Husband for You
Shita Demo) 1977 (Kazoku no Sentaku: Anata
• Life of a Tattooed Man (Ire­ • Story of Sorrow and Sadness no Teishu 0 Koroshite Ageru)
zumi Ichidai) (a.k.a. One (Hishu Monogatari) [video]
Generation of Tattoos / Tat­ 1979 1985
tooed Life) • The Fang in the Hole (Ana no • Capone Cries Hard (Kapone
1966 Kiba) [TV) Oi ni Naku)
• Carmen from Kawachi (Ka­ 1980 • Lupin III: The Golden Legend
wachi Karumen) • Zigeunerweisen (Tsigoineru­ of Babylon (Rupan Sansei:
• Tokyo Drifter (Tokyo Naga­ waizen) Babiron no Ogon Densetsu)
remono) • Chen Wuchen's The Nail of [TV, co-directed with Shige­
• Elegy to Violence (Kenka the Holy Beast (Chin Shun­ tsugu Yoshida]
Erejii) (a.k.a. Fighting Elegy / shin no Shinju no Tsume) 1991
The Born Fighter) [TV) • Yumeji
1967 1981 1993
• Branded to Kill (Koroshi no Mirage Theater (Kageroza)
•
• Marriage (Kekkon) [co­
Rakuin) (a.k.a. Heat Shimmer Theat­ directed with Hideo Onchi
1968 er) and Hiroshi Nagao]
• Good Evening Dear Husband: • Storm of Falling Petals:
Banner of a Rreman in the 2001
• Pistol Opera (Pisutoru Opera)
6 SEIJUN SUZUKI

films at this pace. It was more about doing a

job than getting any kind of enjoyment out of
making a fil m . "

Most of Suzuki's period at Nikkatsu saw him

saddled with generic formula-bound scripts, ei­
ther modest literary adaptations, popular action
flicks, or seishun eiga (youth pictures). In actual
fact, there was often little to differentiate these
films from the main movies they supported
other than a lower budget and a far lower pro­
file, so a B-movie director like Suzuki had to
work that much harder to get audiences to sit
up and take note. In 1 96 3 he succeeded in this
goal, with four features that brought him to the
attention of critics and filmgoers alike; Akutaro,
Seijun Suzuki and the cast of Gate of Flesh Kanto Wanderer (which played on the bottom
half of a double bill with Shohei Imamura's Insect
not only unleashed a deluge of youth-oriented Woman), and two hard-boiled detective thrill­
taiyozoku or " Sun Tribe" pictures from all the ers based on stories by Haruhiko Oyabu, both
maj ors, but effectively launched the careers of starring the moon-faced Jo Shishido: the subtly
both brothers: Yujiro Ishihara made his screen titled Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell Bastards!
debut in Takumi Furukawa's movie adaptation of and its companion piece, Youth ofthe Beast.
Season of the Sun ( 1 956), with his next role in Ko This latter film is notable for being Suzuki's
Nakahira's similarly themed Crazed Fruit (Ku­ first work to deviate wildly from the ninkyo eiga
rutta Kajitsu) released months later by Nikkatsu, template, a genre with which he is inaccurately
and Shintaro continued a successful writing ca­ most associated due to the unbalanced sample
reer that stretched far beyond the '60s. of his films that have been released in the West.
Meanwhile, Suzuki was still learning his The ninkyo eiga was a popular staple amongst
trade, toiling away on the studio's program pic­ blue-collar audiences during the '60s, though
tures, the supporting features on the double bills during the first half of the decade it had yet to
under which they distributed their output, di­ fully solidify into a genre per se-a cluster of
recting on average three or four pictures a year. motifs, codes, and cliches repeated from film to
These early films are often marked by incredibly film using a pool of the same actors, such as Ken
short running times-Pure Emotions of the Sea Takakura and Koji Tsuruta. This would come
was only 48 minutes and Love Letter a mere 40 within the next five years as Toei Studios began
minutes-and shot in black and white, with his their work in the field in earnest.
first color feature coming with the 1 960 release, The type of movie Nikkatsu was focusing its
Fighting Delinquents. For the first five years of energies on at the time was known as mukokuseki
his directing career, his output remained fairly akushon ("no-nationality action"), typified by such
undistinguished and, even in Japan, none of his popular star vehicles as the Wataridori (T¥tmder­
films from this period is available on video. ing Bird) series featuring Akira Kobayashi. Heav­
ily influenced by the American B-movie western
"I was one of the N i kkatsu contract d i rectors, and rooted in no particular place or time that
so it was the company that made me direct would link the setting specifically to Japan, the
 Seijun Suzuki 7

films were usually little more than a cheap and dialogue exchanges or the most minimal of plot
cheerful series of staged punch-ups and shoot­ turning points are re-staged and shot in such a
outs (budgets seldom stretched to convincing car way as to make them appear as distinct as pos­
chases), often featuring gangsters, underpinned sible from what has gone before. In his extremes
by straightforward plots in which the goodie pit­ he fills his films with surreal, nonsensical set
ted his wits against the baddie and ended up com­ pieces and frequently uses cinematic techniques
ing out of the fray with the girl and the money. that draw attention not only to themselves but
It's more useful to look at Suzuki's apparently also to the entire plasticity of the medium. Suzu­
more genre-bending films in the context of the ki's work at Nikkatsu often bears the hallmarks
mukokuseki akushon movie than the yakuza film. of a director frantically wrestling to overcome
Suzuki may not have been able to do much his own boredom. In the otherwise negligible
about the scripts, but he could influence what lightweight yakuza melodrama Our Blood Won't
went up on screen. Youth of the Beast, for exam­ Allow It, Akira Kobayashi's confession of his in­
ple, features Jo Shishido as a discharged police volvement with the mob to his younger broth­
detective pitting his wits against two rival yaku­ er takes place within the confines of their car
za gangs in his bid to track down the killer of against an expressionistic backdrop of a stormy
the friend for whose death he was wrongly sent sea. The effect has all the heightened artifici­
to jail. Not much to go on, but in Suzuki's hands ality of Hitchcock's car chases, in that the rag­
the material becomes something else entirely. ing waves behind are clearly a back projection.
The first thing that bowls you over is the exqui­ When Suzuki uses exactly the same backdrop
site color cinematography of Kazue Nagatsuka, after changing the shooting angle ninety de­
part of a regular team with which the director grees so that the two characters are now shown
surrounded himself during his Nikkatsu years. head on, rather than from the side, the effect
In the opening scene the initial discovery of goes beyond Hitchcock's self-conscious theatri­
the cop and his lover's corpses intertwined in a cality into the realms of the ludicrous.
seedy hotel room is shot in a stark cold mono­ It's typical of the Suzuki style of treating
chrome that erupts flamboyantly into blood red the cinema screen as merely a two-dimensional
as the camera transfixes its gaze on a carnation image to be filled with as much color and action
in a vase on a nearby table. Later on, an exotic as possible, and with only the most tenuous basis
dancer ruffles her purple plumes, and an explod­ in reality. Youth of the Beast features a dialogue
ing car is enveloped in a gaudy pink fog. scene shot entirely from below a glass floor, and
there's a stunningly composed shot in Branded
"Since I was working for a company, I cou ldn't to Kill where the image of a captive Annu Mari,
deviate too much from the company's course. shot from below as she lies naked and uncon­
But because my fi lms were i n the B category, scious on a plate of glass, is superimposed over a
I had a wider range than a n A di rector. Even close-up of]o Shishido's knitted brow.
if it went off a l ittle bit, it wouldn't be too Suzuki's approach to editing is similarly
much of a problem with them. So in that sense nonconformist, abandoning the standard shot­
I had a little bit of freedom. More than the A reverse-shot praxis and making heavy use of
d i rectors . " non-contiguous jump cuts to condense passages
of time, reducing his films to a series of striking
From this point onwards in his career, Suzu­ images. Idiosyncratic it might be, but the end
ki began to experiment wildly within the context result can sometimes seem more than a little
of a studio system that ostensibly offered little confusing, as individual scenes chop into each
scope for personal creativity. The most banal of other with the beginning and end points not
8 SEIJUN SUZUKI

clearly marked out, giving a fragmentary feeling natural outdoor locations against the backdrop
of narrative progression. For his Nikkatsu work of Japan's most beautiful season, though unfor­
at least, this can be in part attributed to the fact tunately the colors are rendered a little drab by
that the tight reigns of a B -movie director en­ the VHS format compared with his more vi­
sured a minimum of takes during shooting to brant film work.
save film stock. But the fact that such tics per­ Of course, there were more conventional
sist in his later work suggests that these jarring pieces during the Nikkatsu phase of his career. In
scene progressions are at least to some measure fact some of the director's more interesting work
part of the director's stylistic arsenal. during this time lies outside the yakuza genre,
During his years at Nikkatsu, Suzuki cer­ with the literary adaptations of T6k6 Kon's
tainly never saw himself as an artist, but rather Akutaro and Taj ir6 Tamura's Gate of Flesh, and
as a jobbing director, with some of his more Kaneto Shind6's meaty script for Elegy to Vio­
bizarre shots more a quick-fix solution to the lence going beyond mass audience appeal and
logistical shackles of time and budget than any proving that Suzuki's talents stretch far beyond
personal desire for self-expression. At the same the mere formal experimentation that manifest­
time, however, a traditional Japanese aesthetic ed itself in his thematically less ambitious works.
is certainly tangible throughout his work, and One of his most interesting films is Story of a
explicitly so in the series of non-Nikkatsu films Prostitute. Set in 1 9 3 8 on the Manchurian front­
he later directed in the ' 80s, starting with Zi­ line during the war between China and Japan,
geunerweisen and running through to Yumeji. the plot, based on a novel by Tamura, had been
Frequently the screen image appears as little made once in 1 95 0 by Senkichi Taniguchi for
more than a flattened projection, filmed in me­ Shintoho as Akatsuki no Dasso [trans: Escape at
dium to long shot, with the action taking place daybreak] . It concerns a love triangle between
at ninety degrees to the viewer as if he were di­ a military prostitute (or "comfort woman"), her
rectly viewing a stage. Portions of the screen are ineffectual soldier boyfriend, and his cruel com­
often masked off or subdivided using walls, win­ manding officer. Shot in black and white Cin­
dows, sliding doors and solid areas of shadow. emaScope on the patched-up sets and costumes
In Pistol Opera, the main character is introduced of Kon Ichikawa's earlier Harp ofBurma (Biruma
in silhouette form performing a balletic pistol no Tategoto, 1 95 6), the film is a potent melodra­
practice behind a semi-transparent shOji paper ma set against a pressurized backdrop of violence
screen illuminated to look like a lilac sunset, and impending doom. However, it was not well
while Youth of the Beast features an exchange in a received either by the critics or the public upon
yakuza's lair containing a one-way mirror acting its original release and portended Suzuki's major
as a window, a frame within the frame, into a falling out with the studio three years later.
nightclub where a girl is dancing onstage.
Showers of falling cherry blossoms permeate "The best thing for a movie is to have a lot of

throughout his oeuvre. He even made a straight­ people come to see It when it's released. But

to-video feature in 1 984 set entirely during the back then my fi lms weren't so successful .

April cherry blossom season, called Haru Saku­ Now, thirty years later, a lot o f young people

ra: Seijun Sakura Henso, in which a truck driver come to see my fi lms. So either my films were

almost runs over a mysterious parasol-wielding too early or your generation came too late.

ethereal beauty in a kimono, who appears from Either way, the success is coming too late."

out of nowhere in front of his vehicle. With the

truck now decked out with cherry flowers, the More than anything however, Suzuki has
two travel together through a series of colorful come to be appreciated in the West for the retro-
 Seijun Suzuki 9

Youth of the Beast

styled, Pop Art-inspired visual excesses of his the-wall visuals-Branded to Kill, as a contract
early work. Bubblegum program potboilers such killer aspiring to top dog position in Tokyo's
as Youth of the Beast and Detective Bureau 2-3 are hierarchy of paid assassins, overcoming such
so garish and cartoon-like that it's no real surprise obstacles as errant butterflies and a treacherous
to find that Suzuki made a contribution to the wife en route. With its stunning monochrome
animation field. In 1 98 5 , along with Shigetsugu cinematography and highly abstracted approach
Yoshida, he co-directed Lupin III: The Golden to both visuals and storytelling, Branded to Kill
Legend of Babylon ( 1 985), based on the series of went far beyond anything Suzuki had done be­
manga comics drawn by Monkey Punch featur­ fore, and deviated so far from the Nikkatsu tem­
ing the snappily dressed simian-looking grand­ plate that it resulted in his dismissal from the
son of French mystery writer Maurice Leblanc's company.
gentleman thief, Arsene Lupin. Suzuki's version "We don't need directors whose films are
sees its protagonist charging across Iraq, battling unintelligible!" barked company president Kyii­
against a bevy of international beauty contes­ saku Hori. Suzuki's onscreen antics had caused
tants in search of hidden treasure. Like the other his position within the company to become in­
outside entry in the long running animation se­ creasingly tenuous in the years running up to his
ries, Hayao Miyazaki's Castle ofCagliostro ( 1 979), sacking from the studios in 1 968. Life of a Tat­
Suzuki's version fits more comfortably within his tooed Man and Tokyo Drifter had both attracted
own oeuvre than with the series as a whole. the attention of the studio head due to their lu­
The sensation of kitsch in this early cycle is ridly colorful and highly artificial approach to
further enhanced by the frequent casting of J6 the material, but they had done little to prepare
Shishido in the lead, whose deadpan hamster­ the ground for Branded to Kill. Suzuki was on set
faced demeanor was due to collagen implants filming Aisaikun Konban Wa: Aru Ketto for the
he received in his cheeks in order to enhance studio's TV division before he was hauled down
his box office appeal. Shishido is the star of the to Hori's office and given his marching orders. A
best known of Suzuki's films in the West-and retrospective of his work was canceled and prints
undoubtedly the pinnacle of the director's off- of all his films were withdrawn from circulation.
10 SEIJUN SUZUKI

Within the industry, however, Suzuki 's ing commercials, a couple of TV dramas, writ­
dismissal was widely seen as a scapegoating ing newspaper articles and film criticism, and
for the company's flagging fortunes. Always publishing a number of autobiographical works,
one of the least adventurous of studios, Nik­ which include Hana-Jigoku [trans: Flower hell,
katsu was the oldest of the maj ors and yet 1 97 2 ] and Boryoku Sagashi ni Machi e Deru
the last to adapt to sound production . The [trans: Going into town looking for violence,
company's adherence to formula had already 1 97 3 ]. He was also a defendant in the obscen­
more or less killed it off once, when its re­ ity case against Nagisa Oshima surrounding In
fusal to move beyond churning out the Edo­ the Realm ofthe Senses in 1 979, in which Oshima
period swords and samurai chanbara films was cleared of all charges. Finally, in 1 97 7 , Sho­
en masse saw it losing rapi d ground to Sho­ chiku studios relented and agreed to distribute
chiku, which at the time was specializing in his long-awaited comeback feature, though
more contemporary family-oriented dramas . Story ofSorrow and Sadness, a melodramatic golf­
Until reopening their studios in 1 9 5 4 when ing movie, was a dismal failure at the box office
Suzuki was hired, the company had retreated and the '70s remained a decade conspicuous by
from production for over ten years, concern­ Suzuki's absence.
ing themselves only with distribution and With this commercial disaster further con­
the management of a chain of theaters . Dur­ spiring to keep him outside of the industry,
ing the '60s, failing to adapt to the threat of some form of vindication arrived when inde­
television, Nikkatsu churned out dozens of pendent producer Genjiro Arato helped fi­
interchangeable potboilers aimed squarely at nance Zigeunerweisen, the first of a trilogy of
the youth market, few of which are remem­ films produced through the company Cinema
bered today. When the company set upon a Placet set in the TaishO period ( 1 9 1 2 -2 5) in
quick-fix solution to the downturn in its for­ which the director was born, one of the most
tunes in 1 97 1 after the departure of Kyiisaku intriguing periods in modern Japanese history.
Hori by channeling all of its energy into sex Wedged between the initial opening up to the
films, it pigheadedly refused to budge from West and early industrialization of the Meiji
the production of steamy Roman Porno dra­ period, and the increased nationalism of the
mas for almost twenty years, by which time early Showa period, the era represented a time
minimally budgeted AV productions shot on of relative stability and liberalization under
video had stolen the market for big-screen which the arts flourished, with its practitioners
eroticism, forcing Nikkatsu to withdraw from hungrily devouring Western influences and
production once more for a brief period in melding them to fit into a Japanese cultural
the early '90s. environment.
But Hori's autocratic 1 968 decision had an­ Freed from the shackles of working within
noyed a lot of the staff of Nikkatsu, and indeed the studio context, Suzuki gives full vent to
the filmmaking world in general. When he de­ his imagination in these three works in which
cided to take his former employers to court the the image is clearly everything. Both eerie and
same year, Suzuki became a cause celebre for erotic, Zigeunerweisen is a dreamlike tale which
many within the industry. The case dragged on shifts from this world to the next and back as it
until 1 97 1 , ending in a settlement for Suzuki, charts the lives of five characters, one of whom
but by this time the director's name had be­ dies early on in the film yet whose influence
come so muddied that none of the major stu­ remains very much tangible from beyond the
dios would touch him. For the next ten years grave. Arato and Suzuki found themselves un­
Suzuki was forced to keep himself going mak- able to distribute the film conventionally, so
 Seijun Suzuki 11

they built a special tent-like exhibition hall with

which they toured Japan. The film was a rous­
ing success with critics in Japan, making several
"Best of" lists and was awarded a Special Jury
Mention when it screened at B erlin in 1 98 1 .
His next film i n the trilogy, Mirage Thea­
ter, covers similar territory in a film whose
stylistics owe much to the world of kabuki
theater, as it details a doomed love affair be­
tween a playwright and a mysterious woman
who , it turns out, may actually be dead. The
final part of the independently produced
Story of a Prostitute
Taisho trilogy, Yumeji, was a fictional biopic
about the Okayama-born painter and illustra­
tor Takehisa Yumeji ( 1 8 84- 1 9 3 4) , whose col­ nity, Suzuki finally began to get noticed outside
orful expressionistic portraits of women were ofJapan. In the meantime, since 1 980 the eccen­
heavily influenced by the European Romantic tric-looking director had been making a name
artists. Starring former rock musician Kenji for himself appearing in a number of television
Sawada (a.k.a. "Julie") as the eponymous art­ acting roles. After his first feature appearance in
ist, Yumeji is possibly the best-looking of all a cameo in the Icelandic road movie Cold Fever
of Suzuki 's films-beginning with a highly ( 1 994), he began to pop up in a number of films
stylized shot of a crowd bouncing beachballs for directors such as Shinji Aoyama (in Embalm­
over their heads and continuing through a ing) and Sabu (The Blessing Bell).
startling succession of images depicting both
the confused internal and external worlds of "When you become over 60, everything you do
the artist. Hong Kong director Wong Kar­ is okay with everyone. You can do whatever
Wai later used the theme music for In the you want. That's why I started acting. I was
Mood for Love (2 000) . i nvited to be a n actor i n Cold Fever, so I de­
Between the last two parts of the three films, cided to do it. "
Suzuki undertook his first work for Shochiku
since Story of Sorrow and Sadness. Capone Cries Branded to Kill may have put Suzuki out of a
Hard was about a group of traveling minstrels job, but in the intervening period its showcasing
who bring no less a figure than gangster AI on DVD and video outside ofJapan, along with
Capone to tears when they tour to the United his penultimate film for Nikkatsu, Tokyo Drifter,
States to perform a series of musical recitals. had brought the director's name to a whole new
Though set in America, the film was in fact shot audience. In 2 000, over thirty years after the
entirely in Japan. original, producer Satoru Ogura suggested Su­
Suzuki later contributed the third part of zuki make a sequel. In many ways Pistol Opera
the omnibus film Marriage along with the di­ is the zenith of the director's style, a colorful but
rectors Hideo Onchi and Hiroshi Nagao, an in­ almost nonsensical plot set against a parade of
consequential offering that, for a while, looked bizarre and scenic locales.
like it was to be Suzuki's final directorial work.
With a number of retrospectives during the '80s "The producer, Satoru Ogu ra , suggested the
and '90s in Italy, the Netherlands, and Canada idea to me of making a sequel to Branded to
bringing his name to the international commu- Kill. In the begi n n i ng I tried to t h i n k of It i n
12 SEIJUN SUZUKI

those terms, with a male character, the same work had hinted at but not taken to their full
as i n Branded to Kill. That didn't work out so potential.
wel l , so I decided to use a female character In the case of Konto Wanderer, this auda­
i n the main role. That worked out better. So it ciousness lies more in Suzuki's attitude toward
started out as a gen uine sequel, but it tu rned the basic material than in flamboyant visuals.
i nto a very different kind of story . " The film was his first excursion into the ninkya
eiga, a traditionalist sub-genre of the yakuza
Pistol Opera was released in Japan in 2 00 1 , film, enduringly popular throughout the 1 960s,
the same year i n which Suzuki was graced with which featured honorable gangster heroes faced
a total of two retrospectives in Tokyo, "Style with a choice between obligation to the gang
to Kill" and " D eep Seijun," allowing domestic (girt) and friendship to a comrade (ninja). Their
audiences the rare opportunity to catch the full decision usually resulted in a spectacular finale
spectrum of his contribution to Japanese cine­ that saw the hero going it alone against an en­
ma. Wacky, irreverent, occasionally incoherent, tire rival gang.
but always dazzlingly original and imbued with Always built around this generic scenario,
a playful charm that has become the maverick the ninkya films were perfect fodder for the stu­
director's trademark, his work continues to thrill dio production lines, and it's no surprise that Su­
and amuse an entire new generation. Suzuki is a zuki churned out several of his own while under
living legend, a man who fought the system and contract at Nikkatsu. Suzuki being Suzuki, they
won, and managed to maintain a smile through­ never were quite as generic as they might have
out the whole process. been in lesser hands. In a radical break with the
formula, which prescribed a pre-war setting that
would convey the traditionalist message, Konto
Wanderer was set in the present day, contrast­
'" Kanto Wanderer ing kimonoed yakuza with giggling high school
IMIJIH!ltm girls in sailor uniforms.
KDntii Mushuku The effect Suzuki achieved was an empha­
sis on the outmoded nature of the ninkya eiga
1963. CAST: Aki ra Kobayash i , H i ro ko Ito , Ch ieko subgenre, effectively ridiculing its traditional­
M atsubara, Ke i s u ke Noro , Daizaburo H i rata , YU­ ist values. Swordfights look particularly out of
nosu ke Ito , 93 m i n utes . RELEASES : DVD , Home place when heavy traffic roars through the back­
Vision Enterta i n ment ( U . S . , Engl i s h subtitles), ground. The first scene of the film is a three­
N i k katsu (J a p a n , no s u btitles) . way dialogue between chattering schoolgirls
shot entirely in close-ups, a scene that couldn't
Suzuki takes on the traditional yakuza and d rags be further removed from the yakuza genre. To
him out i nto the busy pos t war streets to show
- demonstrate that it's all a joke, the next shot is
j ust how old-fash ioned he is. of a movie theater showing Nikkatsu program
pictures, a discarded flyer exclaiming, "Yakuza
1 96 3 was something of a watershed year for movie now showing. "
Seijun Suzuki. It was this year that he made his In a further break with traditionalist values,
first truly memorable films, the ones in which Konto Wanderer is surprisingly frank on the sub­
his audaciousness came to full prominence: De­ jects of sex and romance. The conversations of
tective Bureau 2-3: Go to Hell, Bastards!, Youth of the aforementioned schoolgirls are mainly about
the Beast, and Konto Wanderer. These three films whom they'd like to lose their virginity to, with
developed a stylistic boldness that his previous the various members of the two local yakuza
Kanta Wanderer

groups as prime candidates. The girls chase and

flirt with their intended paramours shamelessly,
and when one of the teens gets sold into pros­
titution, she ends up enjoying her promiscuous
activities even more than her clients do.
Compared to their liberty and energy, the
steadfast protagonist Katsuta (Kobayashi) and
his pining for the rather homely wife of a pro­
fessional gambler looks positively dreary. Set
against a background of ry okan inns, paper
screens, and tatami mats, this romantic sub­
plot is the film's weakest asset, convolutedly
tied in with the main storyline. But then again,
perhaps its slow pace and unlikely romance
are very intentional parts of Suzuki 's game.
Even the supposed grand finale is shockingly
brief, better remembered for its sudden use
of garish red light (tying in with the gangster
ethos that a yakuza's path in life leads to either
red clothes or white ones, i.e. either prison
14 SEIJUN SUZUKI

or death) than for its fight choreography, of Left with no surviving family, Maya seeks
which there is little. After the scene is over, shelter with a group of prostitutes who inhabit a
there are still 1 5 minutes of story left to tell, bombed-out building in the heart of this confu­
which additionally cushions its impact. In his sion. To protect their means of livelihood from
later ninkyo film Life of a Tattooed Man, Suzuki exploitation by pimps and competition from
would take shock color finales to much more rival whores, the group live a close-knit exis­
impressive heights. tence, staking out their territory on a regular
Effectively a film that undermines itself, basis and adhering to a rigid set of codes, the
Kanto Wanderer may not be altogether success­ most savagely enforced being "No sex for free. "
ful as a viewing experience, but it's all the more What happens when this last rule i s violated is
interesting as a document of Seijun Suzuki's soon demonstrated to Maya on a former mem­
playfully impertinent approach to studio film­ ber of this makeshift guild, as she is stripped and
making. has her hair shaven off by the other girls, and is
left strapped naked on an abandoned rowboat
floating in the river, with only a fishing net be­
tween her and the burning rays of the sun.
� Gate of Flesh Into this situation wanders ex-serviceman
�f,$O)r' Shintaro (Shishido), wounded and on the run
Nikutai no Mon from the military police after having stabbed a
soldier. At first the girls agree only to shelter
1964 . CAST : Jo S h i s h i d o , Yu m i ko Nogawa , Ku m i ko him for one night, but later his petulant manner
Kawan i s h i , Kayo M ats u o , Satoko Kas a i , Tam i ko and far-fetched wartime yarns begin to stir up
I s h i i , M i sa ko Tom i n aga , Yoj i Wad a . 91 m i n utes . feelings of affection in the girls' hearts. Sooner
RELEASES: DVD . Pagan Fi l m s ( U . K . , Engl ish s u bti­ or later, as love begins to raise its ugly head, his
tles) . HK Video ( France , French s u btitles, as part presence amongst them threatens to tear this
of a Seij u n Suzuki Vo l l o boxed set, with Branded fragile solidarity apart.
to Kill and Youth of the Beast) . V H S . Home Vi­ Youth of the Beast may have been the first
s i o n Enterta i n ment ( U . S . , Engl i s h s u btitl e s ) . time audiences sat up and took note of Suzu­
ki's name, but this next work is nothing short
An early masterpiece from Suzuki, i n t h i s tale of of a minor masterpiece. Gate of Flesh is amongst
post-war prostitution amongst the rubble of U .S.­ the many films by the director that point to the
occupied Tokyo. fact that during his Nikkatsu days Suzuki's skill
stretched beyond the mere jazzing up of taw­
"After the war, Tokyo was a jungle," laments dry scripts. This strong female-oriented drama
Maya (Nogawa), the central character of Gate of paints a particularly vivid picture of the period
Flesh, as she arrives in the shell-shocked, rubble­ immediately succeeding the war, and resounds
strewn wasteland of the nation's capitol in the with memories of the nation's defeat and the
early stages of the Allied occupation ( 1 945-52). bitterness of those led into it by the strictly en­
Riddled with poverty and starvation, populated forced ideologies imposed by the militarists and
by thieves, looters and black marketeers, and nationalists. With the men debilitated through
subjected to regular raids by the military po­ hunger and stripped of pride, it was up to the
lice from the nearby U.S. base, Japanese pimps women to drag the nation back onto its feet
peddle young flesh to the occupying forces and again. "Japanese women are such sluts now!"
patroling American GIs are a constant feature Shintaro screams at Sen, the gang's feisty ring­
on the landscape. leader. " So? You men are to blame! You lost the
 Gate of Flesh 15

Gate of Flesh
16 SEIJUN SUZUKI

war!" she bawls back. Later, as the girls leave brother whom she lost in B orneo. Later on she
Shintaro hiding out in their lair as they go off tells him that he reminds her of an angry boy in
to work the streets, one of them makes a passing her class, who wore a paper demon mask in the
comment about him playing "housewife." school play-which explains the rather baffling
Suzuki's film is one of four adaptations of shot we'd been treated to earlier, of Shishido's
Gate of Flesh for the big screen, all under the face briefly superimposed in the top left corner
same title. The first was in 1 948 by Masahiro of the screen with the same paper monster mask
Makino, at the time of the novel's publication, perched on his head, fuming after the girls have
and the most recent was by Hideo Gosha in greeted his tale of battlefield heroics with mock­
1 98 8 , a big-budget version produced by Toei. ing laughter.
Suzuki's essentially shares the most in common Gate of Flesh was adapted from a best-sell­
with a later version produced by Nikkatsu in ing novel about post-war prostitutes (or pan­
1 9 7 7 , directed by Shogoro Nishimura as part pan girls) written by Taijiro Tamura, a popular
of their Roman Porno series-Junko Miyashita, writer of the '40s and ' 5 0s who specialized in
the studio's award winning starlet, features as nikutai bungaku (literally "flesh literature"), a
one of the prostitutes. Nishimura is obviously genre which set its tales within the earthy mi­
heavily indebted to Suzuki's rendition, seeming­ lieu of the flesh trade to bring its various social,
ly set in the very same shooting locations and political, or historical points to a wider audi­
negotiating its way through similar plot points, ence. Owing to its subject matter, Gate of Flesh
though detailing the scenes of the girls at work is somewhat of a landmark film regarding the
with a far greater lip-smacking gusto. onscreen portrayal of nudity and for the shock­
Nishimura's version, however, lacks the ing imagery on display-a savage flagellation
heavily stylized melodrama that makes Suzuki's scene as the punishment for breaking the guild's
such a work of art: the synergy between the rules is meted out sadistically by the other girls
gritty realism of its setting and the concessions in lengthy torture sessions, and the slaughter of
to theatricality to communicate the themes and a bull stolen by Shin taro for sale on the black
ideas within the original work more expres­ market appears onscreen in bloody detail.
sively. And this goes for the inspirational visual It was the first of three films Suzuki made
approach as well as the acting. A confrontation about the plight of prostitutes, all set in various
between Sen and Shin taro avoids standard eye­ points in Japanese history and all featuring the
line matching techniques in favor of superim­ expressive features of Yumiko Nogawa as their
posing his face next to a wide shot of her sitting plucky protagonist. Suzuki's next film in the se­
on a bed, picked out in a spotlight. The four ries, Story of a Prostitute, was also an adaptation
main prostitutes are drawn in vibrant hues, as of a work by Tamura, who was the first author
if to express their vitality within the shattered to focus on the subject of military "comfort
wasteland, each characterized by the color of her women" in stories such as Inago, years before it
dress: the innocence and naivete of newcomer was to become a national source of shame. Su­
Maya dressed in dark green, the volatile Sen in zuki rounded off his trilogy with Carmen from
red, cheerful and chubby Roku in yellow, and Kowachi, based on a novel by Toko Kon, a mem­
tranquil and compliant Miyo in purple. In one ber of the Shinkankaku ("New Perceptionists")
moment, when the girls begin to fall for Shin­ school of writers of the 1 92 0s that included Yas­
taro's bullish charm, they are each portrayed in­ unari Kawabata and Riichi Yokomitsu, and who
dividually voicing their internal thoughts to the also provided the source material for Suzuki's
camera against a theatrical backdrop matching Akutaro the previous year.
their character. For Maya, he reminds her of her
 Elegy to Violence 17

.,v Elegy to Violence one-charged rough 'n' tumble after the school
Itlvib>;:z ;h C lt l bell has sounded, fighting under the aegis of the
Kenka Erejii OSMS (Okayama Second Middle School) gang.
a.k.a. Fighting Elegy, The Born Fighter "A famous group of young men training their
bodies, " the OSMS take their brawlings with
1966 . CAST: H ideki Takahash i , J u n ko Asano, YU­ their local rivals to paramilitary levels of hyper­
suke Kawatsu , M itsuo Kataoka , Seij i ro Onda . 86 bole, lining their school bags with razor blades
m i n utes . RELEASES: DVD, C riterion ( U . S . , Engl ish sub­ and carving shurikens out of wood, indulging in
titles), N i kkatsu (Japa n , no subtitles); VHS, Home lengthy training sessions punching beanbags
Vision Entertai n ment ( U . S . , Engl ish subtitles) . full of rocks and beating each other with sticks
in the nearby forest.
Acerbic a n d witty look a t violence in the years The OSMS live by a number of tenets, in­
ru nning up to the war within the microcosm of cluding "A man finds rebellion most satisfying"
the schoolyard of Okayama Middle School . and "No talking to softies." Unfortunately for
Kiroku, who's got the hots for Michiko, the
To those familiar with his more populist works, daughter of the owner of the Catholic boarding
Elegy to Violence will no doubt, initially at least, house where he lives, there's also "No chasing
look like a disappointingly conventional piece of after girls. " Kiroku, however, is quite willing
low budget '60s cinema, shot in black and white to have his sentiments educated at the piano by
and devoid of much in the way of stylistic flour­ Michiko in the privacy of the house, but when he
ish or fanfare. However, this film points to the is caught strolling through the cherry blossoms
fact that there are actually a lot more strings to hand in hand with his sweetheart by Takuan, the
the Suzuki bow than many give him credit for. leader of the OSMS, it's obvious that he's going
Even within the lower echelons of the studio sys­ to have to try that little bit harder to regain his
tem there was room for the director to shoehorn face in front of his contemporaries.
in social comment and political satire within his "My main impression is still that war is lu­
films, factors which are often overlooked in his dicrous," the director stated about his own ex­
oeuvre in favor of the more superficial aspects. periences in a 1 969 interview for the Japanese
Yet that's not to say that any of the director's publication Shinema 69. This viewpoint informs
impish humor has been lost in this fictitious the whole tone of the Elegy to Violence as much
fable set amongst the schoolyard scuffles of as it does with any of his films. You can almost
Okayama Middle School. In a decade in which imagine Suzuki smirking behind the camera as
questions of national identity, Japan's relation­ he pokes fun at the adolescent machismo that
ship with the outside world, and its links with its equates military discipline with virility. He later
traditional past were being probed by such lofty goes on in the same interview to recount a story
right-wing thinkers as the ultrapatriotic novel­ in which during the war he was holed up in a
ist Yukio Mishima and Tokyo's current gover­ house in Taiwan. "There was a bombing raid
nor Shintaro Ishihara, it could only take a wit as and a man was hit while 'doing it. ' It would have
razor sharp as Suzuki's to burst the intellectual been better if only the bottom half had been
bubble. blown off, but that's the only part that was left,
Set in 1 9 3 5 , Kiroku (played by Hideki Taka­ his charred bottom half. "
hashi one of the ranks of Nikkatsu matinee As the students of the all-male school envi­
'
idols of the era and also the star of Suzuki's Life ronment channel their sexual tensions into acts
ofa Tattooed Man) is one of a horde of hot-head­ of aggression, Kiroku's personal diary is pep­
ed adolescents who partake in a bit of testoster- pered with immortal lines such as "Oh Michiko!
18 SEIJUN SUZUKI

Elegy to Violence
 Branded to Kill 19

I don't masturbate, I fight!" Every time he finds ebrated literary figure Yukio Mishima was also
himself hot under the collar at the thought of to make a 3 0-minute film inspired by the same
his virginal love interest at the piano ("My blood event, the somber and highly stylized Yitkoku
throbs at those white hands!"), with an upward [trans: Patriotism, 1 966J , and a few years later
glance to the crucifix on the wall of his Catholic in 1 970, for his ultimate performance, took his
boarding house, it's back out for another bout of own life by ritual seppuku, a desperate gesture
backstreet brawling. harking back to the days of pre-war nationalism.
An adaptation of Takashi Suzuki's novel by Suzuki's film ends during the coup, in which a
renowned scriptwriter Kaneto Shind6, the script state of martial law has been declared in Tokyo.
was apparently substantially rewritten by the With the unattainable Michiko packed off to a
pragmatic director to fit his working methods, nunnery, Kiroku embarks on a lengthy snow­
allowing him to make use of exterior locations bound train j ourney to Tokyo to j oin Kita in the
to stage the frantic battle sequences that form revolution.
the visual high points of the piece. However, Elegy to Violence may well be one of Suzuki's
more than a broad-edged attack on violence it­ meatiest films, both in terms of its political sat­
self, Shind6's script is an absurdist look at the ire and the sheer vigor of the bone-crushing vi­
forces that gave rise to fascism in early Sh6wa olence on display. The widescreen scope is most
era Japan. When Kiroku's unruly antics get him impressively used in the lavishly staged fights
kicked out of school and he is packed away to between the various gangs, armed with swords,
study in rural Aizu, he is unimpressed by the rocks, and sticks. But Suzuki doesn't revel in
"Aizu spirit" of his classmates. Kiroku's outsider the violence of these scenes. The spectacle of a
status singles him out for attention amongst the chaotic mass of writhing schoolboys, rendered
local school bullies, but he soon emerges top all the more ridiculous by the fact that the ac­
dog, attracting the shadowy figure of real-life tors wearing the uniforms are at least 1 0 years
fascist writer and political dissident Ikki Kita in too old for their parts, is, as Suzuki quite rightly
the process. suggests, quite ludicrous. He knows as well as
Kita was a radical nationalist whose writings we all do, that boys will be boys. It's only when
proved immensely influential with the right the playful scuffling goes beyond the boundar­
wing in the pre-war period. He believed that ies of the school playground that we really need
following the re-establishment of the Imperial to start to worry.
system at the beginning of the Meiji period, a
whole host of privileged cliques-politicians,
bureaucrats, industrialists, military leaders,
etc.-had emerged, coming between the Sh6wa � Branded To Kill
Emperor Hirohito and the people ofJapan, cor­ � l O)13m
rupting the concept of kokutai-of the nation as Koroshi no Rakuin
one family under the direct rule of a single sym­
bolic patriarch. Kita was executed in 1 9 3 7 for al­ 1966 . CAST: Jo S h i s h i d o . M a r i ko Ogawa . An n u
legedly influencing the young officers who took M a ri . Koj i N a m b a r a . I s a o Tam agaw a . H i ro s h i
place in the failed coup known as the Niniroku M i n am i . 9 1 m i n utes . R ELEAS E : DVD . C riterion Col­
incident that took place on February 2 6, 1 93 6, lecti on ( U . S .• Engl i s h s u btitl e s ) . Second S ight
in which 1 ,400 rebel soldiers occupied a number Fi l m s ( U . K . • Engl i s h s u btitl e s ) . H K Video ( Fra nce .
of crucial government buildings in the center of French s u btitles . as p a rt of a S e ij u n S u z u k i Vol
Tokyo and killed the finance minster and the in­ 1. boxed set. with Gate of Flesh and Youth of the
spector general of military education. The cel- Beast) . N i kkatsu (J a p a n . no s u btitl e s ) .
20 SEIJUN SUZUKI

Suzuki's landmark fi l m turns the concept of concerned. In any measure, one wonders how
genre cinema on its head, in one of the most Suzuki could have topped it if he had been al­
stylish, wacky, and gob-smacking pieces of cel lu­ lowed to stay.
loid wei rdness ever to hit the screen. Branded to Kill benefits from some stunning
high contrast scope shooting doubled with a
Branded to Kill sees J6 Shishido returning to masterful use of light and shadow, all courtesy
the Suzuki fold for the first time since Gate of of cinematographer Kazue Nagatsuka, a col­
Flesh, this time playing Gor6 Hanada, a terse laborator on some of Suzuki's finest work: Youth
assassin in shades and Number Three in the of the Beast, The Flower and the Angry Waves, and
pecking order of hired killers. Turned on by Story of a Prostitute. Nagatsuka later rejoined
the smell of boiling rice, between killings he the director for the independent productions of
indulges in vigorous sexual marathons with his Zigeunerweisen and Mirage Theater in the ' 80s.
wife, chasing her nakedly around every room Laid down to a sultry '60s jazz accompaniment,
of their apartment in order to satisfy his insa­ Suzuki's film takes place in no recognizable
tiable appetite. He is drawn off course when location-a series of austere tenement block
approached by the beautiful but deadly Misako apartments, deserted warehouses and smoky
to undertake a "kill or be killed" contract, and lounge bars. Such a topography doesn't tie the
soon finds himself entranced by this mysterious film down to any particular country or genre,
femme fatale, who keeps an apartment full of nor does Suzuki's almost surreal approach to the
entomological specimens and an impaled love­ individual set pieces. For one of Gor6's assas­
bird suspended from the rear view mirror of her sinations, he pokes his pistol up a drainpipe and
car. When he botches the job due to an untime­ fires, the bullet ricocheting up and firing out of
ly butterfly landing on his gun-sight, his wife the plug hole, to find its target as he bends over
is secretly hired by the mob boss to kill him. the basin.
From then on it's bullet-riddled mayhem all the Suzuki melds such cartoon imagery with
way until a head-to-head finale set in a deserted Shishido's hard-boiled, stone cold sober per­
boxing gymnasium with the anonymous phan­ formance in a film that was to indelibly associ­
tom Number One. ate the singular screen presence of the Nikkatsu
If Suzuki's previous work in the yakuza hardman with Suzuki's equally synthetic aesthet­
genre had demonstrated an ability to rework ic. Shishido is perfectly matched by the stunning
standard plots and warp them into glorious Annu Mari as Misako, who disappears midpoint
pieces of comic book flamboyance, then his last through the film, leaving Shishido with only a
for Nikkatsu can surely be said to represent the cinematic projection of her left behind by her
pinnacle of his vision, the boldest attempt to kidnappers, an illusion to be chased. The exot­
strip a genre down to its bare atoms and rebuild ic actress was born in 1 948 to an Indian father
it into something that can truly be described as and Japanese mother. She made her debut for
pure cinema. Even the director's confinement Toho in 1 964 in Jitensha Dorobo [trans: The bi­
to monochrome after the garish color palette of cycle thief] and later appeared in such fluff for
Tokyo Drifter works in its favor. Branded to Kill Nikkatsu as Za Supaidazu no Daishingeki [trans:
is almost pure abstraction, one man's rise to the The Spiders' big attack], a vehicle for the then
top filtered through the language of Jungian popular beat combo, the Spiders, whose frivo­
symbolism and perverse dream logic, a series of lous comedic antics and chirpy croonings recall
images and events that have no application to the Monkees. She later appeared in Sh6gor6
the real world. It was the final nail in the coffin Nishimura's 1 970 pre-Roman Porno pink film
as far as Nikkatsu president KyUsaku Hori was Zankoku Onna Joshi [trans: Cruel female love
 Story of Sorrow and Sadness 21

Branded to Kill

suicide] . After an absence from the screen for "" Story of Sorrow and Sadness
almost thirty years, Mari recently appeared in ���m
the erotic thriller Reflection (Reflection Jubaku no Hishu Monogatari
Kizuna, 1 992) by Fujir6 Mitsuishi, the director
of Tomie Replay (2 000), and Ashita ga Arusa THE 19 7 7 . CAST: Y6ko S h i ra k i , Yos h i o H a ra d a , M asu­
MOVIE (Hitoshi Iwamoto, 2 002) based on the m i Okad a , K6j i Wad a , J 6 S h i s h i d o . 9 1 m i n utes .
TV drama from Nippon Television. RELEASES: DVD, Panorama ( H ong Kong, Engl i s h /
The type of film that is virtually impossible C h i nese s u btitle s ) .
to describe to anyone that hasn't seen it, and the
type of film where plot takes a severe back seat Golf h a s never been a s f u n as when Suzuki wields
to the imagery, with the passing of time Branded the 9-l ron, i n this glossed-over bridging point in
to Kill has become a treasured object of cult film the d i rector's career.
fans with a taste for the truly bizarre all over the
world. More recently, it was paid homage by Jim If Suzuki's work for Nikkatsu can be typified as
Jarmusch in his Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai free-form experimentations in style within the
( 1 999), and Suzuki himself almost managed to rigid confines of the cliched and pedestrian B ­
top it in the sheer weirdness stakes with his be­ movie genre narratives he was handed, this oft­
lated follow-up thirty years later, Pistol Opera. overlooked turning point in the director's oeuvre
22 SEIJUN SUZUKI

is of double interest in that here the narrative is This particular tale of sorrow and sadness
even more off-the-wall than the visuals. concerns professional model Reiko (Shiraki)
During the late '70s, Japan was no differ­ groomed to the higher ranks of the golf circuit
ent from the rest of the developed world in by the editor of a sporting fashion magazine
that increased liberalization regarding onscreen (Harada, a regular in Suzuki's Taish6 era-set
portrayals of sex, violence, and nudity and the dramas of the ' 80s) in order to promote their
increasing prosperity of its citizens seemed to latest range of sporting wear. Her victory during
run hand in hand with an increased dearth of her first professional competition ("The ball's
imagination in the films being produced. Hav­ gonna fly, wherever I will it to go!" she mutters
ing now moved on to become exclusively associ­ to herself as she wipes the sweat from her fur­
ated with the Roman Porno line of glossy sex rowed brow) wins her not only the approval of
films, if anything, Nikkatsu's approach had be­ her side burned, shades-wearing mentor-with
come even more inflexible in the ten years since whom she immediately dives, newly won trophy
Suzuki had shot Branded to Kill. in hand, straight beneath the shower after the
In this context, it might be tempting to look match-but also with a whole new TV audi­
at Suzuki's first film after ten years in the wilder­ ence, where she makes regular appearances clad
ness as something of a two-fingered riposte to his in a bikini and wielding a 9-iron. It seems that
former employers, an attempt to explode back suddenly everyone wants a piece of Reiko, in­
on the scene with a film that was simultaneously cluding neighbor-from-hell Mrs. Semba.
refreshing, inventive, and commercially success­ Semba-san's initial attempts to buy into Rei­
ful. And how did he decide to do this? With a ko's fame take the form of a telephoned com­
sexy psycho-melodrama based on the popularity plaint about the model's garage door. However,
of that most bourgeois of sports, golf! Story of the curtain-twitching obsessive soon comes face
Sorrow and Sadness was mauled by the critics of to face with her idol when asking for autographs
the time and flopped at the box office. Suzuki on a TV talk show. Things turn a little more
retreated from the filmmaking frontline for a sinister when this twisted celebrity stalker is
further few years before meeting with a consid­ knocked down in a drunken hit-and-run acci­
erably more enthusiastic reception with his next dent by Reiko and her manager. Persuading his
comeback, the self-produced Zigeunerweisen. protegee that reporting the incident may ruin
Glossed over in recent retrospectives of the her newfound fame, the couple leave the injured
director and seldom mentioned in discussions of figure by the road side.
his work, Suzuki's sole work of the '70s is actual­ That evening as Reiko practices her putts in
ly one of the most peculiar entries of an oeuvre the living room, she is confronted by the wound­
that is already marked by its peculiarity. From ed Semba with a blackmail proposition. With her
the chintzy '70s decor and cocktail lounge music career seriously threatened, Reiko has no choice
to the crazy use of zooms interspersed with the but to concur. However, the blackmailer is soon
usual Suzuki stylistic tropes, not to mention the abusing her newly found power, shearing off
sheer absurdity of both story and milieu, here is Reiko's hair and throwing drunken parties with
a film that goes far beyond the standard defini­ her friends and neighbors in the model's house
tions of "cult cinema" that seemed so embod­ in which she lives with her adolescent younger
ied by the Pop Art kitsch of Branded to Kill. brother (who resides up a rope ladder in his attic
"What's so interesting about a game where you bedroom for much of the film). After a creepy
hit a ball into a little hole? " asks one of the char­ lesbian kiss, Reiko finds herself succumbing
acters at an early point in the film. Well, watch more and more to Semba's violent fantasies.
and learn . . . . Coming across like a deranged hybrid of
 Pistol Opera 23

Clint Eastwood's Play Misty for Me ( 1 97 1 ) and filmmaker returns to what is regarded by many
Robert Aldrich's U1hat Ever Happened to Baby as his masterpiece: Branded to Kill. A rush job it
Jane? ( 1 962), this sinister social satire of Stepford certainly wasn't, then, but can the film live up to
Wives suburban aspiration set against the glam­ the towering legacy of its illustrious predecessor,
orous world of big budget sports promotion is especially with a 7 8-year-old director who hasn't
impossible to pigeonhole as anything other than been at the helm of a film in almost ten years?
a Suzuki film (fa Shishido even crops up in a Echoing Branded to Kilts plot, Pistol Opera
cameo). Watch the divots fly as Suzuki takes vi­ revolves around Number Three killer Miyuki
ciously wild swipes at the reciprocally symbiotic Minazuki, nicknamed " Stray Cat, " and her at­
relationship between celebrity and fan mani­ tempts at attaining the top rank in the hierarchy
fested in both the obligations to the public that of assassins. She is thwarted at every turn by a
put them where they are and the demands of a procession of exotic rivals with names like the
consumer-driven public who crave the need to Teacher (a wheelchair-bound, tracksuit-wearing
worship at their altar. killer), Painless Surgeon (a bearded Westerner
Periodically interspersed with scenes of the with a liking for Japanese women, who literally
younger brother's innocent flirtations beneath feels no pain) and Dark Horse (Masatoshi Na­
the cherry blossoms with an imaginary girl next gase in a blond wig and black cloak).
door, and riddled with the director's wildly non­ In spite of rumors abounding that Ja Shishi­
conformist use of non-contiguous edits, un­ do would return to one of his most memorable
hinged shot composition, and violent splashes of roles, the part of Gora Hanada went to his con­
color, this crazed and chaotic overlooked work temporary Mikijira Hira, whose more recent
has for too long been buried in the sand bunkers roles of note include the sadistic marquis in the
of obscurity and simply cries out for revival. two versions of The Mystery ofRampo. The exact
reason for this bypass remains obscure, with
Suzuki himself claiming it to be the decision of
producer Satoru Ogura, the project's origina­
� Pistol Opera tor. Laments over a missed opportunity aside,
l:":A I- Jv:;f""7 it must be said that Hira acquits himself of the
Pisutoru Opera task quite well, giving the aging Hanada the
right combination of pathos, anger, and faded
200 1 . CAST : M a k i ko E s u m i , Sayoko Yamaguch i , glory as he wobbles around in crutches and
Masatosh i N agase , M i kij i ro H i ra , H a nae Ka n , muses about the good old days.
Kirin Kiki , Kenj i Sawad a , To m i o Aoki . 1 1 2 m i n­ Suzuki's original intention had been to have
ute s . RELEAS E : DVD, Tokyo S h ock/Med i a B l a sters the plot revolve around a love affair between
( U . S . , Engl i s h s u btitles). S h oc h i ku Home Video Hanada and Miyuki, but in the end he decided
(Japan , no s u btitl e s ) . against it. Only fleeting moments of reproach
between the two remain , which are too half­
Suzu ki's comeback fi l m after almost a decade hearted to work as a romantic subplot, but fit
of absence is a characteristically hyper-styl ized , rather well as part of the undetermined profes­
ga rishly colored sequel to his 1967 h itman de­ sional relationship between the two characters
lirium Branded to Kill. throughout the film. Hanada functions as Mi­
yuki's counselor, turning up at various intervals
If ever a sequel could be called belated, Seijun with cryptic clues and advice. His role as an ac­
Suzuki's Pistol Opera would fit the bill. More tive assassin is played out, though he's not quite
than three decades after the fact, the legendary ready to accept it himself. His position in the
24 SEIJUN SUZUKI

guild is Number Zero and his nickname is the than serving to provide narrative verisimilitude.
Champ, representing exactly the ambivalence of From the opening assassination at Tokyo station,
his character, who is relegated into a supporting a deserted temple, an onsen bath resort, a field
role by his young female colleague. of reeds enveloped in yellow smoke, to the final
Suzuki has never been a stranger to putting shoot-out amongst a maze of stone columns­
female characters in the spotlight, his "Flesh" all shot in garish colors and angular architectur­
trilo gy- Gate of Flesh, Story of a Prostitute, and al compositions-Pistol Opera takes place in no
Carmen from Kawachi-springing most readily recognizable world other than Planet Suzuki.
to mind. For the most part however, women in Fittingly, the film is filled with numerous
his films have been prostitutes, gangsters' molls, references to Branded to Kill and others of the
and cabaret performers. His 1 97 7 box-office director's earlier works. The shot of an assassin
flop Story of Sorrow and Sadness broke this (played by Kenji Sawada, star of Suzuki's 1 99 1
cycle by depicting the exploits of a female pro­ film Yumejl) falling from the roof of Tokyo sta­
fessional golfer, but with Pistol Opera women are tion is framed nearly identically to a fall made
finally the men's equals if not more. The cast by one ofJo Shishido's targets in Branded to Kill,
is made up accordingly. With her tall stature, while Nagase's black-cloaked figure inevitably
high-heeled boots and kimono, Makiko Esumi brings to mind Tamio Kawachi's Sandeman­
makes a strong physical impression as Miyuki esque stalker in The Flower and the Angry Waves.
the Stray Cat, moving in a stylized, choreo­ Such references are employed rather playfully,
graphed, and almost ritualized manner many but one can't suppress the feeling that they add
times removed from her breakthrough perfor­ up to little more than a self-referential in-joke
mance in Hirokazu Kore-eda's Maborosi. She and that the whole thing, running nearly two
is complemented by the intriguing cross-gen­ hours in length, is a tad self-indulgent. Then
erational presences of Sayoko Yamaguchi, Kirin again, we could also interpret them as a nostal­
Kiki, and the young newcomer Hanae Kan-a gia-tinted final bow by a director who knows his
quartet that forms the soul of this film. aging bones won't allow him many more returns
The director's casting choices fit in rather to the director's chair. So let him be self-indul­
well with the composed unity of the film. In true gent. Because in doing so, Suzuki also indulges
Suzuki fashion, the film is driven stylistically us. And there have been few filmmakers in the
rather than narratively. Music, visuals, and even history of Japanese cinema whose indulgences
dialogue are parts of a big composition rather have been such a joy to experience.
 CHAPTER 2

Shohei I mamura
4-M I§¥
Nineteen ninety-seven was a landmark year for competition at the Cannes in 2 00 1 , there was
the Japanese film industry, long believed to be some speculation as to whether the veteran di­
in a terminal slump as far as the outside world rector would become the first ever to walk away
was concerned. Takeshi Kitano won the Golden with a third.
Lion at Venice for Fireworks, Masayuki Suo's At the end of the day Warm Water caused a
Shall We Dance? was a sweeping success across few ripples, but overall received only a lukewarm
North America, Shunji Iwai's Swallowtail Butter­ reception, and Imamura, once described as "the
fly became a cult favorite in Asia, and newcomer entomologist of modern Japan" by French critic
Naomi Kawase caused a stir at Cannes with Su­ Max Tessier, left empty-handed. More is the pity,
zaku. as the themes and obsessions that have permeated
But the year also saw the release of another throughout this fascinating filmmaker's ground­
film that caused the Cannes audiences to sit up breaking body of work are as pertinent today as
and take of note of these new currents in the they've ever been. Imamura is a director who de­
East, and it came from a director who was then serves to be brought to a far wider audience.
over seventy years old. That year, the celebrated With over forty years in the business,
Palme d'Or prize was shared, in a rare joint win, Imamura's status as one of Japan's most impor­
between Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami's A tant cinematic figures is incontestable. B orn on
Taste of Cherry and Shohei Imamura's The Eel. September 1 5 , 1 92 6, he started off in the indus­
Though he has been a vital part of the Japa­ try in 1 95 1 at Shochiku studios where, among
nese film industry since the ' 5 0s, Imamura's role others, he worked as an assistant director on
in boosting the foreign perception of Japanese three films by the acclaimed Yasujiro Ozu: Early
cinema has been crucial. Having already picked Summer (Bakushu, 1 9 5 1 ) , The Flavor of Green Tea
up the Palme d'Or in 1 98 3 for The Ballad ofNara­ over Rice (Ochazuke no Aji, 1 95 2 ) , and Tokyo Story
yama, Imamura became one of only three direc­ (Tokyo Monogatari, 1 95 3 ) . Imamura later con­
tors to win the prestigious prize twice, joining fessed to not being too taken with Ozu's style of
the ranks of Bille August, for Pelle the Conqueror gendai-geki (social dramas focused on everyday
in 1 98 7 and Best Intentions in 1 992 , and Emir contemporary life), claiming it too precise and
Kusturica, with When Father Was Away on Busi­ too close to the "official" view of the nation's
ness in 1 98 5 and Underground in 1 99 5 . When his culture that Japan was eager to promote: that of
Warm Water Under a Red Bridge was selected for kabuki, kimonos, and tea ceremonies.

25
26 SHOHEI IMAMURA

This discrepancy that he saw between how During the late ' 5 0s, other directors were
Japan wanted to see itself and the more organic, echoing Imamura's dissatisfaction with the
animalistic side to human society that he had ex­ golden age of Japanese cinema. Taking heed
perienced firsthand during the immediate post­ of this, Shochiku's O funa studios decided to
war years informs all of Imamura's work. The inject new blood into their output by allowing
traditional characteristics of honor, obedience, a handful of directors-Nagisa O shima, Masa­
conformity, and loyalty that are so often associat­ hiro Shinoda, and Yoshishige Yoshida-the op­
ed with the country and that were actively being portunity to make their directorial debuts whilst
promoted in the national cinema of the time still in their late twenties in a move calculated
seemed artificial to him, unrepresentative of the to capitalize on the recent trend of taiyozoku
Japanese spirit. B eneath this officially sanctified movies. Following the lead set by Jean-Luc Go­
fac;ade lay an entire underclass which remained dard and Franc;ois Truffaut of the French Nou­
unexplored and undepicted: a world of pimps and velle Vague, these directors would be j oined by
prostitutes, of drunks and racketeers, of peasants Imamura, as well as K6 Nakahira and Susumu
and pornographers, each with their own story Hani, and would prove instrumental in revital­
to tell. The title alone of his 1 970 experimental izing the filmmaking scene during the '60s, in
quasi-documentary A History of Post- War Japan a movement that became known as the Niiberu
as Told by a Bar Hostess sums up this stance. Biigu, or Japanese New Wave.

Filmography 1968 • Karayuki-san, the Making of a

• The Profound Desire of the Prostitute (Karayuki-San)
1958
Gods (Kamigami no Fukaki 1979
• Stolen Desire (Nusumareta YokuM) (a.k.a. Kuragejima:
YokuM) • Vengeance Is Mine (Fukushii
Tales from a Southern Island) Suru wa Ware ni Ari)
• Nishi Ginza Station (Nishi
Ginza Eki-Mae) 1970
1981
Endless Desire (Hateshi naki • A History of Post-War Japan
• • Eijanaika (Eejanaika) (a. k.a.
YokuM) As Told by a Bar Hostess Why Not?)
(Nippon Sengoshi: Madamu
1959 1983
Onboro no Seikatsu)
• My Second Brother (Nian­ • The Ballad of Narayama
chan) 1971
(Narayama Bushik6)
• In Search of Unreturned Sol­
1961 1987
diers (Mikikanhei 0 Otte, Pts.
• Pigs and Battleships (Buta to I and II) [TV] • Zegen
Gunkan)
1972 1989
1963
• The Pirates of Bubuan • Black Rain (Kuroi Ame)
• The Insect Woman (Nippon (Bubuan no Kaizoku) [TV] 1997
Konchiiki)
1973 • The Eel (Unagi)
1964
• Private Fujita Comes Home 1998
• Intentions of Murder (Akai (MuhOmatsu Koky6 ni Kaeru) • Dr. Akagi (Kanz6 Sensei)
Satsui) (a.k.a. Unholy DeSire)
[TV] 2001
1966
1975 • Warm Water under a Red
• The Pornographers (Jin­ In Search of Unreturned Sol­
• Bridge (Akai Hashi no Shita
ruigaku Nyiimon) diers (Mikikanhei 0 Otte, Pt. no Nurui Mizu)
1967 111) [TV] 2002
• A Man Vanishes (Ningen • Two Men Named Yoshinobu
• 11 '09"01 September 1 1 [co­
J6hatsu) (Tsuiseki: Futari no Yoshi­
director]
nobu) [TV]
.,
 Shohei Imamura 27

In addition to imbuing his work with a de­ not, though the Imamura-scripted The Sun Leg­
gree of humor often absent from the other New end of the Tokugawa Era (Bakumatsu Taiyoden,
Wave directors, Imamura tends to take a bot­ 1 95 7) i s now regarded as a classic of the time.
tom-up rather than a top-down approach in his Over the five years that they worked together,
portrayals of Japan. His films are more obser­ they became firm friends and riotous drinking
vational than polemical, and the focus is fixed partners, until the older director's poor health
squarely on the working class or marginal char­ and hedonistic lifestyle caught up with him.
acters that more conventional storytellers might Kawashima died in 1 96 3 whilst still in his mid­
have us ignore. Society is viewed as an instinc­ forties. Imamura repaid the debt to the man he
tive rabble of churning flesh reined in by pres­ often referred to as "my teacher" with the pub­
sures imposed from above or outside. His 1 964 lication of Sayonara Dake ga Jinsei Da: Eiga Kan­
film Intentions of Murder features an unlikely toku Kawashima Yuzo no Shogai [trans: Life is but
heroine in the form of the passive and bovine­ farewell: the life ofYuzo Kawashima] in 1 969.
looking Sadako, who achieves a transcendence Very much active in a screenwriting capacity
through the events that befall her not through during the late ' 5 0s, Imamura made his own di­
any positive reaction to them, but merely by rectorial debut in 1 9 5 8 with Stolen Desire, a film
submitting herself to her own natural instincts. that focused on the dynamics within a group of
The loose adaptation of Akiyuki Nosaka's novel itinerant actors who travel around performing a
The Pornographers, whose Japanese title trans­ populist variant of kabuki, a people's theater for
lates as "An Introduction to Anthropology, " lower-class audiences. The film reflects both the
evokes the steamy world of private enterprise director's early love of theater that he developed
surrounding the production of erotic stag films, whilst studying at Waseda University and his in­
with whose profits the sleazy Ogata supports his terest in grassroots culture. This was followed up
lover and her two children, convinced that the with Nishi Ginza Station, a rather atypical work
illegal 8mrn movies he is surreptitiously making that was ostensibly little more than a vehicle for
are providing a vital service to his fellow man. the popular singer Frank Nagai and a film that
Imamura had already chosen to move on Imamura didn't even want to make. Then came
from Shochiku by the time O shima et a1. were Endless Desire, in which a disparate group of peo­
making their debuts there, like Seijun Suzuki, ple dig a tunnel to find a stash of morphine bur­
relocating to Nikkatsu studios in 1 954. Here he ied by the Americans at the end of the war. This
soon found himself working with Yiizo Kawashi­ was a notable work in that it marked the begin­
ma, a director under whose apprenticeship he'd ning of a collaboration with cameraman Shin­
already worked at Shochiku, initially in 1 9 5 1 on saku Himeda that lasted until The Pornographers
the program picture A Couple Very Much in Love in 1 966 and whose busy widescreen compositions
(Aibore Tokoton Dosh z)-Imamura later described and high-contrast monochrome cinematography
the film as "silly. " Though the director later came to typify the director's style. His next film,
claimed that Ozu's influence on him was strong, My Second Brother, was a social realist look at the
if only due to the fact that his own style was a lives of a family of Korean descent in a poor min­
rejection of this early mentor's, with Kawashima ing town in Kyushu, told through the viewpoint
he found a readymade soul mate. of a diary written by the ten-year-old daughter.
Though hardly known outside of Japan, Imamura's first work to find a significant re­
Kawashima's brand of populist bawdy comedies lease outside of Japan came in 1 96 1 , when Pigs
and his love of lowlife vulgarity struck a chord and Battleships was distributed in France under
with Imamura. The two of them coll aborated the title Filles et Gangsters [trans: Girls and
on a number of films, some successful, some gangsters] . The story was heavily influenced by
28 SHOHEI IMAMURA

Imamura's own experiences during the fraught rector noticed parallels between an insect cir­
years immediately succeeding the war, and fo­ cling his ashtray as he was drinking sake and
cuses on a gang of small-time racketeers that the situation of the main character. The Insect
hang around the naval base of the occupying Woman also marked a growing preoccupation
U.S. forces, foraging food and supplies from the with reality and its cinematic depiction. For
waste bins, whilst working a black market opera­ this film, Imamura used a host of documen­
tion in pork meat. With its end coda of a herd of tary techniques, such as live sound recording
stampeding pigs unleashed into the streets, the with hidden microphones and external loca­
film introduced into Imamura's work a unique tion shooting, striving for the same kind of
brand of grotesquery and what was to become synergy between fiction and reality being ex­
one of his dominant themes, that of man's close plored by New Wave contemporaries such as
relation with the animal world. the fascinating Susumu Hani . (Best known for
The man-as-animal metaphor lies at the his erotic drama Inferno of First Love (Hatsukoi
heart of most of Imamura's films, be it Koji Jigoku-Hen, 1 968), Hani's previous cinematic
Yakusho's fishy subconscious in The Eel, or the explorations into Japanese society resulted in
symbolic presence of the carp that floats around such films as Bad Boys (Furyo Shonen, 1 960), a
in its tank in the family home of the protagonist docudrama investigating juvenile delinquency;
of The Pornographers. Images of the white mouse He and She (Konojo to Kore, 1 96 3 ) , focusing on
that futilely spins around on its wheel are jux­ the status of women in modern Japan; Bwana
taposed with the daily routine of the housewife Toshi (Bwana Toshi no Uta, 1 96 5 ) , about a J apa­
Sadako in Intentions of Murder to represent nese geologist in Kenya; and The Bride of the
her status of being trapped in a loveless, dead­ Andes (Andesu no Hanayome, 1 966), set in a re­
end marriage. In the same film, her role is later mote village in South America.)
compared to that of a silkworm, a creature that Imamura's obsession with achieving docu­
lives seemingly without goal or purpose, and mentary realism reached its apogee with A Man
yet which creates beautiful things as a mere by­ Vanishes, a film unfortunately little known
product of its existence. abroad. It was the second of two films (after
The Pornographers) during the '60s produced
" I nsects, animals, and h u mans are similar in independently by the director, after he found­
the sense that they are born , they excrete, ed his own company, Imamura Productions,
they reproduce, and die. Nevertheless, I myself in 1 96 5 . Beginning ostensibly as a straightfor­
am a m a n . I ask myself what differentiates ward investigation into the disappearance of
h u mans from other animals. What is a human Tadashi O shima, who a year and a half prior
bei ng? I look for the answer by continuing to to filming had evaporated into thin air leaving
make films. I don't think I have found the an­ no trace as to his whereabouts, Imamura's film
swer. "-quoted from Shohe; Imamura: Human, is a ground breaking work in highlighting the
All Too Human, by G i lles Laprevotte, pri nted in limitations of rearranging reality within a film­
Shohe; Imamura, ed. James Quandt ic format in order to present the viewer with
an apparently objective "truth. " In accordance
His next, bolder steps towards finding this with Heisenberg's principle that an observed
answer came in 1 96 3 with The Insect Woman, system inevitably reacts with its observer, im­
a tale of a young country girl lured to the big mediate complications set in when O shima's
city to find work as a prostitute . For this film, real-life fiancee Yoshie starts falling for the
Imamura's approach was heavily influenced actor. By the end of the film, Imamura has sug­
during the scriptwriting stage when the di- gested that it is not only the investigation itself
 Shohei Imamura 29

that is of interest rather than the solution to other such glittering ornaments of modernity
the actual mystery, but also that such attempts as it succumbs to the inevitable forces of mate­
at investigating reality are compromised from rial capitalism, Imamura poses the same ques­
their very offset. tion as the French post-Impressionist artist Paul
A Man Vanishes is a fascinating investiga­ Gauguin, whose paintings of Tahitian islanders
tion into cinematic form and function of the carried such titles as Who are we? Where are we
type that seems to have been rife in the '60s, going? Where do we come from? Gauguin's j our­
though its production was not without prob ­ nal, Noa Noa, similarly focused on the dichoto­
lems. In order for the fil m to be made, it was my between civilization and barbarism.
necessary for the pivotal figure of Yoshie to Though often described as one of the direc­
take leave from her job for a year, taking an tor's most important works, this epically ambi­
income from the filmmakers themselves and tious project was unfortunately a resounding
thus adopting a role unavoidably similar to flop at the box office, almost bankrupting Nik­
that of an actress. Moreover, Imamura's use katsu and making an effective endpoint to the
of hidden cameras in this instance raised seri­ Japanese New Wave of the '60s. The eighteen­
ous ethical questions, and he admits that the month protracted shooting schedule had caused
film did ultimately end up hurting Yoshie's friction with the cast members, and Imamura
feelings. became disillusioned with making feature films.
Imamura's subsequent return to fiction with Frustrated with the limitations of fiction, he
The Profound Desire of the Gods, proved prob­ retreated into documentary for the next nine
lematic in its own right. In his perennial quest years. The new format served the director well.
to discover the essence of what constitutes It allowed him to relieve himself of all the bag­
"Japaneseness," and following his own personal gage that fiction feature making involves by
interest in social anthropology, Imamura relo­ stripping down to a minimal crew of a camera­
cated to the island of Kurage at the bottom of man, a sound recorder, and himself, thus earn­
the Okinawan archipelago (known during the ing a new flexibility and freedom in getting to
Edo period as Ryiikyii) , the southernmost ex­ the heart of the themes that so fascinated him.
tremity of Japan, to shoot a drama revolving Taking heed of George Orwell's idea in the
around a fictional community living there in novel 1 984 that "Who controls the past con­
almost Stone Age conditions. In this pre-ratio­ trols the future; who controls the present con­
nal society, ruled by ritual and superstition and trols the past, " A Histo ry of Post- War Japan as
where the weaker members of the tribes are Told by a Bar Hostess provides an alternate voice
ceremonially slaughtered, the deaf, dumb, and to the "official" history writers . Here the film's
primitively sensuous Toriko acts as a shaman­ narrative backbone is provided by Onboro-san
ess, achieving union with the gods by sleeping (real name Emiko Akaza), the bar hostess of
indiscriminately with the other tribe members, the film's title. No attempt is made to conceal
including her brother. Into the milieu Imamura Imamura's editorial presence in this explora­
throws a Tokyo engineer, scouting the island to tion of the relationship between subj ective and
assess its suitability for the future development objective history. Our earthy narrator, with her
of an irrigation scheme. hair piled up in a makeshift beehive and bosom
Beginning with a tribal sacrifice to the gods heaving beneath an open blouse, is seated in
in which a pig is thrown over the side of a fish­ front of a projection screen by the director to
ing boat to be devoured by sharks, and ending deliver her own personal life story against a
with visions of this former tropical paradise succession of newsreels segments, beginning
adorned with Coca Cola cans, neon signs, and with the bombing of Hiroshima (which hap-
30 SHOHEI IMAMURA

pened when she was fifteen), and going on to following years he sets up a lucrative string of
detail such major events in the nation's history them running all the way down to Malaysia.
as the end of World War II, the U.S. Occupa­ Meanwhile his motherland's military activities,
tion, the repatriation of Japanese prisoners of starting with the war against the Russians in
war from Russia, the Korean War, the Vietnam 1 904, begin to impinge seriously on both Mura­
War, and footage of the student protests that oka and the girls who work for him, effectively
greeted the 1 960 revision of the U. S . -Japan isolating this Japanese community within their
Security (Ampo) Treaty: a potted sequence of adopted homeland. When his long-term love
events of national importance running up to interest begins to stray, Muraoka pitches him­
the year that the film was made. self into the task of expanding his own Japanese
The '70s saw Imamura at the helm of a empire on foreign soil by vigorous attempts
string of illuminating documentaries, mainly at procreating with his harem. By 1 94 1 he has
made for television. In Search of Unreturned Sol­ seemingly achieved his goal by setting up his
diers is about former Japanese soldiers in Thai­ own microcosm ofJapanese society, surrounded
land who chose not to come home after the war. by hordes of obediently submissive offspring.
Two years later Imamura invited one of these But the fruitlessness of his loyalty is revealed
back to Japan, covering his return in Private Fu­ when the now old man is brushed aside by the
jita Comes Home. Japanese troops that he rushes to greet as they
Karayuki-san, the Making of a Prostitute fo­ invade Kuala Lumpur.
cused on the reminiscences of an old woman In 1 9 7 5 , Imamura set up the private film
living in Malaysia who had originally been sent school the Yokohama Academy of Broadcasting
out during Japan's colonial period at the begin­ and Film, now known as the Japan Academy of
ning of the century as one of the thousands of Moving Images and based in Shin-Yurigaoka,
girls who worked the brothels, tending to the just south of Tokyo. Its alumni include Takashi
needs of visiting Japanese merchants and sol­ Miike and Kazuo Hara, whose The Emperor's
diers. Imamura incorporated elements from Ka­ Naked Army Marches On (Yuki Yukite Shingun,
rayuki-san into his 1 98 7 feature for Toei, Zegen, 1 987) shares similar concerns with Imamura's
whose title translates as "pimp" or "panderer. " mid-period work, probably not too surpris­
The film is based on the autobiography of Theiji ingly, as it was produced and conceived by the
Muraoka, an entrepreneur in the sex-traffick­ older director, who is credited as the film's plan­
ing business and a fervent patriot who set up a ner. This raw documentary focuses on Kenz6
string of brothels stretching across Southeast Okuzaki, a seventy-year-old World War II vet
Asia in anticipation of servicing the Emperor's leading a one-man crusade against the Sh6wa
invading forces. Emperor, asserting that Hirohito should be
Imamura regular Ken Ogata plays Muraoka, held accountable for the numerous atrocities
who in 1 90 1 jumps ship and is washed ashore committed under his name during the war. First
in Hong Kong penniless and destitute. Here he hitting the headlines in 1 969 for firing pachinko
assimilates into the Japanese expatriate com­ balls at the Emperor, Okuzaki's reminiscences
munity and is soon set up as an apprentice bar­ culminate in revelations of cannibalism, when
ber. However, the Japanese Consulate there has over the course of a failed expedition through
higher goals for him in mind, and he is sent out New Guinea, all but 3 0 of his fellow soldiers
to spy on Russian military activity in the Chi­ were wiped out by malaria and starvation.
nese province of Manchuria. His loyalty to the Imamura's return to feature making came
Emperor proven, the mission earns Muraoka when he started work in 1 97 6 on Vengeance Is
enough to invest in his first brothel, and in the Mine, a screen adaptation of the non-fictional
 Shohei Imamura 31

account by novelist Ryiizo Saki of a serial mur­ fairs put straight before she agrees to make her
derer who conducted a seventy-eight-day kill­ final journey.
ing spree across the country during the '60s. Originally adapted for the screen by
Thematically one of the director's less typical Keisuke Kinoshita in 1 95 8 , Imamura's version
works, the film does, however, retain certain reworks the rather macabre central concept
stylistic traits. Its use of wide long shots with a from a radically different angle, without devi­
minimum of edits lends some of the scenes the ating too far from the central core of the nar­
air of a TV news report, imbuing the depiction rative. Kinoshita's version is a heavily stylized
of the actual murders with a brutally objective kabuki-influenced rendition of the tale, shot
coolness. in beautiful technicolor widescreen and filled
The involvement of Shochiku in the pro­ with such hauntingly beautiful moments as the
duction ensured a more widespread distribution finale when the son carries his mother up to
for Vengeance Is Mine than Imamura's previ­ the mountain top , lit in a diffused golden light.
ous films, and its critical and commercial suc­ In his version " however, Imamura sticks with
cess upon its release in 1 97 9 for the first time the documentary-style realism for which he is
brought significant attention to the director's known, filming on location in an abandoned
name outside of Japan. Making regular use of village in Nagano Prefecture, its wooded envi­
leading man Ken Ogata, Imamura became one rons teeming with wildlife.
of the few old-school Japanese directors to keep Black Roin, not to be confused with Ridley
up a fairly steady output throughout the course Scott's glossy Osaka-bound thriller of the same
of the '80s, a notably troubled decade for the name, was a black-and-white adaptation of two
country's industry. books by Masuji Ibuse (Kuroi Ame and Yohai
Vengeance Is Mine was followed in 1 98 1 by Taicho) focusing on the irradiated survivors of
Eijanaika, Imamura's first period piece. Set the Hiroshima bombing (the title refers to the
within the colorful carnival milieu of the slum­ radioactive fallout) . D espite some negative criti­
dwelling denizens of Edo on the eve of the cism in Asia regarding Japan's wartime involve­
Meiji Restoration, Eijanaika charts the collapse ment, the film picked up a number of awards
of the Tokugawa period and Japan's 3 00-year internationally.
policy of isolationism from the vantage point Imamura made only a couple of films dur­
of a handful of characters from society's lower ing the '90s, with a second Cannes win in 1 99 7
orders. ensuring The Eel widespread international dis­
If Vengeance Is Mine had marked the direc­ tribution. Adopting a sedate approach, owing
tor's commercial breakthrough outside ofJapan, more to the restrained static framing of his
it was his 1 98 3 Cannes-winning adaptation of early mentor Ozu than his own cinematic leg­
Shichiro Fukazawa's novel The Ballad of Nara­ acy, this tale of an ex-convict, the pet eel he
yama that cemented the director's international took care of whilst in jail, and his subsequent
reputation. The story details the lives of inhabit­ attempts at redemption is an elliptical, slip­
ants of a remote mountainous village in Nagano pery beast of a film that may prove rather dif­
Prefecture. Food is scarce, and so tradition dic­ ficult to get a hold on for viewers not familiar
tates that at the age of seventy the elder villagers with the usual themes and concerns intrinsic to
must make the long journey up to the summit Imamura's work. At the time Imamura stated
of Mt. Narayama to die, their lives sacrificed that it was to be his last film, but in the fol­
in order to ensure the survival of the village'S lowing year came Dr. Akagi, set in World War
younger inhabitants. Sixty-nine-year-old Orin II, about an avuncular doctor whose blanket
wishes to see her son married and her family af- diagnoses of his patients is always hepatitis.
32 SHOHEI IMAMURA

The Insect Woman

The film did not receive much in the way of producer Alan Brigand's omnibus film 1 1 '09 "01
distribution outside ofJapan, unlike its succes­ September 1 1 (2 002) , in which eleven directors
sor, Warm Water under a Red Bridge, which, as from all around the world, including Sean Penn,
its title suggests, is a deeply Freudian tale in Ken Loach, and Samira Makhmalbaf delivered
which Koji Yakusho goes in search of deep-sea an I I -minute 9-seconds and one frame short
treasure and instead finds himself involved with film based on the New York tragedy. Imamura's
a mysterious woman who erupts into geysers of film, again scripted by Tengan, was the last in
warm water from between her legs during the this ill-conceived project, and the only one not
sexual act. to mention 91 1 1 explicitly, focusing on a shell­
Like The Eel, also scripted by Imamura's shocked soldier who returns home from the
son Daisuke Tengan, the results are watchable trenches, becoming increasingly withdrawn,
enough, but one is never quite sure what Imam­ until he eventually reverts to the form of a snake
ura is trying to say with this film, or whether, that slithers into the water and disappears.
having already mined the rich seam of his imag­ Imamura's sporadic output over the past
ination in his previous works, he has reached decade has been far more laid-back and intro­
rock bottom. spective than that of the main bulk of his work,
Even more oblique was the contribution to increasingly retreating from his barbed observa-
 Intentions of Murder 33

tions of society into the realms of pure fantasy. It of "modern" Japan. Its tale of a low-caste house­
perhaps marks the final evolution in the director's hold drudge who transcends her lowly status,
style, a style which has covered a lot of ground not through any reaction against it, but rather by
over the past forty years, mapping out unique accepting her place within the order of things,
new territories of thematic expression and con­ sits at odds with the more traditional image of
tinuously pushing the boundaries in his investi­ the family promoted in other films of the time.
gation of the key ideas that inform his work. Born of peasant stock, Sadako (Harukawa),
The themes and obsessions explored the dull-witted and lumpen lynch pin of the
throughout Imamura's diverse and ambitious piece, leads a thankless day-to-day existence
oeuvre not only allow for crucial insights into tending the tumbledown shanty dwelling in
the nature of Japanese society, but also address the northern provincial city of S endai that she
broader, more humanistic issues that are just as inhabits with her unaffectionate common-law
relevant to any nation and any era: the conflict husband, K6ichi (Nishimura). Here she plays
between instinct and intellect; duty and desire; mother to K6ichi's son, Masaru, a child from
fiction and reality; objective written history a former marriage whom she cares for as if he
and the fallibility of subjective human memory. were her own. Her prostitute grandmother and
These are all themes that are universal in their her lowly cafe waitress mother now dead (the
relevance, and for these reasons and many oth­ latter having hung herself), Sadako dutifully and
ers, to overlook Imamura's unique vision would uncomplainingly accepts her thankless position
be a grave oversight. within a society that she is only marginally a
part of, as her shrewish mother-in-law regularly
reminds her how lucky she is to have been taken
into the household .
...v I ntentions of M u rder One day, when her husband is away at a work
$l, l�g conference, the house is broken into by a thief,
Akai Satsui Hiraoka (Tsuyuguchi, the investigator searching
a.k. a . Unholy Desire for the missing man in the Imamura's A Man
Vanishes, who later appeared in Eijanaika). The
1964 . CAST: M a s u m i H a ru kawa , S h igeru Tsuyu­ intruder rapes her and leaves with the words,
guch i , K6 N i s h i m u ra , Yos h i Kat6 , Yuko Kusunoki , "If you tell no one, no one will know. " When
H a ruo Itoga . 150 m i n utes . RELEASES: VH S , Les Hiraoka returns a few days later, she yields once
Fi l m s De Ma Vie ( France , Fre nch s u btitles ) . N i k­ more. Finding herself pregnant by him, she al­
kats u ( J a pa n , no s u btit l e s ) . lows herself to be tempted by his offer to leave
her cramped and oppressive environment to start
A d u l l-witted housewife is swept from h e r tenu­ a new life in Tokyo with him. But is an uncertain
ous existence when an intruder breaks into the future with a neurotic fugitive with a heart con­
house and rapes her. She soon finds herself dition really what she desires?
caught up i n an adventu re that leads to betrayal The dim-witted S adako makes for an un­
and attem pted m u rder. likely heroine, a typically unrefined Imamura
creation running counter to standard depictions
Based on a novel by Shinji Fujiwara, this lengthy of the female role within the Japanese family
thriller marks the most complete consolida­ structure: that of either mothers or wives. In­
tion of the ideas that inform Imamura's initial deed, Imamura's ad hoc unit is the complete
cycle of features in the late ' 5 0s and early '60s. antithesis of the middle-class nuclear families
It also puts forward a strangely subversive view being portrayed, for example, in the well-man-
34 SHOHEI IMAMURA

Intentions of Murder

nered and immaculately turned-out works of his there is a world of difference between the pub­
early mentor, Yasujiro Ozu. lic face that the Japanese put forward and the
Yet, despite her pudgy features and her slow individual, more instinctive side. Her giving
and unaffected manner, the director obviously herself over to pleasure during the initial assault
has a lot of respect and affection for his hon­ is no male wish-fulfillment fantasy. It is a cred­
est and well-meaning lead. Her unsophisticated ible emotional reaction given that the attentions
yet vital presence is at odds with those of the of her assailant represent the first time she has
weedy, devious men that surround her: her been treated as a sexual being, rather than just
partner Koichi is a sickly man often seen wear­ for her purely functional role within the make­
ing a gauze mask, and his son Masaru's ability shift family unit.
to continue the family name is later called into This conflict between simple biological
question. Koichi refuses to grant her any official urges and societal demands is immediately em­
status through marriage, nor any legal claim to phasized when, after being raped the first time,
Masaru, and is meanwhile conducting an affair she makes the preliminary suicide preparations,
with his bookish, bespectacled library assistant. as custom dictates. Then she is distracted by the
Sensual and impulsive, Sadako's presence rumbling of her stomach, and so she gets up to
embodies a conflict between desire and duty, prepare some food. By the time she has fed her­
underscoring Imamura's recurrent maxim that self, Masaru has returned from school and it is
 A Man Vanishes 35

back to domesticity again, her original intention backs, narrative dead ends, and dream sequences
forgotten. permeating its lengthy runnin g time. Approach­
Typical for the director, our heroine's plight ing Intentions of Murder both requires and re­
is objectified by way of reference to the animal wards a good deal of patience on the part of the
kingdom, most overtly in Masaru's pet white viewer, but though admittedly long, upon further
mouse that futilely spins around in its wheel analysis it is a faultlessly constructed model of so­
in the corner of the cluttered apartment sym­ phistication, which uses its messy appearance to
bolizing her inability to escape from the cycle suggest that beneath the ordered chaos of mo­
forged by her female predecessors, whilst add­ dernity with all of its artificial constraints, it is
ing a further dynamism to the already busy shot characters such as Sadako that provide the beat­
compositions (Masaru is constantly hyperactive, ing heart that enables society to continue.
running or leaping in the background in the
domestic scenes in the cramped living room).
The silkworm motif is also crucial. After being
raped, Sadako has a flashback to her childhood, {- A Man Vanishes
in which she is angrily scolded by her mother Ardl�jfi
for playing with one that is crawling along her Ningen Johatsu
thigh. The meaning of this cryptic image be­
comes a lot clearer at the film's coda. 1967. CAST: Yos h i e H aya kawa, S h igeru Tsuyu­
Another motif is the encroachment of new guch i, Shohei Imamu ra, S ayoko H aya kawa
technology upon the lives of his characters, run­ 130 m i n utes .
ning concurrent with Japan's rapid moderniza­
tion. The frequent crashing past of the express I n a fascinating exploration of cinema's a b i l ity o r
train along the track that borders the bottom of inabil ity t o depict trut h , I ma m u ra blurs the l ines
the garden, ominously sounding its horn at key between fiction and non-fi ction i n a meticu lous
dramatic points in the film, initially suggests that and ground breaking manner that few "mocku­
such new developments are to be seen as an op­ menta ries" since have been able to equa l .
pressive force, hemming Sadako in, and with her
the lower-class neighbors in their cramped rows Following his experiments with documen­
of houses. However, when Sadako flees with Hi­ tary techniques in his previous film The Insect
raoka by this means of transport, the film opens Woman, Shohei Imamura set out to further
up considerably into a stunningly shot snowscape, explore cinema's grip on reality with this 1 967
hinting that these same forces can also provide a pseudo-documentary.
means of escape. Similarly, in an early scene the The film takes the form of an investigation
heroine is seen failing to cope with the new sew­ into the whereabouts of one Tadashi Oshima,
ing machine delivered to the house, though by who vanished in 1 96 5 and was never heard from
the end of the film, she has mastered it. The pen­ again. His fiancee, Yoshie Hayakawa, is followed
dulum having come full swing, Sadako may have by Imamura and crew as she queries Oshima's
been pitched on her adventure by forces beyond friends, family, and colleagues in a search for
her control, but she is more in control after the clues and impressions. Accompanying Hayaka­
rape than she ever was beforehand. wa, and doing most of the actual enquiring, is
Beautifully photographed in widescreen the actor Shigeru Tsuyuguchi, who functions as
monochrome and technically polished, still, upon the film's anchor, whereas the young woman's
an initial viewing Imamura's film seems a little role is mostly limited to standing by the side
unwieldy and cluttered, with a plethora of flash- and asking the occasional question.
36 SHOHEI IMAMURA

Several possibilities are given for Oshima's It's also not about the effects the disappearance
disappearance. It comes to light that he might has on Yoshie or on Oshima's family and friends.
have taken part in the embezzlement of 400,000 At the end of the film we still don't know exactly
yen from his employer and that he had been what has happened to him, and this fits in with
involved with another woman, which comes Imamura's intentions. In a scene that is as pivotal
as news to Yoshie. This woman subsequently as it is unforgettable, the sisters Yoshie and Say­
dumped him for a more successful rival, and she oko confront each other in what seems like a tea
tells them that this might have been the reason house. At one point in the increasingly heated
for his disappearance. In the process of uncov­ discussion, in which Sayoko keeps denying the
ering the truth behind her fiance's evaporation accusations that she might have been more in­
(the literal translation of the word johatsu), Yo­ volved with Oshima beyond simply being his fu­
shie also discovers many things about him as a ture sister-in-law, Imamura appears in the room
person. When they visit a spiritual medium, the and poses the audience the question: "What is
old lady tells them that Oshima might actually truth? " Subsequently, the walls of the tea house
be dead and that Yoshie's elder sister Sayoko are lifted away and it is revealed that the whole
might have something to do with his disappear­ scene took place on a soundstage. "Tomorrow
ance. Sayoko is a former geisha who has always they will start filming another work of fiction
been much more comfortable around men than here," the director declares, voicing the conclu­
Yoshie, a fact that has caused a long-standing sion of his experiment. From the start, A Man
conflict between the two sisters. Vanishes has been an investigation into cinema's
But just as we start thinking that this might inherent inability to depict "truth . " The film is
become a document about the nature of rela­ a work of fiction about non-fiction, rather than
tionships, Imamura pulls the rug out from under a work of non-fiction, period.
us. Cracks start to appear in the non-fictional A Man Vanishes predates by eight years
surface. The use of multiple camera angles in Orson Welles' similar F for Fake, which is often
some scenes already suggests a certain degree seen as the first film to overtly draw attention
of manipulation on the part of the director, as to cinema's inability to depict the truth. But de­
of course does the presence of Tsuyuguchi . At spite its incontestable status as a seminal work,
one point Imamura and the crew confer about the fact that A Man Vanishes remained unseen
Yoshie's role in the making of the documentary, outside Japan for decades has kept it from re­
particularly her changing behavior. Suspicions ceiving the recognition it deserves. It wasn't
arise that she might be using the camera crew until a 2 00 1 retrospective of the director's work
to paint a certain picture of herself and of her at the French Cinematheque in Paris that a sub­
vanished fiance, and that she is in fact manipu­ titled version was projected on a foreign screen
lating the proceedings. Subsequently they real­ (followed by a belated but very welcome limited
ize that Yoshie has in fact fallen in love with her cinema release in the spring of 2 002).
fellow investigator Tsuyuguchi. Soon the ques­ As its subject matter would suggest, A Man
tion arises: are we still watching a documentary Vanishes is indeed a fascinating film, as much for
if the role of the supposedly impartial camera its investigation into the relationship between
becomes more than observer? cinema and reality as for its ability to enthrall
Further testament to the fictional nature the viewer as a work of fiction. Precisely be­
of the film comes in the guise of a storytelling cause Imamura is not afraid to hide the fact that
device Imamura would also employ in his next this is in the end a work of fiction (though all
film: the McGuffin. A Man Vanishes is not about the individuals in it as well as the actual disap­
the man who vanished or even why he did so. pearance are, as far as one can tell, real), the
 The Profound Desire of the Gods 37

film does a rather good job in building up ten­ regard for local customs and tradition. The boy
sion and involving the viewer in the goings-on. entrusted in his service by the patriarch is more
A Man Vanishes works as a documentary, as an than once put to the test when he is ordered to
experiment, and as narrative fiction, which is a perform tasks like cutting down a sacred tree.
very rare combination indeed. Inevitably the engineer is confronted with re­
sistance in the form of sabotage, and soon his
only allies on the island are the old man and the
granddaughter, who has been lusting after him
-.v The Profound Desire of the Gods from the beginning, but whose advances he has
�ko)�'&�� consistently rebuffed.
Kamigami no Fukaki Yokubo When the engineer finally gives in to Tori­
a.k.a. Kuragejima: Talesfrom a Southern ko's primitive charms (or persistence) and agrees
Island to marry her, this turns out to be one of the pic­
ture's most crucial moments . But it's crucial in a
1968. CAST: Kazua Kitamura, Re nta ro M i k u n i , rather unexpected way, as from this moment on,
Choich i ro Kawa raza ki, H i d e ko O kiyama, Kanj u ro the character of the engineer virtually disappears
Arash i . 165 m i n utes . from the story and is only occasionally glimpsed
smoking and sweating in the background, not
I n this landmark I ma m u ra fi l m , the di rector con­ taking part in the action. What for a long time
tinues his exploration of the true identity of the appeared to be our main character turns out
Japanese by showing a pri m itive island communi­ to be of only peripheral importance: a classic
ty's reactions to the i m pending menace of mod­ McGuffin once again. Imamura's aim is not to
ernization. I m p ressive, epic, and wholly origi n a l . denounce progress, but to portray the process
of change among the islanders themselves. The
An engineer from Tokyo arrives on Kuragejima advent of change, in the shape of the engineer,
("Jellyfish Island") with the task of finding a water is a given. What matters here is how the people
source to support the construction of a factory. At of Kurage Island deal with it amongst them­
the center of the island's primitive community is selves and what their reactions say about them
a family led by a gray-haired patriarch who wel­ as members of a culture and their community.
comes the engineer with open arms, proclaiming The portrayal of this intra-societal process is
him to be a "god from overseas." another example of Imamura's fascination with
The old man has an iron grip on his kin: His social anthropology, particularly his search for
son has been put to the tantalizing task of re­ the 'true' spirit of the Japanese. By setting his
moving a gigantic boulder from the backyard, story in a more primitive environment, he allows
which he is forced to do with a chain around his himself to make a seemingly more fundamental
ankle. His daughter takes care of domestic af­ statement about this spirit than in a modern­
fairs, aided as far as possible by her own mentally day milieu. Throughout, parallels and compari­
challenged daughter, Toriko, whose uninhibited sons are made between modern civilization and
sex drive makes her a target for much of the male its more primitive roots, with the message that
island population. The grandson, meanwhile, is those roots constitute our true selves. The film
spurred on to assist the engineer, with visions of opens with a series of shots of animals wriggling
a future career looming on the horizon. in shallow water, while that water-the most
The engineer, who spends much of his time basic source of life-is what brings the engineer
cursing the island, its inhabitants, and its swel­ from bustling Tokyo and what will support the
tering climate, goes about his business with little industrial progress in his wake. The islanders are
38 SHOHEI IMAMURA

Profound Desire of the Gods

the medium point between these two extremes:

human beings who have advanced to the point
of living in regulated communities, but who still
live side-by-side with lower animal life.
Interestingly enough, however, his compari­
sons also go the other way. Imamura also puts
elements of modern-day life in the primitive en­
vironment, most notably in the structure of the
family. The head of the family's admiration for a
representative of corporate life, how he urges his
grandson to make a career (making him a slave
in a figurative sense, where the young man's fa­
ther is one in the literal sense-as signaled by
the sounds of clanging chains when the engi­
neer orders the boy to cut down the tree), and not, Imamura's intention of revealing the es­
how the women are relegated to handling the sence of his countrymen remains the same.
domestic chores-this hierarchy was far from The Profound Desire ofthe Gods is not a film that
unusual in post-war Japanese family life. Here it denounces industrial progress or makes environ­
also forms the basis of a family from a far more mentalist statements. In true Imamura fashion,
primitive society. But reversed comparisons or it's not the conflict or the politics that matters,
 Eijanaika 39

but what goes on underneath : the human behav­ fu shogunate; the restoration of the Meiji Em­
ior they normally tend to obscure. peror as a single state figurehead; and the shift
to an industrial society from an agrarian one,
where individual semi-autonomous territories
were run along feudal lines by daimya overlords
� Eijanaika who extracted crippling taxes from the peasants
.:t.:t t;: {> tj:" }ip for the right to work their land. The catalysts
Eejanaika for this sweeping national change were the slow
a.k.a. Why Not? trickle of foreigners into the country after the
arrival of the American Commodore Matthew
1981. CAST: Kaori Momoi, Sh igeru lzumiya, Ke n Calbraith Perry with his "black ships" in 1 8 5 3 ,
Ogata, Sh igeru Ts uyuguch i , Masao Kusakari seeking trade between the two nations, and the
15 1 mi n utes . RELEASES: DVD, P l ati n u m ( H ong rise of the anti-Bakufu forces of the Tosa, Satsu­
Kong, Engl ish/C h i nese s u btitl e s ) . ma, and Ch6shli clans, who sought to revive the
direct rule of the imperial line . The cry sonna
With an e p i c sweep a n d flourish, Imamura por­ jai ("Revere the emperor and repel the barbar­
trays the events leading up to the Meiji Restora­ ians ! ") was soon ringing throughout the nation.
tion from the worm 's-eye view of Edo 's peasant The drama of Oshima's Gohatto was cen­
community. tered around infighting and pederasty in the
upper ranks of the pro-Bakufu forces of the
"I am a country farmer, Oshima is a samurai," Shinsengumi in Kyoto, symbolizing the inward
Imamura once told Audie Bock (quoted in Notes self-destruction of the old order. Imamura's Ei­
for a Study on Shohei Imamura, by Donald Rich­ janaika dwells in the ribald arena of the peas­
ie, printed in Shohei Imamura). Though both di­ ant classes swept along by the tides of change .
rectors come from well-educated, middle-class The film, whose title translates loosely as "Why
backgrounds, the contrast Imamura was actually not? " or "What the hell ? " takes its influence
trying to draw with his fellow leading light from from the slogan chanted by the processions
the Japanese New Wave of the '60s was one of of rioters from the lower orders who ran wild
approach, rather than a biographical one. In through the streets of Edo prior to the dawn of
Nagisa Oshima's films, the characters act as in­ the Meiji Restoration. It celebrates the ebullient
dividual agents of change who frequently come forces of a society in flux, unleashed by the sud­
head to head against the establishment. Imam­ den collapse of tradition and the dawn of an in­
ura's seem to exist beneath such social strictures finite array of new opportunities in its absence .
and are seldom the engineers of their own fates. The location is Edo, 1 86 7 . The hero of
The comparison is best highlighted by the Imamura's film is Genji . Picked up by an Ameri­
two films the individual directors made sur­ can ship after being shipwrecked and returning
rounding Japan's turbulent transition to a to Japanese shores after a six-year sojourn in
modern nation in the years leading up to the the United States, he finds himself immediately
beginning of the Meiji Restoration in 1 868. thrown into j ail. Upon his release , he returns
The shift saw the opening up of ports to foreign home to find that his wife , Ine, has been sold
traders after almost three hundred years of self­ by his family. Genji tracks her down in a carni­
imposed isolation during the Tokugawa period val sideshow run by the opportunistic merchant
( 1 600-1 867); the relocation of the capital from Kinz6, where she is performing a lewd stage act
Kyoto to Tokyo (formerly known as Edo); the entitled "tickle the goddess," hiking up her ki­
collapse of the military dictatorship of the Baku- mono to a baying crowd who attempt to blow
40 SHOHEI IMAMURA

paper streamers between her legs. After buying to "Sweet Chariot" whilst Ine accompanies him
out !ne 's contract, Genji makes plans to move to on the shamisen, as he attempts to seduce her to
America, the land of opportunity, with his newly take this voyage of opportunity across the waves
reconciled spouse , but first he has to raise his away from her homeland.
$ 5 0 passage to be paid to the American forces. Eijanaika in many ways is the culmination
Ine, however, is teetering on the decision to ac­ of one of Imamura's most consistent ideas, of
company him. reinterpreting history through the viewpoint of
Meanwhile, inflation is running rampant, those most immediately affected by it. He shows
with the price of rice escalating insanely on a the Japanese spirit as he sees it-stubborn, obsti­
daily basis. The tension builds, until the rioting nate, but brimming with an unquenchable zest
unwashed inhabitants of the riverside carnival for life. Eijanaika is unique in the respect that it
break over the symbolic Rubicon of the Edo was made at a time when Shochiku had enough
River to the forbidden upper-class area on the money to mount such spectacles. Imamura
other side of the Ryogoku Bridge , the forces of would only attain such a degree of scale again
a sector of the population who no longer have with Zegen.
anything to lose exploding in a display of spec­
tacular folly.
Eijanaika is an epic film in every respect.
Every shot seems crowded around the margins .J, The Eel
and teeming with life , the exterior scenes filled 1�rl
with hordes of extras and the action filmed in Unagi
narrow-angle telephoto shots zeroed in from
afar to flatten the perspective. The main fore­ 1997. CAST: K6j i Yakus ho, M i sa S h imizu, A k i ra
story, as Ine oscillates between Genji and her Emoto, Sh6 Ai kawa, Tomo rowo Taguch i .
former pimp, Kinzo, really only takes up a small 117 mi n ute s . RELEASE: DVD, New Yorker Fi lms
proportion of the proceedings, which cover such ( U . S . , Engl i s h s u btitles) . Ocean S h o res ( H ong
subsidiary events as a riot at a silk house and the Kong, Engl i s h and C h i nese su btitl es), Fi lms S a n s
plotting of the downfall of the Tokugawa shogu­ Frontieres ( France, French s u btit l e s ) .
nate by the anti-Bafuku forces as they purchase
weapons from the American traders. Incident Absorbingly funny a n d a t times s u rreal study of
piles upon incident, with the seemingly random an ex-con ' s attempts to adjust to l ife outside
accumulation of peripheral detail giving the im­ prison walls. Winner of the Palme d 'Or i n Cannes,
pression of a whole broader world off-frame. The Eel helped usher i n a new wave of Western
But period detail is not so crucial here . interest i n Japanese cinema.
Imamura doesn't attempt to recount or reinter­
pret historical events. He instead gives us a social Businessman Yamashita receives an anonymous
context, an ethnological snapshot of the mental­ letter, telling him that a strange man visits his
ity of a particular milieu at a particular time. His wife whenever he's out at night fishing. After
is a film of color and exuberance, a depiction of a pondering for a long time, he sets out for the
tumultuous society where anything can happen. seaside one night with the intention of return­
In the early scenes in the carnival sideshow tent, ing early and finding out the truth. Indeed he
a woman extends her neck six feet in the air, like finds his wife in bed with a stranger, enjoying
a snake, whilst another breathes fire . A couple herself with an abandon Yamashita has never
of turban-wearing Indians roam the streets with experienced. In a daze , he enters the bedroom
a large elephant in tow. Genji croons the lyrics with a knife in his hand and kills his wife . Sev-
 The Eel 41

eral hours later he walks into the police station, them. In his case it's a fellow convict who has
covered in her blood, and turns himself in. been put to work as the local garbage man and
After serving eight years in prison, he is who threatens to spill the beans on Yamashita's
released into the care of his parole officer, an past. In her case , freeloading boyfriend Dojima
elderly priest who brings him to a deserted is back with several cronies, a lawyer, and a de­
barbershop in the priest's hometown. There mand for money.
the former salaryman can ply the new trade he For a study of one man's emotions, The Eel
learnt in captivity. Upon his release, Yamashita seems to make little effort to penetrate its pro­
takes with him only the clothes on his back and tagonist's mind. As in real life , Yamashita's be­
the eel he raised in the prison pond. To the in­ havior is our only lead. Occasional voice-overs
stitutionalized and alienated Yamashita, the eel provide glimpses into his psyche, but Imamura's
serves as a way to avoid commuillcating with method of detailing the inner life of his protag­
others. But the men of the small, desolate town onist is done in a rather more indirect fashion,
soon start frequenting his shop, mostly because with extensive use of symbolism. The most ob­
they have nothing better to do, and a circle of vious example is the eel, which in a parallel to
friends quickly forms around the shy, introvert­ Yamashita lives a lonesome and sheltered life in
ed barber. his tank, without the need or the will to com­
While out fishing, he saves the life of Keiko, municate with the outside world (the metaphor
a woman attempting to commit suicide after a is somewhat redundantly explained in the final
disastrous relationship with a scheming boy­ moments of the film). Rather more interesting­
friend who used her to get to her mother's ly executed is the character of local garbage man
money. This act may put Yamashita right in the and fellow convict Tamasaki, who functions as
cosmic scheme of things-he took a life and the personification of Yamashita's insecurities
saved one-but for himself things only become and self-doubt. His behavior and actions are ir­
more complicated. It does, however, prove to be rational and erratic, and when he pops up trou­
a turning point. A few days later, Keiko is as­ ble is never far off.
sisting him in his barbershop and the possibility Based on a novel by Akira Yoshimura and
of something resembling a normal life is open­ scripted by Imamura and his son Daisuke Ten­
ing up to him. He's not too eager to embrace it, gan (the later screenwriter of Takashi Miike 's
but since both are carrying the weight of a dark Audition), The Eel may lack the social relevance
past, a bond inevitably forms which grows stron­ of the director's earlier work, but as a surreal
ger when both their pasts come back to haunt comedy of manners it is quite irresistible .
 CHAPTER 3

Kinji Fukasaku
?�f�JV\=
In the beginning there was the bomb. Although factory was a target for American bombing raids,
he was fifteen years old when it fell, to all in­ and Fukasaku has said that it was only because
tents and purposes the roots of Kinji Fukasaku he hid beneath the dead bodies of his friends and
the artist can be traced back to the dropping of co-workers that he managed to survive. Clear­
the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ly, the old system that made him bury his own
which signaled Japan's surrender at the end of friends, many of them teenagers like him, had
World War II. not made a very positive impression on him.
In the work of Kinji Fukasaku, the mush­ Like many of his countrymen, he found a
room cloud, whose image fills the opening way to escape the hardships of life in the ruined
shot of his most celebrated film Battles without streets of immediate post-war Japan by going
Honor and Humanity, symbolizes not just de­ to the cinema. In 1 949, inspired by the films of
struction but liberation. The chaos and anarchy Akira Kurosawa and the spate of foreign films
that resulted from the devastation of the old that found their way into Japanese cinemas as
rules and values created the freedom to start a result of the American occupation, he went
anew, releasing an energy that is embodied in to study film at Nihon University, where he
the outrageous, riotous, and above all violent founded a cine-club with his friend and later
actions of his protagonists. collaborator Koreyoshi Kurahara. He joined
The paradox is that Fukasaku was anything Toei studios in 1 9 5 3 and started an apprentice­
but a supporter of the way Japan set about re­ ship that culminated in his directorial debut in
building itself in the post-war years. His films 1 96 1 .
were openly critical of the official government To prove his mettle, he first directed two
policy of reconstruction, the director feeling on pairs of B-pictures, each of them about an hour
the one hand that it left too many people by the in length. Often regarded as little more than
roadside and on the other hand that it curbed preparation for his first real feature, which he
and eventually destroyed the energy and free­ would make later the same year, the four films
dom the bomb had unleashed. were nevertheless interesting for two reasons.
The break with old values was lived very con­ First, their lead actor, then a newcomer who had
sciously by Kinji Fukasaku himself. In the last also made his debut that year, was future action
years of the war he found himself put to work star and frequent Fukasaku collaborator Shinichi
in a munitions factory to aid the war effort. The "Sonny" Chiba. Second, and more importantly,

42
 Kinji Fukasaku 43

the films were contemporary action dramas. At

the time Toei specialized in jidai-geki or period
costume dramas, and Fukasaku's choice to make
action films in a contemporary setting immedi­
ately set him apart from the mainstream.
The setting was no accident. The expression
of the chaotic post-war energy was already very
much on his mind and there was no other way
he could express it but in films with a contempo­
rary storyline . His films became the expression
not only of that unbridled energy, translating
itself into action, violence, and rebellion, but
also of his dissatisfaction with the government's
policies for the reconstruction of Japan, which
by the early 1 960s was in full swing.

"The most i m portant objective for the govern­

ment at the time was to rea l ly rebuild Japan,

so in that sense you may consider the attitude

of that government progressive. However, if
you put the spotlight on the people, and on the
situation I went through, I could not help being
very i nterested i n the fact that the people were

actua l ly going in the opposite d i rection, as a Shogun's Samurai

result of the government's banner of the recon­

struction of Japan. The government was very the other. As time and economic development
keen on, and preocc u pied with, the reconstruc­ went on, Fukasaku started replacing the ruins
tion of Japan and rapid economic growth. But I and slums with heaps of trash and refuse, the
had doubts . Under that kind of situation where by-products of this economic miracle the gov­
would the government be taking the whole na­ ernment was so eager to promote .
tion? What d i rection a re they taking us? Those His protagonists, too, were outcasts, people
were the questions I could never shake off and ignored by the economic machine. Greed in
I even felt resistance to what was going o n . " Broad Daylight features a motley crew of foreign­
ers attempting to hold up an armored transport,
His early films like Greed in Broad Day­ while a group of displaced young punks were the
light (his official debut feature from 1 96 1 ) and central characters of 1 968's Call Me Blackmail!.
Wolves, Pigs, and Men are set largely in slums, Fukasaku's resistance may have been strong,
where the protagonists battle it out amongst but it was ultimately, and perhaps inherently, fu­
themselves over stolen loot while the dirt poor tile . In 1 964 the rebuilt and reborn Japan deliv­
slum dwellers are reduced to being bystanders ered its crowning achievements in the shape of
or downright ignored, much as they were by the Shinkansen bullet train and the Tokyo Olym­
the "progressive" government in real life . His pics, which allowed the world to see exactly how
1 967 film The Breakup made the obvious point radical the changes and improvements in Japan
of contrasting the shanty towns on one side of had been since the war.
the river with the gleaming chemical plant on The futility also found its way into Fuka-
44 KINJI FUKASAKU

saku's films, by way of his characters. By the mid and to offer Japanese audiences some respite
1 960s Toei had started specializing in formulaic from their increasingly Westernized surround­
yakuza films that came to be known as the ninkyo ings, the former always won.
eiga or chivalry films. Set in pre-war Japan, they A clear example of the difference between
featured gangster protagonists who were the Fukasaku's work and the ninkyo formula can be
embodiments of valor and honor (jingt). found in Wolves, Pigs, and Men, in which lead
Although he was known as a specialist in actor Ken Takakura plays a vile brute who tor­
crime and gangster films, the ninkyo films were tures his own brother to extract information on
incompatible with Fukasaku's very contempo­ the whereabouts of a bag of money. After mak­
rary concerns. The ninkyo films were set in the ing the film, Takakura starred in his first ninkyo
pre-war period and expressed and celebrated picture and promptly became the genre's top
old-time values. Their heroes were traditionally star, the embodiment of the honorable , up­
minded men whose enemies were more often standing gangster hero.
than not presented as more modern gangsters. Fukasaku's work increasingly moved in the
The hero's weapon of choice was the katana opposite direction. The chaotic energy his char­
sword, with which he would invariably defeat acters exuded became only greater, their betray­
an entire gang of men sporting firearms. The als and violent reprisals more intense , and their
ninkyo formula pitted tradition versus progress, actions had less and less to do with honor. Most

Filmography ·Odoshi (Bakuto Gaijin Buta/)

• Kamikaze Yaro: Mahiru no
1961 1972
Ketto
The Drifting Detective • Under the Flag of the Rising
• Hokkai no Abare Ryi]
•

(Furaibo Tantei: Akai Tani no Sun (Gunki Hatameku Moto

Sangekl) 1967 NI) (a.k . a . Under the Flutter­
• The Drifting Detective II • The Breakup (Kaisanshiki) ing Military Flam
(Furaibo Tantei: Misaki 0 • Street Mobster (Gendai Yaku­
1968
Wataru Kuroi Kaze) • Bakuto Kaisanshiki za: Hitokiri Yota)
• Vigilante in the Funky Hat • Black Lizard (Kurotokage) • Hitokiri Yota: Kyoken
(Fankii Hatto no Kaidanjl) • Call Me Blackmail! (Kyokatsu Sankyodai
• Vigilante in the Funky Hat: Koso ga Waga Jinsel) (a . k . a . 1973
The 200,OOO-Yen Arm (Fankii Blackmail Is M y Life) • Battles without Honor and
Hatto no Kaidanji: Nisenman • Green Slime (Ganma 3 Go: Humanity (lingi naki Tataka/)
En no Ude) Uchu Daisakusen) (a . k.a. Fight without Honor
• Greed in Broad Daylight / The Yakuza Papers / Tar­
1969
(Hakuchu no Buraikan) (a . k . a. nished Code of the Yakuza)
• Black Rose Mansion (Kuro­
High Noon for Gangsters) Battles without Honor and Hu­
bara no Yakata) •

1962 • Japan Organized Crime 80ss manity: Tarnished Loyalty in

The Proud Challenge (Hokori Hiroshima (Jingi naki Tatakai:
• (Nihon Boryokudan: Kumicho)
Takaki ChOsen) Hiroshima Shito Hen)
1970 • Battles without Honor and
• Gyangu Tai G Men Chizome no Daimon
• Humanity: War without Honor
1963 • If You Were Young: Rage (lingi naki Tatakai: Dairi
• Gang Alliance (Gyangu Domel) (Kimi ga Wakamono Nara) Senso)
• Tora! Tora! Tora! [co-directed
1964 1974
with Rich ard Flei scher and
• Jakoman to Tetsu • Battles without Honor and
Tosh io Masuda)
• Wolves, Pigs and Men (Okami Humanity: Operation Sum­
to Buta to Ningen) 1971 mit (Jingi naki Tatakai: Chojo
• Sympathy for the Underdog Sakusen)
1965
 Kinji Fukasaku 45

of all, they never got what they were after. This cuses on a war widow's futile attempts to obtain
latter point is particularly important in light of a military pension from the government. In try­
Fukasaku's acknowledgement of the futility of ing to build a case for her appeal, she comes to
his own battle . By the early 1 970s, Fukasaku's learn about the horrors her husband suffered on
protagonists were doomed to failure , misery, or the front, as well as the true face of the country's
death. This is as true for his gangster films as contemporary bureaucracy.
for the movies he made outside the genre. His But it was in his gangster films of that same
first two independent productions, If You Were period that Fukasaku's themes and concerns
Young: Rage ( 1 970) and Under the Flag of the found their apogee. Street Mobster and Battles
Risin g Sun ( 1 972), were both non-genre films, without Honor and Humanity positively bellowed
but their protagonists followed the same path as with rage, energy, vitality, and the frustration of
their gangster colleagues. If You Were Young: Rage a hopeless fight. By this time, the dark side of the
told the story of a small group of unemployed country's economic progress had come to light
friends who decide to start their own business, in the shape of a number of industrial pollution
but as the hardships increase, their camaraderie scandals, the most headline grabbing of which
becomes increasingly strained, resulting in fric­ was the Minamata mercury poisoning affair.
tion, fights, and eventually death. Under the Flag People had started to become aware of the draw­
of the Rising Sun, a powerful anti-war drama, fo- backs and began expressing their dissatisfaction.

• Battles without Honor and • The Detective Doberman (Satomi Hakkenden)

Humanity: A Change of the (D6beruman Deka)
1984
Underworld Supreme Ruler 1978 • Shanghai Rhapsody (Shang­
(Jingi naki Tatakai: Kanketsu Shogun's Samurai (Yagyu
• hai Bansukingu)
Hen)
Ichizoku no Inb6) (a.k.a. The 1986
• New Battles without Honor Yagyu Conspiracy)
and Humanity (Shin Jingi naki • House on Fire (Kataku no
Message from Space (Uchu
Hito)
•
Tatakal)
Kara no Messejl)
1975 • The Fall of Ako Castle (Ak6-J6 1987
• Graveyard of Honor (Jingi no Danzetsu) • Sure Death 4 (Hissatsu 4:
Hakaba) Urami Harashimasu)
1980
Cops vs. Thugs (Kenkei Tai • The Rage of Love (Hana no
•
• Virus (Fukkatsu no HI) (a.k.a.
Soshiki B6ryoku) Ran)
Day of Resurrection)
• Shikingen G6datsu 1992
New Battles without Honor 1981
• • The Triple Cross (ltsuka Gira­
and Humanity: It's Time to • Gate of Youth (Seishun no
Gira Suru HI)
Kill the Boss (Shin Jingi naki Mon) [CO-directed with Kore­
yoshi Kurahara] 1994
Tatakai: Kumich6 no Kubl)
• Crest of Betrayal (Chushin­
1976 1982
gura Gaiden: Yotsuya Kaidan)
• B6s6 Panikku: Daigekitotsu • Samurai Reincamation
(Makai Tensel) 1999
• New Battles without Honor
D6tonborigawa • The Geisha House (Omocha)
and Humanity: The Boss's •

Final Day (Shin Jingi naki • Fall Guy (Kamata K6shin 2000
Tatakai: Kumich6 Saigo no HI) Kyoku) • Battle Royale
• Yakuza Graveyard (Yakuza no 1983 2003
Hakaba: Kuchinashi no Hana) • Theater of Life (Jinsei Gekij6) • Battle Royale II-Requiem
1977 [co-directed with Junya Sato (Battoru Rowaiaru II: Chinkon­
• Hokuriku Proxy War (Hokuriku and Sadao Nakajima] ka) [co-directed with Kenta
Dairi Sens6) • Legend of Eight Samurai Fukasaku]
46 KINJI FUKASAKU

and concerns that characterize his work. The

films were symbols, metaphoric entities for what
Fukasaku was trying to say. Their protagonists,
played in both films by Bunta Sugawara, are the
products as well as the embodiments of post­
war chaotic energy (the lead character of Street
Mobster was very significandy born on August 1 5 ,
1 945 , the day of Japan's capitulation). They are
gangsters freshly released from jail who acknowl­
edge that their fights are futile and that their
world-the world of anarchy, energy, and oppor­
tunity-has disappeared, to be replaced by cor­
porate structure and surface respectability. Their
old gangs have merged with those who were
once their enemies and are deeply intertwined
with government affairs. Their reaction to this
changed world is one of brutal, almost spastic vi­
olence, but against the combined powers of state,
corporation, and respectability, a single man is
bound to lose. That single man is Fukasaku and
that now-respectable gang is Japan. The former
spits his venom, in outrage over being betrayed
by the country that once expected him to sacri­
fice his life, but which has now molded itself in
Graveyard of Honor
the image of the former enemy.
Fukasaku's concerns translated themselves
The student riots of the 1 960s had by now made not only into characters and story, but also into
way for more organized urban terrorist groups the style of his films. Shot in the streets with
like the numerous Red Army factions. mosdy handheld cameras, this style is remi­
In this climate, the ninkyo films, which had niscent of the work of the French New Wave
enjoyed several years of great success, were start­ directors and of their American followers like
ing to look very stale indeed. The hugely suc­ William Friedkin and Martin Scorsese, who
cessful release of Fukasaku's Battles without Honor combined the stylistic traits of the new wave
and Humanity in 1 97 3 was their death knell. The with the B-movie and genre subject matter of
false picture the ninkyo films painted of organized American directors like Sam Fuller and Don
crime was expressed in the film's tide alone. In Siegel. Friedkin's The French Connection ( 1 97 1 )
the film's opening scene, a gangster character i s perhaps the closest Western comparison to
carrying a katana sword finds himself faced with Fukasaku's films of the same period. But where­
half a dozen gun-wielding opponents and is un­ as the visual style of the Americans and French
ceremoniously shot. Fukasaku was not just lam­ was aimed at lending the films a degree of doc­
basting Japan's society, but its cinema as well. umentary realism, Fukasaku's style originates
Street Mobster and especially Battles without from a different source . It's the raw, anarchic
Honor and Humanity are quite righdy seen as the abandon of the protagonists that is expressed by
epitome of Fukasaku's oeuvre. They are the most Fukasaku's extensive use of handheld cameras,
completely realized expressions of all the themes lopsided angles, and rapid editing.
 Kinji Fukasaku 47

Fukasaku has professed to having been influ­ can casts, The Green Slime (with Richard Jaeck­
enced by the French New Wave, but the influence el), Message from Space (co-starring Vic Morrow)
lies in the method, not in the intention. In fact, and Virus (featuring Glenn Ford, Henry Silva,
only a few years prior to Battles without Honor and Robert Vaughn, and a theme song by Janis Ian)
Humanity, Fukasaku made a departure into pure all found distribution in the United States, al­
style-over-substance with a pair of hyper-styl­ beit in truncated, English-dubbed versions that
ized films starring female impersonator Akihiro removed many of the subtleties that marked
Maruyama. Made while the director was on loan them as Fukasaku films.
to Shochiku studios (perhaps Toei was unsure The Green Slime was, like Black Lizard and
what to do with this director who would not fit Black Rose Mansion, a sidestep made during the
into their then dominant ninkyo film production period that Toei focused much of its attention
line), Black Lizard and Black Rose Mansion are on ninkyo films. This period also saw the direc­
both high camp exercises in style and have very tor helming the impressive aerial battle scenes of
little apparent connection with the crime films the Japanese/American co-production Tara! Tara!
he'd made up until then. Garishly colored sets Tara! Showing the events leading up to the Japa­
and costumes vie for attention while the glamor­ nese attack on Pearl Harbor from both sides of
ous Maruyama takes center stage. the conflict, Fukasaku directed the Japanese se­
quences together with Toshio Masuda (the two
"I w a s very attached to M lshlma's literature. of them replacing Akira Kurosawa) while Richard
I remember talking with h i m about making Fleischer took care of the American segments.
this fi l m with Aklhiro Maruyama. He was very Fukasaku's other two science fiction films,
happy that this actor was selected to play the however, came about at a time when the direc­
role. The play was written a bout ten years be­ tor was very intentionally seeking to move away
fore Maruyama started playing It on stage and from the yakuza genre . By the late ' 7 0s he would
the role was played by many other female stars in fact leave the yakuza film behind altogether
l i ke Yaeko M izutani and M a c h i ko Kyo, who and make a string of commercial projects in a
were not particularly interesting in it. Mishima variety of genres.
was very fond of the production i n which Aki· This turnaround was in large part the re­
h l ro M a ruyama performed . Rather than those sult of the commercial success of Battles without
great actresses, and despite M aruyama not Honor and Humanity, which spawned no less
being a veteran stage actor, Mishima seemed than seven sequels in the three years that fol­
very, very happy and felt closest to his play lowed the original's release , all of them directed
through the performance of M a ruyama. I too by Fukasaku. Understandably, there was only so
felt very moved by Maruyama's performance In far he could go with the material, and much of
the stage production of Black Lizard. I really the vigor had disappeared by the time the series
enjoyed his performance far more than those of reached its sixth installment. Titled New Battles
any of the other s<H:alled stars, female stars. I without Honor and Humanity (Shin Jingi naki
mentioned this to M i s h l ma and I remember we Tatakai, 1 974), Fukasaku agreed to direct it only
had a really interesting, warm exchange when when Toei consented to letting him change story,
I talked about that with h i m . " setting, and characters, resulting in all the series'
regulars, including those who had died in previ­
Interestingly it was uncharacteristic works ous installments, returning in different guises.
like Black Lizard and a trio of science fiction Like his protagonists, Fukasaku finally
films that first made Fukasaku's name in the seemed to surrender to the futility of his battle
West. Perhaps facilitated by their partly Ameri- against post-war Japan. But he was not one to
48 KINJI FUKASAKU

Wolves, Pigs, and Men

give up without a fight. With Graveyard ofHonor, his back on the crime film quite yet, he initially
he attacked his regular targets with one final changed his course only slighdy and focused
outburst of savage, destructive rage. The film on the corruption at the heart of Japan's new
laid waste to the last vestiges of the gangster-as­ power system. With the companion pieces Cops
hero in its portrayal of a suicidally self-destruc­ vs. Thugs and Yakuza Graveyard he laid bare the
tive loose cannon yakuza. Having gone from inextricable links between law enforcement and
marginal to mainstream thanks to the success of organized crime, suggesting that to all intents
the Battles series, Fukasaku used his clout to de­ and purposes the two were very much the same .
liver this intense, furiously violent masterpiece The big change for Fukasaku came in 1 97 8
as a studio production, casting one of Japanese when he directed Shogun :r Samurai, his first
cinema's biggest and most beloved stars, Tetsuya venture into period costume drama (at least
Watari, as the reprehensible protagonist. in terms of feature films, since in 1 97 2 Fuka­
The apdy tided Graveyard of Honor was the saku directed three episodes of the TV series
director's ultimate statement, its protagonist's Sure Death, about a band of paid assassins in
determined descent into self-destruction sym­ the Tokugawa era) . The fact that this was the
bolizing Fukasaku's acknowledgement that genre he had so consciously avoided in the be­
things had come to a close . From this moment ginning of his career signaled that the direc­
onwards things changed quickly. Not turning tor had turned the page and was starting anew.
 Kinji Fukasaku 49

The film was as commercial as they came, as a stage play. In the '80s, Kinji Fukasaku had
made to coincide with the first anniversary of become the commercial mainstream director
Toei's movie theme park Uzumasa Eigamura in par excellence , one of the few filmmakers who
Kyoto. Shot on the park's backlots and sound could be counted on to deliver box office hits in
stages, the film was effectively a feature-length a time of ever-diminishing returns .
commercial for the tourist attraction. Com­ But while Fukasaku was making blockbust­
mercial intents of the project notwithstanding, ers, a new generation of filmmakers slowly
Fukasaku had not entirely denounced his own started emerging. Many of them working in­
beliefs. He used the film to gleefully rewrite dependently, they emerged from film schools,
one of Japan's defining historical moments, 8mm underground filmmaking, or from the
the death of Shogun Iemitsu Tokugawa, and circles of film critics. By the time the '90s came
his samurai character behaved with as much around, Japanese cinema was going through
contempt for honor as his twentieth-century something resembling a creative renaissance ,
gangsters had done . a n d new names came into the limelight: Sago
Fukasaku's farewell t o the gangster film co­ Ishii, Shunichi Nagasaki, Kiyoshi Kurosawa,
incided with the collapse of the Japanese studio Shinya Tsukamoto, and many others. In the
system. This system had been steadily eroding meantime the old studios, with Toei at the head
as economic developments offered people other of the pack, had discovered a new market for
ways to spend their sparse leisure time, televi­ film productions: video. They started churning
sion being one of the most significant. One out low-budget genre films, made on two-week
studio, Shintoho, had already gone bankrupt in schedules and aimed for release directly on
1 9 6 1 (its name was later resurrected as a distrib­ video. Known as Original Video (OV) or V-cin­
utor for soft-core porn), followed by Daiei ten ema (originally the label Toei gave its straight­
years later. Nikkatsu had by that time already to-video line), the phenomenon also resurrected
devoted its entire output to Roman Porno skin­ the yakuza genre and gave rise to a generation of
flicks in an attempt to save its own hide (which filmmakers who found ways for self-expression
made their top star Tetsuya Watari decide to go within the low-budget genre confines, includ­
freelance, thus landing him Graveyard of Honor ing such luminaries as Takashi Ishii, Takashi
at Toei). As the '70s drew to a close, production Miike, Rokura Mochizuki, Shinji Aoyama, and
budgets had shrunk drastically and most of the again Kiyoshi Kurosawa (who had moved from
major commercial productions were financed independent filmmaking to OV).
from a variety of sources, with television broad­ Symbolic for the changing of the guard was
casters and publishing firms like Kadokawa ven­ the production process of a project Fukasaku
turing into film co-production. was slated to direct, with popular comedian
Kadokawa in particular made its mark on "Beat" Takeshi Kitano playing the lead role .
the period, led by producer Haruki Kadokawa, Due to illness, Fukasaku had to step down from
son of the company's founder. With the capital the director's chair and the producers, pressed
from dad's successful conglomerate he started for time with the shooting ready to commence,
Kadokawa Production Company and produced asked the star to take over directorial duties. Vi­
or co-produced some of Fukasaku's biggest hits olent Cop was Takeshi Kitano's debut as a direc­
of the 1 980s, including sci-fi and fantasy spec­ tor and launched him into the vanguard of the
taculars Virus, Samurai Reincarnation (remade new generation ofJapanese directors.
by Hideyuki Hirayama in 2 003), and Legend Despite his age (he was now in his sixties)
of Eight Samurai as well as the melodrama Fall and over a decade of directing blockbusters,
Guy, which repeated the success it had known Fukasaku's fighting spirit had not diminished.
50 KINJI FUKASAKU

Street Mobster

With 1 992 's The Triple Cross he issued a chal­ of a new anti-prostitution act. To the surprise
lenge to the fledgling Young Turks, showing of many, he took a foray into the world of video
that when it came to intense action-packed film­ games two years later, directing sequences for
making he could still more than hold his own. the Capcom game Clocktower 3, a gothic tale of
The Triple Cross seemed to awaken a renewed ghosts and demons set in Victorian London.
vigor in Fukasaku, and the films that followed When the new millennium dawned, Kinji
it once again showed a willingness to go that Fukasaku finally saw his work recognized and
extra mile . Crest of Betrayal was made to mark brought to foreign audiences, thanks to the
the centenary of Shochiku studios, but again first-ever retrospective of his work at the 2 000
showed the director's knack for rewriting his­ Rotterdam Film Festival in Holland. Other
tory to accommodate those it normally leaves countries followed the example and similar ret­
in the shadows, in this case by combining two rospectives were held in England, the United
traditional tales: Chiishingura, or the loyal 47 States, France, and Germany. While these
ronin, and the ghost story of Yotsuya. In 1 999 events were still being held, the director made
Fukasaku returned to post-war Japan with The what would prove to be his international break­
Geisha House, the portrait of a group of geisha through. Battle Royale emerged from contro­
in the 1 9 5 0s, whose profession and traditions versy and went on to take Japan and then the
are threatened by the impending enforcement world by storm. The story of a group of high
 Kinji Fukasaku 51

school kids who are sent by the government to er in Wolves, Pigs and Men, via the ruined boys of
a desert island with the order to kill each other If You Were Young: Rage, to the apprentice gei­
until only one is left standing, provoked par­ sha who might lose everything she has spent her
liamentary debate . Serious attempts were un­ life preparing for in The Geisha House. Fukasaku
dertaken to ban the film, fearing the effect the might have been seventy when he made it, but
film's abundant violence would have on impres­ Battle Royale showed how eager he still was to
sionable young minds. In the end, the contro­ communicate with the young.
versy fizzled out when parliamentarians and
concerned parents were finally shown the film "It was j ust my way of talking to them, saying

they tried to ban and realized that it actually had some words to the c h i l d ren. Young people's

something to say. existence i n the cu rrent time presents differ­

ent issues, to themselves as well as to others ,

"The fact that adults lost confidence in them­ t h e adults. W h e n I w a s fifteen I went through

selves, that's what is shown i n Battle Royale. certain experiences . For this fi l m I posed my­

Those adults worked very hard In the ' 70s i n self the question : ' How woul d it be for these

order to rebuild J a p a n . T h e y went th rough that young people to go t h rough those same experi­

period working for the national i nterest. Of ences?' I a m fully aware that there is a gen­

course there was a generation gap between eration gap between where I stand and where

the young and adults, even throughout that those kids stan d . "

period , but consistently adults were in control

i n terms of political stabil ity and whatever was With its corrupted youth struggling vainly
going on i n the nati o n . against a society that tries to wipe them out of
"However, s i n c e the bu rst o f t h e bubble existence, Battle Royale is in all respects a Kinji
economy, these same adults, many of them Fukasaku film. It's appropriate , then, that it was
salarymen and working cl ass people, were put to be his last completed film. In late 2 002 , at
i n a very d ifficult position with the economic a press conference announcing the start of pro­
downturn and all of a sudden most of them duction on Battle Royale 2, Fukasaku declared
started to lose confidence in themselves. And that he was suffering from cancer in an advanced
the children who have grown u p and witnessed stage , but that he would forego medical treat­
what happened to the adults, their anxiety ment in order to step behind the megaphone
became heightened as well . So I set the fil m in one more time . Unfortunately, shortly after
this context of c h i l d ren versus adults . " shooting began, he collapsed on the set and was
rushed off to the hospital, where he passed away
Battle Royale brought Fukasaku full circle. soon after. He lost his final battle on January 1 2 ,
With its fifteen-year-old protagonists forced 2 003 , aged seventy-two.
into a life-threatening crisis situation, the direc­ The validity of Kinji Fukasaku's work for
tor returned to his own youth. He put to film (and as) contemporary Japanese cinema is mani­
the experience of seeing his friends die in the fold. The rupture with the ninkyo films could be
munitions factory, the event that made him re­ seen as a starting point for contemporary Japa­
nounce the old values of his country. The ex­ nese cinema, trading in traditionalist views for
perience directly influenced numerous earlier a critical vision of the here and now that marks
Fukasaku films, particularly in his use of young so much of the work of today's directors. Then
characters to more dramatically show the full there is the influence he's had on the generation
negative effect of Japan's reconstruction: from that emerged in the '80s and '90s, those upstarts
the young man tortured by his own older broth- Fukasaku himself challenged with The Triple
52 KINJI FUKASAKU

Cross (which thereby became his own contribu­ � Black Lizard

tion to the early '90s renaissance). For them, J!��
born when post-war reconstruction hit its peak, Kurotokage
the ferocity and outright social criticism of
Battles without Honor and Humanity were no less 1968. CAST: I sao Ki m u ra, Aki h i ro M iwa (Aki h i ro
than a counter-cultural statement, much like M a ruyama), Ki kko M atsuoka, Yukio M i s h i m a . 86
the non-conformist work of Seijun Suzuki had m i n utes . RELEASES: VHS, C i n evi sta Video ( U . S . ,
been several years earlier. Both directors were Engl ish s u btitl e s ) .
widely embraced by those who were then in
their own rebellious teens, a number of whom Fukasaku 's fi l m adaptation o f Yukio Mishima's
would go on to pay tribute to Fukasaku in their stage adaptation of a novel by Edogawa Rampo
own work. Makoto Shinozaki's Not Forgotten is a deliriously flamboyant piece of late '60s ex­
(2 000) deals with a moral soul-searching by vet­ cess, as Japa n ' s master detective Kogoro Ake­
eran soldiers that prompts memories and rein­ chi pits his wits against the cross-d ressing pres­
terpretations of their wartime past, a structure ence of fiendish arch-villai ness The Black Lizard.
influenced by Under the Flag of the Rising Sun.
Toei resurrected the Battles series in the late Meet Miss Midorikawa, alias The Black Lizard,
'90s, assigning Junji Sakamoto to direct Another out to make off into the night with the priceless
Battle (Shin Jingi naki Tatakai, 1 999). Aside from gemstone The Star of Egypt from beneath the
its title the middling result had no ties whatso­ very nose of its wealthy industrialist owner. To
ever with the Fukasaku series, something even add insult to injury, she also sticks his daughter
its director readily acknowledged. It neverthe­ in a large trunk and drags her off to her island
less led to a sequel three years later in the shape lair with the intention of stuffing the chaste
of Hajime Hashimoto's Another Battle: Conspira­ young maiden in order to preserve her beauty
cy (Shin Jingi naki Tatakai: Bosatsu, 2 002), which and to add her to her collection of similarly pre­
equally failed to set the world on fire . Takashi served human dolls. The fiendish arch-villainess
Miike 's re-adaptation of Graveyard of Honor will do anything to be surrounded by beauti­
(Shin Jingi no Hakaba, 2 002) , on the other hand, ful things, and there's only one person who can
was a stunning revamping. Every inch as brutal stop her: Japan's Number One Private Detec­
as Fukasaku's version and then some, it updated tive, Kogon) Akechi.
the story to the late ' 80s bubble economy and its In 1 968, in a year-long sojourn from Toei,
subsequent collapse in the following decade, the Fukasaku made three films at Shochiku's studios
protagonist's self-destruction becoming a sym­ at Ofuna, allowing him a brief respite from the
bol for Japan's economic free fall. stream of yakuza movies that his main employ­
And finally of course, there is Battle Royale, a er had come to be exclusively associated with.
film that went on to play to local and foreign au­ The first of these was the crime drama Call Me
diences on a scale few Japanese films have man­ Blackmail! The other two, Black Lizard and its
aged in a long, long time . For this reason alone, follow-up, Black Rose Mansion, released later in
the film that brought seventy-year-old Kinji Fu­ 1 969, were two rather eccentric projects cen­
kasaku full circle with his own childhood is also tered around the camp, sexually ambivalent
one of contemporary Japanese cinema's incon­ figure of the cross-dressing Akihiro Maruyama,
testable landmarks. better known by the stage name of his female
alter-ego, Akihiro Miwa.
Miwa was a famous cabaret singer of French­
styled chansons from the age of 1 7 , with a career
 Black Lizard 53

track record that leapt with consummate ease tract for Shaw Brothers in Hong Kong during
from theater, to cinema, to hit records and the '60s, directing such colorful titles as the
most recently to providing the voice of Moro 1 966 Hong Kong Nocturne/Xiang Jiang Hua Yue
in Hayao Miyazaki's animated smash hit, Prin­ Ye. This version starred Machiko Kyo in the title
cess Mononoke (Mononokehime, 1 997). These two role, one of Daiei's top actresses of the ' 5 0s in
films represented his only starring roles, though films such as Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon ( 1 9 5 0)
he did feature prominently in Shilji Terayama's and Teinosuke Kinugasa 's Gate of Hell (Jigoku­
ultra-anarchic Throw Away Your Books and Go out mon, 1 9 54).
into the Streets (Sho 0 Suteyo Machi e Deya, 1 97 1 ) . However, when it came to the Shochiku
Both o f Fukasaku's films are camp, pop art remake , adapted for the screen by Masashige
melodramas played out in supersaturated colors Narusawa, a former collaborator with Kenji
that root them firmly as belonging to the lat­ Mizoguchi in the ' 5 0s on such classics as New
ter years of the swinging '60s-think in terms Tales of the Taira Clan (Shin Heike Monogatari,
of the extravagant excesses of the Batman TV 1 9 5 5), it was decide d to stay faithful to the
series starring Adam West, or the Euro Spy original by casting Akechi's eponymous nem­
genre of its day popularized by the early Bond esis with the star of the stage version, Akihiro
films and typified by such choice offerings as Miwa, who was repute dly Mishima's homo­
the Italo-French ass 1 1 7 series, Joseph Losey's sexual lover at the time . It was a casting coup.
Modesty Blaise ( 1 966), or Jess Franco's Two Un­ From The Black Lizard's very first appearance
dercover Angels ( 1 967). In both, Miwa sticks with in the film in a glitzy black sparkling number,
his transvestite cabaret-singing public persona. sashaying across the stage of her nightclub lair
In Black Rose Mansion, he plays the Black Rose to perform a cabaret number against a luscious
of the film's title, a singer hired by a wealthy Art Nouveau backdrop of Aubrey Beardsley
businessman to sing in his exclusive men's club paintings, Maruyama's flamboyant presence
mansion-though her presence is soon acting as dominates the entire exercise . Shamelessly em­
a magnet for hordes of murderous ghosts from bracing all the gaudy excesses of late '60s pop
her previous life . art culture, Fukasaku's high-camp adaptation
Black Rose, however, is a pale shadow of its boasts enough kitsch and color to make the
precursor. Black Lizard has far stronger material Austin Powers conceit seem positively dowdy
to work with. Adapted from the 1 92 9 novel of in comparison. Yet these superficial aspects are
the same name by Japan's celebrated mystery­ more than equally matched by the touching
horror writer Edogawa Rampo (d. The Mystery repartee of the two foils as they lay out their
of Rnmpo, 1 994), it features Kogof() Akechi as diametrically opposed philosophies, each skirt­
its protagonist, a staple of Rampo's investigative ing around the other in an attempt to gain the
fiction in much the same way Sherlock Holmes upper hand.
was in Conan Doyle's. Described as keen-eyed Much of this dramatic power can be at­
and debonair, Rampo's kimono-clad creation is tributed to the writer of the original stage play.
a master of disguise, whose winning combina­ Yukio Mishima (born Kimitake Hiraoka, 1 92 5)
tion of judo, logic, and reverse psychology led remains one of the best-known Japanese novel­
him to the heart of literally dozens of his mys­ ists of the twentieth century in the West, due to
tery narratives. works such as Confessions of a Mask ( 1 949) and
Yukio Mishima's 1 95 6 stage adaptation had The Sound of Waves ( 1 9 5 4) . A number of these
already made it onto the screen once in a 1 962 had been adapted to the big screen before Black
production for Daiei by Umetsugu Inoue, a di­ Lizard, including his 1 95 6 novel The Temple of
rector who found himself working under con- the Golden Pavilion, which was made by Kon
54 KINJI FUKASAKU

Ichikawa for Daiei under the title Conflagration The event i s still treated with a degree of
(Enja, 1 9 5 8) . In Japan his work was highly re­ embarrassment by the Japanese , and Mishi­
garded for his fusion of Western and traditional rna's widow ordered all prints of Yukoku to be
styles, but toward the second half of the '60s destroyed (though a number of foreign copies
this latter aspect of the writer's personality came have survived), as well as a national ban on the
to predominate . Part of the jetsetter champagne distribution of Paul Schrader's U . S . made biop­
crowd of right-wing intellectuals that included ic, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters ( 1 985), due
the author of Taiya no Kisetsu (" Season of the to its "misleading" portrayal of Mishima's queer
Sun") and later governor of Tokyo, Shintaro tendencies. Black Lizard is also unavailable on
Ishihara, Mishima's celebrity status was enough video in Japan.
to land him a leading role in Yasuzo Masumura's
Afraid to Die (Karakkaze Yara, 1 960), though his
performance was not highly regarded by the
critics of his day. '" Under the Flag of the Rising Sun
His sole stint at filmmaking came with the !iI1.ilIUdb < 1" I;:
2 8-minute-long adaptation of his short story Gunki Hatameku Moto Ni
Yukoku ( 1 966), which was inspired by the a.k. a . Under the Fluttering Military Flag
Niniroku military coup of February 2 6 , 1 9 3 6 (cf.
Seijun Suzuki's Elegy to Violence), and details 1972. CAST: Sach i ko H idari, Tetsuro Tanba,
the ritual suicide of a high-ranking naval officer Sh6nosuke I c h i kawa, Noboru M ita n i , Take s h i
(played by Mishima himself) and his wife (Yoshi­ Seki . 9 6 m i n utes . RELEASE: DVD, H o m e V i s i o n E n ­
ko Tsuruoka) . Shot in silent black and white, te rta i n ment ( U . S . , Engl i s h su btitl e s ) .
with expository intertitles, in a single, one-room
interior with a kanji sign reading "shisei" ("fidel­ Harrowing a n d eye-opening account o f t h e mad­
ity") emblazoned on the wall, Yukoku's style is ness and the brutal conditions of l ife among
carefully made up of static wide shots and lin­ Japanese soldiers in the last days of World War
gering close-ups, none of which, incidentally, I I . Fukasaku 's second i ndependent prod uction
show Mishima's eyes, which are always just out takes a venomously critical look at both war­
of frame or obscured by shadow. time and post-war Japan, unrestrai ned by gen re
Yukoku remained a chilling premonition frameworks .
of things to come . By the late '60s, Mishima's
nationalism had come to predominate. A prac­ Despite few of them making their way to West­
ticing homosexual and active body builder (he ern shores, ] apanese films that take a critical look
can be seen, fully pumped, as one of the Black at the country's wartime past are anything but
Lizard's prized manne quins), in 1 968 he found­ rare . Particularly in the '60s and ' 7 0s, films like
ed his own private army, the Tate no Kai (Shield Seijun Suzuki's Story of a Prostitute and Yasuzo
Society), consisting of some one hundred fol­ Masumura's Red Angel (Akai Tenshi, 1 966) and
lowers, and two years after Black Lizard was re­ Hoodlum Soldier (Heitai Yakuza, 1 965) painted a
leased, on November 2 5 , 1 970, in a hollow echo less than glorified portrait of life on the front
of the Niniroku incident, he stormed a military line . Why these films haven't received proper
headquarters building in Tokyo. Here, at the distribution in the West while similarly human­
age of 4 5 , he took his own life, publicly and per­ istic portraits of Germany's battlefield traumas
haps inevitably with that most patriotic form of are critically lauded (Wolfgang Petersen's Das
suicide, seppuku. His last words were "Long live Boot and Sam Peckinpah's Cross of Iron to name
the Emperor! " two) remains a curiously unjust enigma.
 Battles without Honor and Humanity 55

One of these Japanese wartime accounts out of hunger was something Kon Ichikawa
crying out for international recognition is Kinji already alluded to in Fires on the Plain (Nobi,
Fukasaku's devastating Under the Flag of the Ris­ 1 95 9 , produced by D aiei)-but Fukasaku's im­
ing Sun. Adapted by Kaneto Shindo from the plication that the remorseless bureaucracy that
novel by Masaharu YUki, the film portrays and denies widows their right to a pension is just
compares the horrors of the last days on the Pa­ another guise of the government responsible
cific frontline and of post-war Japan's bureauc­ for driving its soldiers into acts of barbarism
racy. Fukasaku, who had personally acquired the and then executing them for insubordination
rights to the novel, directed the film for the in­ when they protest. It's in line with the main
dependent Shinsei Eigasha production company concern in Fukasaku's work of showing the
because allegedly no major studio was willing price the people have to pay for the ideals of
to back him up on such sensitive material. No their government. This is most strongly felt in
doubt the studios felt vindicated when the film the character of one of sergeant Togashi's for­
flopped at the box office , obliging Fukasaku to mer comrades, who is now a pig farmer living
return to Toei and the gangster genre-in which on a refuse dump in the outskirts of the city.
he simply continued to lay bare the very same "On the map , " he says while overlooking the
social problems. putrid sty that passes for a farm, " this is offi­
Under the Flag of the Rising Sun recounts cially Tokyo. " But not quite the Tokyo of shiny
the attempts by soldier's widow Sakie Togashi office blocks and Ginza glitz.
(Hidari) to be recognized by the state as a war Linking Japan's past and present, Fukasaku
widow and thus be eligible for a pension. She delivers not only a powerful anti-war film and
is refused time and time again because accord­ an eye-opening historical document, but also
ing to official records her husband (Tetsuro proof of the historic and social relevance of his
Tanba) was shot by his own superiors for deser­ own cinematic legacy.
tion, mere days after Japan's official surrender,
which means he's not an official casualty of war.
When she finds out that four of her husband's
old comrades in arms never returned their ques­ 1 Battles without Honor and
tionnaires about the events that led up to ser­ Humanity
geant Togashi's death, she sees an opportunity 1= li t:h � !jIl lt )
to discover the truth about her husband and
]ingi naki Tatakai
clear his name .
a.k.a. Fight without HonorlThe Yakuza
Visiting the four men and questioning them
PaperslTarnished Code of the Yakuza
about the events of those fateful days at the end
of the war, she meets with varying degrees of 1973. CAST: B u nta Sugawa ra, H i raki M atsu kata,
resistance, while the accounts she receives from Ku n i e Tan a ka, E i ko N a ka m u ra, Tsu n e h i ko Wa­
each of the men are more often than not con­ tase, Nabua Kan e ko, Tats uo U mem iya . 99 m i n­
flicting. The one thing that does become clear ute s . RELEASE: DVD, H o m e Vi s i o n E nte rta i n m e nt
is that the conditions the soldiers lived under ( U . S . , Engl i s h s u btitle s ), E u reka Video ( U . K. , E ng­
were beyond barbaric. l i s h s u btitles), Taei Video (Japan, no s u btitl e s ) .
Perhaps the biggest problem the main­
stream film industry had with the subject Fukasaku's q u intessential classic. This fero­
matter is not the revelations about wartime cious accou nt of gang wars in H i rosh i m a , based
atrocities committed by (and to) Japanese sol­ on true stories, would prove to be a turning point
diers-that soldiers were driven to cannibalism for the yakuza genre. A h uge box office hit, it
56 KINJI FUKASAKU

Battles Without Honor and Humanity

also propelled the previously rather margi nal There he makes the acquaintance of yakuza
d i rector Fukasaku into the big league. Wakasugi of the Doi gang, but when he is re­
leased, he is welcomed by his old friends who
Beginning with the atomic bomb and ending ask him to join them as a member of the Yama­
with powerboat racing, Battles without Honor and mori group, Doi's bitter rivals. A full-scale war
Humanity is as much an account of Japan's rise breaks out over the two factions' involvement
from wartime ashes to economic superpower as with local politicians, and Hirono is asked to
it is of the demise of its central characters. assassinate the leader of the Doi gang. The at­
B ased on magazine articles recounting the tempt turns into a messy shooting, in which Hi­
memoirs of a former yakuza, the film chronicles rono runs out of bullets before he can kill off
the erratic career path of Shozo Hirono (Suga­ the rival boss. Police begin to crack down on
wara), one of the millions of Japanese scroung­ yakuza violence, and as a result of a traitor in
ing around the black markets of ruined post-war his own group, Hirono is almost killed and sub­
Japan to make a living. A former soldier, Hirono sequently arrested. Upon release several years
is a brawler with a set of like-minded friends. later, he finds out that the fortunes of his group
When the group gets into trouble with the gang­ have changed and that it's not the Doi gang that
sters who rule the black market, Hirano shoots is the biggest threat to his gang's existence , but
and kills one of their leaders and ends up in jail. the treacherous ways of his own boss.
 Cops vs. Thugs 57

To the uninitiated, Battles without Honor and the only person who harbored these feelings
Humanity will probably seem like a flurry of messy about post-war Japan and how it should be re­
assassinations, punch-ups, and chase scenes. Its flected by cinema. Its impact was such that it de­
numerous characters and their ongoing betrayals stroyed the ninkyo eiga genre and unleashed a new
certainly don't make the film any easier to follow. fashion for more gritty true-life yakuza movies,
But such erratic goings-on are part and parcel the so-called jitsuroku ('true story') films. But for
of Kinji Fukasaku's best work. They express the the director, telling the truth was anything but a
realities of post-war life and in particular of post­ fashion; it was the point of the whole exercise.
war gang life, where survival was more important Fukasaku went on to make seven additional
than concepts like honor. Such outdated values entries in the series in the following three years,
had died with Japan's defeat, to be replaced by an thereby contributing to the swift demise of that
unrestrained free-for-all. same jitsuroku genre. The last genre the studios
Honor and heroism are alien notions in this could still count on to rake in profits, it went into
moral wasteland, something Fukasaku empha­ hibernation with the majors and wouldn't resur­
sizes every chance he gets, giving the image face until the rise of V-cinema fifteen years later.
of the valiant yakuza a couple of good smacks
upside the head. Guns j am and bullets run out
during weasely assassination attempts, hens pick
at a freshly chopped-off yakuza pinkie, infight­ -.v COPS vs . Thugs
ing and betrayal are bigger threats than the rival 9l!ff�UIl.� 1J
clan, gang elders break down and cry in front of Kenkei Tai Soshiki Boryoku
their subordinates if it will get them what they a.k.a. State Police vs. Organized Crime
want, and any means to make money is allowed,
including dealing with the American army: a 1975 . CAST: B u nta S ugawara, H i roki M atsu kata,
whole host of yakuza genre codes get resolutely Tats uo U m e m iya, N o b u o Kan e ko, S h i ngo Yama­
shattered. s h i ro, Takuz6 Kawata n i . 10 1 m i n utes . RELEASE:
Fukasaku translates this state of affairs into DVD, E u reka Video ( U . K. , E ngl i s h s u btitle s ), Toe i
the way he shoots the proceedings. Extensive Video (Japan, no s u btitle s ) .
use of handheld cameras and fast editing ac­
centuate the chaotic behavior of the characters, Having permanently buried t h e image o f t h e hon­
while the use of voice-overs, photographs, news­ orable yakuza, Fukasaku left the post-war gang­
paper clippings, and titles underline the film's sters behind h i m and focused on contem porary
attempts at charting history, giving it the feel of issues. Sti l l as defiant as ever, he madeCops
a newsreel account. Cramming several decades' vs. Thugs as a d i rect attack on government and
worth of material into 99 minutes, Fukasaku at­ police corruption.
tempts to show us an alternative history of post­
war Japan, the street-level truth that is covered Cops vs. Thugs was made at a time when Kinji
up by the boastful records of reconstruction and Fukasaku was at the peak of his powers; a spir­
economic growth that form the official reading. ited director who made films that were vital and
(This makes Fukasaku's work closely related to alive . He had perfected his characteristic visual
that of Sh6hei Imamura, who also focused on style (freeze frames, handheld cameras, odd
the underbelly of society ignored in official angles, the use of text as both a narrative and
readings of history.) aesthetic tool), while his stories brimmed with
Battles without Honor and Humanity became a social comment.
huge box-office success; Fukasaku clearly wasn't With four enormously successful episodes
58 KINJI FUKASAKU

Cops vs. Thugs

of the Battles without Honor and Humanity series closer than they ought to be and that the law
behind him, as well as one of the most vicious means little on either side .
and relentless cinematic portrayals of yakuza This attitude is n o t only apparent i n content
life with Graveyard of Honor, Fukasaku had said (the screenplay, based on true events, was writ­
just about all he could about gangsterdom. With ten by Kazuo Kasahara, who also scripted the
Cops vs. Thugs he fixed his sights on the other first four entries in the Battles series), but also
side of the law: the police . in form. The confusion that Fukasaku's frenetic
If the aforementioned films portrayed the visual style can create in a viewer here found its
yakuza as violence-prone brutes who didn't ideal context and the film therefore marks the
show the slightest trace of the honorable souls full maturation of Fukasaku's style, the point at
they were traditionally depicted as having, his which form and content have become one. The
rendering of the law was hardly more flattering. confusion that is central to the subject (i.e . , the
The word "versus" in the title does not so much lack of delineation between police and criminals)
refer to opposition, but rather to comparison. is also the defining factor in the mise-en-scene .
Cops vs. Thugs examines the differences-or The incongruity of a pair of feet in alligator
rather the similarities-between gangsters and shoes resting on a policeman's desk is illustra­
police, the thin line between good and bad. The tive : Gangsters and cops mingle constantly, and
message, to no great surprise, is that the two are frequently find themselves on each other's turfs,
 Virus 59

as comfortable on one terrain as on the other. son, 1 974) to the apocalyptic social commentary
Cops are friendlier with gangsters than with of George Romero's Dawn of the Dead ( 1 978),
their own colleagues and vice versa. Fukasaku's audiences around the world seemed quite happy
methods reach as far as the casting: Lead actor to shell out their bucks for lavish affirmations of
Bunta Sugawara plays a cop after just having mankind's vulnerability.
starred in a string of gangster roles. (Sugawara J apan-a country which had suffered two nu­
is still typecast in gangster roles today, although clear blasts, is constantly besieged by earth trem­
he made a refreshing change of pace by provid­ ors and tidal waves, and was then undergoing the
ing the voice of the spider-legged Kamajii in preliminary stages of future shock-joined the
Hayao Miyazaki's animated hit Spirited Away). fray with Submersion ofJapan (Nippon Chinbotsu,
As with much of Fukasaku's mid-'70s work, a.k.a. Japan Sinks, Shiro Moritani, 1 97 3), Bullet
the frenetic nature of the film's style also results Train (Shinkansen Daibakuha, Junya Sata, 1 975)
in a film that moves at a brisk pace . Stripped of and the Nostradamus-themed The Last Days of
all extra layers, Cops vs. Thugs is still one fast­ Planet Earth (Nosutoradamusu no Daiyogen, Toshio
moving action film. With dashes of humor that Masuda, 1 974). But by far the best known of
often border on the absurd and energetic per­ these abroad is Virus. Like Submersion ofJapan, it
formances by a bevy of great players, it's hugely is based upon a best-selling novel by Sakya Kom­
entertaining. atsu, and at the time was the most lavishly expen­
sive production in Japanese film history.
Featuring an international all-star cast and
an epic vision of a planet devastated by plague,
� Virus a film the size of Virus could never have been
1!t7l!i0) B made were it not for producer Haruki Kadoka­
Fukkatsu no Hi wa. During the mid-'70s, the big-thinking mogul
had rapidly expanded the publishing company
1980 . CAST: Masao K u s a kari, S h i n ic h i " So n ny" which his father had founded, Kadokawa Shoten.
C h i ba, Ken Ogata, Y u m i Takigawa, Chuck Con­ Shrewdly noting the interminable decline of the
nors, G l e n n Fo rd, O l ivi a H u ssey, Edward James European and Japanese film industries as they be­
Ol mos, Robert Vaugh n . 1 5 6 m i n utes (export ver­ came ever more cowed into submission beneath
sion : 106 m i n utes ) . RELEASE: DVD, P l ati n u m Disc the big-budget bombast of the Hollywood block­
( U . S . , Engl i s h s u btitl e s ) . Moonstone ( U . K., Eng­ buster, Kadokawa set out to revolutionize the
l i s h s u btitl e s ) . Kadokawa (Japan, no s u btitl e s ) . ailing indigenous production scene by setting up
the Kadokawa Haruki Jimusho film production
A n apocalyptic vision o f a world devastated by company, pitting his product against the compe­
a fatal plague . A small i nternational community tition with a string of unashamedly populist and
of survivors cling to existence in an isolated re­ cannily publicized seat-fillers.
search station in Anta rctica, i n the most expen­ Veteran director Kon Ichikawa was roped
sive Japanese production of its time. in to helm his first production, The Inugamis
(Inugamike no Ichizoku) which clocked in at
Doom and gloom abounded in cinema through­ No . 2 in the national box office charts in 1 97 6 .
out the '70s, as the first waves of pre-millennia I B u t it was i n 1 97 7 that Kadokawa fi r s t cast his
tension manifested themselves in a string of ex­ net westward, setting the interracial murder
travagant displays of destruction. From straight­ mystery Proof of the Man (Ningen no Shomei,
forward disaster spectacles such as Hurricane directed by Junya Sata) in the United States
Gan Troell, 1 9 74) and Earthquake (Mark Rob- and casting George Kennedy from the suc-
60 KINJI FUKASAKU

cessful Airport series as the lead. With an eye time amongst its role call of familiar American
firmly on the export market, two versions were stalwarts of the day, you'd be hard pressed to
prepared, with the Japanese- or American-ori­ pinpoint the country of origin as Japan. Blink
ented scenes either pruned or added depend­ and you'll miss Sonny Chiba and Ken Ogata's
ing upon which side of the Pacific the film was almost subliminal appearances in the U . S . re­
to be released. lease , two actors who should be fairly familiar to
In actuality Proof of the Man never received Western audiences-Chiba from the Streetfight­
a theatrical release in the United States, though er series (kicking off with StreetfighterlGekitotsu!
the English language print later surfaced on Satsujin Ken directed by Shigehiro Ozawa in
video. Still, the domestic box-office receipts au­ 1 974); Ogata from his appearances in Imamura's
gured well, and the same approach was repeated films of the ' 80s, the title role in Paul Schrader's
a couple of years later with Virus. Directorial Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters ( 1 985), and
duties were handed over to Kinji Fukasaku, one Peter Greenaway's The Pillow Book ( 1 996).
of the few established directors to weather it The Japanese characters are more fully
through the harsh cinematic climate of the '70s, fleshed out in the longer version, which zeros in
and who already had some experience in inter­ more specifically on the effect of the plague on
national co-productions due to his involvement the inhabitants of Tokyo during the first half of
with Richard Fleischer in Tora! Tora! Tora!. its running time . There is also an extended final
As with the previous year's Meteor (Ronald coda sequence, in which a glimmer of hope, as
Neame), Virus capitalizes on the conjecture that the Japanese title Fukkatsu no Hi ("day of resur­
the one thing that unites the world is our mu­ rection") suggests, is seen to arise in the south­
tual fear of imminent annihilation. The percep­ ernmost tip of Argentina, though perhaps this
tion that Cold War fever was reaching epidemic detracts from the more pessimistic vision of the
proportions is here rendered explicit in the form shorter version.
of the genetically engineered superbug MM -88, Whilst at first glance Virus seems to bear
which when unleashed from its laboratory in little obvious semblance to a Fukasaku film, the
Leipzig, East Germany, takes little time in lay­ situation of an isolated group placed in a high­
ing waste the world's population. The handful of pressure milieu with no means of escape and
survivors are holed up in a number of research forced to make its own rules finds its most obvi­
stations in Antarctica, where this communist ous parallel with his internationally best-known
contagion is unable to penetrate due to the se­ work, Battle Royale.
vere climate . With only eight women nestling With the initial half hour devoted to portray­
amongst the 8 5 8 stationed there, it is clear that ing the devastating effects of the virus sweeping
the ramifications on what remains of human so­ across the globe from the steppes of Siberia to
ciety are going to be pretty severe . And if that the carpeted interiors of the White House by
weren't enough, a series of earth tremors in the way of Paris, Rome, Tokyo, and London, by the
Washington area look set to fire off the U.S. time we are introduced to our Antarctic survi­
nuclear arsenal toward the U . S . S . R. , triggering vors we're already aware that any future that
an automatic counterattack rendering dooms­ they might have is a pretty futile one . The bulk
day imminent within the next fortnight. Well, at of the film details the relationships and tensions
least it's not raining. which erupt between the various international
Distributed by Toho, Virus exists in both factions holed up in their sterile rat hole in a
an international export version and a far longer manner fascinatingly indicative of the global
Japanese version. In its shorter form, with only political system of the time, at a time in which
a few token Japanese faces clamoring for screen Japan was beginning to see itself as an economic
 The Triple Cross 61

and cultural power on equal footing with its In 1 993 he was arrested for cocaine smuggling
Western counterparts. in a very high-profile scandal, and was impris­
Overseen by the patriarchal voice of authori­ oned 1 996 for a period of four years. Kadokawa
ty represented by disaster movie veteran George Shoten nevertheless survived this blow to the
Kennedy, the Russian characters are all bowed corporate image, and despite the loss of the
heads and apologies, the Japanese beaver away at high-profile producer that had steered the com­
their seismographic charts, the Chileans throw pany to success, continued with production. It
chairs around, Olivia Hussey plays Norwegian pumped out popular movies such as Parasite Eve
progenitor of the species, one of the handful of (Masayuki Ochiai, 1 997) under its own name, as
women on whom the future of humanity de­ well as buying up distributor Asmik Ace in the
pends, whilst the sole British character maintains late '90s and absorbing D aiei into its corporate
a stiff-upper-lipped air of aloof yet efficient au­ structure in 2 002 .
thority. It is up to the wholesome forces of Uncle
Sam manifested in the form of the towheaded
Chuck Connors to leap on the next submarine
up to Washington to save the world, but he does -v The Triple Cross
at least allow Masao Kusakari to tag along. ,, }":);6>:¥ '7 :¥ '7""9 � 8
Virus fared disappointingly when it was re­ Itsuka Gira- Gira Suru Hi
leased to the American public, which had by a.k. a . Double Cross
this stage already reached complete saturation
point as far as the disaster epic was concerned. 199 1 . CAST: Ke n i c h i H agiwara, Kazuya K i m u ra,
But viewed in hindsight as an overblown piece S h i n i c h i " Sonny" C h i ba, Kei ko Ogi nome, R e nj i
of late '70s dramatic excess, it still has plenty to I s h i ba s h i , Yos h i o H a ra d a . 104 m i n utes . RELEASE:
offer in terms of its sheer entertainment value . DVD, To kyo B u l l et/ M I A ; Video, ( U . K. , Engl i s h
The impressive snowscapes of Alaska and Can­ s u btitl es). Panora m a D i stri buti o n s ( H ong Kong,
ada which double as the Antarctic exteriors are Engl ish/Chi nese s u btitles ) .
beautifully shot, and Fukasaku brings an air of
professionalism to the entire project which falls Full-th rottle action fi l m that showed the younger
well in line with the requirements of the genre. generation that Kinj i Fukasaku was sti l l a fi lm­
The end result certainly did no harm to making force to be reckoned wit h .
the careers of either director or producer. The
Kadokawa company put up the money for Fu­ Kinji Fukasaku went through the '70s as per­
kasaku's next couple of epics, Samurai Reincar­ haps Japan's most revered director, thanks to
nation, Fall Guy, and Legend of Eight Samurai, his revisionist and highly successful takes on the
and paralleling the "big is better" approach of gangster film with Battles without Honor and
Hollywood's Jerry B ruckheimer, Kadokawa Humanity and its offspring. At the end of the
went on to produce a prolific run of glossy decade however, he seemed to consolidate his
high-concept potboilers, including Black Magic bankability by directing an array of big-budget
IiVars (Iga Ninpocho, Mitsumasa Saito, 1 982). He spectaculars that were increasingly slick but also
also turned to direction himself, with a number increasingly anonymous, the Kadokawa produc­
of films including Cabaret (Kyabare, 1 986), the tion Virus being a prime example . From a finan­
Spielbergian schmaltz and spectacle of Heaven cial point of view it was probably a wise decision,
and Earth (Ten to Chi to, 1 990), and Rex: A Dino­ since Fukasaku was one of the few directors who
saur Story (Rex: Kyorij, Monogatari, 1 99 3 ), before emerged fairly unscathed from the crisis that hit
the excess of his own life caught up with him. the Japanese film industry full on in the 1 980s.
62 KINJI FUKASAKU

The early '90s saw the emergence of a new Evidence that the three senior characters
generation ofJapanese filmmakers, independent represent Fukasaku could be found in an addi­
artists who challenged conventions (and thus the tional element: the presence of the young mis­
earlier generations of directors) head on. Who tress. Although it wasn't widely known at the
was still going to care for a journeyman director time, Keiko Oginome, the actress who played
in his sixties who had his best days behind him, the character of the hyperactive paramour, was
when raw energy and spirited zeal oozed from then romantically involved with her dire ctor.
the films of young guns like Sago Ishii, Takeshi The full truth about their affair didn't come to
Kitano, Takashi Ishii and Shinya Tsukamoto? light until more than a decade later, when Ogi­
Watching The Triple Cross, one gets the im­ nome wrote Joyu no Yaru (trans: Nights of an
pression that this situation must have bothered actress), an account of her affair with Fukasaku.
Fukasaku himself quite a bit. But rather than Published in late 2 002 , three months before the
quietly disappear into retirement, his reaction director's death, the book was allegedly written
was to challenge the new blood head on: by with his consent, and it's not unimaginable that
making a film that was as fast, furious, and fre­ Fukasaku wished to come clean about his past in
netic as anything on offer at the time . the knowledge that his health was failing him.
The Triple Cross certainly is fast, furious, and A statement of defiance and a way to redress
frenetic. It's a foul-mouthed crime saga in which the balance, The Triple Cross remains an essen­
Fukasaku combines the visual characteristics of tial entry in the development of contemporary
his early-'70s action classics with an audacious­ Japanese cinema, particularly with regard to Fu­
ness and a willingness to go very far beyond kasaku's role therein. It showed that the director
the boundaries of good taste firmly rooted in still had energy to spare despite his advanc­
the '90s: The film features an endless array of ing years. While many foreign audiences were
violent and exotic shoot-outs and car chases, amazed that a 7 0-year-old man was capable of
culminating in a combination of the two, with delivering a film as fierce and shocking as Bat­
a school bus full of children thrown in for good tle Royale, those who had seen The Triple Cross
measure . The storyline clearly mirrored the di­ would probably have taken the carnage and the
rector's intentions: A trio of aging bank robbers outrage with a knowing, satisfied smile .
(including longtime Fukasaku cohort Sonny
Chiba) are scamrned out of a sizeable amount
of loot by their bleached-haired, twenty-some­
thing partner (Kazuya Kimura), who kills one, '" Battle Royale
wounds another, and runs off with the young / \ r Jv · P lJ-1 7Jv
mistress of the third. The only old-timer still Batoru Rowaiaru
standing (Hagiwara) decides to go for revenge
and the money, in a fashion that's as relentless as 2000 . CAST: " Beat" Takes h i Kitano, Tatsuya Fu­
anything this young upstart is capable of. j iwara, Aki M aeda, Ta ro Yamamoto, Masanobu
Leaving no doubt as to which side the di­ Ando, Ka S h i basaki, C h i aki Kuriya m a . 1 1 3 m i n­
rector is on, The Triple Cross is pervaded by this utes (spec i a l editi o n : 122 m i n utes ) . RELEASES:
theme of the generation gap, which manifests DVD, Tartan ( U . K. , Engl i s h s u btitles), U n iverse
itself not just in the storyline, but also in the ( H ong Kong, Engl ish/C h i n ese s u btitl e s ) .
film's style . Throughout, Fukasaku employs
the contrast between young and old, even using Forty-two schoolchildren are placed on a remote
musical motifs Qazz versus heavy metal) to em­ island, each kitted out with a deadly weapon and
phasize the difference . told to ki l l each other within the next few days .
 Battle Royale 63

Battle Royale

At the beginning of the twenty-first century students of Shiroiwa Junior High School Third
Japan is in chaos. The economy has collapsed, Year Class B, accompanied by two exchange stu­
the unemployment rate has skyrocketed and the dents, whose reasons for being there are unclear.
youth are running riot, stabbing teachers and Few Japanese films in recent memory have
boycotting the classroom. Concerns about ju­ caused as much of a stir as Battle Royale, Fuka­
venile delinquency and disregard for discipline saku's abrasive adaptation of Koshun Takami's
and order have paved the way for extreme mea­ popular novel of the same name. Playing like
sures in the form of the Battle Royale Act: the a turbo-charged hybrid of Lord of the Flies, Fri­
methodical extermination of teenage children. day the 1 3th, and The Most Dangerous Game, its
Once a year, a group of junior high school stu­ content was enough to stir up a government de­
dents is systematically kidnapped and taken to a bate at home when, after protesting against the
deserted island. They are given weapons, enough imposition of an R- 1 5 rating from the Japanese
food and water for several days, and an order: censorship board Eirin that effectively barred
to go out and kill each other. An explosive col­ the audience of the same age as the characters
lar placed around the necks of each of the players portrayed in the film from seeing it, the director
imposes a degree of outside control on the pro­ took his struggle all the way to parliament.
ceedings, as well as providing a means of enforc­ Abroad, more than any other film in recent
ing the game's three-day time litlli t. Aside from years, it was responsible for bringing in a whole
this, there are no other rules, and there can only new international audience for Japanese cinema,
be one survivor. This time it's the turn of the forty as perversely, after almost forty years at the di-
64 KINJI FUKASAKU

Battle Royale II: Requiem

rector's chair, Fukasaku's final film became the adolescents taking up arms against their class­
one that launched his reputation internationally. mates at the command of their seniors, where
Certainly there had been little in the past even your best friends can't be trusted, the film
twenty years to suggest such a return to form. packed an undeniable emotional gut punch.
His previous The Geisha House, described by the Conservative critics lambasted it as a blood­
director as being the first of his films in which no thirsty fantasy that reveled in the deaths of
one died, was a lukewarm comedy drama script­ young teenagers, a work with no redeeming so­
ed by Kaneto Shind6 about the grooming of a cial value at all, and indeed, it is very violent.
young geisha against the backdrop of the govern­ But the director himself spoke very elo­
ment abolition of prostitution in 1 9 5 8 (itself the quently about his personal attachment to the
focus of Kenji Mizoguchi's Street ofShamelAkas­ project, stressing that first and foremost, it was
en Chitai, 1 9 5 8). Prior to that, with the excep­ a fable, an extreme "what if" scenario dealing
tion of The Triple Cross, Kinji Fukasaku's career with the repercussions of a system of violence
had increasingly become that of a journeyman handed down from generation to generation, a
director of populist domestic productions, albeit theme very dear to his heart, having grown up in
highly commercially successful ones. the chaotic aftermath of his own country's defeat
But Battle Royale is something else entirely. in war. Undoubtedly the reason that it struck a
The ultimate high-pressure horror scenario of chord with so many viewers is simply because it
 Battle Royale 65

was applicable to any society where the weight sports j ock Sh-iiya Nanahara vows to protect
of one generation bears heavily down on the the wounded Noriko Nakagawa, a constant
next. In the face of seemingly insurmountabl e victim of bullying at school due to her position
odds, do you greet your fate with mock bravado, as the classroom favorite of Kitano, Takako
terror, resignation, or choose to lay down your Chigusa repels the advances of an unwanted
weapons and die ? admirer, all the more violently now that there
Like h i s fi n e s t work, Battle Royale deals with are no rules to govern her social conduct. And
conflict between an isolated group of charac­ what about the two exchange students ? What
ters under a pressure imposed from outside. is the hidden past of the practical but secretive
In this case, the protagonists are younger, and Sh6go Kawada (yamamoto), and just who is
their emotions are consequently that much Kazuo Kiriyama (a memorable turn by And6,
more naked and raw. Onscreen text keeps us of Shinobu Yaguchi's Sabu-esque action com­
informed of the immediate death tally, a sty­ edy Adrenalin Drive, 1 999, and Katsuyuki Mo­
listic trope carried over from his yakuza films, tohiro's Space Travelers, 2 000), an emotionless
whilst a roll call of the recently deceased is sociopath rumored to have j oined the game
read out over a speaker system at regular just for fun?
points in the proceedings by the game's cold­ Fukasaku had worked closely with his then
faced overseer, Kitano, who ends his reports 2 8-year-old son, Kenta, on the script of the film,
with such trite words of encouragement as, and in bringing the focus from Takami's original
"It's tough when friends die on you, but hang story (which the author also adapted as a manga,
in there ! " drawn by Masayuki Taguchi) closer to his own
Kitano lends not only his familiar star vision, the film avoids some of the frankly more
persona but also his name to this character, politically nai've aspects of the novel. It also un­
changed from that of Kimpatsu in the source fortunately rather glosses over some important
novel, and whether on screen or off, his pres­ plot points.
ence is pivotal. " Remember, life is a game," he It is never explicitly stated that the film is
advises his students shortly before he dispatches taking place in an alternate reality in which
them one by one into the night after the initial Japan had won the war. Nor is the reason made
briefing session. It soon becomes clear, howev­ clear for why the students of Class 3B seemed
er, that the odds in this particular death match oblivious to the existence of the game, when we
are not evenly stacked, with the weapons rang­ have seen the victor of the previous year's BR at
ing from crossbows and pistols to pan lids and the film's opening: a blood-spattered young girl
binoculars. clutching a rag doll emerging into a crowd of
As Fukasaku skillfully balances the screen baying TV j ournalists, her face cracking into a
time between the rapidly dwindling num­ smile as the cameras are thrust under her nose.
bers of students, much of the power of Battle Equally confusing, on an initial viewing at least,
Royale comes from the interplay between the are the events at the film's denouement, which
survivors, succinctly fl attened down to their are more clearly spelled out in the novel.
school-uniformed archetypes from their more The original version of Battle Royale was re­
detailed characters in the book. Mistrust reigns leased onto screens in Japan in D ecember 2 000.
amongst a group of girls holed up away from Extra scenes were shot immediately after this
the carnage in a deserted lighthouse . Mitsu­ release, mainly flashback footage of a basket­
ko S6ma (Shibasaki , of GO), a solitary vixen ball match adding more weight to the personal
wielding a scythe , calmly apples her makeup as dynamics of the class before the game, and a
the list of her dead classmates is read out. As couple of scenes that elucidated the cryptic re-
66 KINJI FUKASAKU

lationship between Noriko and Kitano. This Whereas the intra-personal dynamics of the
new version was released the following April, first film depended on what the individual viewer
to mark the beginning of the new school year in brought to the table, there's little such room for
Japan and to capture a new sector of the audi­ ambiguity in the sequel. Peppered with such ob­
ence who would have been just too young to vious real-world allusions to the post-September
have seen it during the initial release. 1 1 world order as that contained in the open­
Inevitably, the significant commercial suc­ ing sequence and a TV news-styled sequence
cess in Japan of Battle Royale led to a sequel, of young Afghan children standing surrounded
based on an original treatment by Kenta. Sadly, by rubble and waving at the camera, the sequel
Fukasaku collapsed literally days into the shoot treads on fairly contentious ground as any meta­
of Battle Royale II: Requiem, passing away in Jan­ phor is lost in favor of more obvious allusions to
uary 2 003 . Appropriately the directorial reins the contemporary state of global affairs.
were handed over to Kenta, though with the Regardless of its political dimension, in ex­
credits quick to stress the involvement of the panding its vision Battle Royale II comes across
Fukasaku Gumi (Fukasaku Group), the crew of as far less dramatically cogent than its model,
collaborators from the first film, it is clear that not helped by either the histrionically over-the­
Fukasaku Jr. was not left to shoulder the burden top performance by Riki Takeuchi (replacing
single-handedly. Kitano as the bullying schoolmaster) or the fact
The newer film opens with a spectacular that none of the characters is as richly drawn.
aerial view over Tokyo. Gleaming office build­ Interestingly, the substitution of school uni­
ings dominate the skyline, the image tinged forms for combat fatigues has an unexpected
to near sepia by the setting sun. Suddenly an distancing effect, and we no longer seem to care
explosion rips through the air, and the phalanx quite so much about the fates of the individuals.
of skyscrapers slowly collapses into rubble. In A grueling Saving Private Ryan-inspired land­
many ways, Battle Royale II retreads the path ing sequence sees the majority of Class 3 wiped
taken by its predecessor, reprising both the out within the first reel. Shot in shaky handheld
Wagnerian strains of its soundtrack and a num­ cameras, this visceral and undeniably exciting
ber of set pieces and motifs whilst introducing a section peaks far too soon as the film's dramatic
few new gimmicks, such as a new twist revolv­ highpoint, and the running time simply cannot
ing around the explosive collars. maintain the momentum through the subse­
This time however, the premise has been quent pyrotechnics. The film starts with a bang,
taken further away from Takami's source mate­ then stalls midway.
rial (the novelization of the sequel, adapted by Though a relative commercial success, the
Sugie Matsukoi a.k.a. Sugie McCoy, rode high film was poorly received by critics in Japan.
on the Japanese bestseller list at the time of the Whilst undeniably bigger, bolder, and bloodier
film's release), as a new class-load of teenagers are than the original, in attempting to be more pro­
abducted by the state, kitted out in camouflage vocative it lost the potency of the original Battle
military uniforms and sent out to hunt down Royale, one of the most genuinely inflamma­
and destroy the original survivor of the first film, tory films to have emerged from any part of the
now mastermind behind a terrorist organization world in years.
engaged in anti-government activities.
 CHAPTER 4

Sogo Ishii
Ejf:�B[
Sago Ishii was born in the right place at the filmmaker, since the traditional way to become
right time. The man who is often referred to as a director was to get a job at a film studio as an
Japan's punk filmmaker grew up in Hakata on assistant and then make your way up the ranks.
the southernmost of Japan's four main islands, Ishii's discovery of cinema, however, coincided
Kyushu. When he was in his teens, he found with the collapse of the studio system, when as­
himself in the middle of the punk rock revolu­ sistant directors were no longer being hired.
tion when northern Kyushu became one of the This collapse could be regarded as the main
country's most fertile breeding grounds for new reason for the rise of independent cinema in
bands. Japan in the late '70s, but the spirit of the times
Ishii himself dabbled in music as a singer and was a strong influence as well. After Kinji Fu­
guitarist, but soon found his true calling after kasaku's Battles without Honor and Human­
moving to Tokyo to study at Nihon University ity and Kazuhiko Hasegawa's The Man Who
in 1 97 7 . In university, nineteen-year-old Sago Stole the Sun gave a voice to the children of
Ishii (then still known by his real name ofToshi­ the reconstruction, the generation born in the
hiro Ishii) turned to cinema. He founded his late ' 5 0s and early '60s started taking their first
own cine-club, Kyaei-sha ('Crazy Film Group'), strides on the path of self-expression. Punk be­
and made his first short films on 8mm and came one of those paths. Sago Ishii meanwhile
1 6mm equipment borrowed from the univer­ wanted to make films. So he picked up a camera
sity. The films inevitably carried Ishii's affinity and did just that.
with the punk scene on their sleeves. Shorts like
Panic High School and Totsugeki! Hakata Guren­ "At the time it was very difficult for young peo­

tai [trans: Attack! hooligans of Hakata] featured ple to make films i n J a p a n . It sti ll is, in fact.
the struggles of misfits and underdogs against Most directors a re over forty, and the normal
established society. process is to begi n as a n assistant di rector,

Even the simple fact that Ishii made these then gradually move on to directing. I didn't
films, that he became a film director by simply want to be an assistant d i rector and I j ust
grabbing any equipment available and shooting, started making fi lms by myself. "
was an act of punk-spirited rebellion, echoing
the do-it-yourself attitude of the movement. Ishii would make his first feature-length film
This was especially true for an aspiring Japanese a mere year after first picking up a movie camera.

67
68 SOGO ISHII

Nikkatsu, then still up to their necks in Roman ministration trivializes his death, his classmates
Porno, took an interest in the director's short revolt and take over the building, leading to a
films and offered to produce and distribute a violent clash with authority.
feature-length remake of Panic High School. Co­ This theme of people cracking under the
directed with Nikkatsu contract director Yuki­ pressure of society is one that would recur
hiro Sawada, the 94-minute Panic High School throughout Sago Ishii's later work. It also
was released in theaters in the summer of 1 97 8 . shows how closely related his vision is to that of
Ishii was still only a sophomore student, but by both Kinji Fukasaku and Kazuhiko Hasegawa,
graduating from underground 8mm filmmak­ whose work also expressed dissatisfaction with
ing to the professional film industry he became the society that resulted from Japan's post-war
one of the most important filmmakers in Japan's economic renaissance. Contemporary Japanese
cinema history, setting the precedent that would cinema, particularly its sizeable independent
be followed by numerous young directors in the segment, was largely born from counterculture
two decades that followed. and discontent.
Ishii's young age showed through in the For his graduation piece two years later,
film, not because it lacked finesse, but because Ishii upped the ante a bit more. He directed his
its subject matter was the pressure students are second feature, the manic biker movie Crazy
under when studying for their university en­ Thunder Road, alone and independently. Shot
trance exams. Its protagonist is one such student on 1 6mm, the film had raw energy to spare,
for whom the pressure becomes too great and achieved largely through the director's light­
who commits suicide. When the school's ad- ning-fast use of camera and editing, and made

Filmography • Stop Jap [music video] • J-Movie Wars: Tokyo Blood

• Norikoto: Toriaezu no Taiwa [TV]
197 7
No. 1 [short] 1994
• Panic High School (K6k6 Dai
Panikku) [short] 1993 • Angel Dust (Enjeru Dasuto)
• Asia Strikes Back (Ajia no
1978 1995
Gyakushii)
• The Solitude of One Divided • August in the Water (Mizu no
by 880,000 (Hachijii-Hachi- 1984 Naka no Hachigatsu)
Man Bun no Ichi no Kodoku) • Crazy Family (Gyaku Funsha 1997
[short] Kazoku) • Labyrinth of Dreams (Yume
Panic High School (K6k6 Dai Isseifubi Sepia: Genzai ga
no Ginga)
•
•

Panikku) Suki Desu [video]

The Roosters: Paranoiac Live 2000
• Totsugeki! Hakata Gurentai •

[video] • Gojoe (Goj6 Reisenkl)

[short]
• The Stalin: For Never [video] 2001
1979
1986 • Electric Dragon 80,000 V
• Hashiru [short]
• Half Human (lh Mensch / 2002
1980
Hanbun Ningen) [video] • Skirt [music video]
• Crazy Thunder Road (Kurui-
1989 • Kanashimi Johnny [music
zaki Sanda R6do)
• The Master of Shiatsu (Shi- video]
1981
atsu Oja) [short] • Shiritsu Tantei Hama Maiku
• Anarchy 80 Ishin [music [TV series , co-director]
video] 1991
Friction: Dumb Numb Live 2003
• Shuffle •

[video] • Dead End Run

1982
1993 2004
• Burst City (Bakuretsu Toshl)
• Mirrored Mind (Kyo-shin)
 Sago Ishii 69

such a big impression that Toei bought the dis­

tribution rights, blew it up to 3 5mm and released
it in theaters. Fresh out of university, Sago Ishii
had arrived with a bang, and people sat up to
take notice of this uncompromising new wun­
derkind. (In a survey among leading interna­
tional filmmakers, Takeshi Kitano named Crazy
Thunder Road one of his ten favorite films of the
twentieth century.)
Among those people who took notice was
the Tokyo-based punk band Anarchy, who
asked the young director to shoot a promotional
video. Employing his trusted 1 6mm format, the
l O-minute Anarchy 80 Ishin brought Ishii back
to his punk roots. The video kick-started a new
wave of creativity for the young director, and he
followed it up the same year with the 3 0-minute
fiction film Shuffle, based on the manga Run by
Katsuhiro Otomo. Very much a forerunner to
the work of director Sabu, the film is one long
chase scene in which a cop runs after a young,
Mohawk-wearing punk who has just killed his
own girlfriend. Sago I s h i i
The two short films were mere warm-ups for
what he embarked on next, however. His most otaku's obsession with early-'80s science fiction,
ambitious project yet, Burst City would become cyberpunk had particular resonance in urban
the apotheosis of Ishii's punk cinema and it re­ Japan's technology-obsessed landscape. Its pre­
mains arguably the definitive Sago Ishii film. mier exponent, Shinya Tsukamoto, borrowed
The film combined the biker motif of his previ­ heavily from Sago Ishii's visual style, as the
ous feature with a cast consisting of a number abundant undercranking and rapid-fire editing
of famous faces from Japan's punk scene. Many in the former's early films attest.
of these musicians took leading roles as well as The Stalin's involvement in Burst City was par­
performing their music in the film. For the pro­ ticularly significant. They had become the country's
duction of Burst City, bands and musicians from leading punk exponents, the Japanese equivalent of
the country's three punk capitals united in the the Sex Pistols, and their appearance in Burst City
countryside outside Tokyo: The Roosters and led to Ishii directing the video for their next single,
the Rockers represented Kyushu, Machiza Ma­ entitled Stop Jap, the same year. Despite their pop­
chida (better known today as novelist Ka Ma­ ularity, the band decided to call it quits two years
chida) of the band Inu came from Kansai, while later. Their 1 984 farewell tour spawned a final live
the Stalin served as the Tokyo delegates. album plus a concert video directed by Ishii: The
With its apocalyptic sci-fi scenario, the film Stalin For Never. Dark, ominous, and intensely
was an influence on the cyberpunk movement powerful, The Stalin For Never captures the bound­
of the second half of the 1 980s in Japan. Com­ less energy and soul of the band's live performanc­
bining a fascination with technology with a vis­ es, spearheaded by the charismatic yet enigmatic
ual style derived from punk, filtered through an frontman Michira Enda.
70 SOGO ISHII

To capture this energy, Ishii used his trade­ cessful in his work, a loving mother, and two
mark fast-motion sequences and rapid cutting, children who study hard and don't show a hint of
culminating in a breathtaking, lightning-speed rebellion. The picture of perfection is completed
compilation of images from the band's career. when the family moves into a suburban house, far
What the concert film showed above ali, aside away from the cramped city. But cracks quickly
from the spirit and energy of the band, was the start to show when grandfather moves in with
affinity of the director with his subject. Sago Ishii them and termites are discovered to be nibbling
knew the punk scene, knew the bands, and knew on the woodwork. In no time the entire family
the personalities of the musicians. In fact he was spins out of control, with the father at the center
one of them. His ins trum ent just happened to be trying to protect the image of perfection rather
a movie camera rather than a guitar or drums. than his wife and children themselves. Dad de­
Ishii did pick up a musical instrument on clares war on the termites, Granddad is unhappy
occasion. One of those occasions was in 1 9 8 3 , with the fact that he has to live in the basement
when h e formed Sago Ishii and the Bacillus and declares war on the rest of the family, while
Army. This impromptu band released only one the son locks himself in his room to study for his
record, a concept album of sorts entitled Asia entrance exams, keeping himself awake at nights
Strikes Back. On side A, the Asia side, the theme by stabbing himself with a knife.
was the poverty and struggle of people in Asian Crazy Family would be Ishii's last feature
countries, while the music on side B, the Japan film for quite a while. A look at his filmography
side, meant to reflect the stress and superficial­ of features shows a decade-long gap, in which
ity of day-to-day life in Japan, a theme closely the director was unable to find financing for
connected to the subject matter of his films. By any of his proj ects. As in tune as he was with
contrasting the two situations, the band seemed the punk movement, he was completely out of
to say that the salvation for Asia did not lie in touch (or rather ahead of) the general audience
striving to copy Japan's advanced economic and the industry at the time.
status. With this concept in mind, Ishii shot a
3 0-minute film that accompanied the band on " Crazy Family got a l o t o f attention abroad, but
tour. wasn 't very popular i n Japan. This was the
The same year he made the Stalin concert same situation as before. Everyone i n Japan
film, the director went to work on his next fea­ just complained that they didn't understand
ture. As its title implies, Crazy Family was Ishii's my films. So it was difficult to work i n Japan at

assault on the family unit, in which a father tries that time . "

to defend his brand-new, ideal suburban home

from a termite attack. Failing to get any of his projects off the
ground, he kept himself busy directing more
"With Crazy Family I wanted to show the Japa­ concert films, music videos, and shorts. His rep­
nese family as I saw it. " utation with the music industry was still solid
enough, so much so, in fact, that he was asked to
The fi l m expressed again Ishii's preoccupa­ work with bands that had little to do with punk.
tion with the maddening effects of social pres­ One of those bands was Isseifubi Sepia, who had
sure on the individual, but here expanded it by started out as street performers and dancers but
having it resonate through the cornerstone of were rapidly becoming national pop idols. The
that same society: the family. promotional video he made for them, Genzai ga
The family presented in the film was the Suki Desu [trans: We love the present] , is worth
picture-perfect image of success: a father suc- a mention for being the acting debut of an Is-
 Sago Ishii 71

Shuffle

seifubi member who would become one of the Einstiirzende Neubauten. The band was going
biggest stars of V-cinema gangster films in the to tour Japan in 1 98 5 and wanted Ishii to film
1 990s: Sh6 Aikawa. their concerts. The result, entitled l/zMensch
Ishii followed it up with a concert film for (a.k.a. Half Human), again demonstrated a
another band that had been featured in Burst more conceptual approach to the material. Ishii
City, the Roosters. The Roosters: Paranoiac Live filmed the band performing for the camera in
is something of a watershed in Ishii's career. It a ruined warehouse, made complete music vid­
forms the transition between his old punk works eos for three songs, and combined everything
and the more meditative style he would employ with footage from the Japanese tour. The result
in his films from the '90s. On one hand the con­ was an admirable representation of the band's
cert film was crammed with superimpositions, philosophy that all music is noise and that all
splitscreen shots, and all manner of delay and noise is music. In Neubauten's performance,
distortion effects. On the other hand, he kept the human body and all manner of industrial
intercutting the songs with lingering shots of metal obj ects combine to make music, so Ishii
cloud formations, barren landscapes, and details intercut their performances with meditations
of ruined, burned-down buildings. on the similarity between flesh and metal: zoom
The successful run of Crazy Family across in close enough and the truth will reveal itself,
international film festivals opened up new op­ Ishii seemed to say. At the level of the atom, ev­
portunities for Ishii. It was at a festival that he erything is equal.
came in touch with the German noise band IfMensch is the work of a filmmaker trying
72 SOGO ISHII

to understand his subject, then expressing that nevertheless offered him ample opportunity to
understanding in the shape of conceptual im­ express his newfound style and concerns.
ages. This evolution toward a more conceptual
and meditative style was partially due to his "I spent a l o t o f t i m e reading books i n the years
frustrations over not being able to mount a new before that, especially the work of P h i l i p K .
feature film project. The style became a way of D i c k and J . G . Ballard. Reading t h e m , I saw
healing or at least soothing those frustrations, as new possibilities of expression and they con­
witnessed by his 1 989 short The Master of Shi­ tinue to influence me to this day. By that time,
atsu. Starting with a woman undergoing a shi­ virtual real ity was becoming popular i n Japan
atsu massage at the hands of the titular master, and the meta fiction these writers use i n their

Ishii gradually moves his camera in closer to the novels was really similar to what was happen­
points of contact until finally segueing into an ing i n Japan at the time . "
abstract visual representation of the sensations
shiatsu creates within the human body. In a prophetic story of a cult member com­
mitting serial killings in the Tokyo subway with
"I made It to cure my mental damage . I had so a syringe filled with lethal poison (one year be­
many bad feeli ngs because I couldn't make fore the Aum Shinrikyo cult unleashed its sarin
any other fi lms, so this was a way to cure my­ gas attack on that same subway system), Ishii
self, a kind of therapy . " contemplated the human being's displacement
from his surroundings, the alienation induced
In 1 99 1 he made another concert film for by the cramped metropolis, and the possibility
one of the last surviving Japanese punk bands, of salvation in nature and mother earth. The
Friction, before another year of inactivity film in many ways predates the major work of
passed. Then in 1 993 he was invited to contrib­ Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who would develop similar
ute to the ambitious television project of up­ meditations on postffiodern man's relation to
and-coming producer Takenori Senta. J Movie his surroundings from the basis of genre plot­
Wars was a series that showcased the work of ting, in such later films as Cure, Charisma, and
six directors, each of whom was asked to direct Pulse.
four ten-minute shorts. The four segments that He took this approach a few steps further
make up Ishii's entry, Tokyo Blood, are like a map in August in the Water ( 1 995), which he made
of the director's evolution as a filmmaker. Start­ the following year. Rather than using the plot
ing with a reworking of his favorite theme of as a stepping stone, he discarded it altogether in
people cracking under the pressure of society in favor of creating an abstract audiovisual repre­
a format similar to Shuffle, with each segment it sentation of his themes and concerns. The Sago
moved farther and farther away from narrative, Ishii of August in the Water resembled nothing
culminating in the entirely conceptual and en­ of the young punk who had made such raucous
tirely visual Heart of Stone, which heralds some assaults on his own audience as Crazy Thunder
of the ideas he would further explore two years Road. Those who hadn't kept up with the evo­
later in August in the Uilter. lution of his work since Crazy Family could be
Tokyo Blood drew the industry's attention back forgiven for thinking that this was a different
to Sago Ishii, not in the least because it demon­ person working under the same name.
strated how much he had evolved as a person
and as a filmmaker. The following year gave "My first fou r fi lms were made between 1978
him the chance to return to feature filmmaking, and 1983 . I call them my punk movies. These
albeit as a director-for-hire. Angel Dust ( 1 994) films are l i ked by a lot of people and my public
 Sago Ishii 73

image is based on these films, so that's why Unfortunately, Gojoe was a costly flop at the
I ' m seen as the 'punk d i rector. ' After that I box office. Meant as the commercial blockbuster
wanted to take up another challenge and also that would allow producer Takenori Senta's Sun­
the investors of those later films didn't l i ke the cent Cinema Works to continue producing its
punk style. So those are two reasons why my more characteristic arthouse films, it became the
films changed . " company's downfall instead, even more so when
all Senta's efforts to sell it to foreign distributors
Less thematically abstract than haunting­ failed too, leaving only the domestic DVD mar­
ly atmospheric, Labyrinth of Dreams (Yume no ket as a means to recoup some of the cost.
Ginga, 1 997) continued Ishii's preoccupation Electric Dragon 80, OOO V, which was made
with the expression of mood over linear plot­ back-to-back with Gojoe, did nothing to remedy
ting. The story of a young bus driver who may the situation. At 5 5 minutes, its format was un­
or not be a murderer also saw him team up for suitable for wide theatrical release, particularly
the first time with actor Tadanobu Asano, the at Japan's inflated ticket prices (which can be as
man who would become the actor of choice of high as U. S . $2 5). Seen as a fun experiment by
the generation of filmmakers that came into both its producer and director, it ended up cost­
prominence in the late '90s. Ishii and Asano ing them dearly when the figures for Gojoe came
continued their collaboration in the director's in, painfully putting the finger on Senta's main
next two films, Gojoe (2 000) and Electric Dragon weakness as a producer: his eagerness to indulge
80, 000 V (2 00 1 ) . his directors.
Gojoe, Ishii's first period piece, was a proj ­ For all its failings as a commercial venture,
ect the director had been sitting on for over a Electric Dragon 80, OOO V is very interesting as a
decade. Based on a half-mythologized part of work of art. It marked Ishii's return to the fren­
Japanese history, Gojoe plays less like a jidai geki zied punk style of his early films, but retained
costume drama than a true Sago Ishii film in pe­ the disregard for plotting that marked his re­
riod garb. Elements and themes from his films cent films. In fact, the film seemed to have very
from the '90s-spiritualism, the metaphysi­ little in the way of substance, devoid as it was of
cal, man being a small but essential part of the themes and story. What it presented were actors
greater cosmic scheme-are combined with a Tadanobu Asano and Masatoshi Nagase play­
resurgence of the boundless energy of his work ing high-voltage superheroes who chase one
from the '80s. another across rooftops and through back alleys
in an attempt to destroy each other, which they
"The story is very famous i n J a p a n , though try in the most spectacular ways imaginable. In
young people hardly know it. But what I did between bouts they recharge themselves using
was turn everyt h i ng into its opposite: the good electric chairs, electric beds, wall sockets and
people became the bad people and the other entire power stations.
way around. I didn't set out to make a classi­ With such a slight premise, Electric Dragon
cal jidai geki, so I put elements of science fic­ 80, 000V obviously wasn't meant to tell a story.
tion and magic realism i nto it. I used the story The film expressed other things, most of all the
as a kind of set-u p. Normally, my films are only spirit of the new band Sago Ishii had recently
seen by young people, but I wanted a lot of formed, an industrial noise/punk group called
people to see it, so this was the first time I Mach 1 .6 7 , whose fluctuating lineup regularly
could shoot a fil m on a big budget. It was l i ke included his two lead actors Asano and Nagase.
five times the amount of money I ' m used to Like his early punk films, Electric Dragon was an
working with . " attempt to fuse music with images and to express
74 SOGO ISHII

the equivalent of one in the other. Even though � Crazy Thunder Road
it was a fiction film, Electric Dragon 80, OOOV was fE,, )��-lj"y?7"- p - r
closely related to the director's concert films, in Kuruizaki Sanda Rado
which he also tried to express the mood, phi­
losophies, and charisma of individual bands 1980. CAST: Tatsuo Yamada, M a s a m itsu O i ke,
through images. Tos h ij i Kobaya s h i , Kaj i N a nja, Yasu ke N a k aj i m a .
Although Electric Dragon gave the impres­ 98 m i n utes .
sion that the director had come full circle, Sago
Ishii continued working, and indeed continued Raucous, bad-assed biker movie seething with
his experimentation with sound and vision, violent i nter-gang riva l ry and throbbing to a spiky
shrugging off the commercial failure of his pre­ punk soundtrack.
vious two films. He directed music videos for
Tadanobu Asano's pop-star wife, ehara, and Visions of a bleak, post-apocalyptic urban waste­
for singer VA. The latter he also directed in an land strewn with twisted hunks of mechani­
episode of the Shiritsu Tantei Hama Maiku TV cal wreckage. A rasping electronic buzz on the
series. Starring and produced by Masatoshi Na­ soundtrack. These impressions kick-start into a
gase, the series was a spin-off of Kaiza Hayashi's jarring, rapid-fire sequence of chrome, neon, and
trilogy of detective films that started with The flaming exhaust pipes set against a background
Most Terrible Time in My Life, which starred of broken tenement blocks and abandoned fac­
Nagase as detective Maiku Hama. tories, as boys in black leather with Be-Bop High
' With popular actors like Asano and Nagase School quiffs ride menacingly out into the night,
all too eager to work with him, it's unlikely that tearing up the town in the solo theatrical debut
Ishii's desire for uncompromising experimenta­ from arguably the most important director to
tion will lead him into another dry spell like in emerge from Japan during the ' 80s. Although it
the late '80s. Embracing the digital video for­ was originally shot on 1 6mm, Toei was so im­
mat, he made Dead End Run in 2 00 3 , his most pressed with the film that the company blew it
audacious audio experiment yet. Starring Asano, up to 3 5mm for theatrical distribution.
Nagase, and increasingly popular actor/model This tour de force of automotive auto­
Yusuke Iseya, the film used an entirely new and eroticism focuses on the conflicts between a
specially designed sound system with sixteen gang of bikers and a group of right-wing na­
audio channels, again making it a work unfit for tionalists, set in motion when gang leader Ken
general release. The fact that he managed to opts out of the front line to settle down for a
get such a bold proj ect financed in the wake of life of domestic bliss with his girlfriend, Noriko.
two box office flops is hopefully a sign that Ishii His departure leaves the rest of the gang floun­
will be able to continue on his uncompromising dering with all the direction of a headless chick­
path for quite a few years to come. en, and so into the breach steps Jin. When Jin's
Sago Ishii's influence on contemporary cin­ hellraising antics begin to incur the ire of rival
ema is enormous. Not only did he pave the way gangs, erupting into full-blown pitched warfare
for independent filmmakers to have their work involving chains, chainsaws, and anything else
shown and recognized, his films, his themes, that is hard-edged and at hand, Ken is soon
and his style either preceded or directly influ­ hauled back into the fray.
enced many of today's leading directors. Sago Ishii's film has little in the way of stylistic
Ishii's name is, in other words, synonymous with precedent in terms of Japan's previous decade
contemporary Japanese cinema of cinema, though the milieu of the bosozoku
(biker gangs) had been tackled before by Teruo
 Crazy Thunder Road 75

Crazy Thunder Road

Ishii's Detonation! (Bakuhatsu!) trio of films dur­ its manga-influenced stylistic ongms rendered
ing the mid-'70s. Often reminiscent of Mad obvious in scenes such as a muted bar room
Max (George Miller, 1 979), Crazy Thunder Road heart-to-heart as the resigned leader communi­
bears more of a relationship with parallel devel­ cates to his girlfriend tacitly in a series of speech
opments in the U. S . underground, namely Sam bubbles in the form of text intertitles. Billowing
Raimi's rollercoaster debut, Evil Dead ( 1 982). clouds of dry ice, showering sparks, and strips of
Both films are dazzling showcases of ostenta­ neon light keep the screen permanently aflame
tious film school experimentation coupled with throughout, whilst the soundtrack throbs to the
an undeniably accomplished technical profi­ screams of the brawling bikers, roaring engines,
ciency and razor-sharp editing-films which at­ and screeching brakes, interspersed with spiky,
tempt to subdue rather than seduce the viewer. energetic punk anthems of the day. Ishii's film is
Ishii and Raimi's films are calling cards to the as much about soundscape as it is images.
industry that make a virtue of their minuscule re­ Loud, brash and in-your-face, what Crazy
sources to complement the raw-edged aesthetic, Thunder Road lacks in charm, it more than
demonstrating that when it comes to making makes up for in terms of its crude energy and
fast- paced, abrasive, violent action entertain­ refreshing vitality. This embryonic offering in
ment, technical innovation stretches one hell of Ishii's oeuvre proved a sturdy foundation for
a lot further than big bucks. The story unfolds al­ the director to build his career upon, a career
most as a series of fragmented image sequences, in which the director's explorations, experimen-
76 SOGO ISHII

tations, and innovations in cinematic technique in the finale. One features a large community of
have continuously marked him out for interest. punk rockers and assorted hangers-on chaoti­
If you can't hack the pace, then steer well clear. cally playing and partying in a nighttime waste­
land to protest the imminent construction of a
nuclear power plant. Drag races, fistfights, fe­
verish mosh pit activity, and clashes with "Battle
� Burst City Police" are accompanied by stage performances
m�Wifj by real-life bands the Rockers and the Stalin.
Bakuretsu Toshi The other subplot concerns a pair of Mad Max­
like bikers in metal get-ups-a young mute and
1982. CAST: Takanori J i n n a i , Mach izo Mach i d a , his animalistic protector who roam the land to
S h i nya O h e , M i c h i ro E n d o . 117 m i n utes . RELEASE: avenge the murders of the younger man's fami­
DVD, Toe i Video (Japan , no s u btitl e s ) . ly. Teaming up with a group of lowlifes working
under brutal circumstances on the construction
T h e defi n i ng fi lm o f Japan's p u n k subculture and of the power plant, they discover that one of the
the q u i ntessential Sogo Ishii fi l m is a marvel of men they're looking for is the rich industrial­
styl istic i nnovation. A true original that remains ist behind the whole scheme. The bikers drag
as i mpressive for today 's audiences as it was in their comrades along in their revenge against
its day. the industrialist and his yakuza cohorts, just as
riot police start closing in on the punk rockers
If Sago Ishii can be considered Japan's punk nearby. An orgiastic cavalcade of violent rebel­
filmmaker, then Burst City is his defining state­ lion 'ensues.
ment. It's a film packed to the brim with anger, While obviously a continuation of Ishii's
defiance, and boundless energy, made with a previous film Crazy Thunder Road, Burst City's
group of like-minded individuals that includes pair of enigmatic bikers are post-apocalyptic
the leading lights of the early-'80s punk move­ equivalents of legendary folk heroes Yoshitsune
ment in starring roles. and Benkei, the scorned young prince and his
There is little in Western cinema that can be supernatural protector immortalized in numer­
properly compared to Burst City. Julien Temple's ous kabuki plays. The director would adapt the
Sex Pistols film The Great Rock 'n ' Roll Swindle tale of these two wandering outcasts again al­
( 1 980) was a feature-length promo for one band most twenty years later, its narrative thoroughly
(and its manager). Alex Cox's unjustly maligned spun around, with the spectacular period piece
Straight to Hell ( 1 986) comes closest in terms Gojoe. The spin he puts on the characters in
of concept, featuring punk and rock musicians Burst City is to make them agents in a revolu­
like Joe Strummer, Elvis Costello, and Court­ tion, one fought by workers and punks alike.
ney Love, if not in terms of quality. Cox's film In terms of style, Ishii translates the energy
was made at a moment when punk was all but of his characters into the pace of the film, most
dead and buried, whereas Burst City was shot at obviously in the editing, changing shots at a
the height of the movement's energy, channel­ pace that was virtually unheard of at the time
ing this rage into a raw and raucous explosion of and which even leaves today's Hollywood fast­
celluloid artistry. cutters eating dust. The editing is but one ele­
The punk aesthetic permeates the film on all ment in his formal approach, however, one that
levels, beginning with the story. Loosely struc­ is used in combination with the element of un­
tured and episodic rather than actually plotted, dercranking (a.k.a. fast motion) . Ishii's approach
Burst City features two story lines that converge is carefully thought out, combining different
 Burst City 77

Burst City

film speeds into a single sequence that mirrors heads at a rioting mob. If it weren't for the deaf­
the ground breaking work with variations of ening punk soundtrack, we would be right in
overcranking (a.k.a. slow motion) done by Sam surrealist territory.
Peckinpah on The Wild Bunch ( 1 969). But for all its exaggeration and stylization,
Ishii's style is not only present in his tech­ Burst City also employs documentary elements,
nique, however. He works with the elements particularly in capturing the musical perfor­
in front of his camera, too, creating an almost mances and the musicians' preparations before
carnivalesque atmosphere by filling the frame taking the stage. This element would become
with numerous extras (all of whom are listed the basis of Ishii's later concert films, in which
by name as cast members in the closing cred­ he in turn employed elements of exaggeration
its, emphasizing the film's collaborative nature), as used in this film. The stylistic similarity be­
who like the main cast are dressed in outrageous tween Burst City and his concert film The Stalin
costumes, hairstyles, and makeup (pasty-faced For Never, made two years later, are striking and
Takanori Jinnai looks almost goblin-like in his show how well Burst City reflected the Japanese
close-ups). The numerous but subtle touches of punk scene.
comedy also add to the creation of this atmo­ By letting life, rather than cinematic prec­
sphere, not to mention such spectacles as the edents, serve as his main inspiration, Sago Ishii
Stalin frontman Michira Enda throwing pigs' created a style that was truly unique in its day.
78 SOGO ISHII

Some of it has since been appropriated by other and vibrant, as if she is experiencing it for the
filmmakers, but even for today's audiences Burst first time.
City remains a one-of-a-kind experience. Taking in the whole spectrum of pre-millen­
nial New Age phenomena, the bizarre August in
the Water is a bit of a mixed bag, an imaginative
pseudo-scientific fantasy that stands out fairly
� August in the Water uniquely amongst the product of the time. Visu­
*0) J:f:t0)1\� ally the film is a wonder, full of bright sunlight
Mizu no Naka no Hachigatsu and lucid blues in its exteriors, and water is, of
course, everywhere-in the shimmering hues of
1995 . CAST: Rena Kom i ne, S h i n s u ke Aoki, M asa­ the prismatic light dancing on the bottom of the
aki Takara i , R e i ko M atsuo, N a h o Toda, H ideyo dolphin pool from which Izumi (whose name ac­
Amamoto, Yanosuke N a rasaki, Masao Ku sakari, tually means fountain, or spring) first emerges,
Yuj i N a ka m u ra . 117 m i n utes . quickly drying droplets on the pavements evap­
orating under the burning August sun, and the
A double meteor strike and a plague that turns slow motion sprays during a lengthy sequence
one's organs to stone. Ishii bri ngs a fresh ap­ at a Shinto festival held in the city streets .
proach and some stunning images in this uneven Like Angel Dust before i t , it marks rather a
grab bag of h igh school romance and New Age change of pace for Ishii from his better-known
phenomena. anarchic fast-paced action films of the early ' 80s,
with their screaming soundtracks and lightning­
There's a new girl in town, Izumi Hazuki (Ko­ fast edits. After a break away making music vid­
mine), whose arrival at Ishido High School in eos, the blip of activity that followed his '90s
the city of Fukuoka as a high-diving champion rediscovery, prompted by Tokyo Blood, is marked
creates quite a splash, not least amongst the two by a radical shift in cinematic gear. Using a far
best buddies Mao (Aoki) and Ukiya (Takarai). more studied and sober approach to filmmaking
Hot-headed Ukiya heads straight to his child­ than his frenetic earlier work, the hallucinogen­
hood friend, Miki (Matsuo), an amateur astrolo­ ic ambiance of August in the Water was hinted at
ger, to see what the stars have in store, but is a few years earlier by his mesmeric The Master
warned away with the message that there will of Shiatsu ( 1 989), an inventive 1 2 -minute short
never be any romance between him and the new made, according to the director, for "therapeu­
girl. This leaves the path open for the more re­ tic reasons. "
served and self-conscious Mao, but in the mean­ Here he takes the process of simplification
time Izumi is having troubles of her own. and abstraction one step further. Cinematic
Izumi's appearance coincides with a dou­ technique is almost conspicuous by its absence:
ble meteorite strike in the forest outside the the simple aesthetic of the image is the most
town, which inexplicably acts as a catalyst for crucial. To this end Ishii's approach hinges on
a drought and a bizarre local epidemic that his masterfully precise editing and strong picto­
causes one's inner organs to petrify. Then, on rial composition, for example in the long mon­
the day of an important diving tournament, tage of shots showing Izumi twisting gracefully
a terrible accident occurs in which the water in mid-air as she practices for the diving com­
beneath Izumi momentarily turns into stone petition, or the beautifully composed abstracted
in mid-dive, leaving her in a coma after belly­ close-ups of natural phenomena: the patterns of
flopping on the bare rock. When she awakes, rock surfaces, the cracking dried bark on trees,
the world seems very different to Izumi, fresh fish scales, leaves, insects, etc.
 Gojoe 79

Ishii's almost transcendental approach to of japan's most popular feudal legends. War­
a filmmaking in which he claims that the im­ riors of the Heike clan get their heads chopped
ages come from within himself, apparently off by a seemingly invisible force at Kyoto's
devoid of any outside cinematic influence, has Goja Bridge and soon rumors begin to circu­
certainly resulted here in a seductively distinct late that the clan has incurred the wrath of a
work. But if August in the Water is the least well supernatural demon. Buddhist monk Benkei
known of Ishii's second cycle of features, then (Ryij) is attracted to the evil force that lurks
it is probably due to the fact that it is also the at the bridge on account of the demons of his
least engaging. Be it conversations with squeak­ own past and sets out to confront whatever it
ing dolphins or the clumps of mushrooms sur­ is that's causing the H eike blood to fl ow.
rounding the meteor which glow lysergically This man of faith encounters and befriends
with an ultraviolet hue, drama takes a firm back the cynical grave robber Tetsukichi (Nagase) ,
seat to the dream logic narrative and the result for whom death is only an opportunity for ma­
is a film that is simultaneously hypnotic and terial gain and who collects swords from the
beautiful, but maddeningly slow-moving and bodies of Heike warriors slain by the demon.
detached. The pair are witness to a battle between the
Ishii 's film is not to b e confused with Yoi ­ forces of the Heike clan and the supposed
chira Takahashi's Fishes in A ugust. Released demon, who is in actual fact a young warrior
in 1 99 8 , Takahashi's strong coming of age named Shanao (a dashing Tadanobu Asano),
drama shares not only the same Japanese a former nobleman from the ranks of Heike's
title as Ishii 's film, but also its high school now-vanquished mortal enemy, the Genji clan.
protagonists and the competitive swimming Shanao has two equally skillful swordsmen to
backdrop. Fortunately, it leaves out the magic help him in wreaking his vengeance, one of
mushrooms. them an effeminately beautiful young man by
the name of Yoshitsune .
The fact that Sago Ishii is at the helm
should be an indication that this is not your av­
"" Gojoe erage swords-and-kimonos adventure. Gojoe is a
1i�I!I!j!Ui3 radical rethinking of Kanjincho, the kabuki play
Goja Reisenki based on the life of twelfth-century warlord Yo­
shitsune, most famously brought to the screen
2000 . CAST: Da i s u ke Ryu, Tad anobu Asano, M a­ in Akira Kurosawa's The Men Who Tread on the
sato s h i N agase, Itto ku Kish i be, J u n Ku n i m u ra Tiger's Tail (Tora no 0 0 Fumu Otokotachi, 1 945).
137 m i n utes . RELEASE: DVD, M ed i a B l asters ( U . S . , Gojoe's story takes place before the events of Ku­
Engl i s h s u btitles), Pioneer (Japan, no subtitles) . rosawa's film, which depicted the flight of Yo­
shitsune and Benkei as they traveled in the guise
Ish i i ' s revision ist period action piece moves the of monks to escape the wrath of Yoshitsune's
action away from samurai territory and focuses brother Yoritomo . According to the play, Ben­
its lens on warrior monks, renegade noblemen, kei had become Yoshitsune's ally and protector
and rebe l l ious band its . Lavishly shot and lengthy, after the foolhardy warrior monk had engaged
Gojoe is easily one of the most i nteresting jidai the young lord in a swordfight at Kyoto's Goja
geki in recent years . Bridge and lost. Also according to the tradition,
Yoshitsune in youth went under the name of
A sumptuous and at times super-charged Shanao and was taught his impressive martial
swordplay fantasy, Gojoe puts the spin on one arts skills by a supernatural demon.
80 SOGO ISHII

Ishii did some drastic reshuffling with the Whatever else may have changed for him over
events, attempting to make what is already one the years, Ishii clearly hasn't let go of his dis­
of his country's most enduring and popular sident spirit.
myths even more mythical. Allies become mor­ With its nicely defined characters and ter­
tal enemies, a single character is split into two rific performances, its impressive battle scenes,
separate ones, and fantasy is treated as fact. Ac­ and roaring monster of a finale (followed by a
cording to the director, the aim was to preserve denouement that sets up the premise for The
a part oOapanese history by re-imagining it for Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail, complete
a younger generation. with identical costumes), not to mention Sago
As a result of this approach, the film feels Ishii's return to powerhouse filmmaking, Gojoe
like a breath of fresh air, giving not only much should have become at least a minor sensation.
needed new life but also nuance to the overly Unfortunately it sank mercilessly at the box of­
conformist jidai geki genre. The focus here is fice, taking producer Takenori Senta and his
not on samurai but on rebel guerillas, hermits, Sun cent Cinema Works company down with it.
thieves, and peasants. It's the lower social strata Despite the indifference of Japanese audiences,
that form the background to Gojoe's narrative, Gojoe is a refreshing reinvention of one of the
while the samurai serve mainly as fodder for stalwart genres in Japanese cinema, exhilarating
Shanao's double swords, their battle harnesses and breathtakingly photographed.
so pompously adorned as to become ridiculous.
 CHAPTER 5

Masato Harada
Jli! ffi �A
Often referred to as the most American or the question became the basis for my fil m criti­

most international of today's Japanese film­ cism. Maybe for that tra i ning it was a good
makers, Masato Harada currently finds him­ background. I also tried to get i nformation
self at a peculiar crossroads in his career. Born about what goes on behind the camera, what
in 1 949, Harada was fascinated by cinema from kind of pressure a d irector was under when
an early age (he remembers witnessing the he made a certain fil m . Then you start seeing
shooting of Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai thi ngs. U p to a certain level I t h i n k you should
as a child), but found the required studio ap­ ignore the fact of how a movie was made. But I
prenticeship that would allow him to become think most fil m critics should be aware of what
a director too bothersome. At age nineteen he kind of budget a fil m carries and how many
left Japan hoping to study filmmaking abroad, shooting days it had. That's a basic element
first stopping over in London to study Eng­ of a reviewer'S work. U nfortunately in Japan,
lish. There he rediscovered American cinema, 90 percent of fil m critics just read production
in particular the work of Howard Hawks, and notes provided by the production office. They
started writing a colum n for film magazine don't double-check anyt h i ng, because they a re
Kinema Jumpo. After his studies he left for the paid so l ittle. If you spend too much time on
United States, where he would spend a large one review, you c a n ' t m a ke a living. The level
part of the '70s working as a foreign correspon­ of Japanese fil m criticism is getting worse
dent for the Japanese film press in Hollywood. every year, because there's no resea rc h being
During this time he also got the opportunity done. "
to have a five-hour audience with Hawks at the
latter's Palm Springs abode, a meeting Harada His sojourns abroad strongly marked Hara­
still recalls with fondness. To this day he con­ da as a human being and as a filmmaker. When
siders Hawks a mentor. he returned to Japan in the late ' 7 0s, it was with
the perspective of an outsider, someone who
" I worked as a fi l m critic one step before film­ had wrested himself loose of the social fabric of
making. I became a fi l m critic and fil m reporter his native country. This allowed him to look at
so that I could cover the actual fil m making Japanese society with a degree of distance and
process and i nterview fil m d i rectors. Always to be less bound by the ruling mores in voicing
I thought: "What if I d i rected this film?" That his dislikes of what he saw.

81
82 MASATO HARADA

The basis of Harada's filmmaking is found voice actors for Joe Dante's Innerspace, B arry
in these experiences: on the one hand a criti­ Levinson's Good Morning Vietnam, and Stanley
cal view of Japan and a willingness to lay bare Kubrick's Pull Metal Jacket. His language pro­
its social problems, and on the other hand a ficiency also saw him returning to California to
strong attraction to American filmmaking. The shoot a coffee commercial featuring Kirk Doug­
balance between these two main foundations las, in addition to being chosen to direct the
would swing back and forth throughout his GermanlJapanese co-production Windy ( 1 984),
work, tipping over to one side for the most part, about a Japanese Grand Prix racer on the inter­
but occasionally (as in 1 994's Kamikaze Taxi) national circuit.
achieving equilibrium. During the ' 80s, Harada remained some­
With his debut film Goodbye Piickmania, thing of a journeyman director, directing ve­
made in 1 97 9 after his return to Japan, the hicles for singer-turned-actor Ryildo Uzaki
scales were, as the title indicated, firmly in favor (Indecent Exposure, 1 98 5 ) and the manufactured
of Harada's love for American films. Meant as girl band Onyanko (Onyanko The Movie: Kiki Ip­
homage to Howard Hawks and to cinema in patsu!, 1 986), a documentary on the Paris-Dakar
general, it very autobiographically portrayed a rally (Paris-Dakar 1 5, 000, 1 986), a gangster film
cinephile (Takuzo Kawatani) who can't distin­ (The Heartbreak Yakuza, 1 987) and the cyber sci­
guish between the real world and the world of fi Gunhed. Going on to moderate international
film. success in an English-dubbed version on video,
Following his directorial debut, Harada's Gunhed got Harada temporarily re-installed in
knowledge of American film, as well as his flu­ Hollywood through the intervention of James
ent English, helped land him the job as writer Cameron, but his dream of directing a genuine
and director of the Japanese dubbed version of Hollywood film failed to materialize. In an in­
The Empire Strikes Back a year later. He would terview with Robin Gatto, Harada stated about
continue working on the dubbing of Hollywood Gunhed:
films throughout the decade, directing Japanese

Filmography 1988 • Troubleshooters ( Toraburu­

• Gunhed shuta) (a.k.a. Trouble with
1979
Nango)
• Goodbye Flickmania (Saraba 1990
Eiga no Tomoyo: Indian • TUFF Part 1: Tanjo Hen 1996
Sama) [video] • Rowing Through (Eiko to
Kyokl)
1984 1991
• Windy ( Uincfi) • TUFF Part 3: Bijinesu Satsu­ 1997
riku Hen [video] • Bounce KoGals ( Baunsu ko
1985 • TUFF Part 4: Chi no Shukaku GALS) (a.k.a. Leavingj
• Indecent Exposure ( Tosha: Hen [video]
Nihyakugoju Bun no Ichi Byo) 1999
1992 • lubaku: Spellbound (Kinyu
1986 Fushoku Retto: lubaku)
• TUFF Part 5: Kariforunia Koro­
• Paris-Dakar 15000 (Paris­ shi no Ansoro[t [video]
Dakar 15000 Eiko e no 2001
Chosen) 1993 ·Inugami
• Onyanko The Movie: Kiki • Painted Desert 2002
Ippatsu! 1994 • The Choice of Hercules
1987 • Kamikaze Taxi (Fukushu no ( Totsunyuseyo! Asama Sanso
• The Heartbreak Yakuza ( Sara­ Tensh/) liken)
ba Itoshiki Hito Yo) 1995
 Masato Harada 83

" It was poorly received in Japan, but it got card to Hollywood. But Painted Desert, the story
some sort of a cult fol lowing overseas, which of a murderer visiting a roadside diner run by an
included James Cameron . He really l i ked the expatriate Japanese woman in the Nevada desert
fil m and I was i nvited to Hollywood at one (a kind of cross between Percy Adlon's film Bag­
point to discuss certain projects with him. A dad Cafi ( 1 988) and Hemingway's short story The
buddy from his school days, Randy Frakes , was Killers), would become an experience marked by
also very fond of the movie, and we started frustration. In the same interview with Gatto, he
writing a screen play together, talking about a summed it up as:
lot of things. These were the positive thi ngs
about Gunhed, but noth ing happened in Holly­ " I m a d e c e rt a i n wrong choices, particularly

wood . At one point, because of Gunhed, I was when I said no to Samuel Jackson. He wanted

able to get a good agent who represented me to play a cameo i n the movie. He was work­

and tried to push me into certain areas, but i ng on White Sands at the time, and I was
nothing happened. So Gunhed quickly became supposed to meet him at one location, and I

a fi l m of the past . " missed it, and he returned to New York the

following day. Sti li he wanted to do the part,

Although the aspect of social criticism was and if my production people had guaranteed

still virtually absent from his work at that point his traveling fee, he would have done that for

in his career, the variety of genres he worked in a m i n i m u m of money. But I thought: 'Okay,

was indicative of the director's love for popular if Samuel Jackson can't do It, I want to work

cinema . It's not surprising that Harada would with Vincent Schiavell l . ' That was a big

become one of the directors to start working in mistake, and I should have pursued Samuel

V-cinema, the newly emerged straight-to-video Jackson. [ . . ] Once I started shooting that fi l m
.

industry that thrived in the early '90s after film i n Nevada, I real ized I had c hosen the wrong

companies discovered video as a second lease on di rector of photography. We started a rguing

life for their product. Genre films made at bud­ constantly. [ . . . J Another problem was, I didn't

gets that rarely exceed u. s . $ 5 00,000 and shot in real ize once you start working with team

at most three weeks, V-cinema productions of­ trucks, there a re so many trucks and convoys

fered their directors many restrictions but at the that come by! It's a problem when you want to

same time a lot of creative freedom. With the fi lm improvisational shots on the spot! Normal­

minimal investments made by their producers, ly, with a Japanese c rew and cast, there a re

profits were almost guaranteed, and directors not so many people, a n d you can easily cha nge

were largely free to do as they wanted as long the placement of the camera, and if there is an

as the final film contained enough elements that obstacle in the frame, you can easily remove

made it marketable as a commercial genre film. it. But not ten trucks at the same time! [ . . . ]

The yakuza genre was one of the main staples Painted Desert could have been my c a l l i ng
of V-cinema, and Harada found himself helming card to Hol lywood or American fi l m making, and
four of the five parts in the TUFF series, shooting partially because of me, I ruined it. So I decid­
them in the space of two years ( 1 990-92), with ed to go back to Japan so I could concentrate

the fifth and final episode shot partially in Ha­ more on the c rew and cast and make better
rada's beloved California. Despite his failure to Japanese fi lms. And then eventually, if they
settle in Hollywood after Gunhed, America con­ discovered me, I thought I could come back. "
tinued to beckon him, and in 1 993 he mounted
a project co-funded with Japanese and American Although Painted Desert certainly wouldn't
money that Harada hoped would be his calling be his last attempt to break into the American
84 MASATO HARADA

as a two-part, three-hour film for the video

market (but eventually also released in the­
aters in a single shortened version that was also
shown overseas), Kamikaze Taxi finally saw the
full emergence of Harada's critical stance to­
ward his home country. The story of a young
yakuza in trouble with his own superiors and
the Peruvian-Japanese taxi driver (played by
Koji Yakusho) who grows into his closest friend
and guardian was a scathing attack on the rac­
ism that Harada had noticed was still very
strongly present in society.

" Particularly it's about what my son went

through , which is reflected in Kojl Yakusho's
character. At the c l imactic point i n the
fi lm there is a confrontation between Koji
Yakusho's character and the corrupt politician,

and the politician hates Yakusho for just one

reason : funny Japanese. You speak funny Japa­

nese, so you ' re a thi rd-rate Japanese person.
My son 's Japanese was really strange when
he went back to Japan after spending his first
five or six years In the States. He went to a
Japanese elementary school and a lot of peo­
ple laughed at his J a panese. The way he was
treated, I thought that existed twenty or thirty
years ago, but it stil l exists today in the dead
center of Tokyo. I put my son Into that school

because the n u m be r of returnee Japanese

there was so h igh . They get used to those
forelgn-educated kids who speak strange
Japanese. But even at that elementary school
he was stil l segregated. I was so frustrated. I
made Kamikaze Taxi based u pon that ange r . "

Harada mixed several genres in the film,

combining the token yakuza film with the rather
un-Japanese (read: American) genres of the road
movie and the buddy action film, but managed
to maintain a balance between the elements of
Painted Desert
entertainment, characterization, and social crit­
icism. It was a balance he would rarely achieve
film industry, for his next film at least, Harada again: While the element of social critique
concentrated firmly on Japan. Originally made remained a very noticeable part of his work
 Masato Harada 85

from this point onward, more often than not its the story focused on a group of middle man­
impact would be diminished by a desire to en­ agers bravely defying the odds to save their
tertain his audiences with flashy camerawork or company from bankruptcy after widespread
too formulaic an approach to storytelling. swindling in the upper echelons. Instead of
This is felt strongly in Bounce KoGals an assault on the country's corrupt financial
(1997), which explored the headline-grabbing institutions, Jubaku: Spellbound became a life­
phenomenon of teenage prostitution in the affirming tale aimed at boosting salaryman
form of compensated dating or enjo kosai. Re­ morale, something it achieved quite success­
counting the misadventures of three teenage fully, as the film did excellent business.
girls in the big city over a time span of 24 hours, The director would use the exact same
Harada added ample condemnation, but at the method on his 2002 film The Choice of Hercules,
same time emphasized the element of adventure an account of the real-life, ten-day siege on the
in telling his story, thereby downplaying the es­ mountain lair of a group of Red Army revolu­
sentially exploitational and abusive nature of the tionaries by an ever growing and ever more des­
enjo'kosai phenomenon. perate army of cops, which took place in 1972.
Focusing entirely on the police procedures and
"You need a certain proper entrance, one that never showing more than a glimpse of the be­
people will feel comfortable with. Then once sieged terrorists, Harada again channeled and
you go in, if you're intelligent enough, then you curbed his critique through brave everyman
see other problems behind it. For that reason Koji Yakusho, whose police captain charac­
I picked up on enjo kosai. I thought that by ter struggles persistently against the orders of
picking up on this phenomenon, I was going his stubborn superiors whom he knows to be
to make a good movie about what I wanted wrong. Although Harada gave ample space to
to tell about Japanese society and Japanese the infighting among the various police depart­
people today, and not corrupting myself and ments and the errors of judgment that resulted
not compromising the issue. I researched a lot from these arguments, in the final scene we are
and I explored this enjo kosai story as a sort of with Yakusho, finally home with his wife, tired
interesting anthropological study. I met some but satisfied with a job well done.
of those youngsters and heard a lot of stories.

I made the movie as taking place on one night, "Ex-Ieft-wingers criticized the fact that I deal
over 24 hours, but all the episodes represent with this 1972 hostage situation from the
in chronological order what happened to Japa­ point of view of the police. They say I've
nese girls between 1992 and 1996. So the become the right-wingers' mouthpiece. But
early episodes happened in 1992 and the later that's totally wrong. It has nothing to do with
ones in 1996." right or left, it's about Japanese organizations.

I chose to use the police force and it's about

In 1999's Jubaku: Spellbound, a fictional the struggles within the police force. It's a
tale about a bank swindle that certainly had reflection of Japanese society and Japanese
resonance with real-life practices, Harada's people, who we are today."
entrance was to turn his critical tale into an
account of everyman heroism. With Koji This reflection, however, again lost impact
Yakusho again in the lead (who had come to as a result of Harada's chosen approach. His ac­
symbolize the Japanese everyman by playing count of one of the darker chapters in Japanese
regular Joes in films like Shall We Dance?, post-war history was rendered resolutely inof­
Cure, and Yoshimitsu Morita's Lost Paradise), fensive. Tellingly, the film's premiere screening
86 MASATO HARADA

in Tokyo became a tribute to the bravery of the from this film, if I talk about this film it's dan­
police officers involved in the siege, with the ac­ gerous for me too.'"
tual law enforcers taking the stage alongside the
actors that portrayed them in the film. Though intriguing in its subject matter,
Perhaps the safe approach he took on The Inugami also made a few too many concessions
Choice of Hercules was the result of the disastrous to entertainment, adding a rather obligatorily
box office results of his previous film, Inugami. villainous patriarch and tons of fancy (though
A supernatural tale of a country family haunted admittedly beautiful) camera set-ups. Like The
by the spirits of the titular "wild dog gods," Ha­ Choice of Hercules, which employed numerous
rada intended his film as an allegory for Japan's slow and fast motion sequences and fanciful but
royal family, provocatively emphasizing the ele­ ultimately pointless moving cameras, its style is
ment of incest with an Oedipal story of a young too apparent and self-conscious.
man falling in love with the woman he later re­ There is certainly no denying that, thanks
alizes is his mother. to this and some excellent cinematography,
Harada's recent films look great. If any Japahese
"It's true that most Japanese realize that Inu­ director can compete with Hollywood cinema
gami is about the royal family. But they can't in terms of polished, glossy images, it's Harada.
say it. If they say it, they fear they will get hurt But the director is not trying to compete with
by right-wingers. The Oedipal story is present Hollywood. He is trying to seduce it. As a result,
in the history of the royal family, certain types the two foundations of his work are increasingly
of Incest. When the Japanese talk about Oe­ at odds with one another. As his desire to once
dipus, they immediately make the connection again cross the Pacific grows and manifests itself
with the royal family." in the way he makes his films, his work's stron­
gest aspect-the social criticism from which he
Harada blamed Inugami's failure at the box derives his greatest validity as a filmmaker in
office on two factors: bad marketing and a hes­ Japan-is increasingly buried under the weight
itance on the part of the media to broach the of his stylistic trickery and narrative maneuver­
film's subject matter. ing. His love for American films and filmmak­
ing appears to have become the main motif of
"I felt really awkward about the situation. I his work, with his disillusionment over Japan
knew It was going to be less successful at the only fueling his attempts to gain a permanent
box office, because of the Kadokawa double foothold in California.
bill programming. Inugami is not the kind of

film for double bills. You need to promote it "After Kamikaze Taxi, even the business­
carefully, sell It as an arty kind of film, a qual­ oriented Japanese investors started to recog­
Ity film. Kadokawa and Toho didn't listen and nize me as a filmmaker who could be bankable.
just released it as a typical horror movie for And that was proven with Jubaku: Spellbound.

youngsters. And the youngsters who want Then with Inugami they said I went back to
blood and gore and the typical stuff of horror my oid trade of heavily criticizing Japanese
films, they couldn't understand Inugami at all. society, so they Ignored it. But when I pick
[ ... J The media just totally ignored it. They The Choice of Hercules everybody comes back
didn't even notice. That is the kind of frustra­ to me again and I get so many offers now. But

tion I feel about the film. They don't even want the moment I pick up a subject like Inugami

to talk about the taboo-breaking aspect of the again I go back to the old system. I'm getting

film. It was as if they said, 'Let's stay away tired of that sort of treatment. Now I have a
 Kamikaze Taxi 87

new agent in the States and I'll probably start A young yakuza pursued by his own gang under
making American movies as of 2003. In the the command of a corrupt politician makes the ac­
States there's an interesting phenomenon quaintance of a Peruvian-Japanese taxi driver who
happening. Ever since the success of Crouch­ proves to be more than just an ally. A mixture of
ing Tiger, Hidden Dragon they are interested road movie, gangster film, and unflinching social
in producing even a Japanese-spoken samurai critique makes for Masato Harada's best film.
piece, or a ninja film. It might happen that they

will make samurai films with Japanese cast Kamikaze Taxi is a movie of many sides. It's a
and American money." mixture of genres, which in turn are mixed with
strong and frank criticism of the discrimina­
Something similar did indeed happen, but tion that lies dormant within Japanese society.
Harada was not at the helm. Instead he made In what is without doubt his best film, Harada
a rather remarkable change of career in order questions what "being Japanese" constitutes.
to work on the project, showing how strong his Young yakuza Tatsuo is in charge of scout­
desire was to work in American film by appear­ ing girls to serve the whims of Domon, a cor­
ing as an actor in the Tom Cruise vehicle The rupt member of parliament who carries his
Last Samurai (Ed Zwick, 2003). Harada's solid Japaneseness and his history as a kamikaze pilot
performance as the villainous imperial envoy as a badge of honor. Domon turns out to be a
Omura turned out to be a pleasant surprise, first-rate pervert, and a violent one at that. T he
also for the sizeable part he had in the narra­ women usually return bleeding, battered, and
tive. Nevertheless, it couldn't be denied that bruised. When Tatsuo's girlfriend, also part of
the strange switch of roles indicated a certain the organization, protests, she is beaten to death
amount of desperation on Harada's part. Hav­ by the gang's boss. Tatsuo, forced to watch help­
ing tried for over twenty years to succeed as a lessly as his girl is murdered before his eyes,
director in the United States, it must be some­ swears revenge on Domon and sets out on a
what bitter for him to see that his filmmaking plan to rob him of the two million dollars hid­
skills are overlooked just at the moment when den in a safe at his house. Enlisting the help of
Hollywood's interest in Japanese films and film­ five buddies, Tatsuo enters the house at night. A
makers is reaching its peak. panicked, chaotic heist ensues, but the men get
hold of the money. T he furious Domon holds
Tatsuo's boss personally responsible and puts the
two million debt on his shoulders, plus interest.
-v Kamikaze Taxi The following morning, the gangsters have al­
��O)xf� ready tracked Tatsuo and his friends down, and
Fukushu no Tenshi from the ensuing shoot-out only Tatsuo escapes
unharmed, with the loot.
1995. CAST: Koji Yakusho, Kazuya Takahashi, Fleeing for his life with his former col­
Reiko Kataoka, Takashi Naito, Kenichi Yajima, leagues in hot pursuit, Tatsuo encounters a taxi
Tomorowo Taguchi, Mickey Curtis. 134 minutes driver and rather than forcing him at gunpoint,
(Japanese video release: 200 minutes). RELEASE: he says he will pay for the ride. It's the start of a
VHS, Siren Entertainment (Australia, English very long cab ride indeed, and with it the film's
subtitles), Pony Canyon (Japan, no subtitles-re­ tone switches. T he gangster action film becomes
leased in two parts); DVD, TLA Releasing (U.S., a road movie and gains a soul in the process.
English subtitles), Media Blasters (U.S., English Trapped together in this situation, the two men
subtitles). increasingly confide in each other. With Tatsuo
88 MASATO HARADA

the myth that surrounds the history of kamikaze

warfare, while on the other hand the film extols
its virtuous, honorable element. Except that this
virtue has nothing to do with fascism, conserva­
tism, and nationalism, but is instead about cour­
age and self-sacrifice for one's loved ones. The
personification of this is Kantake, Domon's polar
opposite and the kind of Japanese the politician
hates with abandon. Around the figure of Kan­
take, Harada builds numerous subtle references
to the "divine wind": the taxi comp any he works
Kamikaze Taxi
for is named Soyokaze (breeze), and in the final
moments of the film, when Kantake volunteers to
fight T atsuo's fight for him and the young yakuza
we learn that the cab driver, Kantake, was born is at the airport waiting for his flight to Peru, an
Japanese, but raised in Peru. Returning to his announcement tells us that "due to strong winds,
homeland armed with a rather shaky command all flights are canceled."
of the Japanese language, he has found him­ Harada's minorities of choice, those that
self an outcast, unaccepted and discriminated represent the "other" or the butt of conserva­
against. He drives a beaten, graffiti-covered sta­ tive ideology, are the Japanese born or raised in
tion wagon and is a taxi driver not by choice but Latin America. T he film's opening scene fea­
because he's been unable to get any other kind of tures monologues from mostly real repatriated
job. He is a man with nothing to lose, and when Brazilian and Peruvian Japanese talking about
he learns from his passenger about the activities their experiences upon returning to their native
of the corrupt Domon, a man who symbolizes Japanese soil and the problems they encoun­
the society that has spit him out, he becomes a tered. Kamikaze Taxi features a Brazilian bar as
natural ally and a much more formidable oppo­ an expatriate hangout, something Takashi Miike
nent than their pursuers ever imagined. would repeat five years later in the cosmopoli­
Kamikaze Taxi is a film built on genuine tan The City ofLost Souls (Hyoryugai, 2000).
anger. Its vision of Japan is undiluted in its More balanced and focused than either his
rage, not shunning to highlight sensitive as­ rougher earlier films or his more compromised
pects from both the past and the present. The later work, Kamikaze Taxi can be seen as Masato
country's wartime history is dredged up in the Harada's definitive cinematic statement. And a
shape of the comfort women issue and several statement it certainly is.
painful facts about the military's treatment of
its own soldiers. It's Harada's way of debunking
a certain image of what "Japaneseness"'means,
as personified by the character of Domon, the "" Bounce KoGals
kind of right-leaning conservative stance that 1"'7�A ko GALS
continues to hold a strong grip on the official a.k.a. Leaving
view of things.
The method Harada employs is to take one 2000. CAST: Hitomi Sato, Yukiko Okamoto, Yasue
aspect so dear to the right wing, kamikaze war­ Sato, Koji Yakusho, Jun Murakami, Kaori Momoi.
fare, and scrutinize it microscopically. On the one 109 minutes. RELEASE: DVD, TLA Releasing (U.S.,
hand we get the aforementioned debunking of English subtitles).
 Bounce KoGals 89

Twenty-four hours in the lives of three high school teens. Murakami's novel also opened the way
girls out to make a quick buck from sex-starved for a number of non-pornographic films vicari­
salarymen. Harada ladles on the social commen­ ously centered around the Japanese sex industry,
tary in this film about the shocking phenomenon ranging from the gritty Scoutman to the vapid
of enjo kosai, or "compensated dating." soap opera melodrama of Platonic Sex (Masako
Matsuura, 2001), a fictionalized biopic reveling
In 1997, Ryli Murakami's novel Love & Pop in all of the cliches of this new subgenre, based
was published. Released under the sub-title of on the life of the AV starlet Ai Iijima.
Topazu 2, it was a sequel in name and theme Murakami himself had directed the film
only to his earlier work, Topazu, which was a of Topazu (better known to Western view­
bleak portrait of the mental decline of a call girl ers as Tokyo Decadence), which was released in
specializing in S/M acts against the emotionally 1992, but the guiding hand behind the cam­
sterile backdrop of Tokyo at the peak of its eco­ era for Love & Pop seemed an even more bi­
nomic boom in the late '80s. Introducing new zarre choice. For his first live-action feature,
characters, relocating its milieu and radically al­ Hideaki Anno, a director better known for his
tering its dramatic focus but otherwise sticking work in the field of animation with the 1990
with the same concerns, Love & Pop was a wa­ TV series The Secret of Blue Water (Fushigi no
tershed: the first work of fiction to dwell on the Umi no Nadia) and the Neon Genesis Evangelion
world of high school prostitution, or enjo kosai, (Shin Seiki Evangelion) series during the latter
an expression that literally translates as "paid half of the '90s, brought a radically unorthodox
companionship. " slant to his material.
With their loose white socks, pink lipstick, Anno's debut-he later made Ritual (Shiki­
mobile phones, and neatly starched uniforms, jitsu) starring Love Letter director Shunji Iwai
these ko gyaru (high school girl) call girls of­ in 2000-is a magnificent accomplishment, and
fering a quick turn on the karaoke machine to one of the great overlooked works of Japanese
straight-laced, middle-aged salarymen for the cinema of the late '90s. Taking the format of
price of a Gucci handbag proved a sensational a video diary following 24 hours in the life of
hook. In a country whose economy seemed now 17-year-old Hiromi (whose soulless voiceover
set in a terminal downward tailspin, Love & Pop narration is provided by Suzaku director Naomi
portrayed a world in which consumerism had Kawase) and the exploits of her classmates, and
gone mad, where Japan's lost generation roamed shot entirely on digital camcorder, Anno's film
the streets of Shibuya in search of sugar daddies, utilizes a frenetic, MTV-inspired style, totally
and where love and emotional fulfillment were in keeping with the giddy, artificial milieu the
reduced to a mere economic transaction. girls inhabit. With the majority of shots sel­
Enjo kosai became an immediate media talk­ dom lasting longer than a second, his dizzying
ing point, and suddenly everyone began to approach treats us to a parade of jagged edits,
wonder exactly what their daughters were up distorted fisheye lenses, split screens, and a baf­
to whilst they were away at the office twelve fling multitude of perspectives-for example,
hours a day. Undoubtedly the reality was exag­ shooting from the bottom of a bowl of soup,
gerated by the media, but at the very least, the gliding at roof level tracking slowly behind the
furor served the purpose of casting some light girls as they walk through a tunnel, and such
on the prevalence of Japan's rori-kon (Lolita strange POV shots as one taken pointing down
complex), the fetishization of fresh-faced young from beneath Hiromi's skirt as she pulls on her
girls as validated in literally hundreds of manga white school socks in the morning. Yet for all its
comics and aidoru (idol) videos of bikini-clad technical artifice, Love & Pop retains a degree of
90 MASATO HARADA

street level rawness and moral ambivalence all ing sessions between our three unimpeachably
but absent from other takes on the subject. attractive guides.
Love & Pop was released in Japan at the be­ Fresh out of high school in the northern city
ginning of 1998, but it was just beaten to it by of Sendai, Lisa (Okamoto) is en route to New
Masato Harada's better known, bigger budget­ York, where she wishes to forge a new life study­
ed, and more mainstream-oriented Bounce Ko­ ing at college. Upon arrival in Tokyo, she stops
Gals, released at the tail end of 1997. off in Shibuya with the idea of making some fast
As a director, in terms of his approach to money before flying off to America the follow­
addressing social concerns through the cinema ing morning. After trading in her underwear at
screen, Harada can be most readily compared a burusera shop (a fetish shop dealing in school­
to Oliver Stone. Unfortunately, he also shares girl uniforms and soiled panties), she is set up
many of the same weaknesses as his U. S. coun­ by Sap (Murakami), a scout for the sex industry,
terpart. A perfect example would be his The on a makeshift video shoot in which a number
Choice of Hercules, based on the famous Asama of girls in school uniforms are chased around a
Villa incident in 1972, in which a handful of bare apartment by a guy with a camcorder. Here
members of the Red Army barricaded them­ she encounters the similarly aged Raku (Yasue
selves inside a mountain chalet with a hostage, Sata) before the shoot is disrupted by a gang of
and the police spent the next ten days trying to thugs, and in the resulting escape she loses all of
dig them out. In his adaptation of the autobio­ the money she had spent the past year saving.
graphical novel by Atsuyuki Sasa, one of the Faced with the task of earning back her lost
police captains involved, released in 2002 on savings before her departure, she is introduced
the thirtieth anniversary of the event, Harada by Raku to the hard-hearted Jonko (Hitomi
skillfully managed to avoid any political dimen­ Sata), who sets up and agrees to accompany her
sion to his film. Instead he concentrated on on a number of lucrative paid dates over the
the infighting between the various police and course of the evening, a quick and immediate
military factions involved in the rescue attempt, solution to her predicament. In the meantime,
using the incident to critique administrative Jonko is being warned away from her own en­
bungling. Fastidious in its attention to proce­ terprises by yakuza boss Oshima (the ever-re­
dural detail at the expense of any background liable Yakusho), who resents these high school
context, it approached its subject matter from hookers impinging on his own local turf.
a single perspective that gave little scope for With Bounce KoGals, Harada points his po­
viewers to shape their own individual interpre­ lemical finger at a society that creates a demand
tations of the material. for high school prostitution, and the sexual at­
Similarly, Bounce KoGals masquerades as an titudes and economic realities of male-oriented
expose of enjo kosai, but like most of Harada's Japanese society come in for some heavy criti­
attempts at transferring Hollywood hyperbole cism (in this context it is worth pointing out that
to his homeland, it comes across as uneven and the Japanese word for prostitution, baishun, is
compromised in its concessions to mainstream composed of the two Chinese characters mean­
audience expectations. With the handheld doc­ ing "sell youth"). However, for this he needs a
umentary shots of Shibuya street life in the early sympathetic hook into the drama, here provided
scenes giving way to more dramatically stylized by the rather unconvincing narrative conceit of
set pieces and a number of slo-mo musical in­ a young innocent's voyage through this purga­
terludes, the film suffers from uncomfortable tory in order to escape from the chauvinistic
shifts in tone between heavy-handed drama, di­ constraints of her own country en route to the
dactic moralizing, and feel-good female bond- happy dreamland of America, where supposedly
 Bounce KoGals 91

a college course is the passport to full sexual the sexual act with her clients, offering little
emancipation. more than conversation for her steep asking
In doing so, Harada treads dubious moral price, and often picking her clients' pockets
water, all but exonerating the three girls. It is under the postulation that they will be too em­
the men that are portrayed as pitiable and there barrassed to report the incident to the police.
to be exploited, sad perverts and lonely old has­ The one girl peripheral to the main group who
beens eager to recapture their youth for a few does trade sexual favors for cash ends up in in­
brief moments. To this end, we are treated to tensive care.
a parade of grotesque caricatures that force us For all its weaknesses, Bounce KoGals trots
into identifying with the girls. Jonko and Lisa along at a brisk pace through a lively succession
cringe in the corner, as we do, when one twisted of set pieces and is generally entertaining and
pervert licks the layer of filth deposited around compelling. T he semi-documentary style por­
the overflow of a urinal during a party of coke­ trayal of the dynamics between the three main
addled young business execs and transsexuals, characters and the milieu in which they oper­
whilst in an early scene, one of the girls recounts ate is witty, naturalistically shot with captivating
how she was approached in the street and of­ and sympathetic performances from all of the
fered 100,000 yen for her shit by a middle-aged main actresses.
businessman. Another character announces that But you never quite get the feeling that Ha­
these guys were too busy jerking off and study­ rada is presenting us with the whole picture, nor
ing to have girlfriends when they were in high that he ever really comes to terms with what
school. makes any of these perky young characters tick
You can hardly blame the girls for wanting in the first place. T he end result certainly pro­
to capitalize on male weakness, but does the end vides enough food for thought, and the drama
really justify the means? Harada refuses to pass is never boring, but Bounce KoGals is probably
moral judgment on his female subjects, but in best viewed as a piece of fin-de-siecle zeitgeist,
order to maintain this moral high ground, he an opportunistic morality tale lacking both the
also needs to keep the girls spotless and unsul­ skewed insight of Love & Pop and the veracity
lied. Jonko herself swears she never engages in that made Scoutman such painful viewing.
 CHAPTER 6
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
.m"to�
�n,r'\'l�
Virtually unknown outside Japan until his 1997 on the whole would have been unlikely to entice
breakthrough with the haunting Cure, Kiyoshi proclamations of genius.
Kurosawa's subsequent rise to fame has been Born in Kobe in 1955 to an ordinary middle­
meteoric. In 1999, less than two years after first class family, Kiyoshi Kurosawa left for Tokyo in
having one of his films projected on a foreign his teens to study sociology at Rikkyo Univer­
screen, he pulled the unique stunt of having sity. Once there, his already considerable inter­
three different films at each of the world's three est in cinema was given a new incentive when
major film festivals. In February of that year, he started attending the lectures of Shigehiko
his family drama License to Live played the Ber­ Hasumi, one of Japan's leading film theorists.
lin Film Festival. In May, the bizarre eco-alle­ Inspired by Hasumi's vision of cinema and film­
gory Charisma was screened in Cannes, and in making, which placed a great deal of emphasis
September the Venice Film Festival showed the on the American cinema, and in particular genre
equally unclassifiable Barren Illusion. That same cinema, of the 1950s, '60s and '70s, Kurosawa
year, the film festivals of Toronto, Edinburgh, began making his own films with a Super 8 cam­
and Hong Kong held mini-retrospectives of his era. To this day, Kurosawa praises Hasumi for
work. Not since Takeshi Kitano had a Japanese the crucial influence the latter had on his life:
director been so quickly and so widely embraced
by the international film establishment. "I took his cinema class in university by

In a way, it was almost a vindication. By the chance, but it was a very decisive event

time the West got wind of him through Cure, for me. If I hadn't met him in that period, I
Kurosawa had already been directing feature wouldn't have become a film director and my

films for fourteen years and had come to be seen view of cinema would be completely different.

as something of a leading light among the gen­ He was a crucial person for me. It's difficult

eration of filmmakers that had emerged in the to sum up what his influence on me has been,
late '70s and early '80s. It's doubtful, however, but he taught me that cinema, and exploring

that Kurosawa would have made as strong an what cinema is, is worth devoting your life to.

impact overseas if he had emerged with one of Also he insisted and repeated numerous times

his earlier films. Much of his work before Cure that, In cinema you can't shoot the things

consisted of genre exercises that occasionally you can't see. It sounds so obvious, but love,

showed a willingness to experiment, but which peace, hate-such abstract concepts cannot

92
 Kiyoshi Kurosawa 93

be shown on film. But that doesn't mean you

can't express them. Many directors have tried

hard to express them, using their skill, talent,

and the support of their crew.You may suc­
ceed in expressing them with such effort, but
you can never think that you can show them
with just your camera. I was really impressed

by that. "

Hasumi not only inspired his filmmaking, it Bright Future

also shaped the way he looked at film, as well as
his personal cinematic tastes. He adopted Ha­ pearance of a choir on the roof of one of the
sumi's predilection for American genre cinema, buildings, and the frequent quoting of film ti­
with a preference for such action-men directors tles. His experimentations on his next film,Joshi
as Robert Aldrich, Don Siegel, Sam Peckinpah, Daisei: Hazukashii Seminar [trans: College girl:
and Richard Fleischer, as well as a liking for shameful seminar], went so far that Nikkatsu
horror specialists like Tobe Hooper and John refused to release the film, allegedly because it
Carpenter. At the same time, European art film­ was not erotic enough .
makers like Jean-Luc Godard, Wim Wenders, In an effort to salvage the film, Kurosawa
and Eric Rohmer, who had themselves been asked the independent Director's Company
weaned on American cinema, as well as U. S . (formed by several filmmakers including his for­
mavericks like John Cassavetes, formed another mer employers Kazuhiko Hasegawa and Ban­
considerable strand of influence on Kurosawa. mei Takahashi) to buy the film from Nikkatsu.
Kurosawa continued to make 8mm short Kurosawa reshot parts of the film and released
films throughout his university years. His efforts it in a re-edited version under the title The Ex­
culminated in a prize for Vertigo College, a paro­ citement of the Do-Re-Mi-Fa Girl in 1 98 5 . The
dy of gangster films set on a university campus, resulting film had more in common with mid­
at the 1 980 PIA Film Festival, Japan's foremost period Godard than with a Nikkatsu sex romp,
event for independent film and young filmmak­ featuring its lead actress Yuriko Doguchi parad­
ers. The prize allowed Kurosawa to enter the ing in a nightgown carrying an AK-47 machine
professional film world, where he went to work gun like an Asian Anne Wiazemski. Echoes of
as an assistant director to such independently Seijun Suzuki's clash with Nikkatsu fifteen years
minded filmmakers as Kazuhiko Hasegawa, earlier became all the stronger when the studio,
Shinji Somai, and Banmei Takahashi. having seen themselves overruled by a single
After three years of apprenticeship, Kuro­ young filmmaker, spread the word about Ku­
sawa was hired by the Million company, a now rosawa's troublesome behavior to the other ma­
defunct player in the erotic pinku eiga field. jors, effectively exiling him to the fringes of the
He made his directorial debut with Kandagawa film industry. (The studio later redeemed itself
Wars ( 1 98 3 ) , the story of two apartment blocks by co-financing Charisma, one of Kurosawa's
on opposite sides of the titular river and the most enigmatic and uncommercial films.)
erotic encounters of their tenants. The execu­ His banishment was to have a decisive in­
tives were not entirely satisfied with the results, fluence on Kurosawa as a filmmaker, but not in
which frequently interrupted the all-important an entirely negative way. Although he wouldn't
sex scenes with such images as the tribulations direct a film for the next four years, the course
involved in crossing the river, the sudden ap- he would take following the clash with Nikkatsu
94 KIYOSHI KUROSAWA

allowed him to explore his fascination for genre tradition of Robert Wise's The Haunting ( 1 963)
cinema and to discover his own relation to genre and Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist ( 1 982). Itami had
cinema as a filmmaker. been an actor in The Excitement of the Do-Re-Mi­
He also used the time off from directing Fa Girl and he also appeared in Sweet Home, giv­
to return to Rikkyo University to give a series ing the lead part to his star actress wife, Nobuko
of lectures, following in the footsteps of his Miyamoto. For the abundant special effects, Ku­
mentor Hasumi after the good critical notices rosawa and Itami flew in Hollywood make-up ef­
his first two films had received in parts of the fects master Dick Smith, best known for his work
Japanese film press. His words came to have a on The Exorcist ( 1 97 3) . The result was a spec­
similar effect on a new generation of film en­ tacularly entertaining horror film, but Kurosawa
thusiasts as Hasumi's had had on him. Several again met with interference when Itami, after the
Rikkyo students had come together to form a film's theatrical run, reshot and re-edited parts
cine-club, and it was they who would be the of the film for video and TV release. Infuriated,
most attentive listeners to Kurosawa's lectures. Kurosawa took the unprecedented step of suing
Among them were people who would later make his producer, which did nothing to improve his
their own mark on Japanese cinema in the latter standing in the Japanese film industry.
part of the '90s, including Shinji Aoyama, Ma­ After directing a segment of the Director's
koto Shin ozaki, Akihiko Shiota, Masayuki Suo, Company omnibus horror film Dangerous Sto­
and Kunitoshi Manda (director of the Takenori ries the same year, Kurosawa's " exile" saw him
Sento production Unloved, 2 00 1 ). drifting into made-for-television horror produc­
Kurosawa's return to filmmaking came in tions like The Wordholic Prisoner ( 1 990), Yorokobi
1 989, when Jiizo Itami, who had been enor­ no Uzumaki ( 1 992) [trans: Vortex of joy], and
mously successful throughout the decade as both the Kansai TV horror anthology series Haunted
a director and an actor, asked Kurosawa to di­ School ( 1 994 ) before being scooped up by the
rect Sweet Home, a haunted house thriller in the fledgling V-cinema industry.

Filmography with Kunitoshi Manda] sha: Jigoku no Misogura) [TV]

1974 1983 1992

• Rokk6 [short] • Ningensei no Kejime [short, • The Guard from Underground
co-director] (Jigoku no Keibiin)
1975 • Kandagawa Wars (Kandaga­ • Yorokobi no Uzumaki [TV]
• B6ryoku Ky6shi: Hakuchu wa Inran Sens6)
Daisatsuriku [short] 1994
1985 • Haunted School (Gakk6 no
1976 • The Excitement of the Do-Re­ Kaidan) [TV, co-directed with
• Shing6 Chikachika [short] Mi·Fa Girl (Doremifa Musume Shoji Takano, Kazuya Kona­
• Fukakutei Ryokoki [short] no Chi wa Sawagu) ka, and Zenboku Sato]
1977 • Men of Rage (Jan: Otokotachi
1988
• Shiroi Hada ni Kuruu Kiba no Gekijo) [video]
• Girl! Girl! Girl! (Fuyuko no
[short] • Yakuza Taxi (893 Takushil)
Omokage) [short]
(video)
1978 1989
• School Days [short] 1995
• Sweet Home (Sulto H6mu)
• Suit Yourself or Shoot Your­
1979 • Dangerous Stories (Abunai
self! The Heist (Katte ni
• Vertigo College (Shigarami Hanashl) [co-director]
Shiyagare!! G6datsu Keikaku)
Gakuen) 1990 • Suit Yourself or Shoot Your­
1982 • Wordholic Prisoner (Modae self! 2 The Escape (Katte ni
• Tos6 Zenya [short, co-directed Kurushimu Katsuji Chudoku-
 Kiyoshi Kurosawa 95

In that period, however, he did see some of

his dignity restored when he became the second
Japanese filmmaker invited to Robert Redford's
Sundance Institute Screenplay Workshops on
the merit of an early draft of the screenplay for
Charisma, which he would bring with him to
Utah and would continue to work on for the next
seven years. After his return, he was offered a
new chance to direct a film for theatrical release,
albeit one with the kind of low budget and tight
shooting schedule more commonly associated
with V-cinema, as well as getting the opportuni­
Kiyoshi Kurosawa
ty to publish his first book. The film, The Guard
from Underground, was an interesting variation
on the slasher formula that received good notic­ assistant directors where the minimal allocated
es, while the book EiZQ no Karisuma [trans: The budgets would not afford production compa­
charisma of the image1 allowed him to indulge nies to hire seasoned professionals. With the
his own passions as a filmmaker with essays on creative freedom given to directors who agreed
some of his favorite directors and films. to stay within budget and on schedule, and its
Although the invitation, the film, and the reliance on genre filmmaking, V-cinema would
book went some ways toward restoring his pride, prove to be an important transitional phase in
the major studios still wanted little to do with Kurosawa's career.
him. His outlaw status put him in a perfect posi­
tion for the emerging V-cinema industry, which "It's been very valuable for me to have the ex­

offered opportunities to fringe filmmakers and perience of making program pictures.Generally

Shiyagare Dashutsu Keikaku) • The Revenge: The Scar that 2000

1996 Never Fades (Fukushu: Kienai • Seance (Karel) [TV)
• Suit Yourself or Shoot Your­ ShOkon) 2001
self! 3 The Loot (Katte ni • Haunted School F (Gakka no • Pulse (Kairo)
Shiyagare!! Ogon Keikaku) Kaidan F) [TV, co-directed • Gakka no Kaidan: Haru no
Suit Yourself or Shoot Your­ with Hideo Nakata)
• Mononoke Special [TV,
• Cure (Kyua)
self! 4 The Gamble (Katte co-directed with Shinobu
ni Shiyagare!! Gyakuten Kei­ 1998 Yaguchi, Norio Tsuruta, and
kaku) • Serpent's Path (Hebi no Akira Ogata)
• Door III Michl) 2002
• Suit Yourself or Shoot Your­ • Eyes of the Spider (Kumo no • 2001 Eiga no Tabi [short]
self! 5 The Nouveau Riche Hitom/)
(Katte ni Shiyagare!! Narikin • Haunted School G (Gakka no 2003
Keikaku) Kaidan G) [TV, co-directed • Cop Festival (Deka Matsuo)
• Suit Yourself or Shoot Your­ with Tetsu Maeda and Ta­ [co-director)
self! 6 The Hero (Katte ni kashi Shimizu) • Bright Future (Akarui Miral)
Shiyagare!! Eiyu Keikaku) • Doppelganger (Dopperu­
1999
geng8)
1997 • License to Live (Ningen
• The Revenge: A Visit From Gakaku) 2004
Fate (Fukushu: Unmei no • Barren Illusion (Oinaru Genel) • Kokoro, Odoru [short]
Hamonsha) • Charisma (Karisuma)
96 KIYOSHI KUROSAWA

Dangerous Stories

in that type of production environment, the and recording the reality. But in the case of
subject and the story are already fixed. Also, program pictures, the fiction-the story and
you recreate the same type of film several subject-are already fixed. That means you
times with only a slight difference. When the can concentrate on recording reality. That's a
studio system still existed, many directors big difference. It's not just true in my case, it's

went through that experience. Today, there is true historically and internationally. Generally

only V-cinema that can give you a similar expe­ you can say that program pictures are often

rience. For me, compared to before the time I more real than other films. The fact that you

started working in V-cinema, I came to handle can concentrate on reality is the big advan­

the subjects as well as the technical aspects tage of program pictures."

of my films better and with more flexibility.
"Also, I think film is a combination of real­ Indeed, Kurosawa's films for the video
ity and fiction. Both factors are there. When market show an increasing devotion to formal
you start making a movie from scratch, you experimentation. Although early works like
have to create the fiction. You have to spend Yakuza Taxi, a comedy about gangsters who find
a lot of effort and pain creating the story and themselves running a taxi service, are still large­
the screenplay, and only then can you make ly dime-a-dozen video productions, the later
the film. But the things you actually record on Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself! series demon­
film are real. After spending so much energy strated a tremendous growth. Six films made
creating the fiction you are tired, and you in less than two years, they show Kurosawa de­
will become careless when making the film veloping from a cautious experimentalist into a
 Kiyoshi Kurosawa 97

full-blown artist with a signature style, themes, cinema, a postmodern willingness to borrow
and voice. discreetly from his favorite filmmakers, and an
Named after the Japanese title of Jean-Luc eagerness to explore the darker side of our own
Godard's Breathless (A Bout de Souffle, 1957jJapa­ behavior as individuals and as a society, Kurosa­
nese title: Ktltte ni Shiyagare), Suit Yourselfor Shoot wa developed in the course of these films a the­
Yourself was also Kurosawa's first encounter with matic and stylistic language that he would come
actor Sh6 Aikawa. Aikawa was, and is, one of the to apply and refine in every film that followed.
main stars of straight-to-video yakuza films, but While their thematic weight and sometimes
rus acting abilities and willingness to experiment purely unclassifiable nature at times seem to in­
surprised Kurosawa, and the pair would go on to dicate differently, Kurosawa claims that every
make over a dozen films together. film he makes always starts with a genre basis.
His work in V-cinema also saw Kurosawa
greatly increasing his productivity, churning out "Which genre my film ultimately belongs in Is up

the horror film Door III and the two-part cop to the audience when it's finished, but certain­
drama The Revenge (also starring Aikawa) in ad­ ly as a starting point I always start my next
dition to the above-mentioned six films, all be­ project considering which genre I would like to

tween 1995 and 1997. This efficiency is another work in. So in that sense I am a genre director.
element that would come to characterize him Actually, I'm often misunderstood. I don't start

for the rest of his career. with a philosophical or thematic approach. In­

stead I start with a genre that's relatively easy

"I'm just a very fast filmmaker. I usually take to understand and then explore how I want to
about two to four weeks to shoot. Also, there's work in that genre. And that's how a theme or
not a lot of money for filmmaking in Japan, so an approach develops. The genre is first. "
if you only make one film a year, it's very dif­
ficult to stay alive. " Although often regarded as an art filmmaker
rather than a genre filmmaker, his admiration
The great turnaround for Kurosawa came for American genre directors of old makes Ku­
with 1997's Cure. Produced by the recently res­ rosawa the last to treat genre cinema with elitist
urrected former major Daiei, whose own mar­ disdain. His own philosophy toward genre is that
ginal position in relation to the other studios was he works in genres "in order to better distance
reflected in their adventurous output and choice myself from them," an expression that perfectly
of directors, it was Kurosawa's return to the lime­ sums up his work in V-cinema. Perhaps the best
light and rus biggest rut. Popular with foreign fes­ example of his approach is Charisma, whose final
tivals and distributors, it made Kurosawa's name result at first glance seems to bear no similarity
internationally and put him back on the map in to any genre known to filmdom.
his own country, with a best actor award for star
K6ji Yakusho (the director's other frequent lead "It's a sort of American-style Indiana Jones/
actor) at the Japanese Academy Awards and a two-teams-vying-for-a-treasure film. That's how
nomination for Kurosawa as best director. I started it. But instead of a box of gold I de­
Kurosawa had now truly come into his own cided to make the treasure a tree that's in a
as a filmmaker. Cure was the crowning achieve­ forest. Then you start to imagine 'what value
ment of a rapid development that started with does the tree have?' and 'what is the condition
the final episodes of the Suit Yourself or Shoot of the forest it's growing in?' Then you start to
Yourself series and ran through Door III and realize that you're not making an Indiana Jones
The Revenge. Combining an openness to genre movie at all, but that you're making a much
98 KIYOSHI KUROSAWA

more complex film. That's the process of my sional references play a decidedly minor role
filmmaking. The reason I take this approach in the overall result of his work compared to
to filmmaking is that although film needs a themes and style, both of which are uniquely
fictional story element, it also is a medium his. Although Kurosawa believes that there is no
that allows you to record the reality around single motif to his work ("You can never sim­
you. You're filming real forests and real people. ply grab the motifs and apply them rationally.
I think that film for me is a medium point be­ It's impossible, in cinema at least, because the
tween a fictional story and reality. You start motif changes with every image."), the overrid­
with the genre, which is fiction, and gradually ing theme he explores is that of the individual
move toward reality. Somewhere in between and in how far that individual lets his identity be
you find film. To put it simply: I would like to defined by his environment.
make a movie like Indy Jones, but there aren't
any real people like Indy Jones. That's the be­ "I'm interested in the values that the individual
ginning of my filmmaking. " has come to embrace: for the individual to re­
assess those values and understand the way
Closely related to his openness to genre is in which those values that he has come to

Kurosawa's consistent appropriation of elements embrace are in fact the forces that have come

from other films. Although this postmodernist to oppress him. "

practice is sometimes referred to as meta-nar­

rative (narrative about narrative), in Kurosawa's His method for letting the individual char­
case the reference rarely exists for its own sake. acters come to that reassessment is by taking
Elements are applied discretely and assimilated him or her out of that environment and away
into the larger whole in a similar way to the dis­ from those values. Usually, a catalyst of some
tortion of a film's genre roots. His use of existing kind (often referred to by Kurosawa as "the
titles (the aforementioned Katte ni Shiyagare!!, monster," demonstrating his acknowledgement
but also Oinaru Genei, the original title of Bar­ of genre roots) compels the protagonist to re­
ren Illusion as well as the Japanese title of Jean treat from the environment into a place where
Renoir's Grande Illusion) is by far the most overt that reassessment can take place. An example of
example of this tendency. Koji Yakusho's stained this is the cop played by Koji Yakusho in Cha­
overcoat in Charisma, Ren Osugi's chainsaw risma, who makes a fatal mistake on the job,
in License to Live, the solitary lamppost in Suit resulting in the deaths of two people and his
Yourself or Shoot Yourself The Hero, and the re­ own discharge from the force. Kurosawa then
curring white backgrounds in driving scenes are literally places him in a different environment
much more inconspicuous cases of appropria­ (an opposed environment even, given that he
tion, which for the most part acquire their own goes from the city to the forest), where all ties
significance within the framework of the film. with his previous life are severed. In License to
Kurosawa occasionally even borrows from him­ Live, protagonist Yutaka awakes from a ten-year
self: the two main ghostly encounters in Pulse coma. His last memories are of being fourteen
are refined variations on a scene from Door III. years old and living with his parents and sis­
Perhaps only the habitual close-ups of flashing ter on a dude ranch, but when he awakes, he is
police sirens are self-acknowledged references, twenty-four, all the members of his family have
though in this case to a genre cliche rather than lost touch with each other, and the ranch has be­
to an individual film. come a fish farm run by a friend of his father's.
Postmodern or not, Kurosawa's films are In Cure, people are forced through hypnotism
undeniably his own. Genre base and occa- to look beyond their own conscious definitions
 Kiyoshi Kurosawa 99

The Revenge: The Scar that Never Fades

of themselves and to face up to, acknowledge, he uses his power to establish a fascistic regime
and act on their most basic urges. with himself as leader and his former neighbors
What often results from these ruptures with as deprived homeless.
their old lives is that Kurosawa's characters are Although such developments can often turn
turned into a tabula rasa, a blank page, signify­ bad, the overriding sentiment in Kurosawa's
ing a new beginning and limitless possibilities. films is that negative and positive are irrevoca­
This could go wrong or right, but what interests bly linked. Death can create life and from evil
Kurosawa is the effect an individual's actions can can come good. In Charisma, in which this sen­
have on the whole of society. The individual can timent is expressed as "accepting life as it is,"
become an active advocate of change through his a young shoot grows inside a dead tree stump.
or her own actions. Koji Yakusho's cop in Cure Although a number of his films end with visions
finds himself wrenched from his life as a result of an apocalypse, there is always the sentiment
of his meeting with the enigmatic hypnotist, that this is necessary in order to pave the way
causing murders that wind up self-perpetuating. for new, more positive developments. Society,
In Pulse, the realization that people are trapped too, needs to achieve the state of a blank page;
in a cycle of loneliness causes mass suicides that only then can the apocalypse make way for a
bring about the end of the world. In Suit Yourself brighter future.
or Shoot Yourself The Hero, a young man inspires Stylistically, Kurosawa employs numer­
his neighbors to organize themselves and resist ous tools to underline and facilitate the process
the presence of yakuza in the neighborhood, but outlined above. One of the most impressive is
100 • KIYOSHI KUROSAWA

see. Everything looks peaceful on the outside,

but elsewhere in the world there are wars and
other negative events that we can't see with

our own eyes, but which we know are there. "

The director makes use of several visual and

auditive tools to create this suggestion: keeping
the frame's contents sparse, which suggests that
there must be more elsewhere; the use of frames
within the frame, which isolate and trap his
characters in even smaller spaces; introducing
elements that were previously off-screen, which
suggest that the world of the film doesn't end at
the borders of the image; use of background ac­
tion, which transposes the viewer past the habit­
ual foreground and creates space and depth; and
the use of seemingly incongruent sound. The
combination of these is enormously effective at
suggesting the existence of an off-screen men­
ace, which in turn emphasizes the force of the
"monster," as well as the potential impact of the
monster's influence on society. Cure's explora­
tion of the aspects of ourselves we keep hidden
wouldn't be nearly as effective without it, since
these hidden aspects and the unseen menace are
one and the same. Neither would Pulse's coming
Excitement of the Do-Re-Mi-Fa Girl
of the apocalypse, of which the unseen menace
is a herald.
the suggestion of unseen menace, the creation Kurosawa's skills have not gone unnoticed.
of a world that exists outside the borders of the The high-concept alarm bells went ringing as
image, beyond the frame. Kurosawa's thoughts soon as Hollywood caught wind of Pulse, and
on the creation of this suggestion echo the the film was promptly snapped up for a remake.
words of Shigehiko Hasumi: Initially there was talk that Kurosawa himself
would direct the American version of his own
"I have two points of view about this. Firstly, film, but when Scream director Wes Craven ex­
I believe film can't show everything. It's a pressed an interest, Kurosawa was unceremoni­
frame and you can only show what's in the ously pushed aside. Kurosawa's feelings on the
frame and not what is outside it. You can't Hollywood interest in remaking Japanese films
see everything, but there definitely is a world are understandably mixed:
outside that frame. The frame is like a window,
which means there are things you can't see, "Ghosts and monsters that appear in American

but that is the scary part. The audience has to films have the intention of hurting people, like
imagine for themselves what is happening out­ in Alien for example. In my films, and in films

side that frame. Secondly, I live in society. In like The Ring, they don't hurt people but they
that society there are also many things I can't scare them. I was very surprised that Ameri-
 Sweet Home • 101

cans were able to understand that element of Future was selected for the official competition
fear, but I'm happy that they do. But whether of the 2003 Cannes Film Festival (his third time
this development with remakes is valuable there), he shed few tears over the missed Hol­
or dangerous is difficult to judge for now. To lywood opportunity.
actually make a movie in Hollywood is a won­

derful thing, but a remake . . . I understand the "My films have never been hits.They've never
reason why they would want to do a remake. attracted big crowds and they're not really
Making it in English with Western actors is popular films. But even though my audience
good for selling a film in the international is relatively small, the people who watch my
market, but it makes me wonder what the films are very supportive.Their enthusiasm is
validity of the original is.As a Japanese, there what allows me to continue making films. "

is something unsatisfying about the situation.

If you can get the chance to make a brand­

new horror movie in Hollywood as a Japanese
director, it would be wonderful. But if there is -v Sweet Home
only the occasion of doing a remake, there is 7.'7-1-1-*-]"
something dangerous about it. It's difficult to
SuitoHomu
judge. "
1989. CAST : Nobuko Miyamoto, Nokko, Shingo
The process of the Pulse remake, which Yamashiro, JUZQ Itami, Fukumi Kuroda. 102 min­
coincided with the U.S. release of Cure and a utes. RELEASES : VHS, Toho Video (Japan, no sub­
traveling retrospective of his work in Ameri­ titles).
can theaters, nevertheless kept Kurosawa busy
for an entire year. The director spent much of FX-Iaden haunted house movie, a m i l l ion m i les
2001 in the States as a result and quite atypi­ removed from Klyoshi Ku rosawa ' s l ater cere­
cally didn't make a single film in that time. It bral c h i l lers . One of the d i rector's most acces­
was the first time since 1991 that a year had sible fi lms.
passed without a new Kiyoshi Kurosawa film.
In 2002, once the whole affair was behind him, According to director Kiyoshi Kurosawa, all the
he went back to Japan and back to the set with films he made before 1997's Cure are flawed. In
an old-fashioned zeal, shooting the films Bright the literal sense, this goes for his very entertaining
Future and Doppelganger almost back-to-back, 1989 haunted house film Sweet Home too: After
as well as contributing a ten-minute segment to its theatrical run it suffered several alterations
Makoto Shinozaki's cop comedy omnibus Cop at the hands of its producer, the late JUzo Itami.
Festival (Deka Matsurz)' The three films appro­ Though the result is not nearly as disastrous as
priately signal a new beginning for Kurosawa these kinds of interventions usually tend to be,
himself. Doppelganger and Cop Festival are com­ the film has since then often been described as
edies, while the title Bright Future itself already being more Itami's film than Kurosawa's.
announces a change in outlook. Perhaps his Ironically, this scenario mimicked what
year in the United States, away from home and happened to Tobe Hooper, a director long ad­
away from a movie set for the longest period in mired by Kurosawa, when he made his haunted
his life, was Kurosawa's personal apocalypse. He house film Poltergeist ( 1982) under the auspices
saw his old life as a filmmaker come to a destruc­ of producer Steven Spielberg. Though Hooper
tive close with the Pulse remake fiasco, and now has always denied Spielberg's involvement in
it seems he has started anew. By the time Bright the creative process aside from some assorted
102 . KIYOSHI KUROSAWA

second unit tasks, rumors have consistently cial effects come thick and fast. Kurosawa keeps
abounded that it was actually Spielberg who the camera moving, employs fast yet effective
wielded the megaphone on the set. editing, and strikes a nice balance between the
A big factor in the regressive disownment use of garish colors and ominous shadows, all
debate over Sweet Home is the fact that the the while cleverly avoiding the pitfalls of the
film looks nothing like the deliberately paced, genre and staying on the right side of the line
gloomy, cerebral chillers Kurosawa is known for that recent American effects showcases like
today. Sweet Home takes almost the opposite ap­ Thirteen Ghosts andJan De Bont's remake of The
proach to the genre, resulting in a colorful, ac­ Haunting crossed in their misfired attempts to
tion-packed, special effects-laden rollercoaster thrill multiplex audiences.
horror movie. Despite its unsurprising plotting, Sweet Home
Starring Itami's wife and frequent star actress is action-packed, thrill-packed, and effects­
Nobuko Miyamoto in the lead role, Sweet Home packed, resulting in an entertaining, effective,
follows the exploits of a group of people ventur­ and above all accessible haunted house ride.
ing to a deserted mansion to restore a priceless
mural to its full splendor. Arriving at the site,
they find that much of the house is covered in
additional murals depicting hellish scenes of a -J, Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!
mother losing her child in a blazing fire. When Jm.f:.t.: l/�>i.I�h! !
the restorer's daughter uncovers evidence that Katte ni Shiyagare
the mother and child from the paintings had in­
deed lived in the house, including the discovery 1995/96. CAST: Sho Aikawa, Kayo Maeda, Ren
of the child's grave in the garden, evil forces are Osugi, Yuriko Doguchi. GUEST CAST: Episode 1: Na­
unleashed. Objects start moving seemingly by tsumi Nanase, Shun Sugata, Jun Kunimura, Taro
themselves, and one by one the members of the Suwa. Episode 2: Satoshi Kajiwara, Yumiko Abe,
team start dying gruesome deaths. Akira Kuichi, Taro Suwa. Episode 3: Miki Fujitani,
As can be judged from the synopsis, Sweet Taro Suwa. Episode 4: YLiko Nita, Kenzo. Kawara­
Home is hardly a shining example of innova­ saki, Sabu, Taro Suwa. Episode 5: Sachiko Suzu­
tive storytelling. The conventionally structured ki, Masayuki Shionoya, Taro Suwa. Episode 6:
script echoes Robert Wise's 1963 genre mile­ Susumu Terajima, Tomoka Kurotani, Hiroshi Shi­
stone The Haunting, albeit with an interesting mizu. 484 minutes. RELEASES: VHS, KSS (Japan,
female-centered narrative revolving around the no subtitles).
strength of the mother-daughter bond. Like
many of the films Kurosawa made in his pre­ Six-part series of made-for-video gangster
Cure days (like The Guardfrom Underground and comedies, in the course of which Kiyoshi Ku­
Door III), Sweet Home is first and foremost an rosawa shows an increasing w i l l i ngness to
exercise in genre, one with which the cinephile experi ment. The fi lms a re h it and miss, but
director consciously trod in the footsteps of hold great value as transitional works in the
men like Wise and Hooper. director's oeuvre .
But while postrnodern, the film is never de­
rivative or lacking in imagination. All the ele­ Shot in pairs, i n the space of less than two years,
ments and, sometimes, cliches of the genre may the six-part Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself? series
be firmly in place (with Itami himself appearing is a peculiar entry in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's filmog­
as the token hermit with the mysterious past), raphy. Essentially formulaic gangster comedies,
but the thrills, the chills, and Dick Smith's spe- these six films are firmly rooted in the V-cinema
 Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself! • 103

production mill mentality, but allowed Kuro­

sawa to further hone his craft and his style and
to arrive at the departure point for his more ac­
complished and renowned later work.
The standard premise for each narratively
unconnected episode is a pair of petty criminal
layabouts, Yiiji (Aikawa) and Kosaku (Maeda),
who are always willing to take part in any kind of
shady business that will make them a bit of cash.
They have their hearts in the right place, how­
ever, and their convolutedly plotted adventures
inadvertently end with them giving up the op­
portunity for illicit gain in favor of helping out
the oppressed underdog. With Yiiji and Kosaku
filling the expected roles of older straight man
and bumbling young sidekick and with a pair
of mysteriously omniscient informants (in the
shape of a gay bar owner and his femme fatale
regular customer) to guide them, no pretence is
made at these films being anything more than
run-of the-mill entertainment.
In terms of story and characters, this is un­
deniably true. But the interest here lies in the
form of these films rather than in their content.
The Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself series is the
Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself!
quintessential example of the role of V-cinema
as training ground. In the course of its increas­
ingly interesting six episodes, one filmmaker than a diagonal dolly, but it packs a remarkable
finds his artistic voice; if the first entry is largely amount of information and movement.
anonymous, the final is unmistakably the work Episodes 2 and 3, The Escape and The Loot,
of the Kiyoshi Kurosawa we know of such later have few such audacious moments, although Ku­
films as Cure. rosawa's use of space and framing remains con­
Although shot, as mentioned, in pairs, there sistently interesting and the films contain several
is a clear division between the first three en­ effective visual gags that point toward the ele­
tries in the series and the last three. The first ment of comedy that would continue to be part
three fulfill their minimal criteria of providing of the director's work (even his more serious later
action-comedy entertainment, with Kurosawa films like Cure, Charisma, Pulse, and Bright Fu­
very subtly experimenting with camera set-ups, ture contain subtle but effective comic moments)
framing, and the manipulation and creation of and which would come to the fore again in Dop­
space. Episode 1, subtitled The Heist, contains pelganger and his segment of Cop Festival.
one very impressive set-up in which the compo­ All three films contain almost ridiculously
sition changes from medium close-up to extreme convoluted plots that spring forth from very
wide shot, while characters move in and out of simple, almost routine premises. The Heist is
the frame to change the impact and tone of the about two men falling in love with the same
sequence. Essentially, the shot is nothing more woman, while The Escape is about two women in
104 . KIYOSHI KUROSAWA

love with the same man; in both cases the par­ its blood-drenched participants hands her his stash
amour is in trouble with the yakuza, which leads of heroin before dying of his wounds. Shocked by
to the aforementioned convolution as Yuji and the experience, she crashes her car into a fence
Kosaku figure out ways to escape the gangsters' just as Yuji and Kosaku walk by. When she refuses
grasp. But where the first three installments to go to a hospital to have her face wound taken
are merely artificial in their narrative complex­ care of, the two protagonists take her home and
ity, episode 4, The Gamble, takes this complex­ discover a bag of heroin in her purse. Not long
ity as its very premise and delivers a intriguing after the discovery, the entire underworld comes
meditation on chance as the deciding factor in a knocking on their door hoping to buy it off them.
human being's life. When they confront Minako with the heroin, she
Co-written by Akihiko Shiota, The Gamble tells Yuji and Kosaku that there is in fact more
sees Kosaku winning a trip to Hawaii and Yuji and takes them to a locker from which she pulls
receiving a briefcase full of cash when a gangster an entire shopping bag full of drugs. Not long
seemingly drops dead in front of him. When Yuji after, the gangsters appear again, but seeing the
tries to woo the girl at the local tobacco stand, increased amount, they retreat to their offices to
their romantic entanglements eventually end up adjust their bids accordingly.
with her debt-ridden father stealing the briefcase This story structure keeps repeating itself,
of money, just before its original owner returns with the stash of heroin hidden by Minako
from the dead to reclaim it, with the yakuza boss growing bigger and bigger, and the determina­
he's supposed to hand it over to hot on his heels. tion of the gangsters to get hold of it increasing
As its title implies, The Gamble is all about exponentially. Kurosawa emphasizes the cyclical
chance and coincidence. The film has numerous nature of the storyline by also repeating his vi­
scenes of its characters engaging in gambling sual motifs and inserts visual gags that are de­
and gameplay that serve as a visual metaphor lightfully absurd, with one yakuza group using a
for this principle. The film also contains no real man on a leash as an attack dog and one of their
villains, since all the characters are completely rivals being a kindly independent entrepreneur.
aware of the fact that they are mere pawns in In the film's finale, a bag of heroin the protago­
this cosmic game of chance, meaning that no nists had thrown into the river miraculously re­
one ever resents losing what was easily gained. appears at the precise moment when it can save
If you get the opportunity, you take it. If some­ their lives. It's this finely structured and above
one takes it from you through the same prin­ all very visual comedy that makes The Nouveau
ciple, he is merely doing what you would have Riche not only the most satisfying entry in the
done, and did, in the same situation. (Interest­ series, but also one of the more accessible films
ingly, this structure based on chance is nearly in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's body of work.
identical to the main motif in the work of di­ The most typically Kurosawa-esque of all
rector Sabu, whose debut film Dangan Run­ six installments, however, is the final one, The
ner was released later the same year and who Hero. Initially starting out as another unre­
appears in The Gamble as an actor, playing the markable entry, with Yuji and Kosaku becom­
top yakuza boss.) ing involved with a young man named Aoyagi
Chance plays a major role in episode 5 as well. (Susumu Terajima) who tries to rally his neigh­
Entitled The Nouveau Riche, it takes the elements borhood into chasing all yakuza elements from
of chance and complexity to yet another level, town, it changes tone abruptly after fifty min­
applying a cyclical structure of recurring events. utes. At this point, the story jumps one year
When a young woman named Minako stumbles ahead in time to show the kind of dystopian so­
onto the aftermath of a gangster shoot-out, one of ciety familiar from such later films as Charisma
 Cure • 105

and Barren Illusion. Aoyagi's activist movement is undeniable, underlining the vital role of the
has turned into a totalitarian regime that tries straight-to-video industry in the growth of con­
to rid the city of homeless people and which is temporaryJapanese cinema.
not averse to destroying the houses of ideologi­ Although they contain little that is of great
cal opponents in order to make them homeless appeal to the casual viewer, those with an inter­
and therefore eligible for arrest. est in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's work will find in the
The Hero's second half starts with an aston­ Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself series a significant
ishing six-minute, one-take sequence filmed transitional phase in the career of a very signifi­
with steadicam that is pure Kurosawa: By way cant director.
of independent but interacting and overlapping
events that take place in a restricted space (in
this case a grassy field surrounded by dilapi­
dated houses), it establishes the entire nature of "" Cure
the society in which it is set at the same time ::\".::z.7
as evoking a sense of dread by means of brief Kyua
visual cues (the irreverent behavior of the char­
acters, a protest march, the omnipresence of 1997. CAST: K6ji Yakusho, Masato Hagiwara, Tsu­
campaign posters carrying Aoyagi's portrait). yoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa, Yuriko D6guchi, Ren
The sequence is a vastly more complex varia­ Osugi. 111 minutes . RELEASES: DVD, Home Vision
tion on the camera set-up in the first episode Entertainment (U. S., English subtitles), Toshiba
and foreshadows a similar intricate scene in the (Japan, English subtitles), M K2 Editions ( France,
later License to Live. French subtitles).
WIth this rupture in style and narrative,
Kurosawa invokes the themes that would come Disturbing, unrelenti ngly bleak and thought­
to dominate his later work (the truth that hides provoking revision of the serial killer fi l m ,
behind the everyday fa<;ade, the effects of an in­ which deservedly m a d e Kiyos h i Kurosawa ' s
dividual's actions on society as a whole), as well n a m e i nternationally.
as its stylistic trademarks (evoking an unseen
dread by way of framing and use of space, ma­ Cure remains the watershed in Kiyoshi Kuro­
nipulation of the movement of actors, sparing sawa's career, not only in terms of international
use of close-ups). The Hero also contains several exposure and recognition but also within the
postmodern visual nods to other films, includ­ scope of his own work. Whereas Suit Yourselfor
ing Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Doulos (1961) and Shoot Yourself! The Hero showed the awakening
George Roy Hill's Butch Cassidy and the Sun­ of Kurosawa's style and themes only in the final
dance Kid ( 1969), the latter inspiring Yiiji and thirty minutes and The Revenge took him two
K6saku's climactic defiance of a hail of bullets films to explore their proper application, Cure is
from Aoyagi's corrupt police force. a single, cohesive, and fully matured unit.
The progression Kurosawa makes in the As a result, Cure is also Kurosawa's most
space of these six films is a remarkable one: disturbing film. Later films like Charisma and
from a crafty genre director of modest ambi­ Pulse end in visions of death and destruction
tion to a filmmaker who has found his voice and that are more radical than Cure's, but they dif­
hit his artistic stride. In the end the reasons for fer in their suggestion that after the destruction
this change are the director's own talents, but of the old, new things will emerge. There is no
the role the V-cinema production mentality such hope when the credits roll in Cure.
played in allowing this development to occur Often compared to David Fincher's Seven
106 . KIYOSHI KUROSAWA

(1996) for its bleak outlook on mankind's fate identical MO. The enigmas pile up for police
and toJonathan Demme's The Silence ofthe Lambs detective Takabe (Yakusho), who is put on the
(1991) for its mind games between killer and cop, case, aided by psychiatrist Sakuma (Ujiki).
Cure is, however, intrinsically Kurosawan. More Takabe is already a man under pressure. His
resonant with our everyday lives than either of wife is mentally ill and gradually deteriorating
its American counterparts, it explores how we as in her condition. She receives treatment, but
human beings hide parts of ourselves in order to regularly goes wandering off on her way from
live in society and how the repression of those home to the hospital (Kurosawa has acknowl­
feelings only intensifies them. Without ever de­ edged that this idea was taken from Makoto
nying our individuality, Kurosawa links us all as Shinozaki's Okaeri, and repaid the debt by cast­
human beings by way of this habit of repress­ ing his former disciple as an extra). Takabe's
ing "unsocial" emotions. Most serial killer films progression in the murder cases keeps equal
isolate such hidden urges in a single character, footing with the deterioration of his wife's ill­
brandishing that character as evil for having ness and by the time he discovers the element
those urges and thereby giving the viewer false of hypnosis and finds Mamiya, the burden and
reassurance that he or she is different. Cure in­ frustrations of having to take care of his wife
stead confronts us with the fact that we all have have become so great that the young mesmerist
dark, destructive, and potentially murderous ele­ easily taps into them, hoping to make the detec­
ments to our personalities, and that the harder tive the next in his line of guinea pigs.
we try to repress or deny them, the easier they What ensues from this is not simply a grip­
can be coaxed to the surface. Cure is the mirror ping battle of wills, but a battle over the audi­
that forces us to look at our naked selves. ence's last vestiges of hope. Takabe has been the
The man who holds up that mirror is Mami­ viewer's anchor from the beginning of the film,
ya (Hagiwara), a young amnesiac drifter who a man of rationality and perceptiveness who is
wanders around Tokyo and its environs doing good at his job and cares for his wife. Early in
little more than asking people the same ques­ the film there is a scene that not only establishes
tion over and over again: "Who are you? " In­ the film's central theme of what is hidden under
variably, they answer by giving their job titles, the surface, but which also allows the viewer to
an indication of how those individuals define immediately identify with Takabe: While he is
themselves through their roles in society. But waiting at the dry cleaner's, the customer stand­
this is not what Mamiya is after. He wants ing next to him repeatedly mutters a slew of
them to look deep inside themselves and face obscenities and murderous intentions to him­
up to who they really are, to find the part of self. The moment the store clerk appears, the
themselves that they deny. Hypnotizing them anonymous man's personality switches to that
through such simple means as the flame from of an everyday, seemingly harmless salaryman.
a lighter or water spilled from a cup, he helps Takabe's fear and confusion will be recogniz­
them rediscover that part. able to anyone living in a big city, who will have
At the same time, Tokyo is hit by a wave of doubtlessly found themselves in a similar situa­
seemingly inexplicable murders. All victims carry tion at least once in their lives.
an identical lethal wound: a big X cut across their This scene effectively isolates the element of
throats and chests. All perpetrators are found at evil in society in an anonymous "other. " We side
or near the crime scene in a state of confusion, with Takabe in order to feel safe in the realiza­
with little recollection of why they killed what tion that this disturbed individual is not us. By
is in many cases their own partner. None of the turning Takabe into the audience identification
murderers seems connected in any way but their figure, Kurosawa makes his fall later on in the
 Charisma . 107

film even more disturbing. "When Mamiya grabs than in Charisma, in which the battle over a rick­
hold of his will and forces him to face up to his ety tree is fought out in allegorical terms.
hidden urges, which he does indeed possess in After bungling a hostage situation, causing
spades, our own defenses as viewers crumble the deaths of both the hostage and the hostage
with him. How can we claim to be immaculate taker, policeman Yabuike (Yakusho, playing
souls when the man in whom we recognized what seems like an even more burdened version
ourselves turns out to be as deeply disturbed as of his character in Cure) is sent on leave. Instead
the murderers he arrested? of returning home to his family, he asks a col­
Cure is the quintessential Kurosawa film. Its league to drop him off at a bus station on the
success as a genre film depends on its success edge of a remote forest. With no bus imminent
as a committed exploration of our social fabric, (the timetable falling off the rusted bus stop
and vice versa. As in the later Pulse, not inciden­ sign is the only movement Yabuike sees), he de­
tally his other most widely seen film, the two cides to head into the forest, wandering around
are completely balanced, with the genre frame­ until night falls, and he finds an abandoned car
work additionally serving as an entry point for to sleep in. That night, someone sets fire to the
new audiences. car, but Yabuike is saved from the flames by an
unknown figure. His belongings gone, he stum­
bles into the arms of a group of forest rangers
headed by Nakasone (Osugi) who give him a
� Charisma dirty old overcoat to wear. The rangers are in­
j] I) 7-. '"? vestigating the gradual deterioration of the for­
Karisuma est, whose seemingly healthy trees keep keeling
over and dying. One tree in particular has their
1999. CAST: K6ji Yakusho, Hiroyuki I keuchi, Jun attention, one which seems nearly dead, but
Fubu ki, Ren Osugi, Yuriko D6guchi. 103 minutes . which remains standing despite not bearing so
RELEASES: DVD, Home Vision Entertainment (U. S., much as a single leaf.
English subtitles), King Records (Japan, English The rangers are not the only ones with an
subtitles), Arte Video ( France, French subtitles­ interest in this curious tree, as Yabuike finds out
two-disc set with Puls e) . when a young man comes raging at the rangers
for approaching it. This young man, Kiriyama
A burned-out cop wanders i nto a forest and (Ikeuchi), has devoted his life to taking care of and
becomes i nvolved with the various factions protecting the tree, which he has named Charis­
waging a battle over a mysterious tree . Ku­ ma, building scaffolding around it to keep it from
rosawa 's most unclassifiable fi l m , this will falling over and even administering it intravenous
either have you scratch i ng your head i n be­ feeding. Kiriyama is alone in his devotion, how­
wilderment or keep you completely enth ral led ever, since he not only has the rangers to contend
from begi n n i ng to e n d . with, but also a female botanist by the name of
Jinbo (Fubuki) who is convinced that Charisma's
That Kiyoshi Kurosawa's approach to filmmaking roots are secreting a poison that is responsible for
can be, to put it somewhat disrespectfully, cere­ the gradual decimation of the forest. Not much
bral, should be a well-known fact to anyone who later, a group of shady businessmen shows up and,
has seen Cure or Pulse, his two best-known films. claiming to represent a wealthy collector, offers
Metaphors and symbolism abound, and telling a the rangers a big sum of money if they will uproot
neat plot is less important than exploring socially Charisma and bring it to them.
relevant themes. In no film is this more apparent Yabuike stands amid all this commotion and
 watches it happen. Moving from one group to
another, he gets to know the various factions
and their viewpoints without committing to
any of them. He is essentially a character with­
out personality, a blank page, an individual who
has been removed from his own environment,
sent on leave, wandered off, lost his belongings,
and is eventually fired from his job altogether.
Before he meets Kiriyama, he eats hallucino­
genic mushrooms and gets high, signaling his
complete liberation from his old self and his
old environment. After a while of observing
the situation, he seems most drawn to under­
dog Kiriyama, particularly when Jinbo's loopy
younger sister Chizuru (Doguchi) tells him
that the botanist is poisoning the forest herself
so as to have an excuse to get rid of Charisma.
There is an interesting parallel here with Suit
Yourself or Shoot Yourself! The Hero, in which
Aoyagi shoots himself in the leg with the intent
of blaming it on the neighborhood yakuza. In
both cases, the characters in question represent
reactionary, proto-fascist forces, which gives an
insight into the role the various factions in Cha­
risma, as well as the tree itself, play. If the bota­
nist represents the reactionary, then Kiriyama
is a revolutionary, protecting individualism or
the right to individual ideology (the single tree)
against those who fear that individual thought
will poison the whole of society (the forest).
The rangers meanwhile are interested in main­
taining the status quo, but are more than willing
to modify their interest for a healthy sum.
Increasingly, Yabuike starts to see parallels
between his presence amid the warring fac­
tions and the hostage situation he was in at the
start of the film. His wish to save the lives of
both the hostage taker and the hostage ended in
death for both of them. Now again, he is faced
with the choice of saving either Charisma or the
forest, but before he can make a decision, the
businessmen and rangers succeed in digging out
the prized tree. Yabuike and Kiriyama manage
to stop their car, butJinbo and her sister get to
Charisma Charisma first and burn it.
 Pulse . 109

When Yabuike finds another seemingly dead Fi nely c rafted horror that l i n ks modern tech­
tree that he thinks might be a second Charisma, nology with loneli ness and loneli ness with
the process seems to start all over again: The death . Atmospheric and effective, Pulse ta kes
businessmen offer money, Jinbo tries to destroy Ku rosawa ' s vision of apocalypse to its distu rb­
it. But something has changed for Yabuike. With ing extreme.
the outcome of the hostage situation in mind,
he realizes that his wish to save lives on both The final shot of Charisma showed us a city in
sides is futile. To save both means to kill both, flames, a vision of apocalypse as seen by someone
since one cannot tolerate the other. Therefore, who had arrived too late to take part. No expla­
in a situation where two lives are at stake, if one nations were given about what brought it on, but
dies at least the other lives. All this ado about perhaps that explanation can be found in Pulse,
a single tree only blurs the fact that in the end which makes us eyewitnesses to the coming of the
it matters little. The forest does not care about apocalypse and takes us straight into its heart.
the fuss. Its components will live and die and Kurosawa's subject is a lot less abstract in
eventually be replaced by something else. Pulse than in Charisma. Here, the director's con­
So, when Jinbo tries to destroy the second cerns are over new technologies, in particular
Charisma by blowing it up, Yabuike lets her the Internet, and the effect they have on our
do so and even lends a hand. After the explo­ behavior-as individuals and, as always, by ex­
sion, amid the rubble of the charred tree stump, tension as a society. As in his previous works, it's
they discover something that confirms Yabuike's the behavior of individuals that shapes society as
convictions: a young shoot that is growing in­ a whole, and with these individuals increasingly
side the dead tree. When in the final scene Ya­ isolating themselves in what Kurosawa feels is a
buike leaves the forest to return to the city, he is world of artificial, or illusory, communication,
confronted with a situation that is immediately the end result is very dehumanized indeed.
reminiscent of the one from which he has just Pulse follows two separate protagonists.
emerged: In the distance, the city is in chaos, One, a young woman named Michi (Aso) , sees
buildings are on fire, helicopters rush overhead. her computer nerd friend Taguchi (Mizuhashi)
Here too, there is commotion and destruction. commit suicide for motivations she can't fath­
And here too, that destruction will eventually om. With her friends Junko and Yabe, she tries
pave the way for a new beginning. to find the reason behind his death through the
computer disk he' d made for them. On it, they
find an image of Taguchi standing alone in his
room; on the monitor of his computer is reflect­
-.v Pulse ed a ghostlike face. Before long, Michi is witness
ffillm to yet another suicide, as the young woman who
Kairo lives in her building, whom she had seen clos­
ing off the basement door with red duct tape
2001. CAST : Haruhiko Kato, Kumiko Aso, Koyuki, just that morning, jumps off a factory silo and
Shun Sugata, Koji Yakusho, Kenji Mizuhashi, plummets to her death (a powerful, unnerving
Jun Fubuki. 117 minutes . RELEASES : DVD, Toku­ image, with the jump, fall, and impact all shot
ma (Japan, English subtitles), Universe (Hong in a single take). That same day, Yabe's mobile
Kong, English and Chinese subtitles), Arte Video phone rings. It's the voice of Taguchi, repeating
( France, French subtitles-two-disc set with Cha­ a single word: "Help." Yabe ventures into the
risma) . sealed-off basement and has an encounter with
the ghostly apparition of a young woman.
110 . KIYOSHI KUROSAWA

Pulse's second protagonist is Kawashima when one of the film's very few adult charac­
(Kato), a student taking his first strides onto the ters chooses to refrain from taking initiative
Internet. Clearly not comfortable working with or responsibility, leaving the young to fend for
computers, the first thing he sees when he fi­ themselves-which in turn also echoes Barren
nally manages to log on is a bizarre website that Illusion, a film that sees all characters over the
shows him images of young people sitting alone age of twenty-five wiped out by a spread of toxic
in their rooms at the computer, then a video re­ pollen).
cording of a young man with a black plastic bag Although the plot has its weaker moments
over his head. A text asks him, "Would you like ("Let's have a look inside that abandoned fac­
to see a ghost?" Disturbed by what he sees, he tory"), Pulse is one of Kurosawa's most success­
turns off the computer and goes searching for ful attempts at conjuring up the existence of a
help at his university. He makes the acquain­ world outside the frame. This is particularly ev­
tance of Harne (Koyuki), a young woman who ident in his use of sudden dramatic background
teaches computer science. When the images action (the woman jumping off the silo is shot
persist and his computer starts logging on to as background action), elements moving in and
the Internet of its own accord, the two try to out of the frame, and lighting designs that lit­
investigate further, but soon start to notice bi­ erally make characters (in particular the ghosts)
zarre phenomena. appear and disappear from the screen. Even the
Although dealing with the negative as­ location of Michi's workplace, a greenhouse
pects of technology, Pulse is not technophobic on a rooftop (with extensive use of the frame­
in the sense of such American films as Demon within-a-frame technique by way of the numer­
Seed ( 197 6), War Games ( 1983 ), The Termina­ ous panes of glass), is such an enclosed, isolated
tor ( 1984), or The Matrix ( 1999). In those films, place that it creates the impression of being
the machines are out to get us, pure and simple. detached from the real world, and therefore of
Technology is inherently and omnipotently evil things going on elsewhere.
and the films use their viewer's technophobia to Unlike in previous films, the sense of dread
achieve their desired effects. Pulse takes a very this evokes receives a true pay-off in Pulse, in the
different approach. It does not feed off the au­ film's climactic vision of an empty, dehumanized
dience's fear, but explores what its director sees Tokyo. It's the most literal and confronting vi­
as a problematic development, trying to create sion of apocalypse the director has yet shown in
in its audience an awareness of our behavior in his work and it immediately makes one wonder
this society. Pulse is in this sense very similar to where he could go next. Apparently Kurosawa
Cure, and less abstract than Charisma (though himself also felt that he couldn't follow this line
the film does contain one moment that echoes of exploration any further and, without a hint of
Charisma's conclusion of accepting life as it is, irony, he called his next film Bright Future.
 CHAPTER 7

Studio Ghibli
( 15ao Takahata / Hayao M iyazaki)

�no� / gdtij,�
For the Japanese, the output of Studio Ghibli and Doraemon-the smiling blue robotic cat who
represents something of a national treasure has been making regular appearances in comic
trove. Combining some of the most startling books since 1 969 (and on TV since 1 97 9)-the
2D cel animation seen the world over with real­ second-highest earner for the year was The
istic character design, richly detailed landscapes, Phantom of Baker Street (Meitantei Conan: Beikii
sweeping emotional arcs, and a potent whiff of Sutorito no Boret), taken from the popular manga
fantasy, the studio has dazzled audiences with its and TV series based around the character of a
freewheeling, inspirational vision ever since its high-schooler detective named Conan. How­
formation in 1 9 8 5 . Wistfully evoking the far­ ever, by far the top grossing production, its
away, unattainable dreamlands portrayed in the 6.46 billion yen (roughly $ 5 5 million) box of­
classics of European children's literature, and fice take almost double that of its nearest rival's
more recently relocating to imaginary worlds 3 .4 billion yen, was Studio Ghibli's double bill
rooted within Japan's mythic past, the work of of The Cat Returns (Neko no Ongaeshi, directed
Ghibli represents escapism in its purest form. by Hiroyuki Morita) and its preceding animat­
It goes without saying that animation is huge ed short, The Ghiblies: Episode 2 , allowing Toho
business in Japan. The TV airwaves are jammed Studios, who distributed all four of these titles,
with it, video shelves are chock-a-block full of to pretty much clean up that year.
OAV (Original Animation Videos) episodes of a The year's runaway success of The Cat Re­
generally more adolescent focus released purely turns is not a new development for Studio
for the home viewing market, and during the Ghibli, and laying its product alongside more
school holiday periods, cinemas are crammed typically endemic home-grown animations,
with kids flocking to see the latest large-screen usually no more than large-screen cinema out­
escapades of such perennial favorites as the ings utilizing simplistic animation techniques
scampish eternal kindergarten brat Crayon Shin­ based on tried and tested characters and for­
chan, or spinoffs from popular manga or video mulas already established on Tv, it's easy to see
game serials such as Inuyasha and One Piece. why. Compared with the competition, they are
In 2002, a fairly typical year for the industry, in a different league entirely.
four of the top five highest-grossing domestic More significantly, from the 1 989 release
productions were animated. Alongside the re­ of Kiki 's Delivery Service onward, they have also
spective annual theatrical excursions of Pokimon successfully fended off competition from big-

111
112 . STUDIO GHIBLI

ger budgeted U. S . productions, and not just Film Festival, and at the 7 5 th Academy Awards
animated ones. Titles such as Porco Rosso and romped home with the Oscar for Best Animated
Whisper of the Heart have all raked in the cash Feature, a new category created only the year
at the domestic box office. Hayao Miyazaki's before, when it was won by DreamWorks' CGI
Princess Mononoke, Ghibli's box-office smash of fantasy, Shrek (2 00 1 ) .
1 99 7 , was the highest grossing Japanese film of Miyazaki's Oscar win i s symbolic because it
all time, trumped only by the takings of Titanic not only recognizes almost forty years of top­
in the year of its release. notch work in the field. Coming in the same
Miyazaki's follow-up, Spirited Away, went year as an Oscar nomination for Koji Yamamu­
one better. An eclectic mishmash owing much ra's bizarre 1 0-minute Mt. Head (Atama Yama,
to Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, located 2 002), it is also an acknowledgement from the
within a traditional Japanese bathhouse in a fic­ global mainstream that Japanese animation is
tional world populated by a colorful variety of no longer seen as the reserve of a handful of
ancient gods (some of which are drawn from obsessives, but perhaps the country's main cul­
the traditional Shinto religion but the majority tural contribution to the world of cinema, with
stemming from the imagination of its creator), Ghibli firmly leading the way and Miyazaki as
it had Japanese audiences flocking in droves on its most vocal ambassador.
its release, outperforming Titanic to become the Nevertheless, the continued guaranteed suc­
highest earning film ever in Japan. Outside of cess of Miyazaki's films at the box office and the
the country it became the first ever animated plaudits heaped upon the director worldwide
film to win the Golden Bear award at the Berlin have rather drawn attention away from the other

Filmographies taro) ( a . k . a . Cackling Kitaro) Makl) [short]

[TV series, 65 episodes , 1974
Isao Takahata
co-d i rector] . Several epi sodes
• Heidi (Arupusu no Sh6jo Haijl)
1963 only.
[TV series , 52 episodes]
• Ken the Wolf Boy ( Okami 1970
Shonen Ken) [TV series , 89 1976
• Apatchi Yakyugun [TV series, • 3, 000 Miles in Search of
episodes , co-d i rector] . Sev­ 26 e pi sodes , CO-d i rector] .
eral e p i sodes on ly. Mother ( Haha 0 Tazunete
Several episodes on ly.
Sanzenn) ( a . k . a . From the
1965 1971 Alps to the Andes) [TV seri e s ,
• Hustle Punch (Hassuru Pan­ • Shin Gegege no Kitaro [TV 5 2 episodes]
ch!) [TV series , 26 episodes , series, 45 episodes , co-d i rec­
co-d i rector]. O pe n i ng se­ 1979
tor]. Several episodes only
quences only. • Anne of Green Gables (Akage
• Lupin 11/ (Rupan SanseI) [TV no Anne) [TV series, 52 epi­
1968 series, 23 episodes, co-d i rec­ sodes]
• Adventures of Ho/s, Prince of tor] . Complete series.
the Sun (Taiyo no Oji Horusu 1981
1972 • Jarinko Chie
no Daiboken) ( a . k . a . Little • Akado Suzunosuke [TV se­
Norse Prince Valiant / The ries , 52 episodes, co-d i rec­ 1982
Great Adventure of Little tor] . Several episodes only • Gauche the Cellist (Serohiki
Norse Prince Valiant) • Pandal Go Pandal (Panda no Goshu)
1969 Kopanda) [short] 1987
• Moretsu Ataro [TV series , 90 1973 • The Story of Yanagawa Canal
episodes , CO-d i rector] . Sev­ • Pandal Go Pandal-Rainy ( Yanagawa Horiwari Monoga­
eral episodes only Day Circus (Panda Ko­ tart)
• Spooky Kitaro (Gegege no Ki- panda-Amefuri Sakasu no
 Studio Ghibli • 113

talents working at the studio, and more specifi­ girls battle against the forces of environmental
caliy, from the fact that both the history and pre­ devastation, children ride in giant cat-buses,
history of Studio Ghibli is primarily that of two and pigs can fly, his vision is imprinted on every
men. 1sao Takahata, co-founder of the company frame of his work, a factor that has made him
and director of the wistfully nostalgic Only Yes­ a far better subj ect for auteurist-based studies
terday and the tragic wartime tearjerker Grave than his more anonymous partner.
of the Fireflies, has worked alongside Miyazaki But whilst Miyazaki's invigorating free­
since the early '60s; and having directed his first wheeling fantasies may have proven the most
feature, The Adventures of Hols, Prince of the successful in straddling the boundaries of both
Sun in 1 968, some ten years before Miyazaki, is age and nationality at the box office, by reining
by far the more experienced of the two. in the images within the demands of the story,
It's interesting to note the difference in di­ Takahata's more plot-driven narratives more
rectorial approach used by the studio's tower­ than make up for what they lack in spectacle in
ing twin talents. Miyazaki modestly categorizes terms of their subtlety and pacing. Acting more
himself as merely "a man who draws pictures. " in the capacity of foreman, Takahata never puts
H e i s a n illustrator/animator foremost, having so much as pen or brush to paper during the
spent almost fifteen years as such before adopt­ final animation process. As a result his work
ing the role of director. He has stated that he looks markedly different from film to film, the
has little idea of what direction his stories will story reflected in the design, rather than acting
follow until he starts work on them. Vividly de­ secondarily to it.
picting lavish, expansive worlds where teenage In 1 999, he directed the superb My Neigh-

1988 I sao Takahata and Keij i H aya­ • My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari

• Grave of the Rreflies (Hotaru kawa] . A l l episodes . no Totoro)
no Haka) ( a . k . a . Tombstone 1979 1989
of the Fireflies) • Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro • Kiki 's Delivery Service (Majo
1991 (Rupan Sansei: Kariosutoro no Takkyubin)
• Only Yesterday (Omoide no Shiro) 1992
Poroporo) ( a . k . a . Tearful 1980 • Porco Rosso (Kurenai no
Thoughts) • Lupin III (Rupan SanseI) [TV Buta) (a. k.a. The Crimson
1994 series , 155 episodes , co­ Pig)
• Pompoko (Heisei Tanuki Gas­ d i rector] • Sora Iro no Tane [TV spot]
sen Ponpoko) 1982 • Nandaro [TV s pots]
1999 • Sherlock Hound (Meitantei 1995
• My Neighbors the Yama­ Homuzu) [TV series , 26 e pi­ • On Your Mark [short]
das (Hohokekyo Tonari no sodes, co-d i rector]
1997
Yamada-kun) 1984 • Princess Mononoke (Mono­
Hayao Miyazaki • Nausicaa of the Valley of noke Hime)
1971 the Winds (Kaze no Tani no 2001
• Lupin III (Rupan SanseI) [TV Naushika) ( a . k . a . Warriors of • Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro
series, 23 episodes , co-d i rec­
the Wind) no Kamikakushl)
tor] . Severa l episodes o n ly 1986 2004
1978 • Castle in the Sky (Tenku no • Howl 's Moving Castle (Hauru
• Future Boy Conan (Mirai Shiro Raputa) ( a . k . a . Laputa: no Ugoku Shiro)
Shonen Konan) [TV seri e s , Castle in the Sky)
26 episodes, co-d i rected with 1988
114 . STUDIO GHIBLI

other, a factor which has led to a certain con­

sistency of vision in its output. For years both
Miyazaki and Takahata have often acted in the
role of producer for one another, a collabora­
tion that can be traced right back to the very
roots of Japanese animation when they both
started working at Toei Animation (Toei Doga)
in the early '60s.
Born in 1 94 1 , Miyazaki j oined Toei in 1 96 3
after graduating from Gakushuin University
with a degree in political science and econom­
ics. The company had been established in 1 956,
producing Japan's first color animated feature,
Legend of the White Serpent (Hakujaden) in 1 9 5 8 .
The film, based o n a n ancient Chinese legend
and directed by Taiji Yabushita, is largely con­
sidered to be the starting point of modern Japa­
nese animation and was released in the U. S . in
1 96 1 , having been first showcased abroad in
1 959 at the Venice Children's Film Festival. Mi­
yazaki cites it as one of the primary motivating
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Winds factors in his decision to become an animator.
Miyazaki entered Toei at the very bottom,
bors the Yamadas, based on the popular Asahi first working as an "in-betweener, " one who
Shinbun newspaper cartoon created by Hisaichi draws the intermediary movements that fall be­
Ishii. An extended comic ode to the Japanese tween the images designed by the key animator.
nuclear family told in a series of skits, its flat, His first credit was on Wan Wan Chitshingura
sketchy style made up of simple lines and par­ (Watchdog Bow Wow, 1 96 3 ) . During the early
tially water-colored backgrounds, stands unique '60s, the manga artist Osamu Tezuka had just
amongst Ghibli's output. moved into animation after establishing his own
In marked contrast is Toshitsugu Saida's company Mushi Productions in 1 96 1 , and his
more solid looking designs for Takahata's pre­ adaptation of his own comic book creation Tet­
Ghibli adaptation of Sero Hiki no Goshu, or suwan Atomu, better known abroad as Astro Boy,
Gauche the Cello Player in 1 98 1 . Based on a tale had become a huge TV hit. In 1 96 3 , Toei de­
by Kenji Miyazawa ( 1 896- 1 9 3 3 ) , the most en­ cided to compete, which is when Miyazaki first
duringly popular storyteller in Japan, it tells the made the acquaintance of Takahata, working on
tale of a left-handed cellist, whose discordant one of the episodes of the black-and-white TV
noises see him almost thrown out of the local series Ken the Wolf Boy ( Okami Shonen Ken).
orchestra yet find favor with the local wood­ The two, as with so many working in the
land creatures who come to hear his music as he artistic field at the time, shared left-wing ide­
spends his long nights practicing. als and formed a close friendship through Toei's
These differences in approach aside, it has to labor union. Miyazaki soon moved up to the
be said that Ghibli is a tightly knit team, using position of key animator and made valuable
a regular group of the country's finest animators creative contributions to all of the proj ects he
and designers all working closely with one an- worked on, including Yoshio Kuroda's feature
 Studio Ghibli • 115

length Gulliver's Space Travels (Garibii no Uchu

Ryoko, 1 965), inspired by the Jonathan Swift
children's classic that would later influence Mi­
yazaki's Castle in the Sky.
Though it would be some years before Miya­
zaki would finally occupy the director's seat, the
older Takahata (born in 1 9 3 5), who had had
been with the studio since 1 95 9 after he'd grad­
uated from the prestigious University of Tokyo
with a degree in French literature, was rising
quickly up the company hierarchy. Ken the Wolf
Boy marked his directorial debut. After the TV
series Hustle Punch in 1 96 5 , he was given his first
chance to direct a feature length animation with
The Adventures of Hols, Prince of the Sun.
Reflecting the same kind of idealism that
would later lead to the formation of Ghibli, the
plan was to produce a feature that could take on
Disney at its own game whilst at the same time
creating something altogether more spectacu­
lar, more dramatic, and more cinematic than
Kiki's Delivery Service
the simplistic, kids-oriented fare that Toei was
increasingly focusing its resources on. Although
Toei piled all its energies into the effort, unfor­ ish writer Tove Jannson's tales of those strange
tunately Prince Hols went way over schedule and hippo-like creatures The Moomins (Mumin), Mi­
way over budget. Nowadays looked upon as a yazaki and Takahata put themselves to work on
turning point in the history of Japanese anima­ an animated version of the Swedish children's
tion, ironically when it was completed in 1 968, book, Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren, a
the studio heads were not amused. Toei released project that was ultimately aborted.
it on a tiny two- to three-week run where, pre­ In 1 97 1 , A Production worked alongside
dictably enough, it lost the company a lot of Tokyo Movie (which later became Tokyo Movie
money. Shinsha, or TMS) on the first TV series of Lupin
Toei's treatment of Prince Hols had left a III (Rupan SanseI), bringing what would become,
bitter taste, and it became obvious to Takahata due to this series, one of japan's most popular
that realizing his dream of creating masterfully manga characters to the screen for the very first
crafted animation with epic stories that went be­ time (a 1 2 -minute pilot film was made as a pitch
yond the basic requirements of mere diversions for a theatrical film in 1 969 directed by Masaaki
for children was not going to be fulfilled within O sumi, but was rejected and then re-worked
such a rigid environment. In 1 97 1 , he left the later as a pitch for the TV series) . Centering
company along with Miyazaki, for the rival A around the exploits of the suave swindler who
Production where they joined another former first appeared in Manga Action Weekly maga­
Toei animator, Yasuo O tsuka, who had proved zine in 1 96 7 , drawn by Kazuhiko Kato under
a powerful guiding influence during Takahata's his better known pen name of Monkey Punch,
early years with the company. Whilst O tsuka Lupin's mixture of James Bond-style adventure,
worked on the TV series taken from Finn- lewd humor, and the impish charm of its good-
116 . STUDIO GHIBLI

later get his feature directorial debut, Castle of

Cagliostro.
Takahata, meanwhile, returned to direction
in 1 972 with the short animated feature, Panda!
Go Panda! and its follow-up the next year, Panda!
Go Panda! Rainy Day Circus, both around thirty
minutes in length. These two films are an in­
version of the Goldilocks and the Three Bears sce­
nario, featuring a young girl named Mimiko left
alone in the house by her grandmother, only to
find, after returning home from her daily shop­
ping chores, that her abode has been invaded by
a family of pandas. They are significant because
not only do they represent Miyazaki's first foray
into scriptwriting, but they also marked the first
collaboration with another newcomer into A
Productions, Yoshifumi Kondo, who would later
direct Whisper of the Heart for Studio Ghibli.
For the rest of the '70s the two directors
worked on a number of projects, the most sig­
nificant of which was bringing Johanna Spyri's
Heidi to the small screen in 5 2 episodes of Aru­
pusu no ShOjo Haiji, with Takahata directing and
Miyazaki working on design. This hugely in­
fluential series led Nippon Animation to adapt
a number of classics of children's literature for
Fuji TV under the title World Masterpiece The­
ater (Sekai Meisaku Gekijo), the two of them re­
turning to work in the same capacities on From
the Apennines to the Andes (Haha a Tazunete San­
zenri, 1 97 6) , and Anne of Green Gables (Akage no
Anne, 1 97 9) as well as both adding some input
on A Dog of Flanders (Furandiisu no Inu, 1 9 7 5) ,
all fondly remembered by those who grew up i n
Castle in the Sky
Japan i n the '70s.
Miyazaki had all this time been honing his
naturedly amoral central character ensured that drawing skills, working on layouts and story­
the series was a massive hit both on the printed boards and continuing to contribute heavily to
page and on screen. Both Takahata and Mi­ the overall artistic conception of the projects he
yazaki worked on several of the 2 3 episodes in worked on. He had yet to helm his own project,
the first series, which over the next thirty years though. This opportunity came with the TV
would spawn a further two TV series and a suc­ series Future Boy Conan (Mirai Shonen Kanan),
cession of TV movies and theatrical spin-offs which aired from April to October of 1 97 8 . Set
(one of which was directed by Seijun Suzuki). in the not too distant future, it is the story of
It was through Lupin III that Miyazaki would a young boy growing up on a deserted island
 Studio Ghibli • 117

with only his grandfather for company, believ­ Miyazaki's manga, Nausicaii ofthe Valley ofthe
ing themselves the sole survivors of the human Winds, was serialized originally in the magazine
race after a devastating war, until the arrival of Animage (it was later translated into English).
a young girl named Lana on their shores. The This original science fiction fantasy, set in a dis­
series, with which Takahata and Kondo were tant, post-apocalyptic future, proved immensely
also involved, was later edited into a theatrical popular, leading Animage's publisher, Tokuma
feature released in 1 979. Shoten, to put up the money for a feature­
The following year Miyazaki made his the­ length production. Released in 1 984, Nausicaii is
atrical debut with the second Lupin III adventure a landmark opus in the history ofJapanese ani­
Castle of Cagliostro (the first, Lupin III: The Mys­ mation, one that would not only put the name of
tery of Mamo, was directed by Soji Yoshikawa in its director firmly on the map, but which would
1 97 8), in which, after an opening heist at a casino, revolutionize the face of the field for years to
the lovable rogue is pursued all the way to the fic­ come, topping magazine fans' and critics' top
tional central European state of Cagliostro. Here ten lists for the next two decades and still highly
he comes head to head against the sole surviving regarded to this day.
member of the province's ruling family, uncover­ Nausicaii is an epic film, and one that would
ing a major counterfeiting operation in the pro­ see Miyazaki's reputation rise meteorically from
cess. Cleaning up the nudity and violence of the almost nowhere to far outstrip that of his more
original manga, and with markedly smoother ani­ experienced colleague. Set far into the future,
mation than the first Lupin film, Miyazaki's debut after civilization as we know it has been laid
is one of the best entries, if not the best, in the se­ waste by a huge war waged a thousand years
ries, with its characters and European-based set­ previously, the land lies riddled with pollution
tings more indicative of the director's own body and toxic spores. In this barren area, the Sea of
of work than that of the series as a whole. Corruption, to breathe the air is certain death.
During the early years of the ' 80s, Takahata One of the few remaining pockets of humanity
directed two features in rapid succession. The lies sheltered from the contamination and the
first of these is Jarinko Chie, not widely known encroaching wasteland due to its geographical
outside of Japan. Appearing as both a feature position in the fertile Valley of' the Wind.
and a TV series in the same year, Chie is based Miyazaki opens his story against a desolate
on a manga about a young girl growing up in backdrop. In a moon-like forest clearing, full of
Osaka left in charge of the lowly family restau­ bulbous coral-shaped fungal outgrowths, the air
rant with only her pet cat to turn to for com­ heavy with glowing gas spores and giant snake­
panionship after her mother leaves her layabout like insects buzzing overhead, a solitary figure
father. Takahata followed it up with Gauche the comes across the discarded shell of an Ohmu,
Cello Player, which was made part-time over a one of the gigantic worm-like crustaceans that
period of four years whilst he was working on occasionally threaten the inhabitants of the val­
other projects. During this time, Miyazaki di­ ley. Sheltering beneath the prized-off eye-lens
rected several episodes of the Sherlock Hound of the carapace, a young girl removes her gas
(Meitantei Homuzu) TV series, a canine take on mask and lies down on her back, looking up
Conan Doyle's supersleuth. Co-produced by from beneath her glassy shelter at the beautiful
TMS and the Italian TV station RAI, two of display. She is Princess Nausicaa of the Valley
Miyazaki's episodes were later edited together and she is undertaking research in the contami­
for a theatrical release that found its way onto nated area to find out what it was that turned
the lower half of a double bill with his next film, the environment against mankind so severely.
a far more ambitious project. Unfortunately, her research is cut short
118 . STUDIO GHI BLI

when a giant aircraft from Tolmekia falls from slavering beast covered in worm-like tentacles,
the sky nearby. Covered in writhing maggots, it is similar to the rampaging Ohmu at the begin­
contains a princess from the kingdom of Pejite ning of Nausicaii. D ashing young warrior Ashi­
whose people were responsible for unharness­ taka is wounded whilst defending his village
ing the devastating power of the Ohmu herds from the creature, and it is his quest to find a
that scour the barren plains surrounding Prin­ cure that sets the tale in motion, bringing him
cess Nausicaa's verdant homeland. In order to to the citadel of the Tatara clan, lorded over by
guarantee their kingdom's own survival and fi­ the majestic Lady Eboshi, whose bullet initially
nally resolve this ancient war, the Tolmekians caused the Nagonokami to run amok. Repre­
immediately invade the valley. This time, they senting the forces of technological progress,
are willing to do anything to ensure their vic­ the clan's encroachment upon the neighbor­
tory, even if it means invoking the legendary ing Forest of the Shishigami, or Forest God,
slumbering God Warriors. is threatening to upset the balance of nature .
Released in a hideously truncated video ver­ When the clan declare war on the Shishigami
sion in the United States in the mid-'80s under and the rest of the forest denizens, the god's
the title of Warriors of the Wind, in its original retaliation bears comparison to the fearsome
version Nausicaii is a bona-fide classic, a film awakening of the God Warrior at the climax of
with all the scope and ambition of its director's the former film.
later work, and one which firmly establishes a But whilst Ashitaka begins as the central
wide variety of themes and motifs that would focus of the story, the character who draws
recur time and again in his films. There's the the closest resemblance with Nausicaa is San,
thinly veiled environmental allegory. There's the princess of the title. A young girl raised by
the anachronistic combination of futuristic and wolves, she is fighting alongside her lupine com­
medieval technology: the sleek one-wing flying panions to rise up against these human interlop­
glider that the princess travels on, whilst her vil­ ers. Like her counterpart in the earlier film, she
lage is powered by ramshackle windmills; the stands between the creative forces of nature and
bomber planes and other weapons of warfare the destructive forces of mankind.
taken from the early twentieth century clashing Looking at the two films side by side, the
with the Norse-influenced armor and castles most marked difference, of course, is the leap in
of the Tolmekian tribe. And at the core of the animation techniques during the 1 3 years that
drama there's an adolescent girl, the hook of lie between them. From the initial boar attack
virtually all of Miyazaki's films. to the lavish battle scenes, and the unsparing at­
In terms of template, and the explicitness of tention given to such peripheral details as the
the environmental message, Nausicaii's closest hordes of chattering apes that slink around the
partner in Miyazaki's oeuvre has to the epic eco­ outer walls of the citadel and the mysterious for­
fable Princess Mononoke. Even though this later est sprites, Princess Mononoke seldom falls short
film is located far away from either the futuristic of breathtaking. Made after a string of hits had
or more European backdrops of its predeces­ swelled the studio's coffers to the extent that the
sors, set in the Muromachi period ( 1 3 3 6- 1 5 7 3 ) company had the luxury to take as much time
o f Japanese history, many parallels are to be and money as required on the project, Princess
found within the similarly episodic and incident Mononoke was made with resources that simply
heavy plot. weren't there for Nausicaii. This is not to say that
The dramatic opening attack of the Nago­ the former film is unimpressive, but in compari­
nokami, one of the ancient gods of the forest, son it lacks the intricate background detail and
in the form of a giant wild boar mutated into a dynamism of its more elaborate successor.
 Studio Ghibli • 119

My Neighbor Totaro

Nevertheless, it was the sweeping success under the title Castle in the Sky rather than the
of Nausicad that led directly to the formation of original one Laputa: Castle in the Sky.
Studio Ghibli in 1 9 8 5 , taking its name, which In Miyazaki's film, the action is split be­
means "hot desert wind," from the nickname tween an unspecified rustic European loca­
for an Italian scout plane that used to fly over tion and this fantastical dreamland laden with
the Sahara during the war. Formed under the riches floating high above. Separating the two
umbrella of the publishing company Tokuma worlds is an infinite azure space populated by
Shoten that had bankrolled Nausicad, Studio dirigibles, bombers, blimps, and biplanes. The
Ghibli's first official film was Miyazaki's Lapu­ orphan Pazu dreams of reaching this legendary
ta: Castle in the Sky, a colorful airborne fantasy magical kingdom, which his aviator father had
drawing its inspiration from the finest tradition caught a glimpse of years before only to return
of European storytelling. to find that no one on terra firma believed him.
Miyazaki borrowed both the name and Pazu's wishes look all set to be resolved when a
premise of his film from references to a fabulous young girl, Sheeta, literally falls out of the sky
magnetically guided floating island in the sky, in front of him. Sheeta is the bearer of a magical
populated by scientists and abstract theoreti­ jewel that allows one to float in mid-air, some­
cians, in the classic tale Gulliver's Travels written thing which brings her to the attention not only
by Jonathan Swift ( 1 667-1 745). The name of of the chief of the secret police, Muska, but also
this island, Laputa, unfortunately, translates as of a group of aerial pirates.
something a little stronger than "the whore" in Though both Nausicad and Castle in the Sky
Spanish, a pun of which Swift was fully aware, were produced by Takahata, his wholehearted
though unfortunately it would seem Miyazaki involvement in the latter led him to cede this
was not, resulting in the film's later U. S . release role to Toshio Suzuki, the former editor of An-
120 . STUDIO GHIBLI

Ponpoko

image magazine and one of the driving forces are full of intrigues, with nuts showering from
behind the production of Nausicaii, in order to the rafters, cupboards scuttling full of tiny black
concentrate more on his writing and directing spider-like creatures, and a number of ghosts
work. Suzuki's role in the history of Ghibli can­ and strange creatures that are invisible to their
not be underestimated. Unjustifiably overshad­ father, the most significant being a large woolly
owed by the company's creative forces, he has monster (described as a "troll" by Mei, mispro­
produced all of Studio Ghibli's theatrical re­ nounced as "to-to-ro") and his family secreted in
leases from Kiki 's Delivery Service onward and is a verdant glade in the neighboring forest.
currently the president of the company. Miyazaki's paean to childhood imagination
Miyazaki's work can be said to fall into two represents his most universal work in theme, yet
categories, with the grandiose vision of these at the same time his most personal, containing a
aforementioned films making way for three more semi-autobiographical element in that when he
intimate pieces in his mid-career. To many, Miya­ was a child, Miyazaki's mother had spent a long
zaki's films work best when he keeps it simple, time away from home, bed-bound with spinal
and in this respect, My Neighbor Totoro is often tuberculosis. But if it was Totoro and the film that
seen as being amongst his finest. Unlike its two accompanied it into the cinemas on the same
predecessors, this original story by the director double bill, Takahata's Grave ofthe Fireflies, that
takes place in a landscape that is unmistakably first brought their names to the lips of the gen­
Japanese, featuring two young sisters, Satsuki eral public in Japan, stretching beyond the usual
(aged 1 1 ) and Mei (aged 4), who move with their niche market associated with animation, then it
father to a tumbledown wooden house in the was Miyazaki's next film, Kiki 's Delivery Service,
countryside to be closer to their mother, bedrid­ that set off the chain of box-office blockbusters
den with a serious illness in a nearby hospital. that continued with Only Yesterday and beyond
Their rickety new abode and its surroundings to establish Ghibli as a household brand name.
 Studio Ghibli • 121

Kiki's is based on a children's book by Eiko

Kadono about a young witch forced to leave
home when she comes of age on her thirteenth
birthday. Moving to a town whose design was
based on the Swedish capital Stockholm with
her black cat named Jiji, she is initially jeered
at by the local brats for her witchlike attire, but
has soon triumphed against adversity to set up
her own delivery service, by broomstick. And
then, she loses her power of flight.
From its background locations and its
plucky young heroine, Kiki 's Delivery Service is
unmistakably a Miyazaki film, most specifically
in its evocation of flight as a s ource of untapped
power. Whilst, in comparison, Takahata's films
are far more firmly rooted on Earth, most of
the films Miyazaki is involved in feature their
airborne moments, an interest stemming from
his father's job working at a factory making air­
plane parts during the war. To Miyazaki, the sky
is an open canvas, an escape route from the con­
fines of being grounded in reality and a mystical
gateway that links a variety of exotic locations.
Castle in the Sky'S levitation stone, Kiki's broom­
stick, Spirited Away's flying dragon, and the Whisper of the Heart
floating angel soaring above a futuristic city in
the seven-minute short film screened in movie ern Japanese, a greedy consumer-based culture
theaters that Miyazaki directed for the pop duo that devours everything in its path.
Chage and Aska entitled On Your Mark-air­ During Miyazaki's five-year rest between
borne adventures all feature heavily in Miyaza­ Porco Rosso and the technically ground breaking
ki's kingdoms. Princess Mononoke came Ocean Waves (a.k.a. I
This is never more specifically so than in Can Hear the Sea), the first film by the studio to
Porco Rosso, a more adult-pitched tale in which be directed by someone other than Ghibli's two
our porcine protagonist, a once heroic fighter main men. Scheduled to be screened during the
pilot who has now grown old and fat and left his Golden Week public holiday in May, Tomomi
idealistic youth far behind him, patrols the skies Mochizuki's made-for-TV feature is a blend of
against the threat of a fleet of aerial pirates. Pigs romantic melodrama and high school nostal­
are also a recurrent motif in Miyazaki's work: gia, whose appeal was more obviously pitched
Chihiro's mission in Spirited Away is initiated at an older audience. A chance sighting of for­
when, after wolfing down a meal at a deserted mer classmate Rikako opens a well of memories
restaurant, her parents are transformed into for university student Taku. On his return to
mud-swilling, obese swine. Miyazaki once flip­ his hometown of Kochi in rural Shikoku, where
pantly stated that the reason for this was that they first came across each other, he meets up
pigs are easier to draw-he has also mentioned with his former best friend Matsuno, remind­
that these creatures to him represent the mod- ing him of that crucial year in high school when
122 . STUDIO GHIBLI

wild creatures with mythical properties that occu­

py the heart of many a Japanese legend. Battling
fruitlessly against bulldozers and bureaucrats to
save the Tama Hills, they eventually find a tem­
porary stopgap when they move to Machida (a
sprawling dormitory city about an hour south
of Tokyo), a place where even if man and nature
don't exist completely in harmony, the tanuki at
least end up as road-kill slightly less often.
The suburban setting of the Tamagawa area
was also the backdrop for Whisper of the Heart,
the first theatrical release by someone other
than Miyazaki or Takahata. In its wholehearted
embodiment of the in-house style, the Miyazaki
influence is very tangible. Perhaps this is not so
surprising. First of all, it was scripted by Miya­
zaki (from an original manga by Aoi Hiiragi),
and second, it was directed by Yoshifumi Kondo,
whose visual style is clearly noticeable through
his design work in a number of the studio's pre­
Princess Mononoke
vious films. Kondo's untimely death in 1 998 due
to an aneurysm unfortunately meant that the
the arrival of the pristine but uppity straight "A" touching and inspirational Whisper of the Heart
transfer student from Tokyo and a school trip to remains his sole directorial offering, which is a
Hawaii threatened to change their relationship shame, because it is one of the studio's finest,
for good. Originally intended as a small-scale balancing Miyazaki's elative vision with a stron­
television showcase for the younger talents in ger attention to character and structure.
the studio, Ocean Waves went over budget and Again it features a teenage protagonist,
over schedule, and following similar difficul­ Shizuku, a dreamy 1 4-year-old schoolgirl who
ties making the non-Ghibli video series Here Is yearns to be a novelist. Whilst indulging her
Greenwood (Koko wa Gurinuddo, 1 99 1 ), the stress voracious literary appetite in the school library,
of the production, his only for the studio, put its she notices that the same name continuously
director Mochizuki in hospital. crops up in the borrower's list of all of the books
Ocean Waves was one of the first of Ghibli's she has taken out: Seiji Amasawa. Unfortunate­
works to be relocated away from an anonymous ly, her initial chance brush with the boy who
fictional land to a recognizable modern day, real shares the same tastes in reading crushes any ro­
life locale. In this case, the initial scene occurs in mantic illusions she might have been harboring.
Kichijoji station, in the west of Tokyo, a stone's Whilst taking the suburban commuter train on
throw away from both Ghibli's current premises an errand for her mother, a fat tomcat wanders
in Koganei, where it established a permanent across Shizuku's path. Intrigued by the chubby
studio space in 1 992 , and the Ghibli Museum in feline's singular sense of purpose, she follows it
nearby Mitaka that opened in 2 00 1 . from the train all the way to the front door of a
Takahata's Pompoko also takes place closer to rickety antique shop. The shop's eccentric aging
home, tackling environmental issues through the owner welcomes her into this Aladdin's cave of
eyes of a community of tanuki, or raccoon dogs, curios, and Shizuku is overjoyed when an open
 Studio Ghibli • 123

invitation is handed out for her to return any

time she wishes. But her glee is short-lived
when she discovers that he is the grandfather of
none other than Seiji.
Nevertheless, Seiji apologizes for his crass­
ness during their initial meeting, and a budding
schoolyard romance begins to develop until
Shizuku's beau drops the bombshell that he's
shortly to move to Italy to begin an apprentice­
ship as a violin maker. Initially devastated by
this announcement Shizuku rationalizes that if
she can't be with Seiji then she should at least
attempt to match his ambition. Sacrificing her
studies for the end-of-year school examinations,
with the encouragement of his grandfather she
pours her heart into writing a novel, inspired by
a statuette of the Baron, a dandy cat in a top hat
with sparkling emerald eyes and the pride of the
old man's collection.
Released some seven years later, The Cat Spirited A way
Returns was a sequel of sorts to Kondo's film,
though it owes little to its predecessor other The Cat Returns is a far safer film than Ghib­
than that it is based on the manga Baron: Neko Ii's more typical offerings, notably short at only
no Danshaku, by the same artist, Aoi Hiiragi, 7 5 minutes, and more obviously aimed at the
and brings back a couple of incidental charac­ younger end of the market, though still retai n ­
ters, most notably the B aron, whose statue acted ing the dazzlingly drawn action sequences and
as the catalyst for Shizuku's ardent soul-search­ touching humanism that has come to be expect­
ing in the earlier film, and the tubby tomcat ed from the studio. Whilst completing the pat­
Muta/Moon. It again features a young school­ tern of topping the box office charts for the year
girl protagonist, Ham, pitched into a fantasti­ of its release, in comparison with Princess Mono­
cal world after crossing paths with a nonchalant noke and Spirited Away it represented a rather
cat which she scoops up from the path of an modest success. A similar response had greeted
oncoming truck. She is flabbergasted when the Isao Takahata's My Neighbors the Yamadas, un­
unfazed feline, whom it transpires is none other derscoring the fact that it is Miyazaki's name
than an eligible young prince from an alternate that is the more powerful draw, rather than that
world of the Kingdom of the Cats, subsequently of Studio Ghibli itself. His credit on the public­
gets up, dusts himself off and begins thanking ity material of The Cat Returns, responsible for
her for saving his life. The local cat community the proj ect concept, all but dwarfed that of its
is similarly appreciative of her gesture, leading director, Hiroyuki Morita.
a ceremonial procession to serenade her on her Following the vast degree of acclaim award­
front doorstep that same evening. However, the ed to Spirited Away, Miyazaki began work on
cats' final act of gratitude, a decree of marriage Howl's Moving Castle, based on the novel of the
offered by none other than the King of Cats to same name by British children's writer Diana
his son, whose life she has just saved, is met with Wynne ] ones. In the event that it should prove
a little less enthusiasm. his last, then we have nothing to fear. The 2 5 -
124 . STUDIO GHI BLI

minute short The Ghiblies: Episode 2 (Episode 1 ten years before Miyazaki would occupy the
aired on Japanese TV in 2 000) that accompa­ position of director for the first time with the
nied The Cat Returns into cinemas is an impres­ TV series Future Boy Conan, the seeds of what
sive testimony to the talent and imagination of is now recognizable as the Ghibli style can be
the younger creative forces at work in Miyaza­ traced all the way back to this ground breaking
ki's shadow. A series of skits surrounding the animation from Toei Animation. From the soft,
characters of a fictitious animation studio, not rounded features of the characters, the smooth,
all too surprisingly named " Ghibli" (though effortless animation, and the usage of cinematic
pronounced "gi bu ri, " with a hard "G" to dis­ techniques to create a world that stretches far
tinguish it from the real Studio, which is pro­ beyond the frame of the screen, to the archetyp­
nounced using a soft "]" sound), it is rendered al plot set-up centered around an epic quest that
in a variety of styles ranging from the surreal, culminates in a Manichean showdown between
as in the opening tale of a curry eating compe­ the forces of light and darkness, the little-seen
tition at a local eatery, through the humorous, The Adventures of Hols can be justifiably regard­
to the touching reminiscences of young love ed as the Ghibli Studios ur-film.
forged between two of the characters at an ele­ Turning to a Norse setting, our hero, HoIs, is
mentary school art exhibition. If nothing else, it first introduced in the midst of an opening wolf at­
is concrete proof that when the time inevitably tack, fending off the baying beasties with a only a
comes for both Takahata and Miyazaki to hand hand axe for defense. He is saved by a stone giant,
over the reins, their legacy will be in safe hands. Rockor, who, disturbed by the skirmish, rises from
the earth and sends the wolves fleeing. Rockor is
in obvious discomfort due to a sword thrust deep
into his shoulder. Hols repays the giant's assistance
I The Adventures of Hols , Prince of in the battle by removing the sword and returns to
.J,. the Sun his village, where his father is lying on his death­
*�o.)3:-=f *Jv7,O)*El� bed. With his final dying words, HoIs's father tells
him of how, many years before, the northerly fish­
Taiyo n o Oji Horusu no Daiboken, a.k.a.
ing village where his people come from was laid
Li ttle Norse Prince Valiant; The Great
waste by the evil King of Ice, Grunwald. Claim­
Adven ture ofLi ttle Norse Prince Valiant
ing the sword drawn from Rockor's shoulder, Hols
1968. DIRECTOR: Isao Takahata. VOICE CAST: Hisa­ heads north to regain his ancestral land.
ko O kata, Mikijiro Hira, Etsuko Ichihara, Masao From then on, we follow the doe-eyed Vi­
Mishima. 82 minutes. RELEASES: DVD . Toei king boy and his talking pet bear sidekick, Coro,
(Japan, no subtitles), Wild Side (France, French on a lengthy quest to his ancestral village to de­
su btitles). feat his demonic nemesis. Battling through snow,
ice, avalanches, giant pikes, and plagues of rats,
T h e hallmarks o f t h e G h i b l i style c a n already along the way he comes across Hilda, a pure and
be seen i n this ground breaking ani mated fea­ virginal young maiden blessed with a beautiful
ture from Toei Ani mation ( Toei Doga ) , an early singing voice, who may not be all that she at first
collaboration between the studio's twi n tal­ seems. Meanwhile, Grunwald, clad in a horned
ents i n a tale of a you ng Norse pri nce 's fight helmet and swathed in a black cloak, along with
aga i nst the forces of darkness . his army of snow wolves, is leaving a wake of de­
struction in the surrounding area. HoIs's pres­
Made twenty years before his first feature for ence in the northern village rallies the troops to
Ghibli, Grave of the Fireflies, and over a full take up arms against their destructive oppressor.
 Grave of the Fireflies • 125

The Adventures of Hols (retitled Little Norse opportunity to spread their wings and use the
Prince Valiant for its dubbed TV release during medium to produce something for a wider
the '80s in the United States on TBS) was not ranging audience. Unfortunately, this pet proj­
only Takahata's first go at directing a feature­ ect soon got out of hand, in the end taking three
length cartoon, but also the first time Miyazaki years to complete against the originally slot­
worked alongside him, in the role of key anima­ ted eight months. Takahata was demoted from
tor. For his earlier TV outings, Ken the Wolf Boy future major directing jobs, though amongst
and Hustle Punch (though he only directed the other things worked on a couple of episodes of
opening sequences), Takahata had been guided the fondly remembered TV series, Gegege no
by a key figure in the world of animation, Yasuo Kitaro (Spooky Kitaro a.k.a. Cackling Kitaro), a
Otsuka. Born in 1 93 1 , O tsuka had been with Toei kid's horror cartoon about a young yokai, a one­
Animation since its very foundation, working on eyed goblin and his friends (including his father,
the first all-color Japanese animated feature Leg­ who nestles in Kitar6's pocket, his body having
end of the White Serpent as second key animator. It decomposed to but a single eyeball) based on
was he, working in the role of production super­ the 1 966 manga by Shigeru Mizuki.
visor, who recommended Takahata to helm the In the meantime, Miyazaki's creative pres­
project. Starting work in 1 96 5 , they were joined ence made itself felt working as key animator
by a core team of Toei's finest animators. on Toei's feature length The Flying Ghost Ship
During the late '60s, Toei studios dominated (Sora Tobu Yitreisen, 1 969), the 5 5 -minute long
the field of commercial Japanese animation, but Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves (Aribaba to Yonjup­
even then the studio heads dared not compete piki no Tozoku, 1 9 7 1 ) , and Animal Treasure Island
against the bigger-budgeted product of America, (Dobutsu Takarajima, 1 97 1 ) , for which he was
such as that of Disney Studios, preferring to tread also credited as being responsible for the main
water more safely in the domestic arena of TV idea, based on Robert Louis Stevenson's Trea­
production. Aimed at children, these series were sure Island.
cheaply produced-filmed in monochrome, and O tsuka left the company for A Productions,
using only the most basic of 2 D cel animation and was joined by both Takahata and Miyazaki
techniques-and look primitive in the extreme several years later, along with another member
compared with the high standards that foreign of the original Adventures of Prince Hols team,
audiences have generally come to associate with Y6ichi Kotabe. Ironically, this third member
Japanese animation since the '80s. Set against would later work as an animation supervisor for
simplistic backdrops and predominantly static in the Pokemon theatrical features, including Pi­
nature, character animation was restricted to in­ kachu: The Movie (Pikachit no Natsuyasumz) and
dividual movements within the wider frame, such Pokimon: Mewtwo Strikes Back (Poketto Monsuta:
as mouth motions when characters are talking, Myittsit no Gyakushit, 1 998), to all intents and
or movement of only part of the character, such purposes the very antithesis of Ghibli's high
as an arm moving at any one time (lower-qual­ production value, cross-generational ideal.
ity Japanese TV animation produced nowadays
disguises these deficiencies with a disorienting
excess of edits). Though notably superior in
technique, even Toei's theatrical excursions were "" G rave of the Fi refl ies
hitherto smaller in scale and ambition compared jOg 7.> (7);t;
with that of their American rivals.
Hotaru n oHaka, a. k.a. Tombstone of the
For the creative elements working in the
studio, The Adventures of Hols afforded an ideal
Firefli es, Le Tombeau Des Luci oles
126 . STUDIO GHI BLI

1988. DIRECTOR: Isao Takahata. VOICE CAST: Tsu­ seeking neither to condemn or condone either
tomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Yoshiko Shino­ side in the conflict. Instead it utilizes the broad­
hara, Akemi Yamaguchi. 88 minutes. RELEASES: er canvas of Kobe's war-torn backdrop of flam­
DVD, Warner Home Video (Japan, English sub­ ing buildings and falling fire to paint a grueling
titles), C PMjUS Manga Corps (U. S . , English portrait of two young innocents caught up by
subtitles). Manga Distribution ( France, French forces far beyond their comprehension and con­
subtitles) . trol. The futility of Seita's and Setsuko's struggle
for survival is never in question, with the inevi­
Heartrending a n i mation of two young i nno­ table trajectory of their demise through malnu­
cents whose l ives a re destroyed in the fi nal trition signified in the opening moments with
days of World War I I . the two main characters introduced as ghosts,
haloed by the shimmering points of light of
S e t i n Kobe i n 1 945, Grave of the Fireflies, the fireflies against a plain background. In a cin­
first feature Takahata directed within Ghibli, ematic concession deviating from the structure
focuses on the plight of teenage Seita and his of the original source novel, Takahata then opts
four-year-old sister Setsuko, and their harrow­ to tell his tale from the perspective of these im­
ing descent through homelessness and starva­ passive spectral spectators, first seen objectively
tion after the bombing of the city leaves their witnessing Seita's dying moments propped up
mother buried beneath the rubble of the fam­ against the wall of a desolate building surround­
ily's makeshift air raid shelter. Their father off ed by the corpses of dozens of similarly expired
fighting at sea, the newly orphaned youngsters children as one of the city workmen resignedly
are initially taken in by their aunt. However, announces to his colleague: "The Americans are
with food shortages and rampant inflation, it's coming. Better get rid of these tramps."
not long before the presence of these two new Such macabre background details as the
hungry mouths at their father's sister's table be­ black rain that falls after the bombing, the mass
gins to prove a burden on the household. grave into which their mother is unceremoni­
The situation is brought to a head when ously dumped, and the pathetic figure spotted
their grudging new guardian sells their deceased running through streets laden with charred
mother's kimono for the price of a sack of rice. corpses screaming "Long live the Emperor! "
After withdrawing their mother's life savings a s death rains down from above, are evenly bal­
from the bank, the two decide to go it alone, anced by the film's many lighter moments, in
investing in a stove and relocating to an isolated which it appears as if even the surrounding car­
cave by the lakeside where Seita pledges to look nage can't dampen the youthful exuberance of
after his sister until the war is over. A forgotten its two protagonists. Seita gulping thirstily from
toothbrush is the least of their worries, and it's a ruptured water main on his return home from
not long before the money runs out and the two a scavenging mission, and the two romping in­
are subsisting on a diet of vegetables stolen from nocently on the beach as they shirk their work
the neighboring farmland and dried frogs (the responsibilities open out the picture to show
frog is a commonplace symbol for the home, that for civilians unwittingly implicated in the
with the word kaeru a homonym for "frog" and devastation, life must go on.
the verb "to return home"). By abstaining from design duties, Takahata
A remarkably even-handed affair, Takahata's as always manages to vary the visual style of
adaptation of Akiyuki Nosaka's semi-autobio­ his work to fit in with the tone of the proj ect
graphical novel neatly avoids any mention of (his previous film being the completely out of
the background specifics of the Pacific War, character foray of The Story of Yanagawa Canal,
 Porco Rosso • 127

a live-action documentary with a few animated I n pre-war Italy, a gui lt-plagued aviator has
sequences about the preservation of the canals in tu rned h i mself i nto a pig, but sti l l patrols the
the scenic town of Yanagawa, Kyushu, produced skies to rid the land of a pi rate menace. He
by Miyazaki outside of Ghibli), the pictorial as­ vies for the attention of a pretty n ightc l u b
pects of the film here falling upon the shoulders si nger, b u t finds com petition i n the form o f a
of Yoshifumi Kondo, a regular collaborator of brash American pilot . A passionately told tale
both Takahata and Miyazaki since long before from Miyazaki, with sweeping aerial scenes.
the foundation of Ghibli, who also contributed
his distinctive designs to Only Yesterday, and Set in a typically Miyazaki-esque fantasy image
Kiki's Delivery Service. of early twentieth century Europe, in this case
Grave of the Fireflies was produced and re­ the Adriatic coast of pre-war Italy, Porco Rosso is
leased simultaneously on a double bill with the story of a pig who patrols the skies against a
Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totaro, an escapist fable menacing, but not too bright, group of pirates.
more clearly pitched at the family market, thus Once, the pig was a man, a World War I fight­
broadening the original audience of both films. er pilot named Marco, who saw his friends die
Though occasionally a little grating in its sen­ in an aerial battle that only he survived. Since
timentality, with Setsuko perhaps that little bit then, a mixture of guilt and disillusion has made
too "cute," Takahata's emotive and poignantly him retreat from humanity, voluntarily isolating
humanistic tale is guaranteed to leave an im­ himself on an island with only his red seaplane
pression on all who see it, as senselessly tragic as for company.
the British animated Raymond Briggs adapta­ Porco has not entirely given up on mankind,
tion When the Wind Blows Gimmy T Murakami, however. Having seen the horrors of war, he is
1 986), which charted the slow decline of an el­ not about to let the innocent be oppressed by
derly couple through radiation sickness in the sky pirates. When the airborne bandits kid­
wake of a nuclear strike, or Masaki Mori's not nap a boatload of little girls and a pile of loot,
entirely dissimilar Barefoot Gen (Hadashi no Gen, Porco goes into action, trashes the pirate plane,
1 983), adapted from Keiji Nakazawa's 1 ,400- and rescues the children. Swearing revenge, the
page manga published in 1 97 3 detailing the af­ pirates enlist the help of the brazen American
termath of the bombing of Hiroshima from the aviator Curtis, who claims to have beaten Italy's
viewpoint of a six-year-old boy. best pilots and who's just itching for the chal­
lenge of taking on Porco's plane.
Stated somewhat roughly, the films of
Hayao Miyazaki come in two types: cynical and
-v Porco Rosso positive. This division reflects the two paradoxi­
nO)� cal sides of their director's personality: the pes­
Kurenai no Buta, a.k. a. The Crimson Pig simist who worries about what kind of future
we're creating for ourselves and the imaginative
1992 . DIRECTOR: Hayao Miyazaki. VOICE CAST: Shu­ artist who dreams up wondrous new and better
ichir6 Moriyama, Tokiko Kato, Akio Otsuka, Akemi worlds with only pencil and paper. Nausicaa of
Okamura . 94 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Buena the Valley of the Winds and Princess Mononoke are
Vista (U . S., English subtitles), IVL (Hong Kong, social allegories in the shape of elaborate, epic
English/Chinese subtitles), Buena Vista Home scale adventures. For all their sweep, they are
Entertainment (Japan, English/French/Japanese driven mainly by frustration over the mess we
subtitles) , Fox Pathe ( France, French subtitles) . humans are making of our own planet. They
are the works of the pessimist Hayao Miyazaki.
128 . STUDIO GHIBLI

silly sight of two men pelting each other with

wrenches and scrap metal in mid-air because
the guns on their planes have j ammed? It's this
combination of positivity, passion, and mischief
that makes Porco Rosso a standout in the direc­
tor's body of work.
Watching this film, we sit enthralled, not
because we're caught in an exhausting hyper­
active roller coaster ride, but because Miyaza­
ki makes us laugh and wonder. Porco Rosso is a
wholly positive experience, generating an emo­
tional resonance that is sometimes lacking from
the director's more epic sagas.

� Only Yesterday
t3 t O"t'I£0 1£0
Omoide Porop oro, a.k.a. Teaiful Thoughts
Porco Rosso 1991. DIRECTOR: Isao Takahata . VOICE CAST: Miki
Imai, Tashiro Yanagiba, Yoko Hanna. 118 min­
Although most of his films contain at least a utes. RELEASES : DVD, Buena Vista (Japan, English!
hint of that pessimism, with My Neighbor Totoro, Japanese subtitles), IVL (Hong Kong, English!
Kiki's Delivery Service, and Porco Rosso the anima­ C h i nese subtitles) .
tor takes an altogether more positive approach.
He shows us what we're doing right rather than Tender slice of ' 60s nostalgia seen th rough
what we're doing wrong. Instead of trying to the eyes of an ' 80s office lady.
overwhelm us with the full extent of the hor­
rors we've created, he enthralls us with the little The term "Family Entertainment" can often
details that make life worth living. set off warning signals in the minds of most
Porco Rosso is a special case even among viewers, especially when applied to animation,
Miyazaki's "positive" works. It's a film he made with implications of dumbed down, simplistic
for himself first and foremost. Covering one of fables for the kids peppered with a handful of
his favorite subjects, airplanes, it's a film that more topical or risque gags to keep the parents
exudes a great sense of passion. Its numerous amused. But Ghibli's output truly does lay claim
aerial scenes are dazzling, its airplane designs to such tags.
fanciful and lovingly detailed. The film's hero Take for example, Tomomi Mochizuki 's
may be a middle-aged man who feels he doesn't made-for-TV special, Ocean Waves, whose "will
deserve to be human, but he certainly isn't they, won't they? " tale of high school romance
about to give up being a pilot. With its clumsy was pitched clearly at older viewers. Only Yes­
pirates, its brash protagonists, and its death-de­ terday (whose Japanese title Omoide Poroporo
fying aerial antics, Porco Rosso is also Miyazaki's translates roughly as Memories Drop By Drop) ,
most mischievous film since Castle of Cagliostro. despite its more grown-up focus, i s slightly
In which other Miyazaki film can we see the broader in its appeal and truly features some-
 Only Yesterday • 129

thing for everyone, with an emotional arc that

can't fail to find resonance with the older gen­
eration, yet whose surface details are surely rich
enough to engage the youngsters.
Only Yesterday takes a wistful look back at
the '60s, more specifically 1 966, as filtered
through the reminiscences of 2 7 -year-old of­
fice lady Taeko Okajima from the vantage point
of 1 982 . First seen asking her boss for time off
from work, rather than the standard break to
Only Yesterday
Okinawa or Hawaii, Taeko opts to exchange the
gleaming cityscapes of Tokyo and her daily en­
vironment of filing cabinets and photocopiers Adapted from a manga serialized in Myiijo in
for a ten-day sojourn with relatives in the rural 1 98 7 written by Hotaru Okamoto and drawn by
northern prefecture of Yamagata to take part in Yiiko Tone, which was set entirely in the '60s,
the annual benibana (safflower) harvest. Takahata's script adds this modern-day front­
What prompted the decision is left vague, as story to form a backbone for the string of nos­
Taeko herself grew up in the capital. But then talgic vignettes that made up the basis of the
we hark back to a memory in which her ten­ original comic. D epicted in blanched-out sepia
year-old self is left abandoned in the suburbs by or misted oval frames, these short skits run the
her classmates at the end of the school year as gamut of Taeko's more prominent memories,
they all depart to visit their various grandmoth­ ranging from culturally specific items such as
ers dotted around the J apanese countryside. teenage sister Yaeko's crush on a member of the
With her own grandmother living at home, the famous cross-dressing, all-female Takarazuka
best on offer is a short break away from the city acting troupe and a reference to the manga art­
to an onsen hot spring resort in Atami, an excit­ ist Kazuo Umezu, through to the more global
ing enough prospect in its own right until she cultural backdrop of the Vietnam War and the
passes out from heat exhaustion, having over­ influence of the Beatles after their first tour of
dosed on the hot baths. Japan.
Meanwhile, modern-day Taeko is constantly These scenes veer between the humorous
irked by phone calls from her older, married and emotive. Oldest sister Nanako studies at art
sister, reminding her that she has now passed school, and has just bought her first miniskirt.
"Christmas Cake" age (in other words, no good Every time she rides the subway escalator she
after the 2 5th) and it's time to find a husband. uses her handbag to cover her backside from the
On the overnight sleeper train to Yamagata, prying eyes of those riding below. Elsewhere
she begins to find herself more and more over­ there's the family's first encounter with a pine­
whelmed by the memories of her younger self. apple, where the initial excitement of the lure of
These become all the more resonant upon her the exotic is soon tempered with the reality. "In
arrival, where she becomes friendly with her one's life one gets to experience many things,"
second cousin by marriage, the unsophisticated the nonplussed granny adds sagely as the two
yet gentle Toshio, who himself has only recently older sisters confirm amongst themselves that
left his office clerk post to get his hands dirty at "the banana really is the king of fruits," and
the family farm. Increasingly the dreamy fifth­ Taeko is left with a full plate of the nibbled-upon
grader of her memories seems to be pointing pieces left over from the rest of her family.
towards a change in direction in her life. Elsewhere the scenes of classroom rites of
130 . STUDIO GHIBLI

passage, hall monitors, school councils, play­ work. Toshio's character often comes across as a
ground romances, and inedible lunches should mouthpiece for Takahata's own opinions, giving
provide a fascinating counterpart to the simi­ vent to such issues as the death of native tradi­
larly themed U. S . TV series, The Wonder Years tions in the wake of the massive depopulation of
( 1 988), without the hackneyed "At that mo­ these rural areas for Tokyo and a call to arms for
ment, I learnt a valuable lesson . . . " codas one a return to Japan's agricultural roots, before he
associates with that particular show. As mod­ curtails his rants with a wink and a smile .
ern-day Taeko muses why this particular time This balance between rural and urban seems
period should prove so evocative, the dreadful very much to be a sticking point with Takahata,
specter of puberty is invoked, leading to a won­ a theme taken further in his 1 994 animation
derful sequence in which the girls are marched Pompoko. One lengthy sequence in which the
off to the school gymnasium, where they are harvesting of the safflower (a flower cultivated
pointed towards the "special pants" available for its deep red dye used in cosmetics) is over­
from the infirmary, and the epidemic of skirt laid with a voiceover detailing the process points
peeping which ensues when the boys get wind out that originally the resulting dye would be
of the girls' new secret. This scene is treated tainted with the blood of the rural peasant girls
with a refreshingly matter-of-fact lack of em­ who pricked their hands on the thorns whilst
barrassment, not to mention a fair degree of picking the flowers, and who would never get
humor as Taeko recalls the time when she re­ the opportunity to wear the rouge or lipstick
peatedly refuses to take a sick note into school manufactured for the wealthy, fashionable ladies
for the stigma of being excused from the physi­ of Kyoto. Noble as Takahata's intentions may
cal education class and being forced to sit on be, and however well-researched these modern
the sidelines with the other girls with periods. scenes are, they can't help but threaten to detract
Takahata's addition of the modern-day se­ from the main thrust of the story, which surely
quences to these reminiscences does seem to belongs to the character of Taeko herself.
introduce another aspect to the narrative, in the For all that, Only Yesterday remains a re­
apparently conservative message that women markably effective piece of entertainment, and
over a certain age in Japan really should be technically well up to the high standards one ex­
giving up their careers to settle down and get pects from the team, with the ever-reliable Joe
married, though this would appear to be a criti­ Hisaishi providing a memorably touching score.
cism applied only from outside of Japan and Too often overlooked in favor of the studio's
one not even registered by Japanese viewers. It bigger and bolder efforts, Only Yesterday may be
also gives Takahata free rein to indulge in the an unashamed nostalgia trip, but it stands firmly
standard environmental tub-thumping that amongst Ghibli's finest.
has run through a fair proportion of Ghibli's
 CHAPTER 8
KaizG Hayashi
**rm�
The films of Kaizo Hayashi seldom exist far be­ viewing gallery"), the renowned theater troupe
yond the influential sphere of showbiz. Post­ of the seminal poet/playwright/filmmaker Shuji
modern and self-referential, first and foremost Terayama. Born in 1 9 3 5 in Aomori, the most
Hayashi is a movie fan, and his enthusiasm for northerly prefecture of Honshu, Terayama was
and love of the medium dominate his every frame. a crucial figure in the avant-garde arts scene of
The very model of the pop culture otaku (fanboy), the '60s, and a decisive stylistic influence on the
his works abound with cat-suited acrobatic jewel young Hayashi. A graduate of Waseda Univer­
thieves, hissing femme fatales, brooding private sity, he soon built up a significant reputation for
detectives, ethnic Asian mobsters, performing el­ himself through his plays, literary criticism, and
ephants, and miming white-faced pierrots. most especially his variations on the traditional
The glare of the bright lights, the smell of the forms of haiku and tanka poetry. He was also
greasepaint, and the roar of the crowd-he cel­ heavily involved in the field of cinema, mak­
ebrates them all. He is our circus ringmaster, with ing a major contribution to the Japanese New
the silver screen acting as his big top, proudly pre­ Wave movement. Amongst the scripts he wrote
senting us his latest sensational act. He is a show­ were Masahiro Shinoda's Dry Lake (Kawaita
man with an unrivaled aesthetic sense, a visual Mizu Umi, 1 960) and My Face Red in the Sun­
stylist without peer, who has worked in tandem set (Yiihi ni Akai Ore no Kao, 1 9 6 1 ) , and Susumu
with some of the industry'S top talents to create Hani's Inferno ofFirst Love (Hatsukoi Jigoku-Hen,
a series of works that dazzle and delight. Though 1 968).
any higher message takes a backseat to the sump­ But the Tenjosajiki theatrical group was per­
tuous visuals, it is perhaps on this level of style haps Terayama's most legendary contribution
alone that Hayashi merits mention in any serious to the vibrant counterculture movement of the
discussion of contemporary Japanese cinema. '60s and '70s. Founded in 1 96 7 , it was part of
There never seemed any doubt in the mind an active experimental theatrical scene known
of Kaizo Hayashi that his destiny lay within in as post-Shingeki, which unlike its predecessor
the film world. Enrolling in Ritsumeikan Uni­ Shingeki ("modern theater") didn't seek to break
versity in his native Kyoto to study econom­ completely from traditional forms, but rather
ics, after two years he had dropped out of his to get back to the very aesthetic underpinnings
course and headed up to Tokyo. Straight away, of the now culturally sanctified and conserva­
he became involved in the Tenjosajiki ("theater tive theaters of kabuki and Noh. But whilst

131
132 . KAIZO HAYASHI

post-Shingeki was concerned with color, form, (Denen ni Shisu, 1 974). Unfortunately, little of
and movement rather than causative dramatic this has been made available outside of Japan
narrative, like their contemporaries in the cin­ other than the unofficial sequel to Emmanu­
ematic avant-garde of the stormy '60s, those in­ eile director Just Jaeckin's The Story of 0 (His­
volved were working from a political viewpoint toire d'O, 1 9 7 5), the glossy piece of porno-chic,
that had become increasingly marginalized Fruits of Passion (Shanhai Ijin Shokan, a.k.a. China
from institutionalized politics, either left-wing Doll, 1 980), starring Klaus Kinski and produced
or right-wing. Their approach to the dramatic by Anatole Dauman, who was also responsible
portrayal of reality may have been metaphysical, for the France-Japan co-production of Nagisa
fragmented, and highly artificial, but it used its O shima's controversial In the Realm of the Senses
dreamlike structure to address such real-life con­ (Ai no Korida, 1 976).
cerns as the individual's place within the chaotic, Hayashi's own involvement with the Ten­
shifting flux of a society rife with student protest josajiki troupe was short-lived. Terayama died
and at the mercy of such sweeping political deci­ of nephrosis of the kidneys in 1 98 3 , and the
sions as the renewal of the Japan-U. S. Security group disbanded in 1 98 5 . Nevertheless, it is not
Pact, or Ampo Treaty, which allowed the United difficult to see the ghost of Terayama lingering
States to keep its bases on Japanese soil in order throughout much of Hayashi's work, with their
to maintain a military presence in Asia. fanciful scenarios, grotesque characters, and
Given his close association with the cin­ carnivalesque atmospheres, though radical poli­
ematic New Wave, it was perhaps inevitable that tics and any reference to the real world order
Terayama's forays into cinema should stretch be­ are kept noticeably at bay.
yond mere screenwriting. His own film work is Still, it was through this association that he
as radical and innovative as anything at the time, made the acquaintance of production designer
imposing his cryptically surreal and subversive Takeo Kimura and cinematographer Yiiichi Na­
vision in films such as Emperor Tomato Ketchup gata, both established figures within the film in­
(Tomato Kechappu Kotei, 1 970, best known in a dustry. Kimura's track record stretched back all
2 7 -minute shortened version of the longer 7 5 - the way to when he worked as a production de­
minute cut that only played a t Cannes i n 1 97 1), sign assistant at Daiei in the early '40s, but his
which portrays a totalitarian society under the most characteristic contributions to the world of
reign of rifle-toting children, Throw Away Your film came with his work at Nikkatsu in the '60s.
Books and Go Out into the Streets (Sho 0 Suteyo His extravagant, baroque, and vibrantly colored
Machi e Deyo, 1 970), and To Die in the Country sets and costumes are most prominently show-

Filmography • Figaro Story [co-directed with 1996

Claire Denis and Alejandro • The Trap (Wana)
1986 Agresti] • The Breath (Umi Hozuk/)
• To Sleep So As to Dream
(Yume Miru YO ni Nemurita/) 1992 1997
• Ongyoku no Ran [video] • Romance [short]
1988 • Cat 's Eye
• IDEA 1994
• The Most Terrible Time in My • Born to Be Baby Chinnane e
1989 [short]
Life (Waga Jinsei Saiaku no
• Circus Boys ( Niju Seiki Tok/) 1998
Shonen Dokuhon) • Otome no Inori [short]
1995
1990 • The Stairway to the Distant 2000
• Zipang (Jipangu) Past (Haruka na Jidai no • Lost Angeles
1991 Kaidan 0)
 Kaizo Hayashi • 133

cased in the films of Seijun Suzuki, such as Gate festivals left, right, and center domestically, and
of Flesh and Tokyo Drifter; he also rejoined the setting in motion the career of its prolific lead
veteran director much later for Pistol Opera. Na­ actor, Shiro Sano. It also led to Hayashi con­
gata had spent the best part of the previous de­ tributing the script to Akio Jissoji's live-action!
cade lensing pink films for Nikkatsu, Shintoho, anime hybrid Tokyo, The Last Megalopolis (Teito
and Kokuei, after debuting on Tetsuro Nunoka­ Monogatari, 1 988), an epic futuristic fantasy
wa's documentary Bastard on the Border (Maboroshi starring Zatoichi star Shintaro Katsu and based
no Konminzoku KyiYwakoku [trans: The illusion of on a novel by Hiroshi Aramata. Set in the early
a mixed race republic]) produced by Yoichi Sai. decades of the twentieth century, Katsu plays a
Hayashi was lucky to have assistance from visionary city planner who campaigns to recon­
such experienced hands. Since moving up to struct Tokyo in the form a bold new metropolis,
Tokyo, he had been supporting himself with nu­ resistant to earthquakes and fitted out with an
merous part time jobs whilst he worked on his underground train system. His forward-think­
debut script, but had little experience in working ing idealism comes head to head with old school
on film outside of his own experimentations as traditionalism in the form of Kato, a right-wing
a student back in Kyoto. Nevertheless, he man­ military fanatic. Kato is scheming to unearth
aged to assemble a cast, crew, and 5 million yen the restless spirit of Masakado, the Guardian of
budget for his self-produced To Sleep So As to Tokyo, a warrior executed a thousand years ago
Dream. after being branded a traitor for his own plan of
No one could have hoped for a stronger building an independent nation in the heart of
debut. A stylish homage to the silent screen Japan. A heady brew of demonic horror, period
grounded in the early days of Japan's own cin­ fantasy, magic, and the supernatural, with Swiss
ematic history, the film is a triumph of narrative artist H.R. Giger contributing to the production
and technical ingenuity. Aided by Nagata's crisp design, the film was succeeded by a straight-to­
vintage-style cinematography and Kimura's video anime series of the same name in 1 99 1 ,
ornate set design, the film celebrated the illu­ known as Doomed Megalopolis in the West.
sion of cinema within a Mobius strip plot which After shooting the 1 6mm IDEA in 1 98 8 , a
sees a private detective engaged to track down film intended for the video market, many of the
a missing actress trapped in an infinite loop of cast and crew of Hayashi's debut piece were back
silent film. again for Circus Boys-a simple but spellbinding
The film peaks with a fabulous performance black-and-white work with its basis in wistful
by Japan's then top practitioner of the art of ben­ nostalgia and carnival fantasy-which increased
shi film commentary (silent film narration), the Hayashi's profile outside of Japan when it won
late Shunsui Matsuda, set in a reconstruction of the Charlie Chaplin Award at the Edinburgh
the Denkikan theater, the first exhibition hall in International Film Festival in 1 989. A shadow
Japan given over completely to screening films. puppet display of trapeze artists and tumblers
In this fairground milieu of carnival barkers, silhouetted by a flickering light against a piece
conjurors, card sharps, and circus elephants can of translucent white paper establishes the circus
be seen Midori Sawato, who took over Matsu­ milieu of the title. This shadow theater is the
da's mantle upon his death and has been respon­ prize toy of two young boys, Wataru and Jinta,
sible for keeping alive the benshi tradition, both whose home is between the canvas walls of a cir­
on television and in live performances at home cus big top set alone on a flat featureless plane
and abroad throughout the past few decades. whipped by sandstorms. As the camera glides
The end results way exceeded both commer­ in through the tent flap to reveal a live perfor­
cial and critical expectations, picking up prizes at mance in full swing, the two lads, dressed in
134 . KAlla HAYASHI

links with its magical past is lost. Meanwhile,

having been roughed up by a bunch of heavies,
Jinta is dragged in front of the local yakuza, who
are irritated by his incursions on their turf. On
the threshold of decapitating him, they soon re­
alize that his guile and his sleight of hand could
be put to service, and he is drafted into the gang
with a tattoo of a circus tent, clown, and ele­
phant inked onto his back.
Filling the frame with a fairground exuber­
ance, Circus Boys is more conventionally plotted
and dramatically less tricksy than its predecessor
and provided further proof of Hayashi's incred­
ible natural talent at conjuring up images and
building atmosphere. By such simple lighting
techniques as a selective use of spotlights and
masking of parts of the screen in a misty haze,
The Most Terrible Time in My Life
he gives the suggestion of a far bigger world
outside of the one in which the film actually
sailor suits, stand open-mouthed and entranced plays. Hayashi's later films would look less im­
by the display, which culminates in an eruption pressive the more he put in front of the camera.
of billowing balloons and showering glitter. One of the real stars of Circus Boys is of
Both boys dream of the day when they can course Hannibal, the wonderful elephantine
take their place soaring through the air on the creation of latex and rubber who had put in a
flying trapeze, but late one night as they are brief appearance in Hayashi's debut film. He
practicing, with a crack of thunder, Jinta comes was back in a more substantial role in the lavish
tumbling to the ground. The injury robs him of comic book fantasy Zipang, inspired by Marco
any future hopes of an acrobatic role in the cir­ Polo's tales of a legendary land across the seas to
cus, so whilst the years go by and Wataru goes on the east of China laden with gold and guarded
to become a celebrated trapeze artist, linta is rel­ by mysterious mythical creatures. The Venetian
egated to the sidelines to play the clown. Unable explorer was of course referring to Japan, which
to face his frustration, he packs his bags and runs he never actually reached in his travels along the
away from the circus, tramping into the dawn on Silk Road during the thirteenth century.
a glistening wooden walkway that stretches far Hayashi's film assumes this mythical setting
over the horizon, to roam the land selling fake still exists in a parallel dimension. Its gateway is
medicinal remedies from his suitcase. through an ornate seven-pronged sword. When
Years go by, and the circus has all but lost its our hero Jigoku-Goku-Raku-Maru stumbles
glitter, as audiences fade and the key perform­ across it with his motley band of treasure hunt­
ers begin to hang up their leotards to retire. ers (which include a dwarf, a scarecrow-like buf­
Even Wataru's attempt at modernizing his act, foon with a missing nose, a mad inventor with
by kitting out the circus ring with a spherical thick pebble-lensed glasses, and of course the
iron cage in which he rides around on a motor­ cheery baby elephant of the previous films), he
bike, fails to recapture the magic of the early unwittingly unleashes the power of the last per­
days. After squashing the ringmaster, Hannibal son to attempt entering this golden kingdom:
the Elephant is shot, and one of the circus's final a primitive warrior who has lain dormant for
 Kaizo Hayashi • 135

over a thousand years, who, wearing little more earned itself a strong cult following, and scenes
than a loincloth and a tattoo, looks rather like such as the Shogun's ninja troops erupting from
Herman Melville's description of Queequeg in the ground of a bamboo grove to do battle and
the novel Moby Dick. Meanwhile the attention the final showdown with the King of Zipang,
of the Shogun has been drawn towards Jigoku's snow swirling around his icy domain, are filled
discovery of the sword, and with the help of with an astonishing pictorial beauty. The film's
an army of ninjas led by his right-hand man, two main characters, Jigoku and Yuri, later found
Hanzo, he sets out to grab a piece of Zipang's themselves the stars of Konami's cinematic ac­
wealth all for himself. If this wasn't enough, a tion-adventure video game for the Playstation IT,
bounty has been set on Jigoku's band of merry 7 Blades (2 00 1), which Hayashi worked closely on
renegades, and a beautiful kimono-clad assas­ under the title of direction supervisor.
sin named Yuri is on their tail, a lily planted in In 1 99 1 Hayashi expanded his sphere of influ­
her Louise Brooks-styled bobbed haircut and a ence considerably, acting in the capacity of pro­
pearl-handled pistol in her grip. ducer alongside Zipang producer Kosuke Kuri
Hayashi's first theatrical feature in color, Zi­ on the six-film Asian Beat series. It was an ambi­
pang was shot by one of the most respected cam­ tious project, with each part starring Masatoshi
eramen of the '90s, Masaki Tamura (Suzaku, Nagase as a character named Tokio traveling
Eureka). With Kimura again helming produc­ to a different country somewhere in Asia. The
tion design, the results are a rollercoaster-paced first installment, the Japan-set I Love Nippon, was
send-up of the pulp chanbara favorites of the '60s scripted and directed by Shohei Imamura's son
and '70s, such as the Zatoichi films starring Shin­ Daisuke Tengan. Other parts were Singapore's
taro Katsu, the Band ofAssassins (Shinobi no Mono) Love from Themasek, directed by Leow Beng Lee;
ninja films starring Raizo Ichikawa, and the Lone Thailand's Powder Road, from Chatri Chalem
Wolf and Cub (Kozure Okamz) series with Tomis­ Yukol; Malaysia's Sunrise in Knmpon, from Aziz
aburo Wakayama, as if brought back to life by M. Osman; Taiwan's Shadow of Nocturne by Yu
the idiosyncratic hand of Terry Gilliam. Jigoku Wei Yen; and the final part, Autumn Moon, from
and his entourage are virtually unstoppable as Hong Kong director Clara Law, which picked
they cut their way through the ninja hordes in up the top prize of the Golden Leopard at the
geyser-like sprays of blood, forge through stone Locarno International Film Festival in 1 992 .
corridors with spears and blades shooting out The series was Hayashi's first collaboration
of every wall a la Raiders of the Lost Ark or Tomb overseas, and indeed one of the first significant
Raider, before finally entering into the realm of collaborations between Japan and mainland
the mummified golden-skinned King of Zipang. Asia. Himself a naturalized Japanese of Korean
With its amalgam of playful anachronism, descent, Hayashi's series was one of a number
such as telephones and auto-focusing binocu­ of films widely regarded as bringing the culture
lars, its rip-roaring momentum, and its colorful of mainland Asia into vogue in Japan, which
costume design, Hayashi lets his imagination would later be reflected in such films as Shunji
run loose, but it is occasionally rather difficult Iwai's Swallowtail Butterfly. It also marked the
for the viewer to keep up. Unlike the settings of beginning of Hayashi's fruitful partnership with
his previous films, whose narratives are at least the Taiwanese Yu Wei Yen, which would last
grounded in their own brand of postffiodern throughout the decade.
reality, Zipang is a land where literally anything Spreading his net even further afield,
can happen, and frequently does, leaping from Hayashi also contributed a section to the three­
action sequence to action sequence with a mini­ part omnibus film Figaro Story, a co-production
mal of bridging scenes. But nevertheless, the film between France, Japan, and the United States.
136 . KAl lQ HAYASHI

Hayashi directed the second segment, The Man at the heaving bevy of foreign beauties. Viewing
in the Moon (Tsuki no Hito), bookended between events in a far-off castle, a daimyo sits in front
Argentinian director Alejandro Agresti's Paris­ of a TV screen before the story launches into
bound Library Love, in which a budding young an adventure-driven comic romp set around the
novelist becomes infatuated with a woman he foot of the Kamakura Buddha.
spots in the library, and French director Claire It was clear that the time had come for
D enis's Keep It for Yourself, a monochrome por­ Hayashi to move on to pastures new. This he
trait of a young French girl lured across to New did, with the aid of Yu Wei Yen, the Taiwanese
York by her would-be boyfriend, featuring an contributor to the Asian Beat project, who acted
early role by Vincent Gallo. An eclectic package, as co-producer for the first part of the director's
with the unifying theme merely that each of the celebrated trilogy of detective movies centered
three films took part in a major cultural capital, around the character of Maiku Hama. Carried
Hayashi's story is an extended visual poem in along from Asian Beat, Nagase took the leading
which a wistful young office lady succumbs to role of the bumbling but well-intentioned private
visions of a crow-like creature that soars above dick loosely modeled on Mickey Spillane's cre­
the cratered surface of the moon. ation, Mike Hammer, in a series of films harking
Coming across like a lush pop promo bathed back to the kitsch pop cinema of Nikkatsu's '60s
in a moonlight blue, with Kimura once more pulp potboilers by way of American film noir.
contributing to the lavish visuals, it is the most The first in the series, The Most Terrible
dreamlike and non-narrative addition to the Time in My Life, shot in crisp black and white
omnibus, a surreal sequence of events unfold­ by Nagata, is most definitely the pick of the
ing against Tokyo's night time cityscape. Hayashi bunch, with the introduction of color adding
crams the frame with visual interest-floating precious little extra in the way of novelty to
balloons, falling feathers, and billowing flocks the next two installments, Stairway to the Dis­
of flapping birds-and on an aesthetic level the tant Past and The Trap. The character was res­
results certainly did little to harm the director's urrected much later for the Yomiuri TV series
reputation. But a dream sequence coming at mid­ Shiritsu Tantei Hama Maiku (a.k.a. The Private
point in which the young heroine finds herself in Detective Mike Hama), which aired during the
the middle of a hallucinogenic circus sequence of summer of 2 002 , by which time he had received
mime artists and ghostly faced pierrots lends the a complete overhaul from a classic down-on­
impression that the director was merely plough­ his-luck detective into an abrasive punk rocker
ing the same furrow as his earlier films. complete with plaid pants and Doc Martens.
Still, Hayashi was to invoke this colorful Each episode of the 1 2 -part series was directed
showbiz milieu one more time in Ongyoku no by a different filmmaker, including Sago Ishii,
Ran [trans: Rebellion of music] , a 5 2 -minute Shinobu Yaguchi ( Waterboys), and Isao Yukisada
promotional video for the band Tokyo Ska Para­ (GO), with the penultimate episode helmed by
dise Orchestra, with a script by Daisuke Tengan. Liverpudlian iconoclast Alex Cox and featuring
This glossy showcase for the musicians opens in a performance from the Tokyo Ska Paradise Or­
the midst of an Edo period street carnival, all chestra. In addition to the TV versions (running
shot in garish pinks and reds and swathed in dry 45-5 5 minutes in length), each of the contribut­
ice, complete with unicyclists, plate-spinning ing filmmakers also delivered a feature-length
clowns, and girls in blue wigs incongruously "director's cut" of his own installment for a
chatting on mobile phones, before the camera DVD release and foreign distribution, though
floats into a gaudy house of pleasure, with the in reality, the only film of the series which made
lecherous clients ladling handfuls of gold coins any real impact outside of Japan was Shinji
 Kaizo Hayashi • 137

The Most Terrible Time in My Life

Aoyama's A Forest with No Name, which was se­ a contemporary of Terayama. His previous film
lected to the Berlin Film Festival earlier in the work including appearing as himself in O shima's
same year. Diary ofa Shinjuku Thief(Shinjuku DorobO Nikki,
There's a feeling that even Hayashi was los­ 1 968) and as the rapist/murderer who invades
ing interest in his creation by the third part of the the nurses' dormitory in Koji Wakamatsu's vio­
original trilogy, The Trap, having just returned to lent pink film Violated Angels (Okasareta Hakui,
Taiwan to shoot The Br·eath beforehand, again 1 967), Kara also plays the lead role here as the
with the assistance of Yu Wei Yen. Whilst there, private investigator Haida, a washed-up detec­
he also made an appearance in his collaborator's tive with his glory days well and truly behind
production of director Edward Yang's comedy him. With a balding head and a puffy face that
drama Mahjong ( 1 997) starring Virginie Ledoy­ looks like it has lain forgotten for months at the
en of Danny Boyle's The Beach (2 000) fame. bottom of a laundry basket, he is leagues away
Sticking with a private investigator as his cen­ from the retro-cool of Nagase's Maiku Hama.
tral character, The Breath is the very antithesis The film opens under the cold light of day,
of the ersatz veneer of the Maiku Hama series. as we find Haida in the midst of a session at a
This time Hayashi went back to stylistic basics drug rehabilitation center where he has been
by filming everything using only available light, in therapy for the past ten years. Whilst doing
resulting in a far grittier-looking film than his community service, cleaning up the banks of a
usual output. The story is based on a novel and garbage strewn canal with his fellow members
play by JUro Kara, a heavyweight of the experi­ at the center, he tumbles into the water and
mental theater scene from the '60s onward and floats downstream until coming to rest when he
138 . KAIZQ HAYASHI

bumps into what appears to be a floating corpse. stance. Despite acting as an obvious precursor
The corpse is actually still alive, and turns out to the vapid pap of the Hollywood remakes of
to be a failed suicide attempt called Sagitani Charlie 's Angels (2 000, 2 003), this self-conscious­
(played by a grubby-looking Yoshio Harada, ly camp and knowing film version lacks even the
familiar from Seijun Suzuki's films in the '80s) . raunchiness of the TV anime series that ran on
The newly revived Sagitani soon evaporates Nippon TV in the '80s, inspired by the original
into the night, but not before informing Haida manga. Nevertheless, it was to prove Hayashi's
that their paths will cross once more. largest project for quite some time to come.
Meanwhile, Haida is approached by a former Around this time Hayashi directed several
police associate to search for Mariko, a Japanese music videos for MTv, and a number of short
student who has gone missing in Taiwan. Upon films, including the I I -minute comedy, Romance,
Haida's arrival in Taipei, he finds himself adrift an unreleased 2 0-minute black-and-white proj­
in a sea of people with whom he can only com­ ect starring Nagase called Otome no Inori [trans:
municate by scribbling Chinese characters on a A maiden's prayer] , and Born to Be Baby Chinnane
portable white board that he carries with him at all e, a 43 -minute documentary film commissioned
times. Help is at hand from a local girl, Ymg Hung, by the Museum of Art in Kochi, which melds a
who offers herself as an assistant after answering fictional story of a detective (Yoshio Harada) en­
an advertisement placed by Haida. Strangely, this tranced by a mysterious beautiful woman around
mysterious woman seems to have her own hidden documentary footage of a butoh dance perfor­
connection with the missing student. mance. He also produced Masashi Yamamoto's
Rather than using the plot as a thread to Atlanta Boogie, a multi-ethnic comedy.
hang as many gaudy baubles on as the run­ Having already proven his ability to mount
ning time allowed, The Breath was the first time successful co-productions across Asia, Hayashi's
Hayashi reined in his visual style to the demands sights were now set on an altogether higher
of the story. Clocking in at over two hours, it re­ goal: Hollywood. At the end of the '90s, he re­
mains among one of his most interesting works, located to Los Angeles with the hope of getting
with an ambiguous central character and a low­ his first English-language production off the
key cinematic style that enhanced the dreamlike ground. The reality was somewhat different,
surrealism of its enigmatic plot. and despite directing a handful of episodes of
From the sublime to the ridiculous, Hayashi Power Rangers for Fox TV, the only real fruits
returned the following year with Cat's Eye, a of this move came with Lost Angeles, a Spinal
kitsch large-screen adaptation of the manga by Tap-inspired spoof rockumentary in which the
Tsukasa Hojo that originally ran from 1 98 1 to three members of real-life Japanese rock band
1 984. The manga charts the adventures of a trio Sunny Cruiser attempt to break into the Ameri­
of slinky feline jewel thieves, whose PVC attire, can market. Unable to scrape together a word of
specifically in this live-action version, invokes English between them, after being ushered out
memories of Michelle Pfeiffer's Catwoman in of the plush villa of top L.A. record producer
Batman Returns (Tim Burton, 1 992). Unfortu­ Rick Handsome disarmed by a deluge of smiles
nately Hayashi's direction doesn't quite reach and empty promises, the hapless trio embark on
the lavish standards of Kimura's set design, a trip across America that stalls pretty much im­
and the film, which sees the three cat-burgling mediately after they lose all their money on the
sisters, Rui, Hitomi, and Ai, up against a Chi­ roulette wheel in Las Vegas. Unable to pay their
nese crime syndicate led by a fiendish villainess hotel bill, they attempt a moonlit escape into the
straight from the pages of a Sax Rohmer adven­ night, but their car breaks down in the desert.
ture novel, doesn't have much in the way of sub- Here they meet a mysterious beautiful woman,
 To Sleep So As to Dream • 139

after hunger forces them upon a patch of hallu­ Tokyo, sometime in the 1 95 0s: When private
cinogenic mushrooms. Released in Japan as part eye Uotsuka (Sano) and his assistant Kobayashi
of a series of five films under the Movie Storm (O take) are approached by an aging actress to
banner by Gaga Communications-which also go in search of her kidnapped daughter Bell­
includes offerings from Shun Nakahara and flower (Kamura), their investigations lead them
Onibi director Rokuro Mochizuki-shot on to the studios of the M. Pathe company. Here
video, the amateurish-looking and only sporadi­ they come head to head with a gang of heav­
cally funny Lost Angeles makes for a fairly undig­ ies hired by the kidnappers on a deserted sound
nified coda to the director's sojourn in America. stage with a decorous peacock backdrop. After
Over the years Hayashi has demonstrated a being knocked unconscious, the concussed Uot­
remarkable visual sense, a colorful imagination, suka has a strange vision in which he comes face
and a willingness to experiment. He has spread to face with the beautiful Bellflower, who is ap­
his talent across cinema screens, television, the parently trapped in a 1 9 1 5 chanbara film that
stage, and computer games, and has mounted has no ending. From then on, things begin to
productions across Asia and in America. With get a little strange.
the director's two true masterpieces coming so Perhaps it's not too surprising that a director
early in his career, however, the diminishing who has thus far spent his entire career holding
quality of his recent output leaves one wonder­ up a mirror to the movie screen should, for his
ing if he has anything else left up his sleeve. debut feature, begin at the very beginning with
Hayashi is still a young director, and one this stylish paean to the halcyon days of silent
whose oeuvre has developed in a wild and un­ cinema. To Sleep So As to Dream takes us all the
predictable fashion. But much like the big top way back to the dawn of this new magical me­
setting from which the two Circus Boys traced dium, where prior to developing into the self­
their common path, over the years Hayashi 's contained art form that we know today, the first
tricks of the trade have lost their sheen against ghostly dances of light played to enraptured
his competitors. Maybe it's time to change the crowds to form the high point of an evening of
act again, or at the very least, bring back the all-out entertainment that consisted of circus
elephant. performances, magical tricks, and musical num­
bers, just in the way that Magic Lantern shows
had done before the arrival of the Lumiere
brothers' Cinematographe on Japanese soil in
� To Sleep So As to Dream 1 897 . In these early days, the film itself was al­
�.7).Q � '5 t;:1Ilt I) t.: " ) most subservient to the running narration of the
Yume Miru Yo ni Nemuri tai benshi silent film commentator, whose relentless
patter added a unique dimension to the viewing
1986. CAST: Shiro Sana, Koji Otake, Yoshio Yo­ experience, bringing a level of active audience
shida, Moe Kamura, Fujiko Fu kamizu , Shunsui participation that all but disappeared with the
Matsuda. 80 minutes . RELEASES : DVD , Admedia advent of sound.
(Japan, no subtitles). Hayashi's film is more than an invocation of a
bygone era, however, but a cleverly crafted reflec­
Two private detectives go in search of a si­ tion on advances in the media itself, approaching
lent fi l m actress trapped eternally with i n the its subject by means of the increased narrative so­
frame of a scratchy old period fi l m from 1915. phistication of the film noir, its two hapless pro­
Hayas h i ' s stu n n i ng homage to the early days tagonists anticipating the director's later homage
of ci nema is a visual feast. to this particular genre with his series of three
140 . KAlla HAYASHI

Maiku Hama films almost ten years later. In the until his death in 1 98 7 had dedicated his whole
early days, the use of the benshi narrator meant life to the preservation of Japanese silent films
that filmmakers never actually needed to preoc­ whilst striving to preserve the art of benshi narra­
cupy themselves with storytelling through means tion with regular public performances accompa­
of images alone, and such standards as the use of nying films from his own private collection. This
expository intertitles were pretty much redun­ scene takes place in the reconstructed Denkikan
dant. This led Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein, theater, built in 1 903 , the first venue dedicated to
in his theories of analytical montage published film exhibition in Japan (and, indeed the rest of
in the 1 92 0s, to be notoriously rude about Japa­ the world), which later closed in 1 976.
nese films, claiming them to be full of too much To Sleep So As to Dream is full of such refer­
unnecessary footage (though obviously he had ences to Japan's cinematic history. The M. Pathe
never witnessed a fully narrated screening of company, held responsible in this film for the
these films). Nevertheless, he saw similarities kidnapping, was in actuality one of the first major
between his own theories and the ideographical importers of foreign films into Japan and a major
kanji scripts, leading him to state that Japan was film producer in its own right. The company's
"a country that has in its culture an infinite num­ founder, Shokichi Omeya, adopted the monick­
ber of cinematographic traits, strewn everywhere er without the permission of its original owners
with the sole exception of-its cinema." Pathe, and the company eventually folded in the
Hayashi's adoption of the detective narrative late 1 9 1 0s when it tried to do away with benshi
in a film which plays for almost the entirety of narration by use of primitive sound synchroniza­
its running time without dialogue, however, toys tion techniques and use of intertitles. Elsewhere,
with these conventions, making very heavy use a kami shibai ("paper theater, " in which a story is
of the almost subliminal Japanese text intertitles told through use of picture cards) performance
as if they were part of the image itself, to signal of the unfinished silent film is delivered at the
every torturous plot turn in a maze of clues that fairground to a crowd of wide-eyed children,
lead our two investigators through such atmo­ calling attention to the fairground antecedents
spheric locales as a carnival fairground and a de­ of early film screenings in Japan.
serted movie set, all the way back to the theater Hayashi is fully aware of the games he is
which is playing the scratchy print of the ninja playing, and makes us fully aware too, alternat­
film in which Bellflower is trapped. For this ing between moments of surreal poetry and a
main bulk of the film, the only time any sound postmodern quirkiness that makes one think of
other than the occasional musical accompani­ David Lynch directing a Charlie Chaplin come­
ment intrudes (alternating between a soft piano dy. Between mouthing great air bubbles of silent
riff and a fairground organ) is when certain key speech like a goldfish, our hard-boiled detective
points are delivered; for example through the greedily guzzles hard-boiled eggs, and the two
ringing of a telephone (though the actual phone investigators motor around the crowded streets
conversation is rendered as onscreen text) or the of 1 9 1 0s Tokyo in a cramped tuk-tuk.
tape recorded ransom demands that the kidnap­ A film which runs entirely without dia­
per leaves at key points in the investigation. logue may make for pretty challenging viewing
It is ironically only toward the film's climax for modern audiences, but Hayashi pulls it off
during the screening of the fragment of film that with all the verve of a master storyteller. From
acts as Bellflower's prison that any actual dialogue the moment the film first flickers into motion
is heard: a benshi's katsuben commentary delivered with the scratchy old 1 9 1 5 print screening in
by Shunsui Matsuda, the real-life president of a private theater, its single viewer shrouded in
the Friends of Silent Films Association, who up darkness, Hayashi conjures up a host of differ-
 The Most Terrible Time in My Life . 141

ent worlds existing somewhere along the con­

tinuum of light and shadow, none existing far
away from the point of reference of the cinema
screen. Drifting between illusion and allusion,
To Sleep So As to Dream is one of the most intri­
cately crafted and self-contained Japanese films
of the ' 80s, and great fun to boot.

� The Most Terrible Time in My Life

tJGi1i A1:ft�O)mJ
Waga Jinsei Saiaku no Toki
1994. CAST: Masatoshi Nagase, Kiyotaka Nam­
bara, Shiro Sana, Yang Hai-tin, Hou De-jian, Jo
Shishido, Kaho Minami, Shinya Tsukamoto, Mika
Omine, Akaji Mara. 92 minutes. RELEASES: DVD,
Kino (U. S . , English subtitles), For Life (Japan, no
subtitles) .

Fi l m noir, the Japanese way, as private eye

Maiku Hama scours the streets of Yokohama
in search of the missing brother of a Taiwan­
The Most Terrible Time in My Life
ese waiter and fi nds h i mself caught between
rival groups of Asian gangsters , in the fi rst of
Hayas h i ' s hard-boi led Maiku Hama trilogy. Hollywood's Golden Age. As the titles go up,
the marquee that adorns the front of Hama's
The Most Terrible Time in My Life is the first part theater is showing William Wyler's The Best
of a trilogy conceived and directed by Hayashi, Years of Our Lives ( 1 946) before the sign spins
each co-scripted by D aisuke Tengan. A stylish round to reveal the title of Hayashi's film.
and nostalgic black-and-white reconstruction of Setting the action in the ethnic melting pot
'40s American film noir, it fits snugly within the of Yokohama's Kogane-cho district, home to a
director's long line of postmodern pulp cinema. population of Asian immigrants from China, the
The series features an inept private eye who, Philippines, and Korea, in this first entry we are
inspired by Mickey Spillane's fictional creation introduced to the character of Hai Ting, a young
Mike Hammer, goes by the name of Maiku Taiwanese waiter first seen being menaced by a
Hama. He drives a vintage 1 954 Nash Met­ bunch of rowdy customers at the local mah jong
ropolitan (owned by the director himself) and place for his embryonic grasp of the Japanese
operates from a run-down repertory cinema in language. Fortunately for him, Hama (Nagase,
downtown Yokohama (the real-life location of known in the West for his appearances in Jim
the Yokohama Nichigeki Theater), where pro­ Jarmusch's Mystery Train and Fridrik Thor Frid­
spective clients need to buy a ticket before being riksson's Cold Fever), a former young tearaway
granted an audience in his projection booth of­ who has turned to detective work in order to put
fice. The very title of the film is an allusion to his little sister (O mine) through college, is also
142 . KAIZQ HAYASHI

present with his buddies. Never one to tolerate Dust starlet Kaho Minami. Many of these
social injustice, Hama steps into the breach to characters turn up throughout the entire se­
protect the waiter and promptly loses his pinkie ries, including his cab driving informant buddy
in the resulting fracas. However, the dismem­ Hoshino (Nambara), the surly, ineffectual Lieu­
bered digit is later grafted back on, and the inci­ tenant Nakayama (Maro) , and a sinister scar­
dent all but forgotten until Hai Ting later tracks faced Korean mobster named Kanno (Sano) .
Hama down in his office with a request to find Not many films begin with an endorsement
his missing brother De Jian, who has become in­ from the Japan Association of Detective Agen­
volved in all-out turf warfare between rival gangs cies, but then again, director Kaiz6 Hayashi
of Hong Kong and Taiwanese mobsters. certainly earned the distinction. Whilst putting
A Taiwanese co-production assisted by Yu in the groundwork for the project he studied for
Wei Yen (director of Moonlight BoylYue Guang and received his own private detective licence.
Shao Nian, 1 993 ), this initial entry in the series This perhaps explains why he would stick with
is great fun, with its main lead winking at the Hama for a further two films, whilst resurrect­
camera to let us know that none of this is to ing the character for the new millennium in a
be taken too seriously. This is probably just as twelve-part TV series that aired in 2 002 .
well, because outside of this role as a wisecrack­ The first in the series works well as an en­
ing audience bridging device, he actually seems joyable fluffy self-contained work, and received
to do very little detective work, with the events positive reviews both at home and abroad. Ar­
resolving themselves onscreen with very little guably Hayashi should have left it there, be­
constructive input from our diligent but other­ cause the dramatic weaknesses of the first title
wise incompetent gumshoe. are far more in evidence in its two throwaway
Hayashi's piece of retro-kitsch is more sequels, which don't quite possess the same pa­
concerned with surface appearances than tight nache that their subject requires. The Stairway to
plotting. Its high-contrast monochrome pho­ the Distant Past fills in more biographical back­
tography (from Hayashi's regular cameraman ground to Nagase 's main man, whose detective
since his debut, Yiiichi Nagata) and glitzy pop career seems to have hit rather a rough spell as
art sets lend such scenes as a gangland slaying by we join him at the film's opening searching for
a masked murderer an exaggerated comic book pampered pooches for wealthy widows. Aside
artifice. There's also some memorable techni­ from a few standout sequences, and a central
cal tomfoolery in a bare-knuckle fistfight with appearance of Eiji Okada (from Alain Resnais'
heads squashing and stretching every time they Hiroshima, Mon Amour ( 1 959) and a number of
are punched. Tongue planted firmly in cheek, Hiroshi Teshigahara's films such as Woman in
the appearance of Nikkatsu old boy Shishido the Dunes/Suna no Onna, 1 964), the results are
in all three films, acting in an expository ca­ fairly forgettable, with the addition of color
pacity as Hama's "sensei," is an obvious nod to coming as rather a step back from the original
Seijun Suzuki and golden days of Nikkatsu in film's knockout visual style. The downward
the '60s, a comparison rendered inevitable due trend continues in the third part of the series,
to the presence of veteran production designer The Trap, which grants Hama some love interest
Takeo Kimura on set, who was responsible for in the form of a mute Catholic nursery school
the gaudy hues of many a Suzuki film. teacher, Yuriko (played by Yui Natsukawa of
Joining Shishido in this potpourri of cine­ Kore-eda's Distance), whilst introducing an off­
matic references and in-jokes is a cast of familiar note psycho thriller element to the proceedings
faces from the world ofJapanese film, including in Nagase's doppelganger role as the incestuous
Tetsuo director Shinya Tsukamoto and Angel young sicko, Mikki.
 CHAPTER 9
Shinya Tsukamoto
�*Wtl!
Shinya Tsukamoto is still often referred to as strong influence on his work. This influence is
"the cyberpunk director. " His films are gen­ seen not only in his breakthrough film Tetsuo:
erally seen as being all about grotesque trans­ The Iron Man, whose protagonist transforms
formations in which flesh fuses with metal and into a sluggish heap of metal whose design rep­
human beings mutate into giant scrap heaps, licates the burly forms of the reptilian kaifii, but
cannon-firing their way through the Tokyo also in the experimental shorts Tsukamoto made
technopolis. on 8mm as a teenager. Early trials like Genshi­
The cyberpunk influence is one that Tsuka­ san ( 1 974) [trans: Mister primitive] and Kyodai
moto himself readily acknowledges, but it's odd Gokiburi Monogatari ( 1 9 7 5 ) [trans: Giant cock­
that his films are still most commonly referred roach story] , made with the camera he had bor­
to in this way when in fact only two of them rowed from his father, were Tsukamoto's own
deal with the topic. Though it's not an entirely attempts at making monster movies. When he
fair representation, the predominance of this founded his own independent theater company
image is a testament to the impact those two as a student, he named the group Kaij u Theater
early films made, an impact that was felt on an and bruit himself a stage in the shape of a sea
international scale. monster.
As a Tokyo native, the experience of life in
the megalopolis would come to infuse Shinya "Our company's style was like 1960s or 1970s

Tsukamoto's work. Born in 1 960 in Shibuya underground theater. Ours weren't really stage

Ward, young Shinya grew up on an exclusive plays; we would go outside and perform on the

diet of kaifii monster movies. street. Our first play was in a small park near
school. I started making Smm films at age 14
"When I was a little kid, m y mother would take and then I started doing theater at age 17. To
me to the cinema, and the monster films were me, those underground plays were like Smm
the first films I saw. Seeing this big monster theater, but the difference is that you're not
on a big screen really impressed me. I became constrained to a frame. When you're a teen·
really fascinated with monster movies as a ager you are more sensitive and you feel that
result." theater appeals more directly to an audience
than filmmaking does."
Inevitably, the kaifii films would have a

143
144 . SHINYA TSUKAMOTO

Directing, writing, and performing, Tsu­ by now been exposed to Western science fiction
kamoto formed a repertory company of actors films, with Ridley Scott's Blade Runner ( 1 98 2 )
and collaborators around him, many of whom and David Cronenberg's Videodrome ( 1 98 3 )
would go on to work on his films, like actress making a particularly strong impact, the focus
Kei Fujiwara, who would become Tsukamoto's of his work widened somewhat. Often regarded
lead actress, assistant director, and second di­ as test runs for Tetsuo, The Phantom of Regular
rector of photography on Tetsuo. Tsukamoto's Size concerned a man transformed into a human
collaborations with actor Tomorowo Taguchi cannon, while The Adventure ofDenchu Kozo fea­
continue even to this day. tured a young man shunned by his environment
Throughout the '70s, the budding director on account of the electric rod growing out of
continued to combine 8mm filmmaking with his back. The premises of the two shorts would
experimental theater, in some instances making form the basis of Tetsuo: The Iron Man, which
films of 90 minutes or even two hours in length. Tsukamoto began filming the same year as Den­
But the creative expression stopped when he chu Kozo, but which would take him almost two
graduated from art school and found a job di­ years to complete.
recting television commercials. He became the The Phantom of Regular Size won Tsukamoto
employee of a company, a salaryman who took his first critical notice, while a jury that included
the overcrowded train to work every morning Nagisa O shima awarded him the Grand Prix at
and back home again at night. "When he even­ the PIA Film Festival for The Adventure of Den­
tually returned to independent filmmaking in chu Kozo. His confidence bolstered, the young
the latter half of the ' 80s, this experience would director set out to make Tetsuo with the inten­
have a profound effect on his work. tion of getting it seen by a wider audience . With
In 1 98 6, seven years after he'd last made 8mm films being almost impossible to exhibit,
an 8mm film, Tsukamoto picked up his camera Tsukamoto bought a secondhand 1 6mm camera
again and made an additional two shorts: The to shoot Tetsuo, the story of a man who trans­
Phantom of Regular Size and, the following year, forms into a grotesque heap of metal after a hit­
The Adventure of Denchu Kozo. Though still par­ and-run accident. Financed with money from
tially inspired by the kaifu films as the former's his day job in advertising, Tetsuo was in every
title witnessed, the films were closer to the way a handmade film, abundantly employing
realm of cyberpunk and science fiction. Having such "primitive" special effects as stop motion

Filmography 1979 1992

• Hasu no Hana Tobe • Tetsuo II: Body Hammer
1974
• Genshi-san [short] 1986 1995
• The Phantom of Regular Size • Tokyo Fist (Tokyo Fisuto)
1975
(Futsii Saizu no Kaijin) [short] 1998
• Kyodai Gokiburi Monogatari
[short] 1987 • Bullet Ballet (Baretto Bare)
Tsubasa [short] • The Adventure of Denchu
• 1999
Kozo (Denchii Kozo no • Gemini (Soseijl)
1976
Boken) [short]
• Donten [short] 2002
1989
1977 • A Snake of June (Rokugatsu
• Tetsuo: The Iron Man (Tetsuo) no Hebl)
• Jigokumachi Shoben Geshuku
ni Te Tondayo 1991
2004
• Hiruko the Goblin (Hiruko: • Vital ( Vitaru)
1978
Yokai Hantii)
• Shin Tsubasa [short]
The Adventure af Denchu Kaza

and using scotch tape to stick electronic parts

from discarded TV sets to actor Tomorowo
Taguchi's face. But shot in black and white and
using strongly expressionistic lighting, the re­
sult was incredibly effective.

"I didn't have any money to do it differently. I

couldn't use effects like in Hollywood. If a gun
grows out of someone's body, we couldn't use
computer graphics, so we had to do it frame
by frame with the gun appearing bit by bit from

the body. But I like the 'realness' of this way

of working, so even today I find it hard to let

go of this handmade approach, even though

I can use more advanced effects techniques

now."

To complement his images of mutating

metal, Tsukamoto wanted a soundtrack that
would resonate with the subj ect and found a
suitable partner in experimental noise musi­
cian Chii Ishikawa, who would go on to become
Tsukamoto's regular composer.
146 • SHINYA TSUKAMOTO

Bullet Ballet

"I already had the Idea of using the sound of have changed over the years. He puts a lot of
beating Iron for Tetsuo's soundtrack, sampling concentration and effort into each song, and
that noise and using It as music. But I didn't he approaches the combination of sound and

know any musicians, so I asked a producer and Images with a lot more care.

he Introduced me to several people. Ishikawa "If I were to really make a film that is com­

was the second person whose work I listened pletely different from my other stuff and I think

to. The first guy's music was too different from it really won't fit with his music, in that case

what I wanted, so I tried another tape and that there is the possibility that I would ask a dif­

was Ishikawa. His tape was exactly like the ferent composer. But until now, even if the film

sound of beating Iron I'd envisioned and I really is not related to metal, I've always thought his

liked It. So I asked him If he would be Interest­ music would fit. So I've always asked him to
ed In doing the music for the film and told him do the music. Even if I'm very demanding or
I wanted to work with him at all cost. That's ask him to do something new, the results are
how we met. In the beginning he had no Idea always really satisfying. If I throw him one ball,

how to approach making music for films. So he he'll throw me back several more. Maybe it's

said he would just make the music and I could difficult for him at times, but for me it's a great

use the parts of It I liked. He made several joy to work with him."

long pieces of music in different styles that I

could choose from. Today we work differently. The lengthy production time of the film had
What I ask of him now Is different and more left its traces on Tsukamoto. His cast and crew
complicated because the films themselves had quit in despair and, as the director admitted
 Shinya Tsukamoto • 147

in an interview in the French film magazine HK, At home too, the film did well. Although
he was on the verge of burning the negative in only shown at late-night screenings, the film
the hope of exorcising all the bad experiences. attracted sell-out crowds as a result of the pub­
In addition, few Japanese media were even in­ licity devoted to its award victory. This in turn
terested in his 67 -minute black-and-white film. attracted the interest of the industry, landing
All this would change drastically when Tet­ Tsukamoto his first commission when Shochiku
suo was invited to the Fantastic Film Festival in studios invited him to adapt the short manga
Rome, Italy, in late 1 989. Playing without subti­ story Hiruko the Goblin.
tles (Tsukamoto had no money for a translation) Tsukamoto wrote the script himself, greatly
to an audience that included Chilean surreal­ expanding the slim storyline to fit in an archae­
ist filmmaker Alejandro J odorowsky, the film ologist character, played by singer Kenji Sawa­
took the festival by storm and snatched the top da, who faces off against the powers of hell in a
pnze. school basement. Shot in color with a profes­
sional cast and crew, Hiruko was more conven­
"The foreign acclaim was crucial in allowing me tional in style and subject than Tetsuo, resulting
to continue directing because it changed how in disappointing reactions from fans of the di­
I was regarded. At the time of Tetsuo, nobody rector's breakthrough film.
cared about me. Even if I did a press screen­ Disappointments didn't last long, however.
ing, nobody was interested in speaking to After finishing Hiruko, Tsukamoto launched
me afterward. But once I won the grand prize into production of the sequel to Tetsuo without
at the Fantastic Film Festival in Rome, dis­ skipping a beat. Tetsuo II: Body Hammer had al­
tributors would come up to me with excuses, ready been in the planning stages when the op­
telling me that they had been thinking about portunity to make Hiruko presented itself, and
buying the film all along. At that time it was backed by money from entertainment conglom­
very rare for a Japanese film to be shown at a erate Toshiba EMI, the film was in theaters a
foreign festival, let alone that one would win a mere year after Hiruko.
prize. So getting that prize resulted in getting Tetsuo II: Body Hammer essentially replays
appreciation in Japan as well." the basic scenario of its predecessor, with an un­
witting everyman gradually transforming into a
Tetsuo's international success would prove to monstrous mechanical contraption. Tsukamoto
be the breakthrough for contemporary Japanese had expanded the situation to include more plot
film on the international scene. It had already and a much more deliberate, focused thematic
been six years since the Palme d'Or in Cannes substance. Tetsuo was largely a film made on
for Sh6hei Imamura's The Ballad of Narayama instinct, with a variety of pop-cultural influ­
(Narayama Bushiko), and Japanese cinema had all ences and a strong sense of eroticism weighing
but disappeared from the Western radar. Tetsuo, heavier than the actual investigation of thematic
which went on to play at numerous festivals gar­ implications. Tetsuo II was made in a much more
nering just as many foreign distribution deals, contemplative manner, allowing for the emer­
put Japan back on the map and paved the way gence of what would become the director's re­
for the international breakthrough of Takeshi curring thematic concerns: contemporary city
Kitano a few years later, as well as for the nu­ life and how it has detached us from our own
merous festival successes for Japanese films in physical sensations. Another enormously im­
the latter half of the '90s. With Tetsuo, the new portant characteristic established by Tetsuo II
generation of Japanese filmmakers arrived on (although already present to a lesser extent in
the international scene. the first film) is the central position of the fam-
148 • SHINYA TSUKAMOTO

ily unit in the narrative. The disruption of this and alive. I want to warn people that being too
unit would become the premise for the plots of complacent and taking things for granted is
all his subsequent films. dangerous. Of course, I'm not telling people

These motifs and concerns were never that they should start a new war, but I want

clearer nor more succinctly explored than in his them to better appreciate the peace that they
following film Tokyo Fist ( 1 99 5 ) , in many ways have. They should be aware of how fortunate
the epitome of Tsukamoto's work. Revolving they are and not take things for granted."
around a young couple broken apart by the in­
trusion of an old acquaintance of the husband's, Tsukamoto's films revolve around such peo­
the film featured numerous bloody and intense ple who take things for granted, many of them
bouts of boxing and co-starred Tsukamoto's salarymen (as in the Tetsuo films, Tokyo Fist, and
younger brother Koji as the interloper. Bullet Ballet). Living their lives on autopilot,
riding the waves of duty and routine, they have
"When Koji was 18 he was a boxer. He had become detached from their own sensations .
one professional fight and got damaged pretty They live in the megalopolis of Tokyo, which
badly, so he immediately gave it up. He was has banished any signs of decay from its gleam­
still involved with boxing as a trainer, but he ing streets. For Tsukamoto it's this decay that
didn't fight again. Then when he passed thirty holds the key to life . Pain, destruction, and
he got this idea into his head that he wanted confrontation with death remind one of what
to get up into the ring again, so my mother it feels like to be alive, much more than going
became very worried about him. That's when through the daily grind does. To this end, Tsu­
I got the idea that instead of getting into the kamoto puts his characters through the most
ring for real, he could get into the ring in my terrible ordeals in order to remind them of
film. That way everybody was happy: I had a how it feels to be alive. The physical transfor­
new story to tell, he could be in the ring, and mations in the Tetsuo films find much more
my mother could be at ease." resonance in the insurance salesman who takes
up boxing and has himself beaten to a pulp in
With boxing and physical training replac­ Tokyo Fist, in the housewife who rediscovers her
ing the metallic mutations of the Tetsuo films, femininity and conquers disease through being
Tokyo Fist dispensed entirely with the element the victim of sexual blackmail in A Snake of
of science fiction. Tsukamoto concentrated on June, and in the upper-class doctor in Gemini,
treating his very worldly, contemporary themes who is forced to spend weeks at the bottom of
in a worldly, contemporary setting, thus allow­ a dried-up well with only a few bowls of rice to
ing them to come to their full maturation and eat, and who is thereby reduced to the spitting
significance . image of the dirt-covered slum dwellers he re­
fuses to treat.
"There hasn't been a war in Japan in over fifty With this belief that in destruction lies re­
years, which is of course a good thing. But birth and that luxury is false comfort, Tsuka­
the result is that people have gotten used to moto's films are remarkably close to those of
peace and have fallen half asleep. One thing I Kiyoshi Kurosawa. Remarkably, because the two
want to achieve with my films is to wake them filmmakers are such stylistic opposites few have
up. To smash them over the skull with a metal ever noticed the link. Both men's work in turn
hammer. But I have to do that to myself, too. I was prefigured by that of Kinji Fukasaku, who
have a tendency to take it easy in life, and it's also regarded the destruction of old values as a
only through making movies that I feel awake liberation and viewed the reconstruction of Ja-
 Shinya Tsukamoto · 149

pan's cities into gleaming masses of tower blocks

as a lie that covered up the decaying truth.
Tokyo Fist is, as noted, perhaps the purest
expression of these themes within Tsukamoto's
body of work. What makes it stand out even more
is that this is not all it treats. Tokyo Fist also sees
the emergence of a strong current of feminism or
female empowerment in the director's films. In
its scant 87 minutes, Tokyo Fist focuses not only
on the battle between two men, but gives equal
opportunities for self-development to the female
factor in the equation. The insurance salesman's
wife seems to be merely the catalyst for the fight
between two men, and this is certainly how
the men treat her. But while the testosterone­
charged boys pound each other into submission,
the woman goes her own way and achieves physi­
cal and spiritual enlightenment.

"I don't know why exactly, but when I look at

my mother, who is part of a previous genera­

tion in which a woman's situation was weaker
and aimed at supporting the man, I feel com­
passion for her and I get this urge to be sup­
portive of women."
Shinya Tsukamoto
This feminist trope would reappear in all his
subsequent films. In Bullet Ballet a young woman "For me, acting is like very seriously engaging

joins a gang of young street punks only because in a hobby. I like all aspects of filmmaking,

it serves her own needs. In Gemini, which again including acting, but it goes back further. As a
features two men fighting over a woman, the fe­ boy I used to be rather shy and not very good
male protagonist goes through a transformation at dealing with other people. It was only when
and a self-discovery that is as profound as the I entered a theater group and started appear­
men's. A Snake of June is perhaps the culmina­ ing in school plays that I learned how to relate
tion, revolving as it does around one woman's to people and be more socially adept. Another

complete individual liberation, even from a po­ thing is that I don't have a background as an
tentially lethal disease. assistant director. I never saw other directors
With Tokyo Fist also came Shinya Tsukamo­ at work, so as an actor I get a chance to do
to's first attempt at playing a lead role . Having that after all, which is an interesting experi­
played the villain in Tetsuo and Tetsuo II and ap­ ence. But I only act in the films of directors I
peared in films by Kaizo Hayashi and Naoto like."
Takenaka, his acting work had always been in
secondary parts. Playing Tokyo Fist's insurance Tsukamoto went on to work with such direc­
salesman protagonist, Tsukamoto acquitted tors as Shunichi Nagasaki (Some Kinda LovelRo­
himself well in the lead. mansu and Dogs), Takashi Miike (Dead or Alive
150 • SHINYA TSUKAMOTO

2 and Ichi the KillerlKoroshiya Ichl) , Go Rij u doesn't pay a huge amount of money, but it
(ChloeIKuroe), Kaizo Hayashi (The Most Terrible only takes a day of work at most, so the pay is
Time in My Life), and Teruo Ishii (Blind Beast relatively high given how little time it takes. In
vs. DwaiflMOjit Tai Issun Boshl), and also played Japan, aside from a director like Takashi Miike
the lead in his next film Bullet Ballet, as an adver­ who makes films as a professional with other
tising executive who comes home to find that his people's money, filmmakers can't make a lot
longtime partner has committed suicide. The of money, especially directors who make inde­
exec develops a fascination for handguns and pendent films and who try to realize their own
falls in with a group of thugs who aimlessly drift projects. I don't want to complain too much
around Tokyo beating up hapless salarymen. about the situation, because I think if you
The film, intensely shot with handheld cam­ make that choice in life, it comes with the ter­
eras and in black and white, again took three years ritory. But you can't make another film if you
to reach the screen, just as it had taken Tsukamo­ lose money, so I'm conscious of the need to
to three years to get Tokyo Fist into theaters. make enough money off a film in order to allow
myself to make the next one.
"Up until now I've been making my films in a "I always borrow and gather money from

very independent way. I write my own scripts, friends and acquaintances. Each time I prom­
I do the production independently. Instead of ise them that they will get back what they lent
one month of shooting, which is common for me, and I always keep that promise. Of course
Japanese films, I take about four months. I these are not enormous budgets, but I can
also do the editing myself and take care of the gather enough money to make my films. The
distribution. All of those things combined mean income from foreign sales is very important. In
I can easily spend three years on a single film. the beginning of my career, that was like an
It's because I'm involved in my films from unexpected gift and I felt very lucky. Today I

start to finish that I don't make that many of calculate the budget based on the expectancy

them. In the beginning when I made Tetsuo of making foreign sales. So my budgets today
there simply was nobody else to do it, so I was are higher than in the past, meaning that I will
forced to do everything myself. But while doing have a problem if I don't make enough from
so, I discovered that I found all these aspects foreign sales."
of the process very interesting. I like to draw
pictures, I like to tell stories, I like to write Tsukamoto does not entirely turn his back
scripts and I like to act too. I also like to make on work for hire, however. Particularly with
posters for the promotional campaign. I even the creative freedom afforded to filmmakers in
like figuring out where in the city we should Japan, even a commissioned work like Gemini
hang those posters and what effect that will allows him to write, direct, shoot, edit, invite
have. I'm really interested in all these aspects, Chu Ishikawa to provide the score, and make
so I don't really want to give any of them up. In the film entirely according to his own tastes.
that sense I don't want to compromise." This is how a costume horror film set in the
Meiji period and based on a story by Edogawa
It's a testament to Tsukamoto's fierce inde­ Rampo can end up being an unmistakable Shin­
pendence that he chose a way of working that is ya Tsukamoto production.
hardly a route to financial prosperity. Although he has long since moved away
from cyber sci-fi, Tetsuo and its central concept
"I do voice-over work for TV commercials to still beckon. Tsukamoto brushed off several at­
make a living. Those pay really well. One job tempts from American producers to get a third
episode into production, including a Flying Tet­
suo that was to have been produced by Quentin
Tarantino.

"A Tetsuo film needs to be made in complete

freedom, so as soon as an outside producer

comes on board, it stops being interesting for

me."

Nevertheless, the setting he enVlSlons for

Tetsuo III is that of a Tetsuo in America, a film that
is to be an overt reflection of American cinema.
Tsukamoto sees the project as "a Japanese film,
shot independently in the United States. " This
would, however, mean quite a drastic departure
from his regular themes, which after all derive
strongly from the experience of life in urban
Japan.

"Probably the main subject of the Tetsuo films

is the relationship between the human body
and the city. That subject will probably change
a little bit in a third episode. It would focus

more on weapons of war, treating the body as

such a weapon. That kind of theme would be

easier to understand for foreign audiences,
because it's closer to American films. The
body as weapon, which is either restrained
or unleashed, is not an uncommon subject in
American cinema."

Shinya Tsukamoto, critical commentator

of life in contemporary urban Japan, clearly
doesn't hide his admiration for American sci­
ence fiction. This child of cyberpunk and giant
monsters harbors a secret wish to one day make
his own contribution.

"If I make Tetsuo III and it's received very well

in the United States, after that I'd like to make

Alien 5. And then Ridley Scott will come back

and make Alien 6 and that would be the final
film in the series. That would be the ideal sce­
nario. Maybe nobody else would think of that
Tetsuo: The Iron Man
possibility, but I keep it in mind."
152 . SHINYA TSUKAMOTO

-v Tetsuo: The Iron Man drill and quickly the rest of his body starts to
�I1 mutate into a gigantic heap of ambulant scrap.
Tetsuo Tetsuo is in many ways a naiVe (or perhaps
instinctive is the better word) film. The themes
1989 . CAST: Tomorowo Taguchi, Kei Fujiwara, that would come to dominate Tsukamoto's work
Nobu Kanaoka, Renji Ishibashi, Naomasa Mu­ are present in their rudimentary forms, but are
saka. 67 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Tartan Video nowhere near being fleshed out. The social rel­
(U.S., English subtitles), Asia ExtremejTartan evance is absent; instead the film is packed with
Video (U.K., English subtitles), Studio Canal eroticism: It portrays sex as a catalyst for the mu­
(France, French subtitles), Beam Entertainment tations, jealousy as the villain's main motivation
(Japan, no subtitles). (the couple had sex in full sight of the villain after
they ran him over with their car), more than a
Tsu kamoto 's signature fi l m and international hint of masochism, and oodles of fetishism (the
breakth rough , both for him and for contem po­ villain character is often, and quite appropriately,
ra ry Japanese cinema. A hand-crafted black­ referred to in translations as " The Fetishist, " al­
and-white nightmare of jittery metal fused though in the Japanese credits he is rather more
with flesh that is a singu lar c i nematic experi­ anonymously referred to as yatsu: " guy").
ence. The instinctive approach also resulted in a
film that is wholly original while at the same
At the end of the '80s, when mainstream Japa­ time wearing its influences on its sleeve. The
nese cinema was dead in the water and the West film's triumphant use of camerawork and edit­
had all but forgotten that films were even made ing are continuations of the style pioneered by
in the country that once gave us Kurosawa and S ago Ishii, taking both to an even higher level of
Mizoguchi, along came a grainy, black-and­ intensity than that on display in Ishii's seminal
white 1 6mm film that wiped the floor with any­ Crazy Thunder Road and Burst City, while the
thing made in Japan for several years. Shinya use of stop-motion recalls the scrap animations
Tsukamoto's Tetsuo was a relentlessly energetic ofJan Svankmayer, the expressionistic close-ups
film made at a time when the energy had all but echo classic Japanese horror films, and at the
disappeared from Japanese cinema. The cul­ center of it all the actors move as if they were
mination of two decades' worth of short film­ performers in a modern dance piece, revealing
making, Tetsuo had all the characteristics of the participants' origins in experimental theater.
unbridled zeal and amateur enthusiasm, and all With almost no dialogue, the result is striking­
the signs of true filmmaking talent. ly reminiscent of silent film, which is quite an
An anonymous stranger haunts a scrap heap, achievement considering all the noise produced
puncturing his flesh with discarded metal in by Chii Ishikawa's brain-pounding score and the
a mixture of pain and ecstasy. A young couple exaggerated sound effects.
run him over with their car, discard his body But the most important influence on Tetsuo
when they think he is dead, and continue living was without doubt the kaiju film. Young Shin­
their lives. Then one morning the male half of ya Tsukamoto was reared on the adventures of
the couple finds a small metal nail protruding Godzilla and company, and the design of the
from his cheek. The same day he is assaulted clumsily stomping iron man clearly shows their
by a woman possessed with the spirit of the hit­ influence. The comparison is not just a visual
and-run victim, her hand a grotesque metal claw. one, since the theme of mutation which lies at
That night, in the midst of making love to his the heart of the big monster movies (particu­
girlfriend, the man's penis transforms into a large larly Ishira Honda's first GodzilialGojira, 1 954)
 Tokyo Fist • 153

is replayed here. To what thematic end wouldn't

become clear until the follow-up four years
later, but Tsukamoto's fusion of all that was dear
to him did remind the world that there was such
a thing as Japanese cinema and that the films it
created were, on occasion, still unique indeed.

� Tokyo Fist
!�Ul-71 Ar
Tokyo Pisuto
1995 . CAST: Kaori Fujii, Shinya Tsukamoto, K6ji
Tsukamoto, Naomasa Musaka, Naoto Takenaka.
87 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Manga Video (U.S.,
English subtitles), Studio Canal (France, French
subtitles), Beam Entertainment (Japan, no sub­
titles).

Ferocious boxing fi lm that saw Tsukamoto

deviate from cyber sci-fi i nto more worldly
realms, delivering his best work in the pro­
Tokyo Fist
cess . Li ke an uppercut to the solar plexus, but
a challenge to the mind at the same time.
is a corporate drone, sweating his way through
It's ironic that Shinya Tsukamoto would make the humid Tokyo summer in his suit and tie as
his best film when he left his trademark mu­ he tries to sell all-risk policies door-to-door.
tagenic science fiction behind him. Still best Coming home dead tired every day, he custom­
known for his two Tetsuo films, with Tokyo Fist arily falls asleep in front of the TV with his head
he turned over a new leaf and, despite popular on Hizuru's shoulder. Like all of Tsukamoto's
misconception, he has never looked back. protagonists, Tsuda has lost touch completely
The significance of Tokyo Fist is twofold. Not with his own body, as his incessant wiping of his
only does it represent the director's emergence sweaty brow demonstrates : the only manifes­
from sci-fi, it also marks the start of his explora­ tation of physicality is a nuisance to him. This
tion of a much broader world view, one in which is emphasized all the more when Tsuda meets
women take center stage. In Tokyo Fist we see two Kojima, a former high school classmate turned
men beating each other to a pulp over a woman professional boxer (played by the director's
who regards their testosterone-driven behavior younger brother Koji). Tsuda wants nothing to
with contempt and seizes the opportunity to do with Kojima, but when the latter turns up on
achieve complete social and personal liberation. his doorstep one afternoon, Hizuru lets him in,
Tokyo Fist's three protagonists are insurance much to the dismay of Tsuda, who comes home
salesman Tsuda, his wife, Hizuru, and boxer to find the two chatting at the kitchen table. The
Kojima. Tsuda (the director's first, and success­ tension mounts quickly: Kojima continues his
ful, attempt at playing a leading character role) advances toward pretty Hi zuru , while Tsuda's
154 . SHINYA TSUKAMOTO

herself. In much the same way, the two men

increasingly start feeding off each other's fury,
discovering the development of their bodies and
constant adrenalin levels as sources of pleasure,
as ends unto themselves. Office wimp Tsuda,
whose body his wife once described as being
soft as a baby's, becomes as tightly wound and
muscular as Kojima. The boxer in turn feeds off
the rivalry with Tsuda as a way to prepare for his
upcoming match, which sees him squaring off
against the most feared fighter in the league .
What starts o ff a s a love triangle becomes a
story of three people reaching liberation through
pain, in which the men willingly revert to
knuckle-headed cavemen with bloated, bleeding
faces, and the woman attains first physical and
then spiritual enlightenment, literally drifting up
to the light of total liberation in the final scene.
And so an intense and furious film about men
beating each other to a pulp becomes one of the
more potent feminist statements of the 1 990s.

-.It Gem i n i
Gemini
�1:%
Soseiji
insecurity make him increasingly jealous of the
boxer's passes at his wife. Even though Hizuru 1999. CAST: Masahiro Motoki, Ry6, Yasutaka
refuses Kojima's attempts, Tsuda is convinced Tsutsui, Tadanobu Asano, Renji Ishibashi, To­
the pair is having an affair. When his jealousy morowo Taguchi, Naoto Takenaka. 84 minutes.
reaches fever pitch, Hizuru leaves the house to RELEASES: DVD, Warner Bros (Japan, English/Jap­
shack up with Kojima and Tsuda starts taking anese subtitles), Filmfreak (The Netherlands,
boxing lessons at Kojima's gym . English/Dutch/French subtitles), Ocean Shores
This, however, is only the start of Tsuka­ (Hong Kong, English/Chinese subtitles).
moto's highly original take on the love triangle
structure (he would use it again for Gemini Tsu kamoto 's colorful adaptation of Edogawa
and A Snake of June). Hizuru may be living Rampo's tale of savage s i b l i ng riva l ry is i n
under one roof with Kojima, but she refuses to marked contrast to t h e stark c h i l lers that typ­
go any further than that. She demonstratively ify late '90s Japanese horror.
sleeps separately from him and follows her own
agenda. As the macho rivalry pushes Tsuda and On the surface of things, Dr Yukio Daitokuji
Kojima to start working out harder and harder (Motoki) leads a pretty enviable life, with his
in the gym she discovers tattooing and body
, status at the newly inherited family practice in
piercing as a way to liberate and strengthen the Tokyo suburbs assured, thanks to his work
 A Snake of June • 155

with the war-wounded, and a beautiful wife, Rin fiction for Japanese filmmakers, this grotesque
(Ry6), to come home to in the evenings. And yet story represents the director's first foray into
fissures are beginning to appear in the delicate period costume horror and fleshes out the bare
fabric of his daily routine. For a start, his par­ bones of Rampo's original tale of savage sibling
ents make little secret of their disapproval of his rivalry considerably. With the addition of the
choice of new bride, an amnesiac discovered on character of Rin fueling the antagonism between
the banks of a nearby river with absolutely no the doctor and his dark flip side, and the added
indication as to where she came from or how weight given to detailing Sutekichi's underclass
she got there. Furthermore, a plague is currently origins, the original short story really only serves
running rife in the nearby slums, and the time­ as a starting point for Tsukamoto to explore the
pressed doctor finds himself rapidly becoming "sins of our fathers" motif whilst vividly evok­
the subject of animosity amongst his mangy ing the social conditions that were still the norm
neighbors due to the higher precedence he plac­ when Rampo wrote his stories in the 1 92 0s.
es on treating the wealthier citizens of the area. Former teen heartthrob Motoki (no stranger
Not long after strange smells begin exud­ to the world of Edogawa Rampo, having played
ing from his comfortable abode, a dark figure Akechi in Shochiku's hypnotic biopic, The Mys­
is spotted sneaking around the house by night, tery of Rampo) adapts well to his dual roles, as
and his father is soon found dead with a clod the sangfroid suave of Yukio is severely knocked
of earth in his mouth. Mother knows something off kilter by the appearance of his manic simu­
she's not telling, and after alluding to poten­ lacrum in the guise of a cart-wheeling wolfman.
tial problems with Yukio's inheritance, likewise Marked out by its bold, hyper-realistic color pal­
shuffles off her mortal coil before she is given ate, exaggerated make up and costume design,
the chance to fill in the details. and an absurd taste for the carnivalesque, this
After a nocturnal besiegement by the pox­ chilling psychological tale should prove more
ridden shanty dwellers, the righteous physician than a sufficient antidote to those left jaded by
comes face to face with his doppelganger, Sute­ the restrained, by-the-numbers approach ad­
kichi. Cast aside at birth due to a prominent opted by the majority of late '90s horrors that
snake-like scar and raised in the neighboring appeared in the wake of The Ring.
slums, Yukio's lost twin is understandably irked
by his rather unfair share of the birthrights and
promptly shoves his brother down the dried-up
well at the bottom of the garden. The interloper -.v A Snake of June
then closes the practice to shack up with the 1\J=j0)!RE
waif-like Rin, overzealously pitching himself Rokugatsu no Hebi
into Yukio's conjugal duties whilst his brother
languishes in the pit. Despite having undertak­ 2002. CAST: Asuka Kurosawa, YLiji Kotari, Shin­
en painstaking studies of his brother in order to ya Tsukamoto, Susumu Terajima, Tomorowo
mask his unwanted presence at the clinic, Sute­ Taguchi. 77 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Universe
kichi's appearance soon begins to stir up long (Hong Kong, English/Chinese subtitles). Tartan
forgotten memories of Rin's former life. Video (U.S';U.K., English subtitles), Happinet
Taking the Edogawa Rampo short story The Pictures (Japan, English subtitles).
Twins as his starting point, Tsukamoto's modern­
ist Meiji period horror represents quite a depar­ The story of a wom a n ' s physical and sexual
ture from his usual work. Further proof of the reawa ken i ng, A Snake of June d i s penses with
enduring appeal of the author's dark mystery any notion of gen re and becomes perhaps the
156 . SHINYA TSUKAMOTO

A Snake of June

pu rest expression yet of Shi nya Tsu kamoto 's its surface are brought out with the introduc­
thematic concerns. tion of a third element into the equation. When
Rinko receives a package of candid photographs
Recycling the love triangle premise of his earli­ of herself masturbating and the sender (played
er films Gemini and Tokyo Fist, but dispensing by Shinya Tsukamoto himself) contacts her with
with the horrorlfantasy overtones of the former the threat of exposing them to her husband, she
and the bloodspurting brutality of the latter, A submits herself to the anonymous voyeur's sex­
Snake of June is the story of a couple first and ual games. In order to get hold of all the nega­
foremost, not a genre film that happens to have tives and prints, the mysterious caller orders her
a couple as its subject. to complete a set of assignments that are con­
The couple in question are Rinko (stage ac­ standy on the borderline between humiliation
tress Asuka Kurosawa) and Shigehiko (novelist and pleasure-the voyeur knows exacdy what
Yiiji Kotari) , whose physical mismatch (she a Rinko's personal erotic fantasies are and makes
lithe beauty, he an overweight, balding neurot­ her act them out one by one.
ic obsessed with cleanliness) is reflected in the Although the material lends itself all too
complete lack of intimacy between them. They easily to an exploitative approach, Tsukamoto
connect as human beings, but they live more keeps his attention rigorously focused on the
like friends than as lovers and lead nearly inde­ characters and their emotional responses. A
pendent lives. Both seem comfortable with this Snake of June never once feels like exploita­
coexistence, but the desires that lurk beneath tion-or worse, pornography-and the only
 A Snake o f June · 157

explicitness on offer here is in the actors' faces Despite doing away with the genre-based
rather than other parts of their anatomy. The surface that has been the most eye-catching,
film is a character piece, one that despite its and popular, element of the director's previous
intimate point of view manages to incorporate work, stylistically this is instantly recognizable
the characters' positions in society. In order to as a Tsukamoto film. Shot in blue-tinted mono­
confront her with what she's allowing herself to chrome, the images are as beautiful and the
hide, the blackmailer forces her to play out her photography and editing as intense as any of his
innermost desires in public. He coerces her into earlier efforts. Although he places more empha­
breaking a barrier, to behave in a way that re­ sis than ever on the human form as is, untainted
quires her to violate society's rules of how she is by mutation or mutilation, the director does oc­
expected to behave, because it's those rules that casionally add some of his beloved biomechani­
have allowed her to continue living in denial of cal imagery. Though seemingly at odds with
her own desires, to coexist with her husband in­ the realistic tone of the film, these moments
stead of sharing her life with him. have a more symbolic function, serving as the
It's in this aspect that the film reveals depth visualization of the characters' emotions. These
in its attitude towards the female protagonist. fantasy scenes, only two in number, are both ex­
Although the premise would suggest a very perienced by Shigehiko, whose obsession allows
male perspective, with the woman taking the for such delusions: His discovery of a huge glob
role of object of sexual gratification, the real of filth in the sink (an exaggerated, almost mu­
gratification and liberation are Rinko's. Like the tant version of what most of us hesitantly scrape
female protagonist of Tokyo Fist, she develops from the drain on occasion) is what forms the
into a self-aware and self-confident individual catalyst for these nightmarish visions.
in touch with her own personality, a woman With its focus on human beings and organ­
who doesn't let the rules imposed on her by her ic life (also present in the incessant downpour
environment decide how she should live her that forms the backdrop to Rinko's sexual re­
life. Without going so far as to call A Snake of awakening), rather than machinery and physi­
June feminist, Tsukamoto's film displays a de­ cal deformations, A Snake ofJune might well be
gree of empathy with its female protagonist that the thematic culmination of all of Tsukamoto's
unfortunately is still all too rare in the male­ past work. For the same reason it might also
dominated world of cinema, Japanese or other­ prove to be the most accessible point of entry
wise (it won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice for the uninitiated, illustrating that an artist
Film Festival 2 002 , where French feminist di­ doesn't necessarily have to compromise his
rector Catherine Breilla.t was one of its staunch­ message in order to communicate with a larger
est supporters) . audience .
 CHAPTER 10
Takeshi Kitano
�tJfA
During the early '90s, as far as foreign audiences tant observers at least, it looked like Japanese
were concerned, the Golden Age of Japanese cinema barely had it in it to limp through to the
cinema was well and truly over, dead and buried next millennium. That the industry managed to
in a mythic past represented by names such as survive at all in the Western perception is en­
Ozu, Naruse, and Mizoguchi. Budgets had cer­ tirely due to one man-Takeshi Kitano. For the
tainly got bigger during the bubble years of the best part of the '90s, he was the dominating rep­
'80s, and the films accordingly glossier, but the resentative of Japanese cinema abroad, cutting
industry had become more and more hermetic, an imposing figure as he appeared on movie
with internationally renowned directors such as posters, his gnarled visage set in an inexpressive
Nagisa O shima, and even that living legend Akira mask, clad in shades and a black suit, smoking
Kurosawa, forced to look abroad for funding. pistol in hand, as if cast from the same mold as
Aside from a handful of films that included one of the suave contract criminals of Quentin
Jiizo Itami's feel-good food comedy Tampopo Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs ( 1 992 ).
( 1 98 5 ) , Katsuhiro O tomo's ground-breaking Even this widespread approbation from
animation Akira ( 1 988), and the freak cult suc­ Westerners was fairly late in corning. Though a
cess of Shinya Tsukamoto's independently pro­ number of Kitano's movies had previously aired
duced Tetsuo ( 1 989), not much made it far from at international festivals and received theatrical
Japanese shores, the major companies focusing or video releases outside of the United States,
purely on the domestic market without seem­ it was only in the wake of the surprise Golden
ingly giving a passing thought to foreign au­ Lion award for Fireworks at the 1 997 Venice In­
diences. In fact, looking at a number of staple ternational Film Festival that Kitano can truly
genres from the period-nurse dramas, salary­ be said to have "arrived," guns blazing, on the
man comedies, and an endless parade of cute international scene. Less savvy critics and fans
live-action children's films with animals at their thought they'd discovered the next John Woo­
center-you have to wonder what kind of audi­ albeit one whose presence manifested itself in
ence they had in mind at all. front of the camera as well as behind it-and
With the bubble slowly but surely deflat­ the bloodier end of Kitano's back catalogue was
ing throughout the '90s, even the major studio once more unleashed onto the West in a hail of
product had lost its sheen, leaving precious little bullets and blood squibs: Sonatine was reissued
else beneath it. It's easy to forget it but, to dis- on a limited theatrical run by Tarantino's Roll-

158
 Takeshi Kitano · 159

ing Thunder Pictures (a subsidiary of Miramax) who burst into the offices of the tabloid maga­
in the United States in 1 998, with Violent Cop zine Friday with his Gundan, the loyal fan club
and Boiling Point following in 1 999, almost ten of TV associates, drinking buddies, and hang­
years after their first domestic releases. ers-on, in the wake of a scandal involving pub­
Back at home, the Japanese were confused. lished pictures of an alleged mistress?
Heralded in the West as a cinematic auteur who Still to this day Kitano is amongst the most
cited Jean-Luc Godard as an influence and who familiar faces on Japanese TV; and very much a
had elevated the yakuza genre to the realms of part of the media establishment. His endearing
High Art, was this really the same fast-talking public persona as the tearaway brat that never
Beat Takeshi who had played buffoon to Beat quite grew up, like Crayon Shin-chan with To­
Kiyoshi's straight man as part of The Two Beats urette's syndrome, has ensured that he is con­
comedy double act during the '70s and early stantly in demand, with barely a week going by
'80s? Was this the same comic persona who had when he doesn't appear on screen in some capac­
dominated Japanese TV airwaves during the ity. Along with Hayao Miyazaki of Ghibli stu­
'80s, terrorizing the general public and subject­ dios, he is the one other name in this book that
ing them to all sorts of ignominies in shows such can be said to be a household one. He is without
as Tensai Takeshi no Genki ga Deru Terebi [trans: peer or parallel elsewhere in the world, a multi­
Genius Takeshi's TV that makes you lively] ; the purpose entertainer, whose talent is seemingly
smirking mastermind behind a plethora of dan­ limitless. Alongside the endless TV appearanc­
gerous high-profile public pranks, who broke es, columns in newspapers and magazines, his
into people's houses disguised in ninja cos­ fifty or so books, acting in other people's films,
tumes or as a giant daikon radish? Was this the his paintings, and fronting the Office Kitano
comic lynch pin of the '80s sketch show Oreta­ production company, it's amazing the man even
chi Hyokinzoku [trans: Us j okers] ; Takechanman has time to eat, yet alone make films.
the halfwit superhero who pitted his wits on a And herein lies the irony of Kitano's status as
weekly basis against his evil opponent, the Black industry savior. Back at home, his movies are not
Devil? Was this the same taboo-breaking com­ the high-profile blockbusters that his international
pere with the penchant for cross-dressing and reputation might lead you to believe, his filmmak­
the trademark obscene downward thrust of ing work being something he does on the side. In
the hands inspired by the ' 7 0s Russian gym­ the eyes of local audiences, his films are seen as
nast Nadia Comaneci, who dared to laugh at too violent and nihilistic for general consump­
the old and fat, who exposed himself in public tion. This is undoubtedly one of the factors for his
like a naughty schoolboy, and who peppered his thematic about-tum into melodrama with Dolls,
peak-time performances with a colorful spray of which he stated at the time of its release as aimed
vulgarities? Was this the same volatile hothead at a more mainstream, female-oriented market.

Filmography 1993 1999

• Sonatine (Sonachine) • Kikujiro ( Kikujiro no Natsu)
1989
• Violent Cop (Sono Otoko, 1995 2000
Kyobo ni Tsukt) • Getting Any? ( Minna Yat­ • Brother
teruka!) 2002
1990
• Boiling Point (3-4 X Jiigatsu) 1996 • Dolls (Doruzu)
• Kids Return 2003
1991
• Begin [music video]
• A Scene at the Sea (Ano • Zatoichi (Zatoicht)
Natsu, Ichiban Shizukana 1997
Urnt) • Fireworks (Hana-Bt)
160 . TAKESHI KITANO

Actually, even Kitano's reputation in the Kids Return, which Kitano co-wrote with
West during the latter half of the '90s was some­ journalist Akira Tamura, and also made into a
what misleading, his tough-guy image sustained film, is a tale of two high school dropouts, close
by further yakuza roles in Takashi Ishii's sleek friends whose paths later diverge when they turn
Gonin ( 1 99 5 ) , Koji Wakamatsu's Parisian-set respectively to boxing and becoming a runner
Erotic Liaisons (Erotikku na Kankei, 1 992 ), and for the yakuza. Though it was not based directly
cameos in the flawed Hollywood sci-fi thriller on Kitano's own life, it takes place in a world fa­
Johnny Mnemonic (Robert Longo, 1 99 5 ) and miliar to the one in which the director grew up,
Jean-Pierre Limosin's Japanese-French co-pro­ and contains numerous semi-autobiographical
duction Tokyo Eyes ( 1 998). Those films that didn't elements, such as the fact that as a teenager Ki­
fall comfortably into this canon representing the tano was also drawn to the world of boxing.
teleological cinematic evolution that culminat­ In the latter part of the '60s, Kitano dropped
ed in Fireworks-for example, the lucidly simple out of Meiji University, where he was enrolled
A Scene at the Sea, or the refreshingly idiotic in a mechanical engineering course. His univer­
Getting Any ? were never widely distributed
- sity years had been spent leading a bohemian
outside ofJapan. Whilst this may be because he lifestyle, hanging around the student haunts of
didn't actually star in these two particular films, Shinjuku and Ikebukuro, then a hotbed for stu­
his stony-faced demeanor being the most iden­ dent protests and home of a vibrant alternative
tifiable hook for international audiences, these culture scene. His dream, however, had always
films are nevertheless still clearly recognizable been to become a comedian and, after quit­
as the work of one man, a factor which fully jus­ ting university, he eventually found work at the
tifies the auteur tag. Kitano doesn't just bring a France Theater in Asakusa, a kind of burlesque
new slant to tired material. He makes films that variety venue where he acted as both emcee and
clearly look like no one else's, bringing a radi­ warm-up act, introducing the older starring co­
cally new approach to both plot and visuals. medians and the strippers that the male white­
It is undoubtedly his long and unconven­ collar audiences had really come to see. This
tional route to the director's chair that makes period of his life is detailed in his book Asakusa
Kitano's work so idiosyncratic. Kitano's path to Kid, later adapted into a TV movie for the Sky
stardom has been well documented, notably by Perfect cable channel by Makoto Shinozaki in
himself, in his books and in the frequent autobio­ 2 002 .
graphical aspects to his work. His novel, Takeshi­ Kitano plugged away with his stage perfor­
kun Hai, aimed at teenagers but with an appeal mance for the better part of the decade. During
that stretched far beyond, was published in 1 984, this time, he made the acquaintance of a certain
and detailed his early years. Born on January 1 8, Kiyoshi Kaneko, and the two decided to join
1 947, Takeshi -kun was raised in the Adachi Ward forces as a double act under the name the Two
of Tokyo, still lying in ruins after the war, in a Beats-Beat Takeshi and Beat Kiyoshi. Their
cramped one-room house shared with his moth­ specialist style was based on a brand of com­
er, three siblings, and lorded over by his father, edy known as manzai, a two man stand-up act
Kikujiro, a stern drinking man whose influence where one of the comedians recounted a long
was heavily ingrained in the later film that took humorous story and the other responded with a
his name. Kikujiro was a painter and decorator, string of quick-witted interj ections. But Kitano's
and the house doubled as a workshop where he stream of consciousness and obscenities were
used to mix his paints in the front room, the out­ too quick for Kiyoshi, and by the time their act
side walls shifting colors like a chameleon on an had reached a broader audience on the back of
almost daily basis as he tried out the new hues. the huge boom in popularity of manzai during
 Takeshi Kitano • 161

the latter half of the '70s, it was clear who the (Senjo no Meri Kurisumasu, 1 98 3 ). He had also
real star of the show was. railed against his popular TV persona in a series
The pair made their first TV appearance of TV dramas during the '80s. In O kubo Kiyoshi
in 1 976, but despite their popularity as an al­ no Hanzai [trans : The crime of Kiyoshi O kubo] ,
ternative to the mainstream glibness of the he played a brutal serial rapist who strangled his
established TV comedians of the period, the victims in a story based on a real-life case, whilst
collaboration barely stretched into the next de­ in Iesu no Hakobune [trans: The ark of Jesus] he
cade. Whilst the early '80s saw Kitano hosting a was the fanatical leader of a religious cult who
late-night radio show, where his crude sense of abducted his female followers.
humor and quick-thinking charm won a swarm In the cinema he had perfected his yakuza
of fans amongst college kids across the land, shtick in Yasuo Furuhata's Demon (Yasha) re­
Beat Kiyoshi soon faded from the public eye. leased in 1 98 5 , starring the iconic Ken Takaku­
Kitano later honored their early friendship with ra, Toei's most popular hard man, best known
a small cameo in Kikujiro, as a man waiting at a abroad for his appearances in Ridley Scott's
bus stop with a chronic wind problem. Mean­ Black Rain ( 1 989) and Fred Schepisi's Mr. Base­
while, Kitano had become hot property on Tv, ball ( 1 992 ) . Takakura plays Shuji, a gangster
and his shows dominated the airwaves the best who moves back from Osaka to a remote coastal
part of the next decade. village to start a new life with his family, his ar­
In 1 989, Kitano made his filmmaking debut rival from the city coinciding with that of the
with Violent Cop, a hard-boiled Dirty Harry­ beautiful bar hostess Keiko, whose new bar is
esque thriller in which he was slated to play the soon acting as a magnet for all the local fisher­
leading role. But by a coincidence, he might men, much to the chagrin of their wives. Almost
never have become a director at all. His chance completely stealing the show from under the
came by accident when Kinji Fukasaku, the nose of Takakura, the real star of the piece, Ki­
original director, stepped down from the project tano plays Keiko's roguish lover, Yajima, another
due to ill health. The end result of also putting ex-mobster who has fallen on bad times due to
the movie's star behind the camera might have a vicious drug habit, and who severely rocks the
ended up as little more than a publicity gimmick boat in this close-knit fishing community when
for Kazuyoshi Okuyama, the film's producer he reveals Shuji's underworld past.
and then head of Shochiku studios production So it is fair to say that by the end of the '80s,
unit, but the fledgling director took to his new the public was in the process of getting used to
vocation like a duck to water. seeing Kitano as a serious actor. But how did he
What could the public have thought of Kita­ fare behind the camera? Violent Cop, as its U.S.
no in this new actor-director guise? Interesting­ re-titling suggests (the Japanese title translates
ly, Kitano's turn as cold, smoldering detective as "That Man Is Brutal"), is fairly generic ma­
Azuma, a hard-drinking, gambling renegade terial, with little in the script to inspire claims
who constantly borrows money from his co­ of genius. But similar to Azuma's methods of
workers, raging out of control within the rigid policing, Kitano's approach was maverick and
organization of the police force, wasn't the first dazzlingly original, and it got the job done with
time he had appeared in a serious acting role breathtaking efficiency.
so far removed from his TV comedic persona. Though in this particular film, editing duties
He'd already impressed foreign audiences with fell to Nobutake Kamiya (it was not until A Scene
his part as Hara, the brutal sergeant in a pris­ at the Sea that Kitano took over the role), Kitano
oner-of-war camp who befriends Tom Conti in reveals an implicit understanding of montage
Nagisa O shima's Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence to link cause and effect, resulting in a style that
162 . TAKESHI KITANO

is concise and uncluttered, oblique yet robust. though there is also strong violence, some of a
Ushering in "the detached style" that came to rather sadistic sexual nature, that doesn't quite
typify Japanese cinema during the '90s, his debut seem to gel with the rest of the film.
unfolds in a series of long takes, made up of long In the role of Kazuo is D ankan, here act­
to mid-shots and a minimum of close-ups, and ing under his real name of Minoru lizuka. A
an editing rhythm that is laid back and com­ regular collaborator of Kitano's stretching back
posed, a style that almost seems to consciously to their TV comedy days together in the ' 80s
hark back to the good old days of Yasujiro Ozu. when he was one of the leading members of the
Most noteworthy is his cunning way of refram­ Takeshi Gundan (Takeshi Army), he later played
ing key scenes, and the unorthodox unfolding the accident prone, sex-hungry dimwit at the
of otherwise generic plot details. The daylight center of Getting Any? His presence here, one
escape of one criminal from an apartment build­ of a pair of bumbling idiots who skirt around
ing is shot as a slow motion ballet of flailing fists under the noses of a local yakuza gang against
accompanied by a soft piano, a sequence that the sub-tropical backdrop of Okinawa, the ar­
comes to an abrupt end with the sudden crack of chipelago that forms the most southerly point
a baseball bat connecting with a skull. of Japan, was later echoed in Shinji Aoyama's
Though originally intended as a one-off, the Two Punks ( 1 996). This setting, and Kitano's
critical plaudits that greeted his debut brought Hawaiian-shirt-wearing anti-hero would also
the director back for a second film the follow­ crop up in Sonatine a few years later. D ankan
ing year, and the first to be scripted by Kitano was also at the heart of the first film produced
himself. If, by virtue of style alone, Violent Cop by Office Kitano (the company formed by the
is a vital opening point in the Kitano canon, star director to make his next film, A Scene at
then its follow-up, Boiling Point would intro­ the Sea) not directed by Kitano himself. Hiroshi
duce a number of motifs that would come to be Shimizu's Ikinai ( 1 998) was a quirky black com­
more readily identifiable in his later work. In it, edy in which a busload of tourists forge their
two players on a minor baseball team, Masaki way across the islands on a one-way trip that
and Kazuo, get mixed up with the local yakuza, will end in mass suicide.
prompting them on a quest down to Okinawa Whilst perhaps one of the least accessible
to buy a gun to exact their revenge for their entry points into Kitano's oeuvre, in many ways
wounded coach. Here they run into Uehara, Boiling Point represents a vital stepping stone for
played by Kitano, a mobster bully with homo­ the director, and an experimental dry run for
sexual tendencies thrown out of his local gang much of his later work. The action takes place
for trying to embezzle money, and ordered by beneath sunny, clear blue skies, with the film
his boss to return the following day with both opening in the midst of a baseball game. This
the missing cash and his own severed pinkie. extended scene is focused more on the relation­
Boiling Point is a less cohesive work than its ships among the characters, both the spectators
predecessor, unclear in its focus and lacking a and the players, than the outcome of the match
strong central character. Kitano's hoodlum yaku­ itself, as they either squabble, pat each other on
za turns up at about midpoint in the film, and for the back, or indulge in idle chit-chat. This way
the most part the film seems like a wild goose of bringing the key players of the drama together
chase, as we follow the two ineffectual baseball in one location, fleshing out characters, and es­
rookies through a plot that occasionally seems tablishing intra-group dynamics would prove a
little more than an extended series of skits. It is recurrent set piece in a number of Kitano's films,
also lighter in tone, the banter between the vari­ for example in Brother's basketball sequence, by
ous characters more or less played for laughs, which Omar Epps and Susumu Terajima man-
 Takeshi Kitano • 163

age to establish a cross-linguistic rapport. The the Chinese characters "flower" and "fire," and
childish beach games in Sonatine that the yakuza this juxtaposition of tenderness and destruction,
use to pass the time as they await orders are also pathos and paroxysm, and life and death, seeps
reminiscent of the comedy game shows Kitano into the film at every level. The film's misleading
used to host in the '80s, and are later echoed in marketing in the West as a violent cop thriller
Kikujiro, when the two main characters camp out distracts from the sheer poetry of this vision.
with a couple of affable bikers, during which one In the film, Kitano plays Nishi, a man lit­
of them seems to be permanently naked. erally staring mortality in the face. His daugh­
With the cruel black comedy of Boiling Point ter mysteriously died at the age of five, and his
and the dour solemnity of Violent Cop, Kitano wife is now terminally ill with cancer. Haunted
quickly and rather solidly established a reputa­ by guilt over the death of a former colleague,
tion for violence. It's not an entirely fair assess­ which may or may not have been due to his own
ment of the director's work, because if one looks negligence, he can't help but replay the event
at his work across the board, he has always inter­ over and over in his mind. Whilst he is visiting
mingled his rougher side with softer works such his wife, another police colleague, Horibe, is
as his A Scene at the Sea, or his later Kikujiro. Ki­ wounded in the course of duty, confining him to
tano's films can at times be incredibly shocking, a wheelchair for the rest of his life . Nishi's prob­
but deceptively so. In keeping with his efficient lems are compounded by an outstanding debt
editing style, very little is actually shown on­ owed to the yakuza, who now want repayment.
screen, either happening off the frame-as in a He is a man at the end of the line. When his
knife fight in Fireworks, portrayed like a shadow wife is discharged from the hospital to live out
puppet theater, or the final inter-mob bloodbath her final days at home, Nishi resigns from the
at the end of Brother-or even between frames, force, and then, unexpectedly and in full uni­
as in the chopstick-up-the-nose-scene in this form, holds up a bank and takes both the money
la tter film. and his wife on a final road trip across Japan.
Violence in Kitano 's films is all the more Fireworks balances the pessimism and sense
shocking because it is so understated. There is of futility that seemed so prevalent in Japanese
no dramatic build-up, and unlike the hyper-ki­ independent cinema at the end of the millenni­
netic ballets of action directors whose lineage um (for example, Shinji Aoyama's Eureka) with
can be traced from Sam Peckinpah through John a laid-back pictorial beauty, interspersed with
Woo, it never serves as an aesthetic stimulus in dramatic flare-ups of exuberant emotion and
its own right, one that can be enjoyed outside of explosive violence. It is an immensely personal
its overarching narrative context. When it does film, and one which seems to be the summa­
occur, it is sudden, unexpected, and straight to tion of the director's creative output until this
the point-a short, sharp shock that punctuates point. It also became the first Japanese film in
the dominating sense of stillness, and the build­ years to play widely in South Korea, when it was
up is often more grueling than the actuality. It is released at the end of 1 998 after the lifting of
significant that variations on the game of Rus­ a long-term ban on Japanese cultural products
sian roulette recur frequently in Kitano's work. following the Pacific War, though it fared com­
The mixture of tranquility and brutality paratively poorly at the box office.
seems to reach its apogee in Kitano's most cel­ Perhaps Kitano's sense of his own human
ebrated film and one of the true modern mas­ frailty had been triggered by a significant earth­
terpieces of Japanese cinema, Fireworks. The shattering event. On August 2 , 1 994, Kitano
original Japanese titling sums up the Kitano suffered a serious motorbike accident that frac­
method succinctly: Hana-Bi is a composite of tured his skull, causing permanent scarring and
164 . TAKESHI KITANO

paralyzing one side of his face. Kitano spent tinuously snapping at the child he labels "brat. "
over two months in hospital, and his condition Over the course of their journey, however, he
was the subject of endless press conjecture for succumbs to the boy's childish innocence, and is
months. During his recovery, he spent a lot of reminded of his lapsed relationship with his own
time painting, and his work shows up at nu­ mother, now lying aging in an old folks' home.
merous points in Fireworks. Whilst Kitano had Reminiscent of Brazilian director Walter
always been an active artist (his charming child­ Salles' Central Station (Central do Brasil, 1 998),
like illustrations had graced the pages of his which received an Oscar nomination for best
autobiographical Takeshi-kun Hal), in this later foreign language picture in 1 999, Kikujiro was
film his work served a more vital plot purpose. intended as an ode to his distant father of the
Following his disability and the subsequent de­ same name, who had died years before in 1 979.
parture of his wife and daughter, the character of Belying all expectations raised by his earlier
Horibe is initially filled with suicidal thoughts. work, the film at least served the purpose of in­
In one scene we see him expressionlessly gazing troducing the charismatic performer's lighter
at the ocean. He looks down to see the waves side to the wider world. His next attempt at
lapping at his feet, as he sits stranded in his crossing over to a larger foreign market, how­
wheelchair, impotent against the weight of his ever, was a very strange piece indeed.
future. To channel his energies, Horibe takes Conceived of as an attempt at bringing the
up painting as a new hobby, and is immediately Japanese aesthetic to the United States, with
awakened to the beauty in the external world. shooting predominantly taking place in Los An­
An excursion past a local flower shop triggers a geles, Brother was actually a collaboration between
stunning series of visions, in which he sees ani­ Japan and the United Kingdom, produced by Of­
mals with flowered heads. Inspired, he returns fice Kitano's Masayuki Mori and Englishman Jer­
home to commit them to canvas. Through emy Thomas, who had also produced O shima's
art, Horibe manages to transcend his physical Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, the movie in
disability, and the progression of his work (in which Kitano had made his feature acting debut.
reality, Kitano's paintings) acts as a visual coun­ Whilst never falling short of entertaining, the end
terpoint to Nishi's emotional death throes that results of this cross-cultural miscegenation are
manifest themselves through destruction. endearingly daffy, but ultimately ill-conceived.
Fireworks caused enormous critical waves Brother's title hinges on the linguistic nu­
internationally, ending up on numerous top ten ances of the yakuza concept of loyalty contained
lists and bringing Kitano's name to an entirely within the word aniki, and the vernacular usage
new arthouse audience. Now he had the world's of "brother" in Black street gangs. In it, Kitano
attention, there seemed to be enormous pressure returns to his stoic yakuza role as Yamamoto,
to follow it up with something that matched its who flees to L.A. after his own gang back in
poignancy. His next work, Kikujiro, again cov­ Tokyo has been rubbed out by rival mobsters.
ered immensely personal territory, but some­ Upon his arrival, he traces his younger half­
how the sentiments felt a little less sincere. A brother Ken, who is supposedly in America to
lightweight and whimsical comedy road movie, study, but in reality has holed up with a local
in the film Kitano plays a clueless reprobate crew of Black drug pushers. The rest of the
charged with the task of escorting a young boy story details Yamamoto's attempts at transform­
to a far-off town to visit his estranged mother, ing his brother's gang into a genuine organized
whom he has not seen since he was a baby. Ini­ crime outfit, against the backdrop of an escalat­
tially the surly layabout is immune to the boy's ing turf war between rival gangs of Hispanic,
affections, remaining distant and aloof, con- Blacks, and Japanese.
 Takeshi Kitano • 165

There's a definite lack of clarity of purpose perfunctory-"Ain't you the Jap that beat up my
about Brother. Kitano's static approach doesn't boss ? " a representative from a rival drug car­
really lend itself to the genre expectations tel barks out at one point. It would be easy to
of Western action movie fans, and yet there blame these unconvincing performances on the
doesn't seem to be any higher message to the non-Japanese actors in the film, with the nadir
film, either. Is Kitano trying to say anything being Omar Epps' over-earnest soliloquy with
about the Japan's relationship with the rest of which the film ends, but ultimately their lines
the world-an unyielding, timeless institution are painfully underwritten, and the film suffers
bud dying up with and eventually sacrificing it­ accordingly. At the end of the day, the multicul­
self for its younger, hipper rivals? It's difficult to tural hotchpotch of Brother comes across as a
say. If there is a gulf of understanding between terrible wasted opportunity more than anything
East and West, then Kitano doesn't come close else.
to bridging it, but he throws up some interest­ A major appearance in Kinji Fukasaku's
ing questions all the same, proving that when it Battle Royale as the sadistic teacher, ironically
comes to racial stereotyping, Japan can match named Kitano, who oversees the high school
anything Hollywood has to offer. death match, was more successful at boost­
His portrayal of L .A. as a multicultural ing Kitano's international profile (in Europe
melting pot is so crudely drawn it is almost at least, though the film was never released in
quaint. Pandering to the Japanese fetish for all America), as did his prominent part in O shima's
things Afro-American, as brother Ken, Claude Gohatto. Meanwhile, Kitano's global reputa­
Maki stomps and waves his hands about like tion had made him the subject of two European
a West Coast rude boy as he hangs out with documentaries. The first was Cinema de notre
the local posse of street corner punks, initially temps: Takeshi Kitano, l'Imprevisible [trans : Cin­
intimidating but good boys at heart who love ema of our time: Takeshi Kitano, the unpredict­
their mothers. The Japanese fare little bet­ able] , made in 1 999 by Jean-Pierre Limosin, the
ter. Within minutes of the opening, Kitano French filmmaker who directed Kitano in Tokyo
gets to reinforce lots of cliches about stiff, Eyes, with Japan's most respected film critic
uncomprehending Japanese tourists lost in Shigehiko Hasumi conducting the interviews.
a foreign country where they don't speak the The second was Scenes by the Sea: Takeshi Kitano,
language, throwing money about as if it were directed by Louis Heaton for the British com­
paper, before treating us to a parade of cold­ pany FilmFour, centering around the produc­
faced brutality, hara-kiri, pinkie chopping, and tion of Brother.
an isolated pocket of Japan Inc. on far-flung Kitano retreated back behind the camera
shores that seems to come straight from the for his next work, Dolls, for which he turned to
pages of Michael Crichton's novel Rising Sun. the traditional Japanese art form of bunraku doll
Inscrutable, unpredictable, and fueled by a drama. Dolls was a portmanteau film of three
kamikaze mentality, Kitano gives us the Japa­ criss-crossing stories based around the theme of
nese as the Americans have seen them, and as eternal love, all linked by the device of the play
the Japanese have seen themselves reflected in The Courier for Hell (Meido no Hikyaku), written
American eyes ever since Ruth Benedict's The in 1 7 1 1 by Monzaemon Chikamatsu ( 1 6 7 3 -
Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns ofJapa­ 1 7 24), the best known bunraku playwright.
nese Culture was first published in 1 946. The film's minimal narrative features two star­
None of this is helped by the dialogue, crossed lovers roaming through a succession of
which considering that half the film is in Eng­ picturesque seasonal landscapes, bound togeth­
lish, comes across as stilted and never more than er by a red chord whilst an aging oyabun (yakuza
166 . TAKESHI KITANO

boss) is reunited with the lost love of his youth Pen-ek Ratanaruang) days before snagging the
and a pop idol disfigured in a car crash is con­ People's Choice audience award at the 2 8th To­
fronted by an unhealthily devoted fan. Utilizing ronto International Film Festival.
the services of fashion designer Yoji Yamamoto, Having lived under 2 417 media coverage in
Dolls sees Kitano at his most self-indulgent and Japan for well over twenty years, and bared his
his most lazy. Critics were quick to praise the soul to foreign audiences in a series of works
film's cosmetic elements, its vivid color pal­ that are both finely crafted and intensely per­
ate, the exquisite set design, and cinematogra­ sonal, perhaps there's nothing major Kitano can
phy, though many saw these as a smokescreen do anymore to shock or surprise. Whilst his
to distract from the lack of any core ideas. As current highly respected status in the industry
with Brother, it lacked the personal element of allows him the flexibility to make any film he
his more successful works, and was not well re­ wants, there also is clearly a need in Kitano to
ceived either at home or abroad. go against his lovable public image and the ex­
On the other hand, his next project was a pectations raised by his previous work. Coupled
triumphal return to form. Zatoichi saw Kitano with his continuing acting roles in other people's
bringing one of Japan's most enduring movie films, it's unlikely that he will shrink from the
heroes back to the screen, the eponymous blind spotlight at any time in the near future, but will
masseur and master swordsman that had origi­ he be able to recapture the magic of his finest
nally been played by Shintaro Katsu in a score work? Ultimately it's not an issue: Kitano's films
of titles throughout the '60s and '70s. With the look like no other director's, and no Kitano film
director himself taking the lead role, his hair looks like another. The one certainty is that he
dyed peroxide blonde, Kitano's first attempt at will continue to surprise and entertain us with
costume drama saw him exploring his usual aes­ his originality for years to come.
thetic concerns in his most commercial film to
date, pitting himself, with the aid of two beau­
tiful geishas seeking revenge for the murder of
their parents, against a brutal samurai played � Violent Cop
by Tadanobu Asano and a gang of heavies who ;CO)�, I�U1 H:"? �
have overrun a quiet rural town. Sana Otok o, Kyobo ni Tsuk i
For the first time Kitano made extensive
use of moving cameras, as well as the services 1989. CAST: Beat Takeshi, Hakuryu, Mikiko 010-
of composer Keiichi Suzuki (from the group nashi, Shiro Sano, Ittoku Kishibe, Sei Hiraizumi.
Moonriders), whose percussive compositions 98 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Fox Lorber (U.S.,
give the film a compulsive rhythm that blend English subtitles) , Tokyo Bullet/MIA Video (U.K.,
with the ambient sounds of driving rain, work­ English subtitles).
men's tools, and the clash of swords, before
giving way to a full-blown, Stomp-inspired tap Kitano's d i rectorial debut is the tale of a po­
dance routine with all of the cast clad in wooden l iceman whose short-fuse methods c reate
geta clogs assembling for a colorful, show-stop­ more trouble than solutions. Many of the el­
ping finale. An unashamed crowd pleaser, Za­ ements that wou ld become typical of the Ki­
toichi was a rousing success at the 60th Venice tano style fi nd their origin here.
Film Festival in 2 00 3 , where it won the Silver
Lion award for best director (at the same festi­ Takeshi Kitano's directorial debut is often
val, Asano received the best actor award for his compared to Don Siegel's Dirty Harry ( 1 97 1 ) .
role in Last Life in the Universe by Thai director The reasons are obvious: B oth films feature a
 Violent Cop . 167

renegade police detective who uses decidedly strain the mad dog Azuma. This is where it all
unorthodox methods in fi ghting crime. But starts to go wrong for the detective, who is fired
where Eastwood's Harry Callahan was a man from his job while Kiyohiro kidnaps his men­
who, according to the tagline "doesn't crack tally ill sister and has her raped and drugged,
murder cases, but smashes them," Kitano's hoping in turn to provoke Azuma into coming
detective Azuma creates more trouble than he for revenge.
solves. The psychological grounding for the lead
The comparisons are reinforced by Violent character becomes increasingly clear as the
Cop's opening scene, in which Kitano calmly film progresses. Although Kitano plays him
wanders into the home of one of the teenage with the kind of straight-faced composure that
vandals who moments earlier were molesting a would become his acting trademark, Azuma is
defenseless drunk, and beats the underage rascal essentially a misfit, a man who doesn't feel at
into submission while his mother waits down­ home in his environment and who can't com­
stairs. But whatever this scene says about the ef­ municate with the people around him. His
fectiveness of Azuma's methods is immediately behavior is not a pose, it's an expression of
undermined by the scene that follows, which awkwardness. It's only fitting that he wouldn 't
sees four toddlers on a bridge pelleting the ship be aware of the consequences of his own ac­
that passes underneath with rocks. The boys tions, the extent of which is implied marvel­
run away and cross Azuma's path, but the de­ ously well in the closing moments of the film's
tective is oblivious to what the tykes have been finale, in which a character who has remained
up to and passes them calmly to continue on his entirely inconspicuous throughout the bulk of
way to work. Azuma is not a superman or even a the plot rises to the top of the hierarchy thanks
supercop. He is extremely fallible. to Azuma's murderous rage-and comes to fin­
This is the impression that remains ish him off.
throughout the film. Although we see him beat­ Although he got to take his place in the
ing up, driving over, stabbing, and even execut­ director's chair by accident, Violent Cop proved
ing criminals, Azuma is not the cool rogue cop that Kitano was a man with a perhaps instinc­
who vicariously embodies the viewer's vigilante tive grasp of cinema. In addition to the excel­
dreams. He is human and his actions have re­ lent characterization, the film shows a clear
percussions, ones that eventually spell doom for understanding of montage-achieving maxi­
him and those around him. mum effect with a minimal number of set-ups,
Violent Cop's plot follows Azuma's investiga­ as is very clear in the expertly mounted car
tion of a murder that leads to a hitman named chase scene-and boasts terrific shot compo­
Kiyohiro operating for a drug ring. While he is sitions. The film contains numerous elements
assigned a wide-eyed young partner named Ki­ that would become Kitano's directorial trade­
kuchi, Azuma goes crashing into the case, beat­ marks, from the passive female character to
ing up suspects for confessions or information the dryly understated way of showing violence.
and repeatedly being summoned into the office Many of these characteristics he would im­
of his superior on account of his brutal behavior. prove and fine-tune in future films, with one
When he has finally arrested the elusive hitman, exception : his future protagonists would never
he proceeds to beat him in the police station be as human as Azuma . Although the proto­
locker room, hoping to provoke a reaction that type of the Kitano hard man, his stoicism is
would be enough cause for Azuma to shoot him the key to a complex character, where it would
on the spot. Instead, the criminal remains com­ later often veer dangerously close to being a
posed as other officers come running in to re- gimmick.
168 . TAKESHI KITANO

� A Scene at the Sea as a refuse collector, until one summer the dis­
�O)Zl, lJ l't lflvjf;ip�mJ covery of a broken and discarded surfboard on
Ana Natsu, Ichiban Shizuk ana Umi his rounds finds him drawn to the ocean. With
his doting girlfriend, the similarly mute Takako,
1 9 9 1. CAST: Claude Maki, Hiroko O shima, Sabu trailing dutifully behind him, his early faltering
Kawahara, Susumu Terajima. 101 minutes. RE­ efforts are initially ridiculed by the local surfing
LEASES: DVD, Image Entertainment (U.S., English, clique. However, as he spends his every spare
subtitles), Bandai Visual (Japan, no subtitles). waking hour trying to master the waves, even­
tually his determination catches the eye of the
A young deaf-mute garbage collector learns owner of a nearby surf shop, who persuades him
to master the waves on a discarded surfboa rd to enter a local contest. His first attempt at com­
that he finds on his rounds_ An idiosyncratic petition ends in disappointment when he fails to
and therapeutic work standing way outside of hear the announcement for his category. Never­
Kitano's usual canon of gangster fi lms. theless, his unwavering perseverance begins to
impress the surfer crowd, and very soon both he
Though it was his revolutionary, genre-bending and Takako are accepted as part of the group.
takes on the yakuza or cop format, typified by Kitano's trademark minimalism here re­
Sonatine and Fireworks, that thrust him to the sults in a film that unreels like an idyllic series
forefront of the international scene, throughout of snapshot reminiscences of a perfect summer:
his career as a director Kitano has always man­ long static bands of brightly colored skies and
aged to maintain a fine balance between the azure waters broken up by sporadic flashes of
brutal, the beautiful, and the downright bizarre, bold color in the form of the wet-suited youths
shifting focus with every film. It's a factor that is basking on the beach. This visual economy also
often overlooked for a director known primarily stretches to the story. Due to the nature of its
for violence, but any more than a cursory glance two mute protagonists, the drama unfolds virtu­
at his oeuvre will reveal this startling diversity, ally wordlessly against the soft susurrus of the
with the soft visual poetry of A Scene at the Sea sea breaking against the shoreline.
and the unrelenting slapstick mayhem of Get­ The drama is slight, but somehow this is
ting Any? to name but two titles, throwing his irrelevant. A Scene at the Sea is as close to the
body of work into an entirely different light. definition of "pure cinema" as it gets, an almost
Kitano's third film as a director, and the first transcendental appeal to the emotions where
in which he took on the role of editor, A Scene the eye is definitely fixed on nuance and obser­
at the Sea is also the first time he didn't appear vation. The looks exchanged between the young
in front of the camera. Nevertheless, charting couple hold more emotional weight than a ream
the trials and tribulations of a deaf-mute teen­ of spoken dialogue. As the crowd of privileged
ager who seeks integration with the wider world surfers initially laugh mockingly at Shigeru flail­
through mastery of the waves, it bears all the ing around in the surf, Kitano cuts to Takako,
director's usual hallmarks. With its pared-down, who is also laughing, but her smile is affection­
visual-based approach to storytelling, its judi­ ate, one of pleasure shared with Shigeru, tinged
cious use of sound and silence, and its subtle with admiration, and as we notice this we can't
but assured pacing, it is the purest example of but smile ourselves.
Kitano's style, and perhaps out of all his films, Throughout the film, characterization is
the one that most justifies critical claims of an stressed purely in terms of actions rather than
innate cinematic talent. words. One of the surfers' girlfriends flirts with
Teenager Shigeru leads a life of drudgery various members of the surfing in-crowd by get-
 Sonatine • 169

ring them to peel oranges for her. Takaka sits Bullet/MIA Video (U.K. , English subtitles), Stu­
patiently on the beach folding her boyfriend's dio Canal (France, French subtitles, as part of
jeans. The repeatedly mirrored scenes in the first a boxed set with Boiling Point). VHS, Miramax
quarter of the young couple carrying the surf­ (U. S., English subtitles).
board to and from the beach appear as bonded
by Shigeru's new hobby as surely as the couple World-weary gangster is dispatched for one
in Dolls are bound by fate in the symbolic form fi nal mission to help out i n a turf war between
of the red rope as they roam through a series of rival gangs in Okinawa, i n Kitano's visionary
picturesque landscapes. The antics of two buf­ and revision ist take on the ya kuza genre.
foonish surfer neophytes foreshadow the comic
attempts of a similar duo in Kids Return ( 1 996). Surprisingly, Sonatine is Kitano's first real entry
A Scene at the Sea (the Japanese title trans­ into the overcrowded yakuza genre. Whilst he
lates as "That Summer, a Most Quiet Ocean") turned in a memorable performance as the sa­
marked the first collaboration with Joe Hisaishi, distic Uehara in Boiling Point, the film itself was
Japan's top film composer, perhaps best known centered around the antics of its two clueless ju­
for his regular work with Studio Ghibli, and even nior baseball players peering wide-eyed into this
a director in his own right with his debut Quar­ dangerous world from the outside. In his fourth
tet (2 00 1 ) . With the exception of Getting Any? film, he situates himself more centrally amongst
and Zatoichi, Hisaishi's music has made itself a the internal power struggles and dynamics with­
vital part of the Kitano aesthetic on every one in the mob. But calling it a "proper" yakuza film
of his subsequent films, and his standout musi­ would be stretching the definition of the term.
cal accompaniment to the long visual passages Rather than the standard play-out between giri
here ensures that A Scene at the Sea is a film that ("duty") and ninja ("human feelings") that has
can be enjoyed purely without recourse to the formed the core of the yakuza drama since its
spoken world, with the distracting chattering of inception, Kitano throws out everything bar the
the subsidiary characters as relevant to the plot gangsters, transplanting his characters far from
development as it is to Shigeru's world. their urban environment to the balmy island lo­
Kitano has sketched a warm and unpatron­ cale of Okinawa and playing his film as if it were
izing view of nostalgia and the innocent simplic­ an existential meditation on death and violence.
ity of youth to create a film that can be watched The results are like Waitingfor Godot on a beach,
again and again and again. Like the contented with guns and Hawaiian shirts.
smile that breaks across Shigeru's face as he Kitano plays Murakawa, a world-weary
gazes out at the ocean, he shows us that the sim­ yakuza who, having reached the pinnacle of his
plest pleasures are the best. career in extortion and racketeering, is begin­
ning to lose his edge. Just as he confesses to his
loyal right-hand man Ken (Terajima) that he is
thinking of throwing in the towel, he is ordered
-1.- Sonatine down to Okinawa by his boss, Kitajima. It turns
'} -r1-�, out that an affiliated group, the Nakamatsu fam­
Sonachine ily, are having a spot of trouble with their neigh­
boring rivals the Annan. Murakawa, with a gang
199 3 . CAST: Beat Takeshi, Aya Kokumai, Tetsu of his most able-bodied killers, is requested to
Watanabe, Masanobu Katsumura, Susumu Tera­ loan his firepower.
jima, Ren O sugi, Tanbo Zushi, Kenichi Yajima, Upon their arrival, after finding out that no
Eiji Minakata. 94 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Tokyo assistance is actually needed, half of Murakawa's
 170 . TAKESHI KITANO

men are mown down in the crossfire between promises a possible diversion to his malaise, but
the two gangs. The handful of survivors retreat only until the past catches up with him.
and hide out in a small beach cabin, where they Whether any of this would work without
await further instructions from Kitajima back Kitano taking center stage is debatable. His role
in Tokyo. As the group pass the time kidding here is somewhat akin to the image he cultivat­
around in a series of childish games such as ed with his TV guise of Beat Takeshi. As they
sumo wrestling, digging sand pits, and fighting play in the sand, Murakawa maintains a patriar­
each other with roman candles, they are joined chal aloofness from his vassals in a similar man­
by a beautiful local girl named Miyuki, who be­ ner as in the days when he acted as instigator
comes Murakawa's lover after he saves her from for the often destructive pranks of the Takeshi
being raped by her roughneck boyfriend. But Army in his comedy shows during the '80s and
tensions mount as they camp out waiting for early '90s. Nevertheless, this cold-faced about­
their next orders, and the whole mission soon turn with his affable comic persona must have
begins to reek of a set up. proved shocking to Japanese audiences, because
Sonatine hardly plays like a conventional beneath all the surface fun, Sonatine's vision is
gangster movie. With its mixture of oblique wholeheartedly bleak.
comic interludes and unflinching widescreen Sonatine ended up being Kitano's last film
violence, all rendered in the usual stark Kitano for Shochiku. Its idiosyncratic approach turned
style, to the casual viewer it might seem rath­ out to be too much for the then head of the
er difficult to fathom what the film is actually studios and later director of The Mystery of
about. But beneath the fun and games that mask Rampo, Kazuyoshi Okuyama. In a very public
the stifling atmosphere of anticipation in the bust-up, Kitano left the studios, mounting his
extended mid-section, there is clearly a method next production, Getting Any? through his own
. to all this onscreen madness. Kitano puts us in Office Kitano, where he had earlier made the
the mind of a character emotionally drained touchingly low-key A Scene at the Sea.
through the exertion of maintaining his status Nevertheless, Sonatine is a pivotal Kitano
within the dog-eat-dog world of the yakuza film, and one of his best loved by foreign fans.
code, one whose only possible escape route is Whilst setting in motion the more personal au­
through the occupational hazard of death. teurist concerns that would reach their apogee
In an early scene back in Tokyo, as he is busy with Fireworks, it consolidates the stylistic tics
putting the frighteners on a bad debtor by sus­ and motifs laid down in his earlier films, sur­
pending him head first from a crane and dunk­ rounding himself with the usual familiar team
ing him underwater, Murakawa is temporarily of actors-O sugi, Terajima, and Watanabe-to
distracted by a conversation about the dubious play his gangster stalwarts, revisiting the same
nature of the Okinawa job. After several min­ carefree locales of Boiling Point, whilst bringing
utes, his attention returns to the matter at hand, to his vision the same aesthetic clarity to the ed­
but when he realizes that his victim has in fact iting as he did in A Scene at the Sea. All of this is
drowned due to his negligence, he shrugs the laid down to a divine score from Joe Hisaishi,
matter off, dispassionately. Even during the which riffs on the Boom's classic rock rendi­
scenes in the Okinawan paradise, oblivion is no tion of Shima Uta [trans: Island song] to bring
more than a thought away. At one moment, as a more local flavor to his sublime electronic
his gang members are alleviating the boredom melodies. Sonatine represents Kitano at his most
by shooting tin cans from each other's heads, quintessential.
Murakawa decides to raise the stakes by talking
them into a game of Russian roulette. Love also
 Getting Any? . 171

..J,. Getting Any? nerdy Asao (Dankan) whose main goal in life is,
JJ.. 1v t:t. -Jf>.r;"C '07J> ! as the title suggests, to get laid. And the only way
Minna Yatteruk a! to do so, he believes, is to have a flashy sports
car to pull the girls with and have sex in. After
1994. CAST: Dankan, Shoji Kobayashi, Susumu trying out several snazzy convertibles for their
Terajima, Beat Takeshi, Tetsuya Yuki. 76 min­ capacities of housing copulating couples (in his
utes (Japanese version: 1 10 minutes). RELEASES: underwear and using the salesman's female assis­
DVD, Dreamquest Films (U.S., English subtitles), tant as a stand-in), it quickly becomes apparent
Artsmagic (U.K., English subtitles), Panorama Asao's limited budget will only allow him to buy
(Hong Kong, English/Chinese subtitles), Beam the most un-appealing car in the showroom.
Entertainment (Japan, no subtitles). After a number of very unsuccessful attempts
at picking up women (Asao's most sophisticated
A bizarre, over the top, zany piece of slapstick pick up line is: "Hey lady! Car sex? "), his ve­
s i l l i ness which will proba bly leave Western hicle is crushed under the wheels of a passing
Kitano fans wondering what the hell got i nto truck. Without car or money, he decides to sell
thei r favorite d i rector. Yet it's a crucial and his grandfather'S internal organs in order to
revealing entry i n the d i rector's fi lmography, buy a first-class airplane ticket. First class fly­
one that tel l s us more a bout ' Beat' Takeshl ing means first-class service from a first-class
than most of his better-known gangster fi lms. stewardess. Obviously one with no clothes on.
When the organ sale doesn't garner sufficient
For a long time, the image we Westerners had funds, he tries to rob a bank. This, too, fails and
of Takeshi Kitano was that of the stoic, deadpan Asao concludes that the only thing that excites
man of violence he portrayed in the gangster girls more than a man with a flashy car or a man
films that made it to our shores. Sure, we heard flying first class is an actor. And so . . .
about his background as a comedian and some There is very little that is sacred in Get­
of the silly stuff he did on Japanese television ting Any? The jokes are less subtle than those
("eight TV guest spots a week! "), but all we ever in a Zucker brothers spoof, and done with not
got to see him do was semi-suicidally punch and nearly as much taste. Targets range from poli­
shoot his way through criminal scum in both his tics to monster movies (including a dig at blind
own films and those of other directors. samurai hero Zatoichi, whom Kitano would later
It's one thing to hear about Kitano's comic bring to the screen himself) and the whole thing
side, but quite another to be confronted with it. culminates with Asao turning into a giant fly
Particularly if that confrontation is with Getting who needs to be caught using all the fecal mat­
Any?, a cinematic barrage of pop culture refer­ ter in Japan.
ences, social satire, movie parodies, a surprising But for all the unashamedly tasteless antics
amount of T&A, and lots of jokes involving shit. Kitano throws at us, he is by no means indulging
Performed by numerous faces from his "Takeshi himself. Along with the later Kikujiro, Getting
Army, " Getting Any? is a lewd awakening for art­ Any? is without doubt his most personal film, the
house crowds, the flip side of the Kitano coin. cinematic manifestation of all his interests and
You don't get one without the other. obsessions. And if the result is so audacious, that
The story, if one can call it a story, concerns can only mean he is being admirably honest.
 CHAPTER 11
Ryosu ke
Hashiguchi
� [l �.
Ryosuke Hashiguchi is one of several Japanese own adolescent experiences of insecurity over
directors during the past two decades who have his sexuality, A Touch of Fever ( 1 993) portrayed
had an influence on the film industry and on fel­ two teenagers working as rent boys in a gay bar.
low filmmakers. But in addition, his work has Their confusion over their own feelings is illus­
achieved something that very few filmmakers trated by the fact that they each have a "regular"
in any country ever do: to effect social change. relationship with a girl their own age, relation­
Hashiguchi accomplished both of these feats ships they drift through distractedly, despite the
with his debut film. genuine affection expressed by their girlfriends.
Born in Nagasaki in 1 962 , Hashiguchi's ho­ Throughout the film they are bounced back and
mosexuality got him into conflict with his own forth between the two sides of their lives, which
family during his teenage years. His father sent they inevitably find harder and harder to sepa­
him into the Self Defense Forces in the hopes rate. This blurring of two worlds culminates in
of turning him into "a real man," but the only a ruthless confrontation with their own imma­
thing that resulted from this was a perpetually turity when a wealthy client (played by Hashi­
strained relationship between father and son. guchi himself) forces them to face up to what
Like many of his contemporaries, Hashiguchi it means to live the life of a prostitute, which
experimented with 8mm filmmaking while in leaves them as they really are: crying, vulner­
high school, and after his slipshod stint in uni­ able, insecure children.
form he moved, or perhaps escaped, to Osaka to More an intimate portrayal of adolescent
study at the local Arts University. He dropped confusion than an expose of headline-grabbing
out and became a director of television pro­ teenage prostitution phenomena like the later
grams until his short film A Secret Evening won Bounce KoGals, Scoutman, and Love & Pop, A
the grand prize at the 1 989 PIA Film Festival. Touch of Fever would nevertheless create a small
The PIA scholarship money and some addi­ revolution at the box office, out-grossing nu­
tional funding from production company Pony merous higher budgeted films from the major
Canyon allowed Hashiguchi to make his first studios. Independent Japanese cinema had, in
feature. The money he had at his disposal was commercial terms, finally arrived; the success
minimal and both he and his actors made the of Hashiguchi's film paved the way for the wave
film without pay, but the reward would be quite of independent filmmakers that would emerge
priceless. Taking as a premise Hashiguchi's in the latter half of the decade, securing them

172
 Ryosuke Hashiguchi • 173

a lasting opportunity to have their films shown "My film introduced the word 'gay' into Japa­

theatrically. nese society. With A Touch of Fever, that word

became a common expression, so the film also

"A Touch of Fever was shot on 16mm with very had a positive effect on gay culture in Japan."

little money and no payment for me or the ac­

tors. A homosexual character leading a normal With the film's selection for the Berlin Film
life had never been dealt with in a Japanese Festival further raising his profile, Hashiguchi
film before, certainly not in a film released in would soon be asked to speak on television talk
general circulation. It was a very risky subject, shows, becoming one of the country's foremost
but the film was a lot more successful than spokesmen on the issue of homosexuality.
a number of commercial studio productions One very practical result from A Touch of
released that same year which were shot at Fev er's success was the partnership between the
many times the budget I had to work with. PIA Film Festival and major studio Toho to form
People in the industry were quite shocked by Young Entertainment Square (YES), a project
this, because they found out that a successful aimed at producing feature films by young film­
film could be made even on a small budget. So makers. Toho, with its history of Akira Kurosa­
they suddenly started making films at much wajidai geki and endless Godzilla sequels, was not
lower budgets, resulting in a whole series of exactly known for its flexible and open-minded
awful, cheap studio films. attitude toward film production, and the move
"Since that time many more filmmakers surprised Hashiguchi. It was, however, a testa­
have done the same thing as I and made in­ ment to the impact his debut feature had made
dependent films with very small budgets and on the industry, and the director himself was the
they've had the opportunity to release them first to benefit from the YES project when he
theatrically. As a result of this, more money was invited to develop his second film.
became available to independent filmmakers Like Grains of Sand again took adolescent
and the distribution channels opened up to struggles with homosexuality as its premise, but
independent films. Now there are many young Hashiguchi expanded this into a much more
filmmakers, including myself, who have the universal story of teenage confusion. With the
opportunity to get their work made and shown film set in a high school environment, this ex­
even abroad at festivals, so a lot has changed pansion resulted in the full emergence of the
in that respect." main motif in Hashiguchi's work: the conflict
between the individual and his environment in
But the effect the film had was not limited the former's attempt to accept himself. Built
to cinema alone. With its sincere portrayal of around a triangle of unrequited yearning be­
homosexuality and homosexual characters, the tween two boys and one girl, the film's genuine
success of the film also contributed to the social observations of characters gay and straight, and
acceptance and emancipation of homosexuals in their intricate relationships as a group, signaled
Japan. a big step forward in Hashiguchi's abilities as a
filmmaker, as did his increased grasp of form.

Fi lmography Last Night) [short) 1995

1993
• Like Grains of Sand (Nagisa
1989
A Touch of Fever (Hatachi no no Shindobaddo)
• A Secret Evening ( YiJbe no •

Himitsu) ( a . k . a . The Secret of Binetsu) 2001

• Hush! (Hasshu!)
174 . RYOSUKE HASHIGUCHI

As in his debut film, Hashiguchi made ex­ feature, however, the praise for his second film
tensive use of the principle of one scene-one had a stifling effect on Hashiguchi, who retreat­
take, letting his scenes play out without edits ed from filmmaking for the next six years. As
in order to show the full extent of characters' other independent filmmakers started reaping
emotions and behavior. Resulting from a desire the rewards of his trailblazing, Hashiguchi es­
to achieve realism and truthfulness, such scenes caped into theater, television, and writing.
witness the director's ability to, as Donald Richie
described it, make you cry about what you were " Like Grains of Sand was a kind of turning
just laughing at. And vice versa. The film's finale point in my career. Making that film was like
does exactly that, initially emphasizing the play­ a state of bliss, because everything went so
fulness of the young characters, but then using smoothly and the atmosphere on set was very
it to deliver a climax that takes each of its three close to how I would ideally like to see it. The
protagonists into the darkest regions of their re­ great reviews the film received both at home
pressed emotions. A similarly compelling scene and abroad were part of that, too. As a result I

can be found in A Touch of Fever, when one of felt pressure to create something even better

its prostitute protagonists visits his girlfriend's with my next film, but at that moment I lacked
family only to discover that her father is one of the confidence that I could pull that off imme­
his regular clients. While the incessant chitchat diately. I felt it would be necessary to spend
of the blissfully ignorant mother and daugh­ some time working In other areas, away from

ter dominates the soundtrack, the non-verbal cinema, to educate myself. I acted on stage,
behavior of the father and the boy commands wrote for another director, and tried being a TV
our attention, taking us from the initial irony of presenter, In the hope of finding enough ideas
the situation into much darker realms and back and courage to eventually return to cinema

again, as the scene progresses. and make my next film."

Although less successful at the box office

than its predecessor, Like Grains ofSand received One of his extracurricular activities involved
almost universal acclaim from critics at horne a guest performance in the TV series Tsuge Yo­
and abroad, and went on to a lengthy interna­ shiharu no Sekai [trans: Yoshiharu Tsuge's world] ,
tional festival run, starting with a Tiger Award directed by actor Etsushi Toyokawa, who was
at the Rotterdam Film Festival. In this story of then at the height of his popularity thanks to hit
a love triangle between two boys and a girl in TV series like Joji Iida's Night Head and films
high school, one of the film's young leads was like Junji Sakamoto's Battered Angels (Kizudarake
a then unknown teenager named Ayumi Hama­ no Tenshi, 1 998).
saki, who a few years later would grow into the
undisputed queen ofJapan's pop charts. " H e approached m e with this idea and a t first I
refused, but he insisted. Since he is a famous
"During the production of that film we would actor in Japan, I was very curious to see what

sometimes do karaoke together and I thought he would be like as a director. So I agreed

she was a really good singer. So I suggested in the end and played a part in his television
she should try to become a singer. She was series."

seventeen at the time and she replied that she

would also like to become a singer, but she Hashiguchi's exile certainly wasn't for lack
wasn't sure about taking that step." of ideas. Indeed, the foundation of what would
become his next film can be traced back to Like
When it carne around to developing his next Grains of Sand's international premiere at the
 Ryosuke Hashiguchi . 17 5

Rotterdam Film Festival. During his stay in

Holland, Hashiguchi researched a magazine
article he was asked to write about the Dutch
laws concerning child adoption by gay couples.
Hashiguchi interviewed several couples and had
discovered a remarkable flexibility towards the
definition of the term "family. "
These experiences would form the basis for
his third film, Hush!, which would receive its
world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival in
2 00 1 , six years after Like Grains ofSand had been
unveiled in Rotterdam. Hush! reprised the love
triangle strucmre of the previous film, applying Ry6suke Hashiguchi ( l eft) with Nagisa Oshima
it to a trio of adult protagonists that aside from
their age were not entirely dissimilar to the three the actors for a period of sixteen days before

protagonists of Like Grains of Sand. Feamring a we started shooting, which is quite exception­

homosexual couple, one of them openly gay, the al in Japanese film. The approach was largely

other still in the closet to avoid complications at theatrical In that sense and it's an approach

work, and the single woman who wants one of that suits me well, even though it's rare In the

them to father her child, the strucmre allowed Japanese film Industry. I think this period of

Hashiguchi a good deal of latimde to emphasize rehearsal gives actors the opportunity to really

the more comic aspects of his characters' lives. immerse themselves in their characters. As
a result, the off-screen behavior between the

"It was not my intention from the start to make actors remains the same as it is in the film, so

a comedy. It was, however, my intention to that is reflected In the energy of such scenes."

tell a story about people of my generation and

to give a fairly realistic portrait of the lives These scenes are entirely in line with Hashi­
they lead. What I discovered was that humor guchi's recurring theme of conflict between in­
and laughter form inextricable parts of these dividual and environment, a theme that in Hush!
people's lives. So it started out as one thing is stronger than ever, since the story revolves
and the comedy grew out of it in quite a natu­ around the protagonists ' attempt to live a life
ral way. Aside from that, since the characters that is a radical deparmre from traditional fam­
lead very lonely, somewhat depressed lives, I ily strucmre. This was interpreted by many as a
felt that an element of comedy would actually plea for a new definition of the meaning and the
emphasize this loneliness and depression." role of the family in society. The French distrib­
utor of the film even went so far as to give the
Hush! is certainly the funniest of the direc­ film the tagline "La nouvelle famille . . The di­
0 0 "

tor's films, but it never comes at the expense of rector himself, however, was rather less militant
the dramatic impact. Richie's description is as in his intentions.
valid for Hush! as it was for the director's previ­
ous films, as witnessed by several powerful scenes "I wasn't aiming to criticize anything or to pres­
that pit the three protagonists against the incom­ ent the three characters' unusual relationship
prehension of their relatives and colleagues. as an example of a new kind of family. I also
didn't want to criticize the strongly held belief
"I had the opportunity to rehearse with many of among the Japanese that blood ties are the
176 . RYOSUKE HASHIGUCHI

best foundation for a family. What I was trying had played gay characters before, Kazuya Taka­
to do was to portray characters at that junc­ hashi on stage and Seiichi Tanabe in Takashi
ture in their lives, a point at which they went Miike's Blues Harp ( 1 998), but not everyone was
through bad experiences but want to overcome as open to acting in a film about homosexuality.
those difficulties. I wanted to show the flex­
ibility and the determination these people have "I think there are many actors who would be
to not only keep moving forward, but also to able to play gay roles, but decide not to do so
hold on to the hope that they can stili achieve from a strategic standpoint. Famous actors in
something in their lives. The characters in the particular feel that they would be risking their
film choose to look for a solution in forming careers. The part of Katsuhiro's sister-in-law,
a family unit, but it might as well have been played in the film by Voko Akino, I first offered
something else." to an actress who is quite famous. She initially

agreed, but later went back on her decision,

The personal aspects that had been so clear­ telling me she didn't want to play in a 'homo
ly present in his two previous films were also film.' ''
evident in Hush!, with several instances being
direct reflections of elements of the director's It's no doubt experiences like these that
private life. His difficult relationship with his will continue to motivate Ryosuke Hashiguchi
father (also present in his second film) was re­ to fight for equal rights and acceptance. With
flected in the character of Asako's brief and the beauty of his cinematic statements, this is a
terse meeting with her cab driver father, and the blessing in more ways than one.
personality of Hashiguchi's mother found itself
transplanted to the film in a near carbon copy.

"All characters are in a way my alter egos. � Like G ra i ns of Sand

Naoya's mother is quite similar to my own mO) Y � r/\ ';1 r
mother. She still doesn't understand what Nagis a no Shindobaddo
it means to me to be homosexual. She stili
thinks that I spent my nights working at a gay 199 5 . CAST: Yoshinori Okada, K6ta Kusano,
bar in Nichome, even though I explained to her Ayumi Hamasaki, Kumi Takada, K6ji Yamaguchi.
that I'm a film director. She also still thinks 124 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Eklipse (France,
that I will grow breasts one day. That incoher­ French subtitles), Home Screen (Holland, Dutch
ent, absurd way of thinking of my mother's is subtitles). VHS, Dangerous to Know (U.K., Eng­
directly reflected in that character." lish subtitles).

Working with mature professional actors al­ Burgeoning homosexu a l ity in high school and
lowed Hashiguchi to deliver his first statement its coll isions with adolescent peer pressu re.
on adult life in contemporary society, result­ Hashiguc h i ' s second featu re is a very ea rnest
ing in a film that showed how fundamentally portrayal of the d ifficulties of puberty, wheth­
Japanese society is changing in comparison to er gay or otherwise. Personal cinema with u n i­
fifteen or twenty years ago. But the casting of versa l resonance.
these actors caused problems that demonstrated
that whatever effect A Touch of Fever had had on Where his debut feature A Touch of Fever still re­
the social acceptance of homosexuality in Japan, quired Hashiguchi to see through a framework (in
things were still far from ideal. Both male leads this case teenage prostitution) in order to get close
 Hush! • 177

to his characters, in Like Grains ofSand he dares to and individual that is at the heart of Hashiguchi's
strip his portrayal of misfit youths of all artifice. It work is readily apparent here.
was the right step to take, because the director's It's such intricate relationships and use of
sophomore effort is as powerful as it is sincere. cause and effect that make Like Grains of Sand
Set in that melting pot of raging hormones an infinitely more sincere portrait of the trib­
we know as high school, Like Grains of Sand de­ ulations of adolescence than a film Like John
picts an impossible love triangle between two Hughes'S The Breakfast Club ( 1 98 5) . There's no
boys and one girl. As he would do in the opening defiant fist waving at the end, no "united we
scenes of the later Hush!, Hashiguchi establishes stand against the obnoxious teacher" resolu­
the personalities of his three protagonists, as well tion. It's the lack of resolutions that makes Like
as the exact extent of the romantic complications Grains ofSand work so well, as well as the refusal
between them, within the first few shots, using to ever take the easy route and go for simplifi­
hardly a word of dialogue. We see Ito (Okada) cation or stereotyping. Hashiguchi depicts the
staring at his classmate Yoshida (Kusano) as same-sex affection inherent in the high school
they mix chalk in the storage room of the school environment (a shot of mingling naked torsos
sports field. After the two boys emerge onto the opens the film, the character of Kanbara con­
pitch, Ito's repressed excitement and the swelter­ stantly hugs, grabs, and wrestles with his male
ing summer heat cause him to lose conscious­ classmates) as a way to show the hypocrisy of
ness. In the infirmary, their classmate Aihara the bullying that Ito undergoes after Kanbara
(Hamasaki) stares at the unconscious Ito. The makes his sexuality a public secret. But instead
next day, she is the first to taunt him into ad­ of chastising anyone, this serves as another ex­
mitting his feelings for Yoshida. Yoshida himself ample of the contradictions and complexities of
meanwhile distractedly dates pretty and pristine the characters and their relationships with each
Shimizu (Takada), but yearns from a distance for other. Despite obviously sympathizing with Ito,
the non-conformist, mysterious Aihara, whose Hashiguchi shows that feelings of insecurity are
dark past makes her shun human contact. not exclusive to his protagonist.
Ryosuke Hashiguchi's films are never about Like Grains of Sand is a perfect illustration of
what they seem to be about. Like Grains of Sand Hashiguchi's ability to give his personal cinema
is not about homosexuality, and also not about a universal resonance. Rather than self-obsessed
love triangle. The director always refuses to iso­ navel gazing, it talks about feelings we know all
late his characters in their own microcosm, in­ too well ourselves. Both naturalistic and styl­
stead choosing to describe them at least partially ized, intimate and universal, Like Grains of Sand
by way of the influence their environment has is exemplary cinema.
on them. When Ito's father finds a letter from
a 5 5 -year old man addressed to his son, he takes
him to a psychiatrist to have him cured of his ho­
mosexuality. There Ito runs into Aihara, who is � Hus h !
also in therapy, and with the two of them no lon­ / \ 'Y Y:;J.. !
ger able to hide their biggest secrets from each H as s hu!
other, she becomes his closest confidante despite
her eccentricities. The class finds out about Ito's 200 1 . CAST: Kazuya Taka h ashi, Reiko Kataoka,
affection for Yoshida when Ito's friend Kanbara Seiichi Tanabe, Yoko Akino, Tsugumi. 135 min­
(Yamaguchi) mistakenly thinks Ito is after the utes. RELEASES: DVD, Strand Releasing (U.S., Eng­
same girl as he is, effectively forcing a confession lish subtitles), Hap pynet Pictures ( J a pan, English
out of him. The conflict between environment subtitles), Fox Pathe ( France, French subtitles).
178 . RYOSUKE HASHIGUCHI

Hush!

Ryosu ke Hashiguchi reprises the love triangle vorite bar and are soon on their way to an actual
structure of his previous fi l m and tu rns It into relationship.
a more outright comedic venture. Focusing on The third element in the equation is Asako,
adu lts this time, the comedy never compro­ a young woman who has lived a life resembling
mises the fi l m ' s sincerity or d ramatic i m pact. self-destruction. Now in her thirties, she wish­
es to turn over a new leaf and wants to have a
When we meet our three lead characters, they baby. After a gynecologist advises her to have a
are all single and lonely. Naoya (Takahashi) is an totally unnecessary hysterectomy, this wish only
otherwise carefree guy who works in a pet shop becomes stronger-having a child as a single
catering to rich and eccentric clientele. An avid mother becomes the ultimate form of rebellion.
visitor of Shinjuku's gay scene, he is open about When her umbrella is stolen in a restaurant and
his sexuality, which seems to be accepted by ev­ she waits in vain for the incessant downpour to
eryone but his mother, who is under the eter­ end, Katsuhiro offers her his, and from that mo­
nal impression that her son will inevitably grow ment Asako has found the ideal father for her
breasts. Katsuhiro (Tanabe), in contrast, hides child.
his homosexuality from his colleagues at the With the names and locations changed, the
research plant where he works and does such a above premise might well sound like the pitch
good job of it that one female colleague (Tsu­ for Rupert Everett's next romantic comedy of
gumi) is hopelessly in love with him. Naoya and errors. Indeed, based on the above outline it's
Katsuhiro meet one evening outside Naoya's fa- not hard to imagine Hollywood chasing this
 Hush! • 179

one for the remake rights. However, it's doubt­ subtlety even when characters are screaming at
ful whether that remake would ever achieve the each other.
level of subtlety, characterization, and careful Despite the seemingly breezy premise,
observation that follow those opening twenty Hashiguchi covers a lot of thematic ground in
minutes and which so typically define a Hashi­ his script. The very fundamental motif of the in­
guchi film. Far from being a breezy, formulaic dividual's struggle against society in deciding his
romantic comedy, Hush.' is a truthful document own life here results in what seems like a wish to
of the lives of three human beings and the con­ re-address the definition of the term "family. " All
stant pressure they feel to succeed in life and three characters are shown in scenes with their
face up to their environment. direct relatives: Naoya with his ignorant mother,
No longer focusing on teenagers, the direc­ Asako with her estranged taxi driver father, and
tor's third film does, however, allow itself to be Katsuhiro with the family of his brother. Al­
more light and humorous in order to reflect the though Hashiguchi has denied the existence of
lives and experiences of its three lead characters. an agenda, compared to the loveless atmosphere
In their early thirties and therefore older and in the arranged marriage of Katsuhiro's brother
wiser than the confused high school kids of A and the last remnants of family that are Naoya's
Touch of Fever and Like Grains of Sand, Asako, and Asako's respective mother and father, the
Naoya and Katsuhiro are people who can put menage-a-trois the three leads decide to under­
things into perspective. As a result, the film also take seems like a more than healthy alternative.
shows different facets. Hush! at times certainly Hush! is a winning, funny, and often poignant
resembles a comedy, especially in the crowd­ comedy/drama, revolving around a threesome of
pleasing scenes involving barfly Yiiji, a loud, magnificent performances. It once again bears
abrasive but ultimately lovable fellow patron at witness to the director's extraordinary talent for
Naoya's favorite hangout. But it's not the laughs portraying utterly believable human characters,
that make such scenes work, it's how much they whose emotions resonate whether the audience
feel like episodes from the character's lives. This is gay or straight. Ryosuke Hashiguchi deserves
goes equally for the film's more dramatic scenes, much more credit than the misguided label "gay
which never exist to wallow in misery but offer filmmaker" allows.
 CHAPTER 12
Takashi Miike
� .:n. & dt
-=:: h�� �
The meteoric rise to fame o f Takashi Miike in director to filmmakers like Shohei Imamura, on
the early days of the new millennium was all the Zegen ( 1 987) and Black Rain ( 1 989, in which he
more remarkable in that it was largely thanks to can briefly be seen as an actor), Toshio Masu­
one film: Audition. It quickly became clear to da, Hideo Onchi, and Kazuo Kuroki. With his
many, however, that this director had made a lot debut he already set the tone for his later output
more than one film. A whole lot more. by directing two films back to back: the comedy
Miike's astounding productivity (fifty films, Eyecatch Junction and the action film Lady Hunt­
three TV series, two music videos, one docu­ er. Both films were true V-cinema productions,
mentary, and one commercial in eleven years) released straight to video without ever seeing
quickly became part of his legend, as did his theatrical release.
knack for crossing accepted boundaries of ex­ Miike continued working almost exclusively
cess and good taste in his work. Films like Dead in the straight-to-video industry for the next
or Alive, Visitor Q, and fehi the Killer, with their five years, making mainly comedies and martial
potentially offensive scenes and subject matter, arts action films but gradually specializing in
provoked fierce discussions about the merits of the genre that would come to dominate V-cin­
his work, while the same films garnered the di­ ema: the yakuza film. His early gangster offer­
rector an ever growing circle of fans, partly as ings include Jingi naki Yabo 1 and 2 ( 1 996/'97),
a result of that very same willingness to cross a pair of ersatz ninkyo films for Toei whose title
boundaries. Meanwhile, none of this deterred obviously mimicked that of Fukasaku's Battles
Miike himself in the slightest, and he kept on without Honor and Humanity. His first films
churning out new films with undiminished zeal. to see theatrical release were 1 99 5 's Daisan no
One of the sources for Miike's productivity Gokudo [trans: The third gangster] and Shinjuku
lies in his background in the V-cinema industry. Triad Society, although the first never made it
Even more so than Kiyoshi Kurosawa, he works past a single screen in Osaka and was originally
as a freelance director-for-hire, one who never intended for the video market only.
writes his own screenplays but who is asked by Shinjuku Triad Society is commonly seen as
producers to direct projects that already have a the starting point of Takashi Miike the artist.
script, and often also a main cast, attached. Although many of its themes were already pres­
Miike debuted as a director in 1 99 1 , after ent in a yakuza film he made a year earlier called
spending several years working as an assistant Shinjuku Outlaw, Shinjuku Triad Society was a

180
 Takashi Miike . 181

much more accomplished film in all respects.

Featuring actor and later director Sabu in a sup­
porting role, it tells the tale of a policeman of
mixed Chinese-Japanese descent whose pursuit
of a disturbed Taiwanese criminal through the
neon-lit streets of Tokyo's Shinjuku district ulti­
mately confronts him with his own heritage and
the past that he has tried to hide in order to suc­
ceed in Japanese society.
T he film contained all the themes that
would come to dominate Miike's work: root­
less human beings who feel detached from the
culture they live in, who long for a place where
they will be accepted, though at the same time
knowing that such a place is merely a nostalgic
fantasy. It's the characters' detachment and the
sadness inherent in their predicament that often
result in violence, a violence that is omnipresent
in Shinjuku Triad Society.
T he film was the first part in an unofficial
trilogy, whose entries all deal very overtly with
the themes of rootlessness and displacement.
Shinjuku Triad Society, Rniny Dog, and Ley Lines
form what could be regarded as the thematic
backbone of Miike's body of work. Nearly every Rainy Dog
aspect of Takashi Miike's cinema can be found in
these three films, although he has gone on to fur­ rootlessness by focusing on a Japanese character
ther explore those aspects in subsequent films. abroad rather than vice versa. Sh6 Aikawa stars
as Yuji, a yakuza exiled in Taipei, who learns that
"These three films are a bout i nsignificant his expulsion has become permanent due to the
characters. If they were in another fil m , they eradication of his syndicate by a rival gang. Liv­
would never be protagonists. They all live in a ing in a squalid house, he has a night job hauling
small corner of the u nderbelly of a big city. I n pig carcasses to a slaughterhouse and a day job
that sense it's a trilogy; they ' re s i m i l a r i n that performing executions for a local crime lord.
way. The City of Lost Souls is also similar to When the brother of one of his victims swears
these fi lms, but I think of it as a different fi l m . revenge, Yuji's employer unceremoniously
I n t h e three fi lms, people try t o escape from leaves him to fend for himself. The problem is
something or float passively, never wanting to that he also has to fend for the young boy who
climb up i n life . I l i ke those kinds of people, was dropped on his doorstep by an ex-lover, and
because I feel sympathy for them, I have that who may or may not be his son.
i n common with the m . This doesn't mean the Understated and sober, with sparse dialogue
characters themselves are similar to me, I j ust and a powerful central performance from Ai­
like these stories. " kawa, Rainy Dog remains, with its follow-up Ley
Lines, one of Miike's strongest works. It unmis­
Rainy Dog takes a different approach to takably shows Miike's capacity for tenderness
182 • TAKASHI MilKE

that gradually gains overtones of fantasy, as the

jittery salaryman loses his way and finds himself
in a village where a young woman teaches the
local children to fly.
The Bird People in China was something of a
turning point for Miike, specifically in terms of
how he was regarded within the Japanese film in­
dustry. Still seen largely as a V-cinema yakuza film
director, the fact that he could take a small film
crew and a low budget into the heart of China
and re-emerge a few weeks later with a film of
Taka s h i M i i ke the quality and beauty of The Bird People in China
changed the opinion of many of his peers.
and for creating emotionally harrowing films, a
capacity that has gone largely unrecognized due "They regarded me as being able to make a
to the overemphasis that has been put on his normal fi l m . They also noticed that u nder
more excessive work. the harsh condition of shooting a low-budget
T hat tenderness also shows through in a film Japanese fi lm i n the heart of rural C h i n a , I was
like The Bird People in China, which focuses able to pick the fruits and bring them back to
on a young, upwardly mobile Japanese salary­ Japan . Normally the producer takes care of ev­
man who is sent to investigate a jade deposit in a erything and the director j ust complains about
remote region of China. Using a similar premise the conditions, which is why many previous
to Rainy Dog, Miike creates a thoughtful comedy directors failed to accomplish that. I feel that

Filmography Kiba-Shura no Mokushi­ Densetsu) [video]

roku) [video] • Fudoh: The New Generation
1991
• Shinj uku Outlaw ( Shinjuku ( Gokudo Sengokushi Fudo)
• Eyecatch Junction (T oppiil Autoro) [video]
Minipato Tai-Aikyatchi Jank­ 1997
shon) [video] 1995 • Jingi naki YabO 2 [video]
• Lady Hunter ( Redi Hanta-Ko­ • Bodyguard Kiba 3 ( Bodigado • Young Thugs: Innocent Blood
roshi no P ureryiido) [video] Kiba-Shura no Mokushiroku (Kishiwada ShOnen Guren­
2) [video] tai-Chikemuri Junjo Hen)
1992
• Daisan no Gokudo • Rainy Dog ( Gokudo Kuro­
• Last Run ( Rasuto Ran-Ai
• Naniwa Yiikyoden [video] shakai-Reinl Doggu)
to Uragiri no Hyaku-oku Yen) • Shinjuku Triad Society ( Shin­ • Full Metal Yakuza ( F uru Me­
[TV] juku Kuroshakai-China taru Gokudo) [video]
• A Human Murder Weapon Mafia Sensa)
( Ningen Kyoki-Ai to Ikari no 1998
Ringu) [video] 1996 • The Bird People in China
• Shin Daisan no Gokudo: Bo,:r ( Chiigoku no Chojin)
1993
patsu Kansai Gokudo Uozu!! • Andromedia (Andoromedia)
• Bodyguard Kiba ( Bodigado [video] • Blues Harp ( Buriisu Hapu)
Kiba) [video] • Shin Daisan no Gokudo 2 • Young Thugs: Nostalgia
• Oretachi wa Tenshi Ja Nai
[video] • Zuiketsu Genso-Tonkararin
[video] • Jingi naki Yaoo [video] Yume Densetsu [short]
• Oretachi wa Tenshi Ja Nai 2 • Peanuts (Pinatsu-Rakkasel)
[video] 1999
(video) • Tennen Shojo Mann [TV se­
1994 • The Way to Rght (Kenka no ries, 3 episodes]
• Bodyguard Kiba 2 ( Bodigado Hanamichi-Osaka Saikyo
 Takashi Miike • 183

a director does n ' t go there j ust to complain,

but to shoot as much and as well as he can
under those condition s . "

Aside from Rainy Dog, only two other Miike

films had received a cinema release in the two
years between Shinjuku Triad Society and The
Bird People in China. One of these was the larg­
er-than-life manga adaptation Fudoh: The New
Generation, which originally was not even in­
tended to receive a theatrical release. It wasn't
until its producer was thoroughly impressed Miike and Riki Takeuchi on the set of Dead or Alive
by a rough cut that it was decided that the film
would be shown in theaters instead of being video release and a place in Time magazine's list
launched directly through video. of the top ten films of the year 1 997.
It was a more than fortunate decision, since Violent high school students were also the
Fudoh would go on to be the first Takashi Miike subject of his other theatrically released film at
film to play to foreign audiences. A film about a the time, Young Thugs: Innocent Blood. A sequel
high school student who leads a gang of under­ to Kazuyuki Izutsu's Boys Be Ambitious (Kishi­
age assassins in a blood feud with his own yaku­ wada Shonen Gurentai, 1 996), it is for this very
za father, its gleefully exaggerated violence went fact a unique film in Miike's career since he
down a storm at film festivals in Brussels, Mon­ never again made a sequel to another director's
treal, and Toronto, earning Fudoh an American film.

• Ley Lines ( Nihon Kuro­ 2001 Kyodo-Den: Rekka)

shakai-Ley Lines) • Visitor Q ( Bijita Q) • The Gundogs [music video]
• Sil ver ( Shiruba) [video] • Family(Famiii) • Part Time Tantei [TV]
• White-Collar Worker Kintaro • The Guys from Paradise ( Ten­ 2003
( Sarar/man Kintaro) goku Kara Kita Otoko Tachl) • Koi no Jeriifisshu [music
• Tennen Shojo Mann Next [TV • Ichi the Killer ( Koroshiya 1) video]
series, 2 episodes] 2002 • The Man in White ( Yurusare­
• Dead or Alive (DOA Deddo Oa • Dead or Alive: Final zaru Mono)
Araibu-Hanzaisha) • Onna Kunishu Ikki • Kikoku [video]
2000 • The Happiness of the Ka­ • Gozu (Gokudo Kyofu Daigeki­
• Kikuchi-Jo Monogatari-Saki­ takuris (Katakurike no Ko­ jO-Gozu)
mori-Tachi no Uta [short] fuku) • The Negotiator(Koshonin)
• Audition • Agitator (Araburu Tamashii [TV]
• MPD-Psycho ( Taju Jinkaku Tachl) 2004
Tantei Saiko-Amamiya Kazu­ • Sabu [TV] • One Missed Call ( Chakushin
hiko no Kikan) [TV series, 6 • Graveyard of Honor ( Shin An) (a.k.a. You' ve Got A Cam
episodes] Jingi no H akaba) • Zebraman (Zeburaman)
• The City of Lost Souls • Go! Go! Fushimi Jet [music • Part Time Tantei 2 [TV]
(Hyoryuga/) video] • Izo (Izo-Kaosu, Mata wa
• Dead or Alive 2 ( Deddo Oa • Shangri-La (Kinyu Hametsu Fujori no Kijin)
Araibu 2-Tooosha) Nippon-Togenkyo no Hito­ • Three ... Extremes [co-di­
• The Making of Gemini ( Tsu­ bito) rected with Fruit Chan and
kamoto Shinya ga Rampo • Deadly Outlaw: Rekka Chan-Wook Park]
Suru) [video] (Jitsuroku-Ando Noboru
184 . TAKASHI MilKE

exude a strong sense of nostalgia that renders

their frequent violence more like joyful celebra­
tions of youth than intentionally harmful. T heir
protagonists spend much of the film covered in
bruises and limping, but they wouldn't have it
any other way.
T his nostalgia and a longing for child­
hood is another major motif that runs through
Miike's entire body of work. As much as Shin­
juku Triad Society, Rainy Dog, and Ley Lines can
be considered the trilogy of rootlessness, so
can the triptych of Osaka-set films be regard­
ed as Miike's nostalgia cycle. T his triptych is
completed by its third entry, Young Thugs:
Nostalgia ( 1 998). T he sequel to the previous
year's sequel, it goes back to its protagonist's
early youth in the late '60s. Depicting him
growing up in a broken home, with a father
who prefers gambling, drinking, and sleeping
around with strippers to spending time with
his subservient wife, Miike managed to por­
tray childhood with a complete lack of senti­
mentality. Instead the film showed an astute
Dead or Alive (top), and Dead or Alive 2 understanding of a child's mind, as translated
into comedy, a good-natured and playful de­
"Izutsu 's original had quite a high budget and piction of violence and occasional flights of
had a very wide release as a result. But for my fancy. It also bore witness to its director's
fil m , the sequel, the budget was j ust a little keen talent for directing child actors, a talent
but higher than for a V-clnema fi l m . So just previously apparent in both Rainy Dog and The
in that sense It's a very different fi lm. Izutsu Bird People in China.
is a very particular d i rector whose films I re­ T he fact that the three films in Miike's nos­
ally l i ke . Also because of that I didn't want to talgia trilogy do not have English release titles
make something similar. At the time, the peo­ is an indication of how a large and essential part
ple who offered me the fil m a l ready understood of the director's work has remained hidden to
that if they asked me, It wouldn't just become Western eyes. T he unavailability of such films
a normal seque l . " as Young Thugs: Nostalgia is a major factor affect­
ing the way Miike is perceived as a filmmaker
In fact, it might as well have been a fol­ outside Japan, although in all fairness it must be
low-up to one of Miike's own films, The Way to pointed out that even in Japan few people are
Fight, released straight to video one year earlier. familiar with the full scope of his work. It's per­
Both films are set in 1 970s Osaka and feature haps an inevitable situation, seeing how difficult
brash adolescent boys for whom fighting is the it is to keep up with Miike's recent output, let
ultimate rebellion against growing up. T his set­ alone his past films.
ting is very significant, since Miike was him­ As if big-screen production didn't keep him
self a teenager in Osaka in the ' 70s. Both films busy enough already, Miike also directed three
 Takashi Miike • 185

Gozu

mllllseries for Japanese television. T he first and twisty horror manga MPD-Psycho, Miike
aired in early 1 999, entitled Tennen ShOjo Mann himself scripted the fiendishly complicated
[trans: Natural girl Mann], and followed the ad­ plotline and filmed it using a dazzling array of
ventures of a schoolgirl in Tokyo'S Shibuya dis­ visual trickery whose style bordered on surreal.
trict, the leisure area of choice of the Japanese By the time the series aired, the name Ta­
capital's teenage population. Consisting of three kashi Miike was rapidly gaining notoriety
essentially feature-length episodes, the series outside Japan. T he selection of three of his
played like a mixture of BufJj the Vampire Slayer films-Dead or Alive, Ley Lines, and Audition­
and West Side Story, as gangs of schoolgirls battle for the Rotterdam Film Festival in T he Neth­
each other over turf and one superpowered lass erlands in early 2 000 had been an astonishing
named Mann tries her best to keep her friends success. Winning two sets of critics' prizes for
out of the hands of dubious model scouts. A fur­ Audition, Miike saw himself launched as the next
ther two episodes followed later the same year, big thing in the European and American film
in which much of the cast was replaced and the press. Audition went on to wider international
series became even more like BufJj, with Mann distribution, earning more money on its Ameri­
squaring off against a group of vampires and can theatrical run than it had at the box office in
falling in love with one of them. Japan. Helping to usher in the vogue for Japa­
T he third TV series, broadcast in 2 000, was nese horror films, it nevertheless remained ex­
a rather more ambitious undertaking. A six-hour empt from Hollywood remake treatment, most
adaptation of Eiji O tsuka's graphically violent likely because few American producers would
186 . TAKASHI MilKE

Agitator

risk their money on re-enacting the film's cli­ T he outrageously violent gangster saga Ichi
mactic torture scene, which famously caused the Killer (2 00 1 ) fared rather less quietly, al­
numerous audience members to run for the though not so much in terms of controversy, but
exits wherever it was shown. rather in terms of box office success-in Japan
Audition's finale also established Miike's at least, because foreign audiences greeted it
reputation as a director who was more than with the same mixture of applause and revulsion
willing to cross boundaries, an image many of that was by then becoming the norm for a new
the subsequent films released abroad did little Miike film. In the eyes of many, Ichi the Killer
to change. Visitor Q (2 00 1 ) was an exaggerated, took things just a little bit too far, and particu­
no-holds-barred depiction of a thoroughly dys­ larly the sexual violence endured by its female
functional family that featured bullying, drug characters rubbed many the wrong way.
abuse, murder, incest, and necrophilia. Shot on
a US $ 7 0,000 budget and with digital video, its " I f they criticize me because of that, there's
minimal production values rendered the subject nothing I can do about it. I don't think there
matter even more confrontational, provoking is only one way to look at a fi l m . There isn't
hectic debate over whether the satire of Japan's one trut h . I always try to have some kindness
nuclear family was worth all the excess. In Japan for the female characters, I allow them to try
meanwhile, the film slipped quietly below ev­ to real ize their own desires, for example. But
eryone's radar and caused no fuss whatsoever. generally I feel no need to explai n my fi l m s
 Takashi Miike . 187

Gra veyard of Honor

to an audience. If they feel differently about Final) a musical (The Happiness of the Kotakuris),
it than I do, then that ' s their right. I ' m not a three-and-a-half hour gangster epic (Agitator),
always sure that I was able to make my feel­ a period drama for T V (Sabu), and a stunning
i ngs clear enough i n a fi l m , so if the audience remake of Kinji Fukasaku's 1 9 7 5 film Graveyard
misunderstands it, it's okay. I accept the mis­ of Honor.
understandi ngs . " Bolstered by an intense central performance
by Gorf> Kishitani, Miike's version of Graveyard
With its running time of more than two of Honor updates the post-war setting of the
hours, however, Miike's intentions for the film source novel and Fukasaku's film to the 1 980s
went a lot deeper and were a lot more thought­ and ' 90s, setting the blood-drenched downfall of
ful than a mere attempt to shock. For all its ex­ its gangster protagonist Rikuo Ishimatsu against
cessive violence, Ichi the Killer was ironically a a background of the burst of Japan's bubble
rather potent meditation on the depiction of vi­ economy and the social upheaval that causes the
olent images and the interaction between those emergence of such extremist phenomena as the
images and the spectator. Aum Shinrikyo cult. As in Fukasaku's original,
Controversies notwithstanding, the director Ishimatsu is not only the product of the chaos
continued working in a characteristically unper­ and insecurity of the society he lives in, he is the
turbed and diverse manner in 2 002, delivering very embodiment of that chaos, the symbol of a
the second sequel to Dead or Alive (Dead or Alive: country in turmoil. Kishitani portrays him not
188 . TAKASHI MilKE

simply as a frighteningly cold-blooded thug, but -.v Bird People in China

as a man with an emotional core who lacks the I:f:lOOQ)A\!bA
ability to express his emotions in any way beside Chugoku no ChOjin
violence and (self-) abuse. He is the victim of
his own underdeveloped emotional register, a 1 998. CAST: M as a h i ro Motoki , Renj i Ish i b a sh i ,
"violoholic" who hides guns in every nook and M a ko Iwam ats u , M i c h i ko Yos h i s e , Y u i c h i M i n ato ,
cranny of his apartment instead of liquor. T his Tomoh i ko Okud a , Li Li Wang. 1 1 8 m i n utes . RE­

makes the film as much a fascinating character LEASES: DVD, Arts magic ( U SA , Engl i s h s u btitl e s ) ,
study as a confronting social document. Universe (Hong Kong, Engl i s h an d C h i nese s u b­
T he jury still out on the merit of his work, titl es ).
Miike's reputation was bolstered quite a bit
when, to the surprise of many both inside and Breathtaking spi ritual journey to t h e h e a rt of
outside Japan, one of his films was selected for mainland Ch i n a for two men from very d i ffer­
the Cannes Film Festival in 2 00 3 . Playing in ent backgrounds.
one of the festival sidebars, Gozu is a surreal tale
of a young, virginal yakuza whose search for his Mention the name Miike and most people will
missing gang elder is a descent into the dark­ immediately start thinking in terms of gory
er realms of his own psyche. Leading through yakuza movies such as Ichi the Killer or Dead
numerous encounters with assorted suburban or Alive, a hail of raucous images drenched in
eccentrics and an attic-dwelling, cow-headed blood, spit, and semen. Both revered and re­
demon, the film played like a mixture of David viled for his on screen excesses, there is actually
Lynch and Monty Python. T he Cannes selec­ another side to the director's work that often
tion was followed by an invitation to the Berlin gets overlooked in favor of descriptions of the
Film Festival for One Missed Call. A middling aberrant content of these and similarly excessive
horror yarn in the vein of Hideo Nakata's The films such as Fudoh or Visitor Q.
Ring, the film slipped by almost unnoticed by Bird People in China is one such film. One of
the critics. Foreign buyers, however, were lining the director's first forays outside of the ghetto of
up to aquire the rights to what looked to them V-cinema, not only is it one of his most acces­
like the next J-horror sensation. T he same year sible works, and one suitable for all audiences,
also saw Miike teaming up for the first time with but it is also far greater in scope and scale than
Takeshi Kitano for a reworking of the Hideo anything that preceded it. An adaptation of a
Gosha/Shintaro Katsu chanbara film Hitokiri novel by Makoto Shiina, it is part road movie,
( 1 969), under the title !zo. part buddy movie, part fish-out-of-water com­
T irelessly moving from project to project, edy: the story of two men rediscovering them­
Takashi Miike will no doubt continue to throw selves after being ordered, against their wishes
surprises at his audience. His work may provoke and for very different reasons, away from the
heated debate over its merit, but he is undeni­ familiarity of their home turf into the depths of
ably a unique presence, not only in Japanese rural China.
cinema but in the world. Personal opinions Leaving the claustrophobic confines of his
aside, the simple fact that he still manages to homeland behind him, we join Wada (Motoki),
surprise and shock audiences while making six a diligent and rather bland businessman on a
films a year should be enough of a reason to ap­ slow train across a timeless land. As he records
preciate Takashi Miike. his every thought in a handheld tape recorder,
we learn that he has been sent by his company to
replace a sick colleague who was scouting a par-
 Bird People in China . 189

ticularly rich seam of jade deposit found in the

remote Yunnan Province of southwest China.
But even so far from the hectic day-to-day ex­
istence in Tokyo, portrayed in a montaged rush
of fast-forwarded images of gym workouts and
commuter trains, Wada finds himself unable
to completely escape from his homeland, as his
tranquility is shattered by two locals with a large
portable stereo blaring out Japanese enka songs
inviting him to sing along as he tries unsuccess­
fully, in English, to fend them off.
More sinister is the lurking presence of a
man in a white suit and Hawaiian shirt who is
shadowing him. Upon his arrival at the station,
where Wada is greeted by his guide, a Japanese­
speaking local known as Shen (Mako), the third
man violently introduces himself as Ujiie (Ishi­
bashi), a yakuza punk unwillingly sent by his
boss to trail Wada across China to settle debts
owed to the mob by Wada's company. He orders
Wada and Shen to take him along with them.
After a few initial blows, the three characters
embark on an epic journey across a breathtak­
ing landscape, occasionally punctuated by the
odd dusty village consisting of wooden huts and
rife with chickens running wildly through the
streets. Despite the happy-go-lucky attitude of
their unflustered guide, tension between the two
Japanese runs high, not helped by the constant
griping of Ujiie, nor the fact that the van they
are traveling in is progressively disintegrating,
beginning with its door falling off, the further
they get from home. Drenched by a freak storm,
the voyagers are sidetracked off course, and soon
find themselves irreversibly lost. When Wada's
work documents end up as a goat's breakfast, and
Shen's memory is lost after a blow to the head,
Bird People in China
not only does the loyal salaryman lose his initial
reason for the journey, but all means of contact­
ing his bosses for further instructions. mountains. Here they make the acquaintance of
And then, events take a further plunge into Yan (Li Li Wang), a teenage Chinese girl with
the fantastical when they undertake the next leg limpid blue eyes, who is trying to teach the local
of their voyage on a raft pulled by river turtles, children to fly, using makeshift wings of card­
transporting them to a remote village in Yunnan board and wood. T he tailfin of an abandoned
Province, secluded from the outside world by World War II fighter plane stands protruding
190 • TAKASHI MilKE

from a nearby lake, and Yan continuously sings a of flexibility and professional ability, and as such
strange tune to herself in broken English, which Bird People in China stands as a crucial marker
Wada eventually pieces together using his por­ in the director's career: the transition point be­
table tape recorder and an electronic diction­ tween his generic straight-to-video origins and
ary, to identify it as the old Scottish folk song his more major budgeted productions.
Annie Laurie. Slowly they begin to construct the
meaning behind the legend of the bird man who
fell from the sky many years before.
Bird People in China is one of a sub-genre -.v Young Thugs: Nostalgia
of films that feature Japanese characters trans­ J;i!mlB�fF!UlJ!� ��
ported away from the concrete jungle of Tokyo Kishiwada Shonen Gurentai: Bokyo
to a neighboring Asian country and the dizzy,
disorienting effect of such a dramatic change in 1998. CAST : N aoto Take n aka, Saki Takaoka, Yu k i
basic environment. Examples include Shusuke N agata, Setsuko Karasumaru, Takes h i Caesar,
Kaneko's Trip to a Strange Kingdom (Sotsugyo R i i chi N aka b a . 94 m i n utes . RELEASES: DVD, Arts­
Ryoko: Nihon Knra Kimashita, 1 992) and Y 6jir6 magic ( U SA, English subtitles ) .
Takita's Made in Japan (Bokura wa Minna Ikiteiru,
a.k.a. We Are Not Alone, 1 99 3 ). It is a theme that A nostalgic t a l e o f growi ng u p i n 1960s Osaka,
Miike would later explore in a different context this portrait of child hood is mercifu lly devoid
with The Guys from Paradise. Here the effect, as of cuteness and false retro stylistics. Fun ny,
lensed by cinematographer Hideo Yamamoto (a touching, sad, and violent all at once, this is
regular collaborator of Miike's who worked his Takashi M ilke In grand form .
way up from assistant cameraman on the films
of Takeshi Kitano, from Boiling Point on, to T he Kishiwada Shonen Gurentai [trans: Boy hoo­
eventually shooting Fireworks) is quite intoxicat­ ligans from Kishiwada] series has moved into
ing. Contrasting the bleak grays of the bracket­ some very diverse territory in its seven-year life­
ing Tokyo scenes with rich, earthy reds, verdant span. Based on the fictionalized autobiography
greens, and sepia-toned misty mountains, the of Osaka truck driver Riichi Nakaba, the first
very setting of Miike's film is so breathtaking film, made for Shochiku studios by former AT G
that the plot often seems secondary to it. director Kazuyuki Izutsu in 1 996, depicted the
Whilst conjuring up some undeniably beau­ life of a Nakaba-derived high school student in
tiful travelogue footage, like its two wide-eyed the mid- 1 970s and his numerous violent punch­
protagonists, Miike perhaps too often wanders ups with rivals from the working class Osaka
off track gazing at scenery at the expense of any neighborhood of Kishiwada. T he film, which
sense of urgency in the narrative. The rather starred a pair of popular young manzai comedi­
languorous approach to pacing results in a film ans, celebrated its protagonist's eternal dropout
that feels composed of two very distinct halves, status and presented the violence as a kind of
beginning with a journey, and stalling at the mid­ slapstick not played for laughs.
point to become distracted in its rather whimsi­ Takashi Miike took over the reins on part
cal back story. We are not sure where Miike is two, which he made less as a sequel to Izut­
leading us, or how it will end, but we do get to su's film than as a follow-up to his own earlier
see an awful lot of the countryside en route. work about adolescent Osaka brawlers Kenka no
Nevertheless, Miike achieved impressive Hanamichi: Osaka Saikyo Densetsu ( 1 996). Miike
enough results, using a limited budget in a for­ chose to focus on the Riichi character's life after
eign environment to demonstrate a high degree graduation and the inevitable need to face ma-
 Ley Lines . 191

turity. Although he too cast a pair of manzai it also dares to be imaginative and throw that
comedians in the lead, the brothers Koji and same reality into the wind only underlines the
Yasushi Chihara, the subject matter resulted in a quality of the film. Full of autobiographical ele­
stronger emphasis on the dramatic aspect and a ments from his own life, probably the best point
surprisingly well-balanced film. of reference for Young Thugs: Nostalgia is not
For part three, Miike went in the oppo­ one of Miike's own films, but Fran�ois Truffaut's
site direction and delivered a prequel. Bokyo mother of all nostalgia films The 400 Blows (Les
[trans: Nostalgia] shows us Riichi Nakaba's 400 coups, 1 959).
pre-adolescent period in the late 1 960s, going With seven entries in as many years, the
into a lot more detail about the boy's relation­ Kishiwada Shonen Gurentai series, meanwhile,
ship with his good-for-nothing father, Toshio, has become something of a V-cinema mainstay.
played by Naoto Takenaka. In his numerous With a wide variety of directors helming the
films to deal with the subject, Miike's portrayal various episodes (including Rokuro Mochizuki
of childhood and adolescence is nostalgic to the for part five) the series switched focus halfway
point of idyllic. T he younger the children, the through, evolving into a vehicle for V-cinema
more capable they are of survival, happiness, superstar Riki Takeuchi. Miike never returned
and imagination. Young Thugs: Nostalgia gives to the series, but would continue his voyage of
us children who have not even reached puberty nostalgia with the equally impressive Dead or
yet, and while they spend much of the film with Alive 2.
bruised faces, no real harm is ever done. When
a drunken Toshio gives his son Riichi a beat­
ing, the boy most of the time strikes back. T he
bond between the two actually becomes tighter � Ley Lines
after ten-year-old Riichi gives his father a sound B*�t±� Ley Lines
thrashing with a baseball bat. Nihon Kuroshakai: Ley Lines
But violence certainly isn't all this film is
about. It runs the gamut of emotions with admi­ 1999. CAST : Kazuki Kitam u ra , Tomorowo Taguch i ,
rable skill, with Riichi's adventures being funny, Dan L i , M i ch isuke Kash iwaya , N a oto Take n aka ,
touching, sad, or exciting in turn. Mercifully, She Aikawa . 105 m i n utes . RELEASES: DVD, Arts­
the respectful way in which the director treats magic ( U . S . , Engl ish s u btitles ) , Asi a Extreme/
his child actors and characters keeps the film Tartan Video ( U . K . , Engl ish s u btitles ) , Tosh i ba
free of artificial cuteness. Even though it dares (Japan , no subtitles ) .
to take flights of imaginative fancy, Miike never
loses sight of reality, keeping his characters gen­ A n elegiac account o f t h e misadvent u res of
uine at all times, whether they are children or a trio of young cou ntry m isfits in the big city.
adults. Probably the most representative fi l m i n Ta­
Young Thugs: Nostalgia's narrative is largely kashi Miike 's oeuvre , a n d crucial viewing for
episodic, playing like an extract from the life anyone with more than a passing i nterest i n
of its protagonist rather than as a plot-driven t h e d i rector's work.
story. But the appeal is not in the plot, it's in the
portrayal. With the material being so close to T he third film in the director's unofficial ku­
Miike's own life (both he and Nakaba are from roshakai (literally: "black society") trilogy is
working class Osaka families and were born in probably the film that best sums up the cinema
the early ' 60s), this film is perhaps the closest of Takashi Miike. Ley Lines is the quintessential
a Miike movie will ever come to realism. T hat Miike film, the best representation one is likely
192 . TAKASHI MilKE

Ley Lines

to find of the director's thematic and stylistic T hey end up in the grimmer parts of Tokyo's
preoccupations, with the concept of rootless­ Shinjuku district, which is populated with ethnic
ness at its very heart. minorities, outcasts like them. But understand­
T he protagonists are a trio of boys from ing and pity are the last things these people are
a countryside smallville, bored with their un­ willing to show them. T heir first encounter is
eventful lives. But boredom is not the only thing with the Chinese hooker Anita, who lures them
that drives them. A bigger factor is frustration. to an abandoned building with the promise of
Children of Chinese immigrants, Ryliichi, sex, only to make off with their wallets. It's the
Shunrei, and Chan are discriminated against on classic law of dog eat dog, but Miike human­
a regular basis. T he film's opening scene sees izes the situation by showing us Anita's less than
Ryliichi denied a passport by a local bureaucrat glamorous life, in which she is forced to serve
on account of his non-Japanese origins. He a wide variety of perverted or downright dis­
vents his anger by smashing a ceramic plant pot gusting clients by her Chinese pimp, who often
over the bigot's head, landing him a trip to the gives her a beating afterward for good measure.
police station, where he is again treated with When she robs the boys' money she does it be­
racist contempt. When the boys go too far in cause it saves her having to do the dirty with an­
releasing their anger one night and nearly kill other sweaty slob or fetishist salaryman.
the owner of a scrap yard, they take the next T heir money gone, the boys go looking for
train for Tokyo, leaving everything but a few jobs and end up pushing makeshift drugs for
necessities behind. a small-time dealer and his black sidekick. A
 Audition . 193

chance encounter with a bruised and battered 2000. CAST: Rye I s h i bas h i, E i h i S h i i n a, Renj i Ishi­
Anita on the neon-lit nighttime streets of Kabu­ bashi, Tetsu S awaki, M iyuki M atsu d a, Jun Ku n i­
kicho makes the boys realize that the desperate m u ra, Toshie Negishi, Ren Osugi, Ken M itsu ish i .
hooker is in the same boat as them, and the trio 1 1 5 m i n utes . RELEASES : DVD, Ventu ra D istri bu­
of outcasts becomes a quartet. Learning about tion/Ch i mera ( U . S . , Engl ish s u btitles), T a rtan
the riches of the local Chinese crime lord Wong Video/As i a Extrem e ( U . K., English s u btitles),
from Anita, the group decides to rob Wong's Rapid Eye Video (Germany, German/ English
restaurant and use the loot to buy fake passports subtitles), U n iverse ( H ong Kong, Engl ish/C h i­
and escape to Brazil, where they hope to find nese subtitles), Stu d i o C a n a l (France, French
happiness. subtitles), F i l mfreak (Netherlands, Dutch/French
All three entries in the kuroshakai series ex­ subtitles) .
press a fundamental and intense sadness. T heir
rootless protagonists try hard to find the place Middle-aged widower holds a mock a udition
or the environment that will give them hap­ to find a new wife, and soon finds himself with
piness, but the world does not allow them to more than he bargained for. A romantic drama
reach it. Many of Miike's films derive their true that turns into a white-kn uckle endurance
power from this sense of sadness, and Ley Lines test of horror in its fin a l ree l .
is one of the best examples. If maybe it's not a
surprise that these boys will never achieve their Few films from Japan have created such a stir
happiness, it's a testament to the director's abili­ overseas in recent years as Audition did when it
ties that this has no impact on our emotional first rocked the Rotterdam International Film
involvement in their tribulations. T he film's Festival in 2 000. With half the audience won­
final shot is of such intense beauty because dering how such a talented director had escaped
Miike dares to create hope where there should the world's attention for so long and the other
logically be only sadness, or, depending on one's half charging headlong for the exit during the
point of view, dares to add a deep undertone of memorably over-the-top finale, here was a film
sadness to what seems like an unexpected ray of no one was going to forget in a hurry. Miike was
hope. the talk of the town, and Audition went on to be­
Featuring great camerawork by Naosuke come the first film of the director, with already
Imaizumi and some terrific performances (in­ a score of works under his belt back home, to be
cluding lead actor and frequent Miike collabo­ theatrically distributed in the West.
rator Kazuki Kitamura, who would later feature T he key-line of Miike's visceral shocker
in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill), Ley Lines has is simple. After seven years, widowed Aoyama
been unjustly overshadowed by Miike's more (Ryo Ishibashi) is encouraged by both his teen­
obviously audacious works like Dead or Alive, age son Shigehiko and his colleagues at the film
Audition, [chi the Killer, or Visitor Q. If it lacks production company where he works to finally
their attention grabbing moments, it's only be­ let go of the past and find a new wife. But how
cause the film is evocatively inspired for every does a middle-aged workaholic come across
single second of its lO5-minute running time. someone suitable? His producer friend hits upon
the idea of digging out an unmade script from a
couple of years ago and holding a fake audition
for the leading lady. Whilst perusing the reams
-.v Audition of applications, a spillt coffee ring draws him to­
:;t--T1Y3� wards Asami, a former ballet dancer who seems
to embody all of the virtues of the traditional
194 . TAKASHI MilKE

wife that Aoyama is looking for. After an initial under the collective weight of repressed guilt
face-to-face meeting with her in the awkward and sexual hysteria, warping into a feverish
studio-bound context of the audition hall, he dream, tingeing reality with sickly reds, blues,
telephones her that same evening to arrange a and yellows.
less formal rendezvous. Miike's master stroke here is in the casting
It's best to go into Audition with a minimum of former Benetton model Eihi Shiina as Asami.
of preconceptions for it to achieve its maximum Eyes permanently cast downward, her voice a
power. Miike's chief weapon here is surprise. In barely audible mew, slim, gentle, and elegant,
fact, it is almost impossible to describe the film she is the very essence of demure compliance,
without giving away vital plot points. Suffice to a paragon of the Japanese ideal of femininity.
say, Audition is not structured like a convention­ T hough, surprisingly, subsequent screen out­
al horror. It is, in fact, a cunning piece of genre ings from this elfin beauty have been restricted
subversion, with the first half building up slowly, to minor appearances in Eureka and Harmful
a simple and surely paced tale of boy meets girl, Insect, it is difficult to imagine Audition with
before the rug is pulled from under our feet and anyone else in the role.
we find ourselves in far darker territory. Adapted by Daisuke Tengan, the son of
With the turning point left deliberately Miike's mentor Shohei Imamura, Audition
vague, much of what makes Audition's tonal shift is based on a novel of the same name by cult
from sedate romantic drama to visceral horror writer Ryii Murakami. Murakami is known to
all the more convincing can be attributed to the the West through his translated works such as
moral ambiguity of its central character, Aoya­ Almost Transparent Blue ( 1 976) and Coin Locker
ma, admirably portrayed by Ishibashi. T hough Babies ( 1 997), which cast a cynical eye on the
his methods of finding a new bride, chosen as dark underside of contemporary Japanese life,
if she were an item on a restaurant menu, may and has also adapted a number of his own works
reek of a flagrant abuse of his job position, his for the screen, the best known of which is Topii­
motivations, however misguided, at heart re­ zu ( 1 99 1 ), released overseas as Tokyo Decadence,
main dreamily idealistic. Prompted to seek a which details the increasing emotional alien­
replacement for his deceased spouse by others, ation of a call girl who specializes in S/M.
in Asami he sees the very incarnation of what T hough some viewers have misread criti­
society would consider "a good wife" for a man cisms of the Japanese patriarchal order within
of his status, as well as a suitable mother surro­ Audition, Miike himself denies that any such
gate for his son. social aspect is to be found in his work. Like
Aoyama is chasing an impossible ideal, Murakami, he adopts the psychological vantage
but still, as the idea takes firmer hold, it rap­ point of his protagonist, forcing viewers to con­
idly turns into an unwavering private obses­ front their own feelings and fears, rather than
sion. Furtively waiting until his son is out of looking down at his characters from any higher
earshot before making his covert phone calls, moral perspective. More literal readings there­
Aoyama's secret is compounded by the all-per­ fore may lay the film open to the standard accu­
vasive ghost of his dead wife hanging over him. sations of Miike as a director who is all glitz and
Whilst rifling through the initial applications, flourish and little substance, but it is this moral
we see a brief, almost subliminal shot of her sit­ ambivalence that makes the wham-bam descent
ting up and glaring admonishingly at him from into nightmarish grotesquery such an undeniably
their matrimonial bed. T hese resurgent mem­ potent experience. Indisputably a technical tour
ories reach critical mass in the latter stages of de force, Audition rises far above the slick stylistic
the film, as Aoyama's psyche caves in on itself glibness that has occasionally marred other films
from the director, such as The City of Lost Souls,
to create something truly discomforting.

-Jt Ichi the Killer

�U�l
Koroshiya 1

2001. CAST: Tad anobu Asa n o , Nao O mori, S h i nya

Tsukamoto , A l i e n S u n , S ab u , S h u n Sugata , J u n
Ku n i m u ra , Susu m u Teraj i m a . 128 m i n utes . RE­
LEASES: DVD , Med i a Bl asters ( U . S . , Engl ish sub­
titles) . World Wide C i n e m a (The Netherlands,
Engl ish/Dutch/French subtitles ) , Med usa ( U . K . ,
Engl ish subtitles ) . U n iverse ( H ong Kong, Engl ish/
Chi nese subtitles ) , Pioneer (Japa n , no subtitles) .

Possibly the most deli riously violent film ever

made. Denounced by many, but i n spite of its
seemingly gratu itous nature, Ichi the Killer is
a strongly critical examination of the relation­
ship between violent images and the specta­
tor, as well as an excel lent c h aracter piece.

How do we explain Takashi Miike's popularity

surge of the last few years? Without launch­
ing into a sociological study, a major factor is
without doubt the audaciousness of his work, in
particular of its violence. However, Miike had
been making audaciously violent films for quite
a while until Audition finally proved his inter­
national breakthrough. And a number of those
had already played to foreign audiences. T he
secret lies in the fact that Audition had such an
impact because it gave the violence a context.
And context means resonance.
Miike's films, however violent they may at
times be, nearly always contain such context.
Not always is it as apparent to foreign eyes as
in Audition, but rarely are his films gratuitous.
Ichi the Killer, one of the most violent films ever
made, is far from being gratuitous. It shows
us people sliced in half, decapitated, mangled,
raped, tortured, run through with needles, and Ichi the Killer
196 . TAKASHI MilKE

covered in boiling oil (and this is only an ex­ T he most interesting aspect of Ichi the Killer,
cerpt, some of the acts on display simply can't however, is its treatment of images of violence.
be summed up in a few words), but the point is T he way it portrays the abundance of violent acts
not what it shows but how it shows it. in terms of angles, framing, editing, and use of
Based on the equally outrageous manga by special effects is meticulously thought through,
Hideo Yamamoto (not to be confused with the resulting in a division between almost cartoon­
film's cameraman of the same name), the film like exaggeration and savage realism. T his divi­
stays fairly loyal to its source. Entire scenes are sion is at the heart of Miike's approach to the
transposed from page to screen and the plot is violence, dragging his viewers from one extreme
followed closely. However, when the film went to the other, making them laugh one moment
into production, the serialized manga was still and cringe the next in the hope of creating an
running, meaning Miike and screenwriter Sa­ awareness of why they react like they do.
kichi Sata had to come up with their own end­ T here is a lot of provocation in Ichi the Kill­
ing. It's this necessity to rethink the outcome er's formal approach to the portrayal of violence.
that gave the director the possibility to com­ Literally, since it is intended to provoke certain
pletely alter the meaning of the story. T his reactions (first) and actions (second) in the audi­
resulted in a fair amount of mystification and ence. T he most hard-hitting scenes of violence,
ambivalence (the motivation of main villain Jijii, many of them involving violence against female
played by Shinya Tsukamoto, remains an enig­ characters, are edited and framed in such way
ma, for instance), and a complete revision of the that most of the actual acts are not shown. T heir
implication of the story's violent aspects, both impact results largely from the audience filling
in terms of its meaning within the film and its in the blanks for themselves, thereby looking
effect on cinema audiences. for violence within themselves. T he film's fina­
Despite its seemingly straightforward re­ le, which, as noted, Miike and his screenwriter
venge plot (mysterious killer murders yakuza made up themselves, seems to promise a big
boss, the boss's right-hand man goes looking for showdown that it subsequently refuses to deliv­
the killer), Ichi the Killer is a phenomenally intri­ er. Here again we have provocation at work. If
cate film. T he simple narrative is given extra di­ the viewer is disappointed that the showdown,
mension by turning it into a doomed love story, a confrontation between the two most violent
with the quest for vengeance becoming a search characters in the film, did not happen, he or she
for the ideal partner: T he only one who can is effectively acknowledging his or her own de­
fill the void in protagonist Kakihara's life is the sire to consume more violence.
same person who created that void, the titular Ichi the Killer is a provocative film, which is
!chi the killer. T he characters surrounding this probably why reactions to it are so strong. But
would-be couple are defined in similar terms of these reactions show that Miike's approach is
dependency, being either predominantly mas­ successful: those who walked out of the film
ochist or sadist. Some try to deny their person­ or fumed in outrage were those who had been
alities in the hope of attracting a partner, but the most painfully confronted with their own lim­
truth inevitably catches up with the self-decep­ its in consuming violent images. By setting
tion (as in Kakihara's brusque dismissal of the their boundaries, they actively and conscious­
love-struck Karen when she is unable to give ly reconsidered their relationships with such
him the pain he so desires). images.
 CHAPTER 13
Makoto Shi nozaki
�dffif �
One of the most interesting Japanese filmmak­ club, whose soon-to-be illustrious members
ers to debut in the 1 990s is also one of the most were strongly under the influence of film theo­
overlooked. Makoto Shin ozaki remains a virtual rist Shigehiko Hasumi and his protege and Rik­
unknown on the international scene, despite kyo alumnus, Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
having directed two of the most outstanding His university years further intensifying his
Japanese films in recent years. Exact reasons for cinephilia, Shinozaki graduated in the latter half
Shinozaki's relative obscurity remain unclear, of the 1 980s with the wish to make a living in
but one factor might perhaps be that even on his film. With the path that led via studio appren­
home turf he is seen as operating in the shadow ticeship permanently cut off, he first considered
of two other filmmakers, Takeshi Kitano and a compromise by working in IT, but renounced
Kiyoshi Kurosawa. the job just as he was on the verge of being
Despite the pigeonholing, Makoto Shinozaki hired. Instead he was employed as a projection­
is a true all-round cinephile. Generally regarded ist at the theatrical facilities of Tokyo's Athenee
as an exponent of the "intellectual stream" of Franr;:ais cultural center. Rather than being ex­
1 990s filmmakers, Shinozaki is as much a fan of clusively devoted to French culture, the place
genre films and B-movies as he is of Abbas Ki­ was an all-round arthouse cinema and a gather­
arostami and John Cassavetes. When he bought ing point for the city's young film enthusiasts.
himself a used 8mm camera at age 1 4, the films Also handling other chores like selling tickets,
he made with it were horror movies. Shinozaki found at his job an ambience not un­
like that of his university cine-club, with many
"I like horror and action fi lms as genres because of the same faces attending the screenings. In
you see human beings at their extremes. So the meantime he continued making short films
It's not really as different as you might imagine. on 8mm and, like a number of those contempo­
There are no rol l i ng heads or spurting blood in raries, also started exercising his all-encompass­
my films, but there is d lscommunlcatlon, which ing passion for cinema as a film critic.
is In fact more frightening to me."
"O u r theater was kind of like an a rt house and
While studying psychology at Rikkyo Uni­ there was one fi l m that I really wanted to see
versity, his interest in filmmaking prompted succeed , which was John Cassavetes ' Love
him to join the university's now famous cine- Streams. A friend of mine happened to be

197
198 • MAKOTO SHINOZAKI

editing a magazine. It wasn't a fil m magazine, Guard from Underground. I was there to watch
but he said, 'Wel l , I can't pay you , but you him work, but they had so little money and so
can write whatever you want about movies. ' l ittle staff that by the time I realized it, I was
S o I wrote about Love Streams, a n d that was already part of the crew. Watching the very
the beginning of my writing about films. When talented Ku rosawa-san labor under really brutal
Cahiers du Cinema Japan started about that production conditions because of the lack of
time, the editors decided to Include articles money, I thought: 'I can't work this way. I have
about Japanese directors. Takeshl Kltano had to raise my own money, put my own money
only made his first two films, Violent Cop and aside, and do it completely i ndependent . ' ''
Boiling Point, but I wrote a long essay about
Kltano for Cahiers Japan. And Kltano read that T he completely independent film that re­
essay. At the same time a rather large main­ sulted from Shinozaki's determination was
stream culture magazine called Switch asked Okaeri, a thoughtful portrait of a young married
me if I would interview Takeshi Kltano . " couple struggling with the wife's schizophrenia.
Aided by his background as a psychology stu­
With this, a tradition and a reputation were dent and numerous conversations with the rela­
born. Starting from A Scene at the Sea, Shinoza­ tives of schizophrenics, the fledgling director
ki interviewing Kitano at length about his latest managed to portray the issues of mental illness
film would become a Switch tradition that lasted with a great deal of consideration, while show­
up through Fireworks. His work having received ing remarkable skill at creating wholly believ­
favorable reactions, he was soon asked to exer­ able, human characters.
cise his particular brand of lengthy, perceptive
interviews on foreign filmmakers. Doubtlessly " N o matter how much time we spend with o u r
aided by his excellent command of English, family or o u r loved o n e s , ultimately we ' re a
Shinozaki interviewed leading international in­ separate consciousness and we can't ulti­
dependent filmmakers like Jim Jarmusch, Alex mately understand or know each other. And
Cox, Quentin Tarantino, and Abbas Kiarostami that's where misunderstandings and friction
for various Japanese film media. arise. Nonetheless it is for that reason that
we attem pt to get to know one another. It's
"I kept on writing scri pts and making 8mm films that very process that I ' m interested in. Some
throughout. I knew that no distributor would people assume that at the end of Okaeri the
look at me seriously because I was completely wife Is cured and it's a happy ending. I think
unknown and relatively Inexperienced, so I what I was really trying to portray was a sense
worked as a projectionist for fou r years and of two people born from com pletely different
saved u p enough money to make the fil m . Also backgrounds attempting to share the same
I worked on a Kiyoshi Kurosawa fi lm called The time and space . "

Filmography 1999 2002

• Jam Session-The Unofficial • Asakusa Kid [TV]
1990
Bootleg of Kikujiro (Jamu 2003
• Nobody Home [short]
Sesshon-Kikujiro no Natsu • Cop Festival ( Deka Matsun)
1995 Koshiki Kaizokuban) [co-director]
• Okaeri
2000
2004
1997 • Not Forgotten ( Wasurerarenu • Walking with the Dog ( Inu to
• Buraddl Marl no Yiiwaku [TV] Hitobito) Arukeba-Chirori to Tamara)
 Makoto Shinozaki · 199

After meeting him numerous times on the

set of Kitano's films, Shinozaki cast Susumu
Terajima in a rare dramatic lead role as husband
Takashi. For the role of his wife, Yuriko, Shino­
zaki asked the unknown and non-professional
Miho Uemura, who was working as a store clerk
at the time (a profession she has since returned
to). In a small role, Shinozaki cast former child
star of the silent era and Ozu cohort Tomio
Aoki, once best known as one of the two tykes
in I Was Born, But. . . ( Umareta wa Mita Keredo,
1 9 3 2), but now an affable pensioner with a knack
Makoto Shinozaki on the set of Not Forgotten
for pulling funny faces (he would play one of the
lead parts in Shinozaki's Not Forgotten five years
later). The result was a film featuring particular­ was an astonishing, strongly emotional scene that
ly confident performances, in no small amount forms the beating heart of the film.
brought out by Shinozaki's willingness to adapt
his shooting style to the needs of his players. " U ntil that moment, the cha racters in the script
for me had sort of remai ned puppets and I was
" I f anything, I would prefer to employ a docu­ the puppet master. Fi nally watching the actors
mentary approach i n fiction, rather than clear doing that scene, they started to feel l i ke real­
storyboarding and first shooting this and then life humans. They were so powerful they blew
that .. Because I believe if you shoot it that away all the anxieties I had working on my first
way it's so predictable. The unexpected rarely fil m . Their acting felt so rich and happy i n that
happens. I ' d l i ke for it to become something I moment, in a n odd way, that I knew I could
couldn't have imagi ned. I nevitably when you make a fil m . That experience gave me true
start shooting, real ity intervenes and it chang­ confidence as a fi l m maker. "
es things, so you really have to take a much
more documentary a pproach to dealing with The director's independent gamble paid off.
what happens. " Okaeri was screened at numerous festivals and
won several prizes, most notably the award for
One scene in Okaeri is a particularly strong best new director in Berlin. Along with Hashi­
example of Shinozaki's approach to adapting to guchi's Like Grains ofSand and Kore-eda's Ma­
the circumstances. A sequence in which Yuriko borosi, both doing the rounds the same year, it
locks herself in the bathroom and Takashi tries to helped usher in the international breakthrough
comfort her while he stands outside the door was of Japanese independent film. T he following
shot as a continuous take with two different cam­ year, Shinozaki was asked to direct the TV film
eras. The director's reason for using two cameras Buradi Mari no Yiiwaku ( 1 997) [trans: Bloody
was the result of the rehearsals, in which Uemura Mary's seduction] , a more thriller-oriented
and Terajima improvised from the scripted scene, entry in the Koi, Shita [trans: Fallen, in love] se­
giving it an emotional resonance that was lacking ries of romance-themed TV dramas. Although
on the printed page. In order to give them the he never entered the V-cinema industry with its
freedom to recreate that experience on set during minimal budgets and tight schedules, perhaps as
the actual shooting, the two cameras allowed the a result of his experiences on the set of Kiyo­
two actors all the leeway they needed. The result shi Kurosawa's The Guard from Underground, he
200 • MAKOTO SHINOZAKI

would work in the slightly more affluent televi­ maker than as a human being. In some ways,
sion market on more than one occasion. the change from Shinozaki's previous interviews
If Okaeri showed that Shinozaki's approach with Kitano isn't so dramatic, since Jam Session
to filmmaking is inherently documentary-like primarily comes across as one filmmaker observ­
in its flexibility toward changing circumstances, ing another from a somewhat reverential dis­
he would get a chance to show his mettle with tance. Kitano's shyness shines through on a few
a proper documentary in 1 999. T he project occasions, and those who might have confused
would re-unite him with Takeshi Kitano, this the director's personal nature with his big-screen
time not as an interviewer, but as a director. Jam tough guy persona (or with his small-screen
Session: The Official Bootleg of Kikujiro was a fea­ clowning) are in for a surprise, but the documen­
ture-length documentary on the making of Ki­ tary remains above all a filmmakers' tete-a-tete.
tano's first film since winning the Golden Lion In the meantime, Shinozaki expanded his
for Fireworks in Venice. With his popularity and extracurricular activities by teaching filmmak­
international bankability on the rise as a result ing at the newly formed Film School of Tokyo
of the prize, Kitano's production company felt (Eiga Bigakk6), alongside Kiyoshi Kurosawa
it was time to change the way the director was and several of his generation's brightest hopes:
presented to the world, while at the same time Hirokazu Kore-eda, Shinji Aoyama, Nobuhiro
seeing an opportunity to make some additional Suwa, Akihiko Shiota, and Takahisa Zeze. He
money. also came full circle by following in the foot­
steps of Kurosawa and Hasumi, becoming a lec­
" Before Jam Session, several ' maklng-ofs' of the turer in film studies at Rikky6.
Kitano fi lms had been made, but usually by TV His next film project saw Shinozaki working
companies, as a result of M r. Kltano's TV ac· entirely with his own material again. Not For­
tivities. Office Kitano decided they didn't want gotten, the story of three veteran World War II
that anymore, they wanted something differ· soldiers and their encounters with the young,
ent. But because Mr. Kitano is q u ite shy, they was at least as successful on an emotional level
didn't want to shove some different director as Okaeri had been, but was more polished and
they didn't know In his face, which is why they more self-assured. With a large cast that in­
approached me. I didn't want to j ust show up cluded three enormously experienced studio
with a camera one day, so I started going Into stars from yesteryear, confident direction, and
production meetings and saying hello and had a script that tied subplots together in an admi­
the c rew get used to me being a round. So by rable fashion, Not Forgotten certainly fulfilled
the time shooting started, people pretty much the promise of Okaeri. Unfortunately it never
knew who I was. " made it into the major film festivals and gar­
nered no foreign distribution as a result. It won
Shot on digital video for reasons of practical­ best actor and actress prizes for its veteran leads
ity and cost efficiency, it allowed Shinozaki and at the T hree Continents festival in Nantes,
his minimal crew (one or two people at most) France, which rejuvenated the careers of Tat­
to record the maximum amount of material for suya Mihashi and Tomio Aoki in particular (the
the allotted budget, but more importantly it al­ former was promptly cast by Takeshi Kitano
lowed him to move freely and without being a in Dolls, the latter appeared in Seijun Suzuki's
hindrance to any of Kikujiro's crew. As a result he Pistol Opera), but Berlin, Cannes, and Venice
catches a good amount of candid and intimate snubbed it. What's lJlore, its domestic box office
moments, which reveal a lot about the person­ performance was downright poor. What should
ality of Takeshi Kitano, though more as a film- have been, and in artistic terms certainly was,
 Makoto Shinozaki • 201

Shinozaki's definitive breakthrough turned into the more you try to show, the more you lose in
something of a deception instead. No doubt its a way. But then if you try to l i m it it too m u c h ,
focus on the elderly made it a less than obvious It starts to shrink as wel l . "
box office draw, but perhaps the disappointing
reactions from the foreign market were the re­ T his balance between fiction and realism
sult of the film's sudden, swift burst of violence is particularly noticeable in his T V adapta­
in the finale, which must have come particularly tion of Takeshi Kitano's autobiography Asakusa
unexpected for those who had Shinozaki tagged Kid. Scripted by former Kitano Army member
as a demure humanist intellectual on the basis of Dankan, the story of Kitano's apprenticeship as
Okaeri. Its merits within the context of the film a young comedian under the aged master of cer­
aside, the scene demonstrated the way in which emonies at a m anz ailstrip club called the France
Shinozaki's attitude toward cinema differs from T heater, Shinozaki transposed its early ' 7 0s
those contemporaries he is sometimes lumped setting to the present day. While the film con­
together with, like Hashiguchi and Kore-eda. tained plenty of comedy and comic stylization,
the choice to set the story in the early 2 000s
"There are several fil m m a kers In my generation was (though partly budgetary) an attempt on
who are not so caught u p with the big fiction the director's part to show how little the atmo­
idea, but who are staying closer to home, sphere of Tokyo'S Asakusa district has changed
closer to their daily l ives. But me, I guess I do since Kitano's early days. Traditionally the city's
need to create some kind of a fictional world entertainment district, the area lost much of
that's believable. Kinji Fukasaku has said that its luster in the post-war years, as Shibuya and
his approach was to take a fictional ized world Shinjuku increasingly attracted those looking
and try to hammer away at it. Whereas the for quick pleasures, leaving Asakusa with a pa­
approach of the younger generation is to not tronage of more advanced age.
even start out with creating a fictionalized In Asakusa Kid, the character of the young
world , to start out almost with reality and build Kitano (played by comedian Hakase Suidobashi,
up a l ittle bit from there. That's something I of the Asakusa Kid comedy duo) spends more
agree with, but if you stick too close to reality, practice time on his tap dance routine than on
the film j ust shrinks and shrinks. Out of a 24- his comedy, but the atmosphere of the area and
hour day a fi l m lasts at most about two hours of the cramped backstage sections of Asakusa's
and the size of the frame Is q uite small com­ entertainment clubs are vividly captured. Shot
pared to what we see of the worl d , so in a way with TV movie production values and with
because it's so l i m ited in time and space, the minimal time for production and editing, how­
more you try to make it be l i ke reality the more ever, its ambitions are bigger than its means,
you realize it's not. and for Shinozaki it was a case of doing the best
"People say that fil m is freedom and that job possible under the circumstances.
by using computer graphics you have a l i mit­ His next project tried to make a virtue of
less abil ity to express everything. I don't agree minimal means. He had already contributed to
with that. In a way fil m may be the most l i m it­ Shinobu Yaguchi's and Takuji Suzuki's One Piece
ing med i u m of a l l . Even when you ' re talking to project, a kind of playful counterpart to Lars Von
people you ' re familiar with, you don't always Trier's Dogma manifesto, in which each direc­
know when you ' ve commun icated. There's a tor must make a digital short of several minutes'
certain sense of l i m itations there and that's length, shot from a single, fixed camera position.
identical to the kinds of l i mitations you have in In 2 003 Shinozaki came up with his own varia­
fil m . Also, there ' s something about film where tion on the challenge of cinematic self-limita-
202 • MAKOTO SHINOZAKI

tion, a series of ten-minute short films shot on his very conscious, exploratory approach to the
digital video, all featuring a detective character medium, Makoto Shinozaki has grown into a
and containing at least one gag every minute. unique filmmaker.
Shinozaki managed to drum up several of his di­
rector friends who were willing to take on the "I think if I stayed too close to myself, my work

challenge, including such unlikely candidates would start to shrink. Imagination is very

for a short cop comedy as Kiyoshi Kurosawa, important, but it has to feel real . I think that
Shinji Aoyama, Ryfuchi Hiroki, and Kunitoshi certainly with Okaeri, part of the reason why

Manda. Cop Festival did surprisingly good busi­ I couldn't turn it i nto the fil m I really wanted

ness and before the year was even half up, it had it to be was that maybe I hadn't lived enough.

already spawned three additional collections of But I actually think there was a lot to learn
shorts based on the same concept, with directors from making the fil m itself. My cameraman
including Takahisa Zeze, Hirokazu Kore-eda, was 74 and he had worked with Fukasaku-san
Akihiko Shiota, Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, Nobuhi­ at Toe i . When you work with people so differ­
ro Yamashita, and V-cinema stalwart Hitoshi ent from you , you really see the possibility for
Ozawa. T he fourth film was entirely made by change inside yourself. So I want to continue
actors making their directorial debuts, includ­ to grow through the process of making fi lms.

ing Nao O mori (Ichi the Killer) and Mami Na­ I think in fact it's not so much the d i rector
kamura (Tokyo Trash Baby). Shinozaki acted as who makes the fi lm as the fi l m that m akes the
producer and supervisor throughout. d i recto r."
If one thing stands out about Makoto Shino­
zaki's filmography, it's the staggering diversity of
the work. His 2 004 feature Walking with the Dog
was a gentle melodrama about the training of a -v O kaeri
"T herapy Dogs" for the infirm and terminally ill j3ip;t1)
(and the final screen appearance of Tomio Aoki,
who died on January 2 4, 2 004, at the venerable 1995 . CAST: Susumu Teraj ima, M i h o U emu ra,
age of 80). In Shinozaki's case, the consistency Sh6ichi Komatsu , lam i a Aok i . 96 m i n utes . RE­
of his body of work is found in his approach to LEASE: VH S, K F i lms (France, French s u btitles) .
filmmaking, instead of in the subject matter or
themes. T his makes him a pure filmmaker, rath­ Powerful and ea rnest portrayal of a young
er than an artist whose self-expression happens marriage stra i n i ng under the wife ' s mental i l l­
to be through the medium of film. ness. The debut feature of former fi l m critic
Shinozaki sets the tone for l ate-' 90s indepen­
"This is the best for me, being a fi lm director. dent Japanese cinema.
I can't sit in a room alone and try to think up
things. I hate writing scripts. I always work Takashi and Yuriko are like any other young
with a writer and with the producer on scripts. couple. He is a high school teacher, while she
And I have people who have nothing to do with takes care of the household chores and holds a
the fi l m business read my scripts. I'm inter­ job on the side transcribing audio recordings for
ested in their opinions. " a publishing house. T heir marriage follows the
traditional model: Yuriko has given up a prom­
With his open-minded attitude toward the ising career as a concert pianist in favor of fam­
diversity of cinema, his dedication to genuine ily life (and still laments the decision), Takashi
and truthful portrayal of human beings, and stays out until late every day, spending his time
 Okaeri • 203

after work with his colleagues rather than with

his wife. T hough dinners regularly go cold and
the look on his wife's face is far from happy, Ta­
kashi remains oblivious to the feelings of aban­
donment he inflicts on Yuriko.
As a result, he fails to notice the gradual
changes in his wife's personality. Yuriko has reg­
ularly been leaving the house on uncharacteristic
walks, claiming she must "go on patrol" to pro­
tect the neighborhood from a conspiracy by "the
organization" (an idea later swiped by Kiyoshi
Kurosawa for Cure). When he realizes his wife
might suffer from mental illness, Takashi is at
a loss, feeling confused and above all ashamed.
He stealthily visits the psychology section of
a bookstore to read up on schizophrenia and
carefully hides the book he buys there from his
colleagues. When on one of her patrols Yuriko
steals a car and almost kills herself and her hus­
band in the ensuing chase, he finally takes her to
a hospital, where she is indeed diagnosed with
schizophrenia.
Though it might be argued that the point
Makoto Shinozaki tries to make is that the
male-dominated society of Japan is in itself
an organization intent on conspiring against
women like Yuriko, the director doesn't con­
demn the situation. Rather, he presents it as a
given, showing the consequences of it in order
for the audience to draw their own conclusions
(an approach also employed in his next fiction
film Not Forgotten). Even in the portrayal of
Takashi, he is surprisingly mild. Takashi is pre­
sented as a man who could perhaps be blamed
for many things, but not for not loving his wife.
He is just a product of the society he lives in and
Okaeri
when circumstances call for it, he does manage
to break with what is imposed on him and lets
himself be guided by his love for Yuriko. tor Daniel Schmid), this method proves to be
Shinozaki's debut Okaeri (the traditional very effective. Combining with the pale lighting
greeting to welcome someone home) is shot and subdued color scheme, it presents an image
in static, fixed shots. T hough the director has of suburban life which is rather downbeat and
cited the reason for this as being time and cold, serving well to intensify the circumstances
cost (he privately financed the film and shot it of Yuriko's mental deterioriation.
on leftover film stock donated by Swiss direc- T his method of shooting also allows the actors
204 . MAKOTO SHINOZAKI

a lot of room for excellent, semi-improvisational friend. Ito finally has an unbeatable love for life,
performances. T he sequence of Takashi trying to particularly after he falls in love with an elderly
comfort his wife while she has locked herself in lady from his neighborhood. While his daugh­
the bathroom is representative of the tone of the ter and granddaughter hole themselves up inside
entire film, which treats the subject of mental ill­ the house watching Tv, Ito is outside smelling
ness with a rare degree of earnestness and care. flowers and taking strolls.
Its ambivalent open ending adheres to this, refus­ One day, Ito visits Kijima to invite him to
ing to give a clear-cut solution or take the easy a veterans' reunion, an event Kijima normally
route by presenting a false happy end. shuns. Hearing that Kanayama's granddaughter
Truthful, touching, and thoroughly well-made, Yuriko, a young nurse who takes care of Murata's
Okaeri deservedly won a slew of prizes at film fes­ wife, will be at the reunion, he finally agrees. He
tivals around the world, launching Shinozaki into sees it as a chance to finally hand the harmonica
the vanguard of Japan's young filmmakers. to its rightful heir. T he reunion turns out to be
a joyous night, despite the girl's refusal to ac­
cept the gesture, feeling the instrument should
stay with Kijima. Aside from being a reunion,
� Not Forgotten the gathering is also a celebration, since Yuriko's
;& n 6 tufJ.Ak boyfriend, Hitoshi, has just started a new job at
Wasurerarenu Hitobito a corporation called Utopia and looks forward
to this new phase in his life.
2000. CAST: Tatsuya M i h ash i , M i noru Ok i , Tam io But we soon discover that this job trains him
Aak i , Ke iko Utsu m i , M asu m i S a n ad a , M asash i for deception, as the company's aim is to cheat
E n d 6 , Nao O mori . 120 m i n utes . RELEASE: DVD, the elderly out of their savings. Hitoshi refuses
Taki Corporation (Japa n , no subtitles ) . to see the evil he is being made to do and wants
nothing more than to become a fully accepted
S h i nozaki's second featu re runs the gamut member of this corporate society. T hen Ito's
of emotions, while not forgetting to del iver neighbor and subsequently Murata fall victim
a strong dose of social criticism at the same to the scheme. When he sees his bride-to-be
time. A tri bute to old age i n general and its withering under the strain, Ito decides to take
th ree veteran lead actors i n particular. drastic action, but gets himself killed when he
attacks a Utopia manager with a knife. When
A joyful celebration of life and old age, Not For­ Yuriko comes clean about the activities of the
gotten is a film that is by turns tender, funny, Utopia Corporation to Kijima and Murata, the
thought-provoking, and shocking. T hree veter­ two veteran soldiers decide to fight once again
ans of World War II symbolize the zest for life and avenge their fallen comrade.
that contemporary society not so much lacks, Makoto Shinozaki's choice to combine his
but simply fails to see, caught up as it is in ca­ humanistic portrait with a strongly fictional
reers and the haste of day-to-day life. element in the guise of the morally corrupt,
T he three veterans are Kijima (Mihashi), sect-like corporation, seems jarring at first but
Ito (Aoki) , and Murata ( O ki). Murata does his ends up an inspired move. Most significantly,
best to run a small restaurant while his ailing the corporation's methods reflect those of Ja­
wife is in hospital. Kijima leads a quiet life, the pan's wartime regime: reinterpreting the past
guilt over the death of his wartime comrade to suit its own needs (the young recruits are
Kanayama still hanging over him. He treasures shown endless instruction videos that hammer
the harmonica that used to belong to his fallen on about "the spirit of Japan") and subjecting its
 Not Forgotten • 205

subordinates to the regimentary discipline of a

military boot camp. T he three veteran soldiers
know the truth about Japan's past, however, as
well as the destructive consequences of such
leadership, whether it's by a government or cor­
porate management. T he aged are the watch­
dogs of history, and when the young won't (or
can't) listen they need to stand up and take ac­
tion themselves.
It also adds a lot of dimension to Not For­
gotten, making it not only a film about the re­
lationship between old and young, but also an
exploration of how the old can have a function
in guiding the young on the path to adulthood.
In this respect, the film echoes Sam Peckinpah's
Ride the High Country ( 1 963), one of Shinozaki's
all-time favorite films, in which a pair of retired
gunfighters take on a group of younger bandits
and turn the young hothead in their company
into a man of courage.
Not Forgotten additionally poses questions
about work ethics and the level of loyalty and
allegiance corporate life demands of employees,
concerns which were also present in Okaeri.
T his is particularly tangible in that the recruit­
Not Forgotten
ment program of Utopia seems geared at teen­
agers who, once enrolled into the corporate
structure, are deprived of the chance to discover play in his garden. T heir sacrifice is not only for
more about life around them. T hey, like the their own comrade, but also for the sake of the
elderly they are taught to deceive, are impres­ generations that will outlive them.
sionable and thus weak and easy prey. It's not Not Forgotten does not relate to one subject,
surprising that when the strong unite end Uto­ but rather to a multitude of things we should re­
pia's devious practices it crumbles to dust. member to honor and appreciate. Not forgotten
T hough on the surface Not Forgotten may should be the aged, the fallen comrades, the deeds
seem to be a nostalgic work, its message is defi­ of the past, and the beauty that life continues to
rutely one of hope and progress, as witnessed by give us. And finally, not forgotten should be vet­
the three lead characters. T heir lust for life is eran actors Tatsuya Mihashi, Minoru O ki, and
carried over to the younger generations to whom TOrrllo Aoki, and Japan's cinematic legacy, which
they are so open. Symbolic in this sense is the is sometimes overshadowed by feverish attempts
harmonica Kijima carries with him. It eventually to churn out new product. T his film is perhaps
serves to remind him that this life should be lived, Shinozaki's humble attempt at cherishing part
not spent moping and pondering about the past. of his nation's celluloid legacy and a call for oth­
When he and his friend Murata go off to fight ers to do the same. T he director's passion shines
the corporation, he passes the instrument on to through on every level, resulting in a film full of
the (half American) little boy that often comes to love for its characters and the lives they lead.
 CHAPTER 14
H i rokazu Kore-eda
:J!�mftl
Although he is seen as the quintessential exam­ and experimental documentary work from the
ple of today's independent Japanese filmmaker, 1 960s. But upon his entry, he found that most
the career path of Hirokazu Kore-eda has been of TV Man Union's production slate was taken
an entirely different one from that walked by up by run-of-the-mill programs and that the di­
the majority of his contemporaries. The devout rectors responsible for the experimental work
cinephilia that motivated people like Makoto Kore-eda admired had long been promoted
Shinozaki, Akihiko Shiota, and Shinji Aoyama to away from the production floor.
start experimenting with 8mm short films in col­ Largely as a result of this disappointment,
lege or even earlier, expressed itself in a different he reluctantly settled into a role as assistant di­
way with Kore-eda. Despite a voracious appetite rector, a job he now admits he wasn't very good
for watching films and reading scripts, Kore-eda at. His disillusion with the unchallenging pro­
wouldn't touch a camera until 1 99 1 , at age 2 9, a grams he worked on drove him to pursue his
mere four years before his debut feature. own filmmaking interests, and while pretending
His ambition as a teenager was to become a to be at the library for research, he sneaked off
novelist and it wasn't until after entering Tokyo's to make his own documentary-on the boss's
Waseda University that cinema came to domi­ time and entirely by himself. T he result, Les­
nate his interests. Content simply to watch films sons From a Calf ( 1 99 1 ), documented a class of
and read scripts, Kore-eda never joined the uni­ elementary school children collectively raising
versity film club, a decision that was indicative a cow. T hough made while sneaking off from
of his later idiosyncratic career trajectory, which work, the documentary made such an impres­
would be characterized by an enterprising indi­ sion on Kore-eda's superiors at TV Man Union
viduality and a detached, studious approach to that they quickly promoted him to the status of
the art form. director, something that was unlikely to have
In 1 987, fresh out of university and with a happened on the basis of his meager achieve­
desire to, as he told Aaron Gerow in an inter­ ments as an assistant.
view for the magazine Documentary Box, "work He was now in a position to make the kind
with images, " Kore-eda ignored both the col­ of experimental and challenging films that he
lapsed studio system and independent filmmak­ had been hoping to work on when he joined
ing and joined TV Man Union, a television the company. His first official production for
production company known for its challenging TV Man Union, that same year, saw him very

206
 Hirokazu Kore-eda · 207

conscientiously approaching the aspect of form

in filmmaking. However . investigated the case
. .

of a high-ranking civil servant's suicide and its

connections with the cover-up of a pollution
scandal. T he documentary featured interviews
with the subject's widow, a woman who had pre­
viously been harassed by the media even during
her husband's funeral. Careful to avoid sensa­
tionalising the subject or using the grieving wife
as a weapon in an ideological battle, Kore-eda
took great care over the editing and camera­
work, painstakingly trying to prevent any mis­
leading suggestions or insinuations that might
arise from the form of the work.
In the three years that followed, Kore-eda §
'c
directed five additional documentaries, with �
subjects ranging from the life of an AIDS pa- �
tient who gives lectures as a way to support his 8
'"

treatment to a portrait of Taiwanese filmmak- I)

ers Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang. T he H i rokazu Kore-eda

TV production regime, which essentially boils
down to filling time slots, allowed him to fur­ " I t certainly was a time in which I matured a lot
ther expand his technical and formal experi­ and I ' m putting those experiences very much
mentations within an environment of almost to work now. I really can't speak for other

constant production, a situation that resembled people, since I don't know about their situa­
that of filmmakers like Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who tions, but it seems l i ke Kiyoshi Kurosawa for

gained invaluable experience and opportunities i nstance did a lot of experimenting i n his V­

to experiment while toiling away on the V-cin­ cine films. The documentaries I made were TV
ema production line. programs, so there were particular restrictions
about what could and couldn't be done. I n that

Filmography • Eiga ga Jidai 0 Utsusu Toki­ directed with Naomi Kawasej

Hou Hsiao Hsien to Edward 1997
1991
Yang [TV] Without Memory ( Kioku ga
• Lessons from a Calf ( Mo •

Hitotsu no Kyoiku-Ina ShO­ 1994 Ushinawareta Tokl)

gakko Haru Gumi no Kiroku) • August without Him ( Kare no 1998
[TV] Inai Hachigatsu Ga-Aids 0 • After Life ( Wandafuru Raifu)
• However. . . ( Shikashi. . . Fuku­ Seigen Shita Hirata Yutaka
Ninenkan no Seikatsu Kiroku) 2001
shi Kirisute no Jidai m) [TV]
[TV] • Distance
1992
1995 2003
• Nihonjin ni Narita Katta [TV]
• Maborosi ( Maboroshi no • Kaette Kita Deka Matsuri [co­
1993 director]
Hika,,)
• Shinsh6 Suketchi-Sorezore
1996 2004
no Miyazawa Kenji [TV]
This World (Arawashiyo) [co- • Nobody Knows ( Dare Mo
• Yottsu no Shibu Jikoku [TV] •
Shirana/)
208 . HIROKAZU KORE-EDA

two decided to collaborate on a project that

would be entitled This World, a series of 8mm
film correspondences between the two directors
intended for a film exhibition held by the Yoko­
hama Museum of Modern Art.

"I was at the Yamagata film festival with her.

One of her Smm fi lms was showing there and
I had never made an Smm fil m before. She
asked me if I would l i ke to make a movie with
her, so we made a one-hour fi l m in 1996 . "

Secondly, Kore-eda suddenly saw himself

Distance
launched into the limelight, lumped together
with a group of fellow Japanese filmmakers
sense there probably Is a time in a filmmaker's that included Makoto Shinozaki, Shinji Aoya­
life when it's good to be making a lot under rna, Nobuhiro Suwa, and the aforementioned
certain prescri bed conditions. " Naomi Kawase. All of them arriving with their
independently made debut features in the sec­
I n addition t o his directorial chores, Kore­ ond half of the 1 990s, the media and festivals
eda also wrote his first book, an account of the were quick to pronounce these young hopefuls a
research he had done into the suicide case that 'New Japanese New Wave,' pointing somewhat
formed the subject of However . . . His involve­
. vaguely to similarities in themes, concerns and
ment in the case would also have a great effect stylistic approaches in their work, and mislead­
on his first fiction feature, which dealt with a ingly suggesting the existence of a movement.
woman trying to cope with the unexplained
suicide of her husband. Maborosi ( 1 995) was in "I guess we come from the generation that
many ways as meticulously planned on a formal never apprenticed at a movie studio, we ' re all
level as the documentary that inspired it. In at­ In our late thi rties, and we all started show­
tempting to express the emotions and feelings of ing up at fi l m festivals in the late '90s. So
his protagonist Yumiko (Makiko Esumi), Kore­ maybe it's inevitable. But we are a l l q u ite dif­
eda carefully used (natural) light and darkness, ferent. I think a l l those people would violently
sound effects, and shot composition, inten­ deny that they have anything in common with
tionally avoiding facial expressions as a way to each other. When I saw Kiyoshi Kurosawa in
convey those emotions. T he film was praised Cannes, I asked him how he felt about being
by many for its visual beauty and after an ex­ described as part of a Japanese nouvelle Nou­
tended festival run it received a limited release velle Vague. And he said that a l l of those In
in American cinemas, to largely rave reviews. the French Nouvelle Vague were completely
T he festival success of his debut feature did Idiosyncratic individuals who didn't think of
two things for Kore-eda. Firstly, it brought him themselves as a group, but only appeared as a
into contact with fellow filmmaker Naomi Ka­ group to outsiders. So you m ight as well take
wase, who also had a background in documenta­ advantage of the fact that somebody thinks
ry filmmaking, albeit of a more personal nature, that something big is happening. "
making numerous short films on 8mm with her
own family and environment as subjects. T he T he media attention certainly did not hurt
 Hirokazu Kore-eda • 209

Kore-eda himself or his films. Festivals fell over

themselves to screen the films of this supposed
movement, recalling the fever for Japanese films
that swept Europe's major festivals in the 1 950s
after the Golden Lion in Venice for Akira Kuro­
sawa's Rnshomon. Kore-eda's second feature After
Life was almost naturally swept up in this craze
and again went on to garner numerous interna­
tional distribution deals. T his time, though, the
interest went a few steps further, with Holly­
wood studio 2 0th Century Fox buying the rights
for an American remake and Kore-eda pocket­
ing a good amount of the proceeds. Maborosi
Set at a halfway station between the world
of the living and the realm of the dead, After ficially created to distinguish between fiction
Life follows a small group of supernatural "case­ and documentary. I hope my movies can be
workers" whose job it is to prepare the souls of l i ke fence-sitters because those fences are
the recently deceased for their passage to the actually quite artificially constructed and not
spirit world. Each deceased is asked to choose very stable. I think that both After Life and Dis­
his or her fondest memory from life, a memory tance have really explored those questions . "
which is then re-enacted and recorded on film
for its subject to retain and relive for eternity. I f its execution defied any compatibility with
After Life is in many ways the quintessential Hollywood filmmaking methods, After Life's
Kore-eda film. It is infused with numerous con­ central premise of the dead reliving their fond­
cerns and themes that the director has dealt with est memories before moving on to the hereafter
in his life and career as a filmmaker, the most held the kind of high concept potential that goes
central being a fascination with memory, the down well with studio executives. Amy Hecker­
relationship between past and present, and the ling, director of Clueless, Fast Times at Ridgemont
documentation or recording of events on camera. High, and Look Who 's Talking, was drafted to
Despite its extremely fictional setting (or perhaps take the directorial reins and Kore-eda himself
because of it), the correlation between fact and was consulted in the early stages of the project,
fiction is one of the central premises of the film, but a result has so far failed to materialize.
both on a thematic and on a stylistic level. One of
the characters in the film notes that the re-enact­ " I n the summer of 2000 I went to 20th Century
ment of his memory is merely a surrogate that Fox and they asked me for various opinions of
can never replace the actual event, and that the what the remake should look l i ke. Then I be­
caseworkers' jobs are therefore completely futile, l ieve they wrote a sc reenplay but the di rector
a statement that witnessed Kore-eda's reflec­ slated to d i rect it d i d n ' t l i ke the screenplay, so
tive stance towards his own art form. Addition­ she rewrote it herself. So then she asked me
ally, the film's narrative is regularly interrupted some more questions, which I answered and
by documentary footage of people being inter­ that's a l l . "
viewed about the memories of their own past.
Much as in the way Maborosi was inspired
"I hope that, if anything, my films can break by the experience of one of his previous docu­
down some of the fences that have been arti- mentaries, the central element in After Life was
210 • HIROKAZU KORE-EDA

carried over from a documentary about a man Witch Project, where you scare actors i nto
with short-term memory loss that Kore-eda had screaming. I think that's pretty simple. It's
made a year earlier, entitled Without Memory. much more challenging for a d i rector to try

And in turn, After Life itself inspired Kore-eda's to figure out a way to get an actor to gener­
next film Distance, in which he blurred the lines ate natural emotions. Whether or not you use
between documentary and fiction even further. other actors to do it or whether it's j ust me.
Also harking back to Maborosi's investigation into I think that's a separate challenge and that's
surviving the loss of a loved one, Distance told what I enjoyed about it.
the tale of four people with one thing in com­ "But I think it must be taxing for actors,
mon: they all had a relative who died in a mas­ since they don't have a ful l script. I ' m s u re
sacre perpetrated by a religious cult. In a quest they were nervous about doing it, but for the
to learn more about the circumstances of their most part they enjoyed it. Especially Arata
deaths, and also to find solace in shared grief, the and Yiisuke Iseya, whose first experience of

four embark on a trek into the forest that was working on a film was After Life, where they
once home to the sect. T here they run into one also did a lot of i mprovisation. For them it was
of the cult's former members, who, like them, natura l . The one person who had never worked
wishes to come to terms with his own past. with anything other than scripted dialogue was
With a cast that included After Life's Susumu Yui Natsukawa . She needed some work in the
Terajima, Arata, and Yusuke Iseya, and Maboro­ rehearsals to get to a point where she could
si's Tadanobu Asano, Kore-eda made improvi­ come up with language that wasn't scripted .
sation a central part of the filmmaking process, It was really i nteresting to watch her grow and
employing the method of keeping his actors in be able to express herself i n non-scri pted lan­
the dark about the motivations and direction he guage . It was very chal lenging and rewarding."
had given to each of them. Often given conflict­
ing information, the actors were forced to im­ With handheld cameras recording the more
provise when they realized their scripts weren't or less spontaneous actions of the cast, Distance
compatible with those of the others. came as close as a fiction film could to being a
documentary.
"I started out on Distance with j ust the ac-
tors from After Life and no script. I would give " I t partly depends on what your defi nition of a
them a situation and a kind of character back­ documentary is, but if you define a documen­
ground, and then the emotions, the response, tary as a record on camera of self-generated
and the language would emerge from the emotions and expressions from a subject, then
actors. So that came first. As the plot grew, certainly yes, Distance is a documentary. But
I decided to make the characters surviving the big difference is that the premise is en­
family members of the perpetrators of some tirely fictional . "
kind of rel igious cult disaster. So that element
defi nitely came later. But as warm and genuinely entertaining as
"I wasn't specifically Infiuenced or inspired After Life had been, Distance, despite portraying
by anything, but I n genera l , I n terms of di rec­ an abundance of emotional crises, came across as
tion I would say John Cassavetes more than aloof, detached, and indeed distant. T he film felt
anything else, that spirit of his films. I think like the product of a director who put experimen­
It's wonderful the way he worked with actors tation first and the need to deliver a cohesive film
to evoke different kinds of expression. I think second. Kore-eda himself, however, felt that there
It's fairly easy to do something like The Blair were points he wanted to raise to his viewers.
 After Life 211

"I think it may be a universal modern condition, Set in a gloomy way station between this
but certainly i n Japan people don't believe in world and the next, a group of people a re
God. There aren't any clear values and there's made to select their most precious memories
a great deal of ambivalence about living mod­ to relive for all eternity i n a heaven of their
ern life . I was very clear about why I made this own making. A masterful dissection of emo­
movie. I wanted to pose a question to the peo­ tion, memory, rea l ity, a n d imagination.
ple who saw the fil m , ask them to re-evaluate
and re-investigate how to deal with that very A derelict school building surrounded by dead
complex challenge of living modern life. I didn't autumnal leaves with the walls crawling with
make it to entertain people, or for people to dead ivy serves as a halfway house between the
come out of the movie theater and say, 'That worlds of the living and the dead. T his bureau­
was fun , let's go have something to eat. ' " cratic purgatory, filled with dark, musty cor­
ridors penetrated by shafts of light, is where
As he had done in the past, Kore-eda doc­ the newly deceased are greeted every Monday
umented the experience of making his film in morning by a staff of "counselors" consigned
the form of a book. In fact, for the years that with the task of aiding their passing guests to
followed Distance, the director would concen­ find their own personal vision of heaven.
trate on writing. Even his position as a teacher T he week's intake are given their own pri­
of documentary filmmaking at the Film School vate rooms and three days to chose their most
of Tokyo he used as a way to research a book meaningful and precious memories. T his mem­
project. For Kore-eda, who wishes to pull down ory will then be recreated on film by the coun­
what he sees as artificial boundaries between selors to be screened in front of everyone before
documentary and fiction, the literary form is as they are finally allowed to pass onto the other
effective, powerful, and valid a tool as cinema in side where they will forget everything except
achieving his goals. their chosen moment, to be relived over and
over again at the expense of all other memories.
"I think that a l l my work is in some way deeply With his debut Maborosi, Kore-eda more or
connected somewhere, but precisely because less single-handedly brought about the birth of
I don't try to rigidly define what is fiction and the arthouse genre in Japan in the mid-' 90s. A
what is non-fiction, i n writing or in images , slow-moving, meditative, and naturalistically
because I leave that so loose, I have to sort of shot piece in which the drama is secondary to the
re-invent the defi nitions each time I take on a emotional impact, it is easy to forget what a land­
project. That ' s what m a kes it challenging." mark film Maborosi was, given the rash of simi­
larly styled works from directors such as Naomi
Kawase and Nobuhiro Suwa that followed it.
But whilst Maborosi's tale of a young woman
-.j... After Life trying to forge a new life for herself and her
? ';/-Y"'7 )v'7 -1 7 young son after the mysterious suicide of her
Wandafuru Raifu, a.k.a. Wonderful Life husband seems consciously modeled in the same
mold as the work of internationally renowned
1998. CAST : Arata , Erika O d a , Susumu Teraj ima , arthouse directors like T heo Angelopoulos and
Takas h i N a ito , Kyoko Kagaw a , Kei Tan i , Taketosh i Hou Hsiao-Hsien, Kore-eda's follow-up is a
N a ito , Toru Yu ri , Yusuke Iseya . 118 m i n utes . RE­ genuinely unique film, whose greatest asset lies
LEASES: DVD , New Yorker ( U . S . , English subtitles ) , in its singularly ingenious premise.
Band a i Visual ( J a p a n , Engl ish subtitles ) . Released under the katakana-ized title
212 . HI ROKAZU KORE-£DA

occasional questioning or prompting from the

counselor occurring offscreen. T his stark ap­
proach reminds us that Kore-eda's background
lies in documentary, and that the very genesis of
After Life came during the making of two non­
fiction works touching on similar themes: With­
out Memory, about a man who due to a medical
mishap is left unable to form new memories,
and August without Him, in which a dying AID S
victim tries t o assemble the most important
memories from the last year and a half of his life
onto a video (Naomi Kawase's Letter from a Yel­
low Cherry Blossom was similar in subject, though
it took a different approach). In researching the
film, Kore-eda interviewed a large number of
people, and some of these non-actors appear in
the film alongside the professionals, though you
After Life
would be hard-pressed to tell whose memories
are real and whose are not.
Wonderful Life in Japan, Kore-eda wisely chose After Life trades on the notion that it is our
to rename his film for its overseas releases in memories that make us what we are, and even
order to avoid associations with Frank Capra's those living the most mundane of routines
It's a Wonderful Life ( 1 946). With the characters have something inside that they treasure. One
of both reassessing the incidents that have made woman recalls being reunited with her lover
up their time on the planet from their divine after the war. A simple meal is enough for one
vantage points within the film, the thematic elderly war veteran, as he recalls stumbling
similarities are obvious. But whereas Capra's across a grove of coconuts and bananas in the
film represents the archetypal life-affirming jungle after spending days without food and
Hollywood narrative, with James Stewart com­ water, only to be encircled by a troop of Ameri­
ing to realize that in the turbulent tragicomedy can soldiers, all bristling with guns. Figuring he
of life, it is he who plays the leading role, Kore­ is going to die anyway, he requests a cigarette
eda's view is all the more humanistic and down and some food and is amazed when the enemy
to earth. soldiers lead him back to base camp and grant
Firstly, with over twenty new intakes to the his request, feeding him a delicious meal of
After Life way station, no single person is al­ chicken and rice. Kore-eda humorously follows
lowed to take center stage at the expense of oth­ this tale with a high school girl's description of
ers. Moreover, Kore-eda dwells on nuance and a day out at Disneyland, where, unable to afford
the little details rather than sweeping emotional a pancake, a friend offers her one of hers be­
arcs, resulting in a pathos and identification fore they head off together for a ride on Splash
with the characters that no dramatic contriv­ Mountain.
ance can emulate. Others have a hard time remembering any­
T he bulk of the film is taken up by the coun­ thing salient about their lives at all. Yamamoto,
seling sessions, which are shot as if they were an austere middle-aged man in a black suit, pro­
job interviews, as each of the guests delivers claims he only has bad memories. When pur­
his or her recollections facing the camera with sued to choose a favorite, he regresses back to
 After Life . 213

his childhood secret hiding place, a dark cup­ Aside from the images on Watanabe's videos,
board filled with junk. we are never shown the individual memories as
Kore-eda shows us that our view of the past, they are recounted by the characters, just the
and indeed who we are, is largely dependant on expressions and responses of the interviewees as
our position in time, which in this case is the they are delivered. One old dear gazes vacantly
point of death. A ponderous old man with a goa­ out of the window, unresponsive to the question
tee and glasses, Watanabe, seems barely alive as she is posed. One man chuckles, reminiscing
he looks back from the point where death has over his days of whoring, but for whose benefit
caught up with him. With no children and no are these stories intended, and what basis do
hobbies, after an entire life spent behind a desk they have in truth? As one lady is picked up on
at a large steel corporation since graduation, he an inconsistency in her tale by one of the coun­
finds himself with no memories to choose from. selors, we are shown that often our memories
In order to jog him, his counselor Mochizu­ do not gel with reality, and either consciously or
ki (Arata, later seen in the crowd pleasing Ping unconsciously, our views of our past can often
Pong, 2 002) breaks with regulations and grants amount to little more than mere personal fic­
him access to a video archive of his life, with tional creations.
one cassette for each of his 7 1 years of existence. Kore-eda takes this idea one step further in
As he looks back and reassesses key moments the film's later stages when the counselors are
from his own life story, his blank face is intercut shown during the stages of reconstructing these
with the hazy video images, viewing the mate­ memories, discussing production details such
rial with a third-person detachment: an agitated as sounds and color balance. But how possible
student ranting about wanting to be remem­ is it to recreate these experiences accurately in
bered for doing just that one thing to change a convincing concrete, external form? T he in­
Japan rather than spending his life rotting in a tentionally cheap-looking sound stages where
company office, a stumbling candlelit dinner the memories are to be filmed seem unlikely to
conversation with a beautiful woman who later convince anyone, yet alone the holders of these
becomes his wife, a touching conversation with original experiences.
that same spouse from the autumn of his years. T his idea of the difficulties in recreating
Like Ernst Lubitsch's Heaven Can Wait ( 1 943 ), subjective experience is but one of many aspects
these glimpses into his past life are made all the of Kore-eda's tantalizing work. As a new week
more poignant given their inevitable trajectory. begins and a new batch of visitors arrive, there is
His situation is juxtaposed with that of a another way of looking at the role of the coun­
defiant young man named Iseya, played by Yu­ selors, day in day out, trapped in a limbo of their
suke Iseya, whose own directorial debut Kakuta own volition. Rather than take the plunge and
(2 003 ), a spirited depiction of a wild aimless choose their own happiness, they have opted to
night of a group of youths bombed out on observe and act out other people's dreams. T he
drugs, was later produced by Kore-eda. Obvi­ cinematic metaphor is just one of the dazzling
ously annoyed at being forced in the position multitude of facets After Life reveals upon re­
of having to choose the best moment of his life peated viewings, making it one of the most in­
prematurely, he steadfastly refuses to select just triguing, absorbing and humanistic works of art
one exclusive incident. cinema of the decade, from any country.
 CHAPTER 15
Shinj i Aoyama
W LlJllf6
Shinji Aoyama i s a difficult figure to place with­ work, one can detect a continuous accumula­
in the context of the last decade of Japanese tion of concepts and concerns that reach critical
filmmaking. Kicking off his career with a series mass in Eureka, his film most obviously targeted
of films that ostensibly seem to fit snugly within at the arthouse market.
their established genres, be they gangster, hor­ Still, it is this commercial background, he
ror, or romance, Aoyama himself stresses that asserts, that sets him apart from other more ob­
his background is firmly entrenched within vious practitioners of art cinema such as Naomi
commercial cinema. T his is perhaps an odd Kawase, Nobuhiro Suwa, or Hirokazu Kore­
comment from a man who, outside of Japan at eda, with whom Aoyama has often been lumped
least, is best known for Eureka, a film that runs together as part of a vanguard of directors who
over three and a half hours in length, is in black were seen to represent a New Wave of Japanese
and white, and charts the slow emotional heal­ cinema during the late ' 90s. If there is any per­
ing process of the three survivors of a random ceivable common ground between these names,
bus hijacking incident. it is the fact that they are all roughly of the
A trawl through Aoyama's back catalogue same age, all began appearing at film festivals
perhaps better reveals where he's corning from. together at around the same time, and (with the
From his "youth on the rampage" theatrical exception of Kore-eda) have all at some time or
debut Helpless in 1 996, through the noir-ish other fallen under the patronage of producer
police thriller An Obsession, the gory B-movie Takenori Sent6, whose company, Suncent Cin­
horror of Embalming, and the romantic drama ema Works, eagerly courted the foreign art cin­
of Shady Grove, Aoyama's films certainly slot ema market and thus ensured a higher profile
well into their relevant pigeon holes in terms abroad for these names.
of their commercial format. Yet, marked out by One other thing that links Aoyama to these
a thematic ambition that effectively twists the directors is that they all, in their own different
concept of genre inside out on itself and aspir­ ways, have come to be spokespeople for their
ing to so much more than safe, neatly packaged generation, a generation whose formative col­
pieces of escapism tied up with a tidy self-af­ lege years were spent during the bubble decade
firming sense of narrative closure, they hardly of the ' 80s only to have the rug cruelly snatched
fit into any commercial landscape of the time from under their feet when the bubble burst.
when they were made. T hroughout his early T his is a generation who can be accurately de-

214
 Shinji Aoyama • 215

scribed as the last generation of idealists, and if that is both austere and spare to invoke a power­
one year can be said to mark the dividing gap, it ful sensation of emptiness and thinly concealed
would be 1 989, the year in which, on January 7, yearning at the heart of contemporary Japan,
the Sh6wa Emperor Hirohito died. Aoyama portrays a bleak, loveless society popu­
As a symbolic post-war figurehead, Hirohito lated by alienated youths, listless wanderers, and
had led the country from the rubble of defeat, outsiders unable to communicate their frustra­
through the mass industrialization of the ' 60s, tion through any other means than violence.
to being one of the world's greatest economies. Too many people had been marginalized in
Japan had changed immutably since Hirohito's the huge accumulation of wealth of the bubble
accession in 1 92 6. Leaving a huge mark on the years. T he slow, steady rise of the ' 80s, followed
psyches of the modern Japanese, his death was by its subsequent collapse, effectively left many
something more than just a national tragedy. trapped outside the system, analogous with
It represented the collapse of an ideology-the the pathetic figures of Michio and Y6ichi, the
nation as family with the Sh6wa Emperor as its " Chinpira" or Two Punks of Aoyama's film of the
inscrutable patriarch. His son and heir, Akihito, same name. A slightly lighter work than its pre­
has proven almost imperceptible in comparison, decessor, Chinpira is more a buddy movie than
more low-key and down to earth, and some­ a yakuza one. Its two hapless protagonists are
how less relevant to a modern nation. His role merely errand boys for Ry6 Ishibashi's tattooed
compromised by the demands of a twenty-first gangster boss. Unable and unwilling to commit
century media, Akihito has retreated to the side­ themselves on a full-time basis, they play-act the
lines, symbolically leaving a generation adrift tough guys. It's only when they attempt to cross
without a father figure. this dividing line that they fall afoul of the mob.
Many have observed this subsequent void, Such rapid modernization had left a country
which has run concurrently with the sharp down­ all but cut off from its roots, and people began to
turn in Japan's economic fortunes. It permeates turn to anything outside to cling to. One of the
heavily throughout Aoyama's first film, Helpless, results was a growth in membership of obscure
in which a young man is released from jail and religious sects, a phenomenon that reached an
returns to his hometown in search of his miss­ illogical conclusion with the sarin gas attacks
ing yakuza boss, whilst his father lies terminally on the Tokyo subway in 1 995 by the Aum cult.
ill and bedridden in hospital. Utilizing a style An errant religious group pops up in the gory

Filmography • An Obsession ( Tsumetai ChI) • Sude ni Oita Kanojo no

1999
Subete ni Tsuite wa Kataranu
1995
June 12, 1998: The Edge of Tame ni
• Ky6kasho ni Nail [video] •

Chaos ( Kaosu no Fuchl)

• A Forest with No Name ( Shi­
1996
• Embalming ( Embamingu) ritsu Tantei Hama Maiku:
• A Cop, a Bitch and a Killer • Shady Grove Namae no Nai Man)
( Waga Mune ni Ky6ki An) 2003
[video] 2000
Eureka ( Yuriika)
• Cop Festival ( Deka Matsun)
• Helpless •

To the Alley ( Roji e: Nakagami [co-director]

• Two Punks ( Chinpira) •
Ajimaa no Uta: Uehara Tomo­
Kenji no Nokoshita Fuirumu)
•

1997 ko Tenj6 no Utagoe

• Wild Life ( Wild Life: Jump into 2001
2004
the Dark) • Desert Moon ( Tsuki no
Sabaku) • Lakeside Murder Case ( Reiku­
1998 saido Madakesu)
2002
216 . SHINJI AOYAMA

Embalming, and An Obsession uses a similar back­ Stylistically Aoyama's films fit into a similar
drop in a film based around the same premise of terrain as that of his mentor, Kiyoshi Kurosawa.
Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog, in this case featur­ Slow, meditative, and sometimes maddeningly
ing a terminally ill cult member who performs a oblique, they effectively deny the pleasures one
string of random homicides using a pistol stolen expects from standard genre pieces, and yet
from a detective, gunned down in action during at the same time, their deviations from their
the arrest of the cult's leader. template bringing to light more metaphysical
notions about the nature of cinema and its re­
"Stray Dog m ight not be the greatest of Kurosa­ lationship to reality. Continually probing the
wa's films, but It portrays the post-war period question, "What is a movie? " they work from
and the people that lived i n It very vividly. It's the basis that technical and thematic concerns
a poignant film that isolates and portrays the are ultimately inextricably linked.
atmosphere of the time strongly-the helpless­ Aoyama first met Kurosawa whilst he was a
ness, disorientation, and loss of dl rection-so student at Rikky6 University in Tokyo, belong­
In that respect it is a great fil m . When I shot ing to a cinema club whose other members in­
An Obsess/on I felt that the zeitgeist of Japan cluded Makoto Shinozaki, Akihito Shiota, and
was very similar to this post-war period , in Kunitoshi Manda. T hey studied under scholar
that we were facing a danger which we hadn't and critic Shigehiko Hasumi, who was signifi­
faced I n ten or twenty years, which had mani­ cant for spearheading a whole new approach to
fested itself i n the sarin gas attacks of 1995. cinema criticism in the late ' 70s and early ' 80s,
Something very strange was happening in and this new way of looking at cinema and in­
Japan which we couldn't quite put our fingers terpreting it had already had a large effect on
on. I wanted to use this raw feeling from Stray Kurosawa. When the future director of Cure
Dog In my film too . " visited their club as a guest speaker, he immedi­
ately proved a decisive influence on the younger
Aoyama clearly sees cinema as a medium in students.
which to present an alternate world, one that ef­ Prompted by a friend at high school, Aoya­
fectively holds up a mirror to modern society. ma had been experimenting with the 8mm for­
Superficially, nothing seems different, but there mat prior to this meeting, and was still feeling
are occasional cracks in the surface details which around in the dark, discovering the various
hint that something is awry. T he radiation-suited tricks, techniques, and methodologies utilized
enforcers of a government curfew remain extra­ in professional filmmaking. T he early ' 80s rep­
neous to the main narrative in An Obsession, only resented a time when the Japanese film industry
highlighting that this is not really modern-day seemed closed off to newcomers, and the idea of
Tokyo, but in all other respects, it could be. More making films such as the Hollywood blockbust­
subtle details hint at this in the romantic drama ers on which he' d been weaned seemed like an
Shady Grove. In one scene a character dates his impossible dream. After entering college, how­
resignation letter in the Japanese format as Sh6wa ever, Aoyama first encountered the films of] ean­
74: the Sh6wa period ended in Sh6wa 64 with Luc Godard, whose punkish improvisational
Hirohito's death, so 1 999 would be Heisei 1 1 . energy and freshness proved an inspiration. In
the meantime, S6go Ishii had just started mak­
"I wanted to show it is as If the Showa era was ing a stir on the independent circuit.
stil l going on, and aga i n , there might be people
run n i ng around in radiation su its off-screen " M y feel i ng was that there was n ' t that much
too . " of a leap from the type of films my friend was
 Shinji Aoyama • 217

shooting on 8mm to Godard. Apocalypse Now Kyokasho ni Nai! [trans: Not in the text­
might have been impossible for me to shoot, book!] officially marked Aoyama's directorial
but this sort of thing was well within my grasp. debut, a straight-to-video high school sex com­
Looking back, it was a l ittle cocky of me, but edy whose level of wit and production values are
it's what I thought at the time . " reminiscent of the U. S. TV sitcom Saved by the
Bell. Aoyama himself barely acknowledges this
Aoyama's initial explorations in filmmaking long-deleted offering for the Pink Pineapple
were mainly intellectual, to satisfy his burgeon­ production company, claiming post-production
ing curiosity regarding such questions as what interference, and indeed, apart from a cameo by
goes on behind the scenes on a movie and how Kiyoshi Kurosawa and appearances from Aoya­
are films constructed. At the time, he never imag­ rna regular Yoichiro Saito and the omnipresent
ined himself making a career as a film director. Taro Suwa, there's little to recommend here to
However, his developing close friendship with even the most ardent of Japanese film fans.
Kurosawa led to assistant director work on the It was Helpless that first put Aoyama's name
director's low-budget slasher movie The Guard on the map, when it won the Grand Prix at the
from Underground ( 1 992), the gangster comedy 1 996 Japan Film Industry Professional Awards.
Yakuza Taxi ( 1 993), and the first two films in the For this, his first mainstream feature, Aoyama
Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself! series ( 1 995). returned to his birthplace of Fukuoka Prefec­
Whilst also a regular contributor of essays and ture on Kyushu, the southernmost of the four
reviews to the publication Cahiers du Cinema main islands that make up Japan and an area
Japan, Aoyama worked on the script of pink di­ whose reliance on mining and heavy industry
rector Takahisa Zeze's ethereal The Dream of Ga­ has meant it has been particularly hard hit by
ruda (Kokyo Sopu Tekunikku 4 Monzetsuhigi, 1 994) the nation's economic decline.
and worked as an assistant director on both Go Putting a new slant on the yakuza genre,
Rijii's Berlin ( 1 995) and Icelandic director Fridrik Helpless was a raw, cryptic and in places almost
T h6r Fridriksson's cult classic Cold Fever ( 1 994). unbearably violent look at a new generation, shot
T his latter film also featured a small act­ with a clinical objectivity by cameraman Masa­
ing role by the veteran director Seijun Suzuki, ki Tamura. Tamura had started out working on
whose non-conformist approach to cinema and Shinsuke Ogawa's hard-hitting political docu­
outlandish body of work had already struck a mentaries on the protest movements surround­
chord with Aoyama as a young film fan. Aoyama ing the building of Tokyo International Airport in
later cast Suzuki in Embalming as the assistant Narita in the late ' 60s, beginning with The Front­
at the EM embalming studio where the main line for the Liberation ofJapan (Nihon KaihO Sensen,
character plies her trade. 1 968). A highly influential presence throughout
three decades of filmmaking in Japan, he was
"When Suzuki appeared in Embalming he was in later responsible for making Naomi Kawase's
his seventies, but he had no problem in mov­ feature debut Suzaku ( 1 997) the stunning visual
Ing around l i ke an actor much younger than he treat that it was, and contributing to the raw im­
was . There were times when I wondered if he provisational aesthetic of Nobuhiro Suwa's 21Duo
would be able to do what I asked of him, but I ( 1 997). His later work with Aoyama led through
never had to even ask h i m . He 'd just go ahead Shady Grove to arguably his crowning achieve­
and do it. He's incredibly young. Maybe it's ment in recent years with Eureka.
because he's the type of man who can make
movies such as his that keeps him so young." "I first worked with Tamu ra on Helpless, and I
knew he was the only person right for this film.
218 . SHINJI AOYAMA

It's very difficult to explain why, but maybe slayings, fist fights, guns, girls, and motorbike
subconsciously he has something, a sort of pro­ chases, set to a soundtrack of MIDI synths and
fou ndness, maybe his view on thlngs-lt's total­ electric guitar wailings. Whilst this film hardly
ly different from other Japanese. It's not some­ represents a typical Aoyama movie-in this case,
thing I can put Into words, but I felt strongly what you see is clearly what you get-within the
that I could only make my movie with this man. confines of its market, it is a highly polished
And so I worked with him and It turned out that piece of action entertainment, one of the purest
I was right. And again, like SelJun Suzuki , this examples of the director's technical capabilities
man Is Incredibly young for his age." of the time and certainly more distinguished
than his previous foray into V-cinema with
Helpless also benefited from the dark, smol­ Kyokasho ni Nai!
dering presence of Tadanobu Asano in an early T his staggeringly fast turnaround of initial
leading feature film role, an actor who has gone features, which also included Wild Life and An
on to take center stage in some of the most nota­ Obsession, began to take its toll on the director's
ble Japanese productions of recent years, in cult health, stopping him from working for about six
favorites such as Miike's Ichi the Killer, esoteric months and forcing him to slow down his out­
fare like Kore-eda's Distance, to more mainstream put. T his change in pace went hand-in-hand
releases such as Oshima's comeback film Gohatto. with a change in focus, beginning with the fe­
male-centered drama of Shady Grove. For this
"Helpless was Asano's first feature film. Before film, Aoyama took inspiration from the celebrat­
that he had played a couple of small roles, but ed Meiji-period author S6seki Natsume ( 1 867-
I didn't know anything a bout him at the time. 1 9 1 6), best known for his novels Kokoro and I Am
He was recommended to me by a member of a Cat. S6seki's story The Poppy (Gubijinso, 1 907)
my crew, so I met him and the moment I saw became the starting point for his script.
him I knew I wanted to use him for my fil m .
He w a s the perfect gu y f o r Helpless, so I gave "First of a l l , I wanted to make a fil m that fea­
him the role I nstantly . He had this wildness tured a female protagonist, so I was looking
coupled with a certain nai·vete. There was for material with which to do this, and the Idea
something animalistic a bout h i m , which Isn't of marriage came to me. I was thinki ng about
something you generally find In people who such things as marrying someone, divorcing
come from Tokyo. That's obviously the key to someone, marital difficulties, etc . One day I
his popularity. At the same time, his technique J ust happened to be reading GubljlnsO, and
as an actor was stili a l ittle raw, and he was found that this story contai ned all of these
stil i learning. Recently I saw a fil m entitled things surrounding marriage but set i n an older
Kaza-Hana, and I was amazed at how much time period. Soseki said i n a letter to a friend
he had I mproved. With no disrespect to him, I that the female character at the center of this
never realized he had It In him to become such story who kills herself at the end Is not meant
a wonderful actor." to be living In this particular era, and so she
has to die. She Is the wrong person for this
Aoyama followed up Helpless with two films age. I felt I had to depict this same woman
in the same year. Two Punks was preceded by who had to die I n Sosekl 's time as someone
the straight-to-video A Cop, a Bitch and a Killer wouldn't have had to die i n our time . "
( Waga Mune ni Kyoki A ri, a title which translates
as T here's a Weapon by My Chest), a standard Shady Grove was followed by June 1 2, 1 998:
genre action movie chock-full of woodland The Edge of Chaos, a 6 5 -minute documentary ac-
 Shinji Aoyama · 219

count of a solo concert given in Tokyo by the

British experimental composer and musician
Chris Cutler, featuring a brief interview with
the artist, but predominantly based on the per­
formance itself.
After this, Aoyama was offered the chance
to contribute to the rapidly proliferating slew of
horror films that were being released at around
the time of The Ring with Embalming. T he end
results are a rather overstated and not entirely
successful tale centered on the goings-on at a
mortician's studio. T he McGuffin here is the
stolen head of a politician's son, whose decapi­
tated corpse is found still clothed in his school
uniform. T his sets in motion a chain of grue­
some autopsies, religious rituals, and hammy
acting, all set against a quasi-Egyptian back­
drop. Constantly teetering on the verge of the
parodic, Embalming does at least manage to be
fun, evoking fond memories of H.G. Lewis's
1 963 gore classic Blood Feast.

"There's a fine line between horror and parody,

and with Embalming I was trying to stick to
the edge and not cross over onto either side.
S h i nj i Aoyama
At the time, especially, I really would have
hated to fal l I nto this category of 'Japanese
horror. ' Also, Klyoshi Ku rosawa and I have 1 98 3 film by British director Nicholas Roeg,
always had an unspoken agreement that we after whose work O' Rourke also named his al­
don't wander I nto each other's territory. So bums Bad Timing and Insignificance), Eureka's in­
this was my way of sort of j ust strolling past it fluences can be traced to such disparate sources
and waving 'Hello' ' '' as John Ford's The Searchers ( 1 95 6) and the films
of Wim Wenders.
Coming as it did right after Embalming, With already a significant body of work to
with perhaps the exception of Shady Grove there his name in under five years, the epic Eureka saw
had been little in scale and ambition thus far the director coming full circle back to the start­
in Aoyama's oeuvre to point to the stunning ing point of his debut film, Helpless, returning
achievement of Eureka. Epic in size, scope, am­ not only to his native land of northern Kyushu,
bition, and length, this meditative and mean­ where his first film was set, but rekindling his
dering tale follows the healing process of a trio association with that film's producer, Takenori
of shell-shocked survivors after the stability of Sent6. He also brought back cameraman Tamura,
their lives is shattered in a violent bus-jacking whose crisp sepia-tinged Cinemascope compo­
incident. Taking its title from a solo album re­ sitions wowed foreign critics, as, after garnering
leased in 1 999 by u. s . experimental guitarist a FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film
Jim 0' Rourke (ironically, itself named after the Critics) award at the 2 000 Cannes film festival,
220 . SHINJI AOYAMA

Eureka became the first film of Aoyama's to gain historical and religious reasons dating back to
significant exposure in the West. the ninth century. T heir name literally translates
as "village people," referring to the ghettos in
"The one thing that was I nteresting was that which these outcasts lived. T he piece of film in
the reaction from foreign countries and Japan question was shot before Nakagami's own buraku
was totally opposite from what I expected . In settlement was destroyed in the ' 70s, and one of
Japan people took It as a pure fantasy, and the purposes of Aoyama's film was to preserve
said, 'This couldn't possibly happen here , ' this sole testament to the author's childhood as a
whereas I made t h e fil m thinking that such a n historical document, while at the same time pre­
event was a quite viable possibility. I n fact, senting it to a wider audience. T he bulk of the
after the fil m a very similar event actually hap­ film itself, boasting music by Ryiiichi Sakamoto
pened here, In which a teenager held up a bus and new footage shot by Tamura, is composed
with a gun . In France, at Cannes, a young guy I predominantly of the filmmaker Kishu Izuchi
met said that It would be easy to believe such driving around the harbor town of Shingii where
a thing really happen i ng i n his home town, the author grew up, interspersed with him read­
so the people outside of Japan found It a lot ing aloud passages of his work in the various lo­
closer to their experiences than here . " cations where they are set.
Aoyama was to adopt a similar elliptical
With the film having won international approach in his 5 1 -minute-long Sude ni Oita
awards, Aoyama picked up further plaudits for Kanojo no Subete ni Tsuite wa Kataranu Tame ni,
Eureka when his own novelization received the but prior to this, his next feature failed to attain
prestigious Yukio Mishima award for new lit­ the same level of critical approval of the previ­
erature in Japan in 2 00 1 . He has subsequently ous year's Eureka when it received its premiere
adapted Helpless and his later film Desert Moon, at Cannes in 2 00 1 . With Tamura acting again
though sees writing very much as a sideline, with in the role of cameraman, Desert Moon's drama
his primary career still as a filmmaker. Mean­ revolves around the boss of a successful IT
while, as Aoyama occupied himself expressing start-up company, whose wife leaves him upon
his cinematic work in a more literary form, his the realization that she is unable to compete
cinematic work began to get more experimental. with work for his affections. Aoyama uses this
T he 64-minute long To the Alley saw him further premise to explore the nature of reality, illusion,
moving away from his commercial background the dynamic shifts in values in contemporary
in a mixed media semi-documentary piece based society, and the role of the modern family and
on a similar premise as Shady Grove-a link with the individual within it in the broader context
the past represented by a single surviving image of such intangible constraints as interconnected
of a place that has been long destroyed, in this communities and the new virtual economy.
instance a fragment of 1 6mm film footage.
T he footage in question was shot by Kenji " Both the producer Takenori Senti> and I expect­
Nakagami ( 1 946-92), an award-winning writer ed this reaction. The main problem seems to be

whose gritty writings such as The Cape (Misaki, with the central character. He's a businessman
published in 1 976 and available along with other in the IT field. The i mage of IT-the world of
works by the author in English translation) information , business, and new technology­
documented his own personal plight growing these sorts of things are completely out of the
up in one of Japan's stigmatized burakumin com­ scope of these Cannes people, which caused
munities. T he burakumin still face a degree of some problems. They were sort of wondering
discrimination today for a host of obscure quasi- what the hell the main character was talking
 Two Punks • 221

about. This kind of new business, in Japan 1 996 . CAST : Takao as awa , O a n ka n , R e i ko Kata­
and every other country, is difficult for people oka, Ryo I s h i bash i , S u s u m u Teraj i m a , Ken M it­
to visualize or understan d . For example, new s u i s h i , Yoich i ro S a ito . 101 m i n utes . RELEASE:

terminology relating to technology, such as V H S , Les Fi l m s du Pa radoxe ( Fra nce, French s u b­

e-mail, isn't really understood by the people of titles) .
this older generation, so it is omitted from their
critical discourse. For this reason I felt that the Two young men l ive their l ives on the fri nges
Cannes reaction was fai rly predictable . " of the yakuza , without ever rea lly becoming
part of it. Aoya m a ' s look at outsiders is an
T he director himself sees Desert Moon as unconventional and su rprisingly human take
the strongest of his films, and the most ac­ on the yakuza genre, signa ling his developing
curate reflection of his intentions as an artist. eye for emotional s u btleties.
Unfortunately, following the financial collapse
of Takenori Sento's production company, Sun­ T hough Eureka made his name internationally,
cent Cinema Works, in the latter half of 2 00 1 , festivalgoers might have already been familiar
it received only a limited release in Tokyo late with Aoyama from his earlier riff on the gangster
in 2 00 3 , and few people outside of the festival film, Two Punks. Its exposure was nowhere near
circuit and a short run in Paris have been given as wide as Eureka's (the only distribution deal it
the opportunity to make up their own minds garnered was a French theatrical release followed
whether the director has succeeded in getting by a now out-of-print video), but it nevertheless
his message across. introduced Western audiences to Aoyama's par­
In the meantime, Aoyama has involved ticular approach to genre filmmaking.
himself in a few more commercial projects, Following on two rather more straightfor­
including A Forest with No Name, one of the ward genre exercises for the straight-to-video
more impressive sections of Yomiuri TV's series market, Two Punks was adapted from a script by
Shiritsu Tantei Hama Maiku featuring the Maiku the late ShOji Kaneko, which had been filmed
Hama character created by Kaizo Hayashi and once already by T oru Kawashima in 1 984. Ao­
played by Masatoshi Nagase. T hough made for yama's version was rewritten by Toshiyuki Mo­
Tv, it was shot on film in two versions, with the rioka, known for his work on unconventional
feature-length version intended for theatrical gangster films like Takashi Miike's Fudoh: The
release. In 2 00 3 , as well as directing a concert New Generation and Blues Harp ( 1 998), and
film for the Okinawan singer Tomoko Uehara Rokuro Mochizuki's Another Lonely Hitman
entitled Ajimaa no Uta: Uehara Tomoko Tenja no (Shin Kanashiki Hittoman, 1 99 5 ) and Onibi, The
Utagoe [trans: Song of Ajimar: Uehara Tomoko, Fire Within ( 1 997). T he film would be the start
voice of heaven] , Aoyama was also one of the of Aoyama's more ambitious exploration of the
twelve directors, alongside Kiyoshi Kurosawa genre film that would continue with the likes
and Hirohisa Sasaki, who contributed one of of An Obsession and Shady Grove, and which
the ten-minute segments of Makoto Shinozaki's would ironically result in the decidedly non­
Cop Festival omnibus film. genre Eureka.
Yoichi ( O sawa) is a Shikoku country boy
freshly arrived in the big city. He finds a job
sweeping floors at a nightclub, but when he
-It Two Punks violently trounces a coke-snorting punk, his
1-� t:" 7 bosses, the yakuza O tani (Ishibashi) and his
Chinpira right-hand man Masao (Terajima), realize he's
222 . SHINJI AOYAMA

capable of a lot more. Y6ichi has no inter­ -¥ An Obsession

est in joining the yakuza, however, since his �t� " )Jfn.
headstrong and violent behavior makes him Tsumetai Chi
contemptuous of the organizational hierarchy.
Instead he is drawn to Michio (Dankan), a fel­ 1997 . CAST: Ry6 I s h i bash i , Kazu m a Suzu ki , Ky6 ko
low outsider who works with the yakuza but is Toya m a , Yu re i Yan agi , Taro Suwa , Aki ko I zu m i ,
not a part of them because, as he explains, "I' m E i ko Nagas h i m a . 108 m i n utes . RELEASES: DVD,
not made for it. " Arts magic ( U . S ' ;U . K . , Engl i s h s u btitl e s ) , W i s h­
Michio involves Y6ichi in his plan to become bone (Japa n , Engl i s h s u btitl e s ) .
a bookmaker and soon enough the two are mak­
ing deals and collecting gambling debts. T hey A workaholic c o p w h o ' s lost his gu n , and a se­
remain allied to O tani, who takes a liking to the rial killer with a death wish: Aoyama reworks
misfit couple, but tensions mount when Y6ichi the story of Ku rosawa 's Stray Dog i nto an al­
takes a shine to Masao's girlfriend Y6ko (Kata­ ternate modern day Tokyo backdrop.
oka). When he saves her from a beating by the
yakuza lieutenant, catching a knife in the flank Within the first couple of years after hitting the
for his efforts, the two fall in love and an ongo­ public eye with his raw portrait of the estranged,
ing feud with Masao begins. To make matters directionless youths of Helpless, the prodigious
worse, Michio goes gaga for O tani's girlfriend Aoyama kept up an almost production-line rate
and flees with her after getting her pregnant. of output, churning out a further three films
Aoyama's approach to this tale closely re­ over the course of the next year. Shooting from
sembles Y6ichi and Michio's attitude toward the his own script, An Obsession (the Japanese title
yakuza: intentional distance but emotional close­ translates as "Cold Blood") sees the continuing
ness. In many cases he chooses to shoot his scenes development of a number of recurring themes
in long, wide takes as the action unravels before that permeate the director's work: the outsider's
the camera. T he spatial distance does not make struggle for identity against the backdrop of
this film aloof, however. Aoyama has an eye for modern day urban alienation interwoven with a
the emotional subtleties of his characters, and not search for some deeper reason for existence. Yet
only those of Y6ichi and Michio. Otani, played by here he switches from the gangster milieu to the
the hugely talented Ishibashi, is an unconvention­ format of the police thriller.
al man with a strong emotional core, the oppo­ S6suke (Ishibashi) is a workaholic detective
site of his full -body tattoo, which consists of only who would rather spend time enforcing justice
an outline. Although he is capable of torturing than passing the hours at home with his wife.
people by pushing chopsticks into their ears, his However, his assertive espousal of "individual­
reaction to the news that his mistress is pregnant ism" to his buddy cop (Suwa) receives a severe
with another man is remarkably restrained. Even knock-back when he is caught in the cross­
Masao, who for a long time seems merely a vio­ fire during the arrest of a religious cult leader,
lent hothead, is increasingly portrayed in shades gunned down as he exits the building where he
of gray through his conflict with Y6ichi. has been held siege. S6suke immediately sets off
It's this fine eye for human nuances that in pursuit of the killer, but is shot in the result­
Aoyama would develop further in his subse­ ing chase, leaving him critically wounded.
quent work. Beneath the seemingly formalist After years of playing second fiddle to his
genre explorations is where the director's true career, S6suke's wife Rie (Nagashima) is loath
growth would take place. to hang around and pick up the pieces, and
promptly packs her bags and leaves. Pitched
 An Obsession · 223

headlong into a major life CrISIS, Sosuke im­

mediately resigns from the force, but there's
one problem left outstanding. Whilst uncon­
scious after the shooting, the detective's gun
was lifted from him and is now being used in
a series of methodical yet seemingly motiveless
homicides across the city. Plagued with guilt,
Sosuke begins his own private investigation in
order to apprehend the killer and get his gun
back, finally pinpointing the culprit as Shimano
(Suzuki), a lank-haired youth somewhere in his
twenties, terminally ill with congenital leukemia
and morbidly fixated on his own death.
T hose with some knowledge of Japanese
cinema may recognize in the above synopsis ele­
ments of Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog (Nora Inu,
1 949), a point which Aoyama further stresses
by setting his final showdown in a deserted
baseball field. For his original film, Kurosawa
admitted to being taken by the compelling plot­
driven narratives of Belgium's most famous
writer of policier fiction, Georges Simenon, and
had earlier written a novel based on this premise
of a policeman in search of his stolen weapon,
though it was never actually published. Stray
Dog's structure allowed the director to work in
his own arguments about the nature of good
and evil against the backdrop of post-wartime
shortages and the Allied Occupation, with its
black-market operator antagonist driven to
murder through economic hardship and a value
system completely up-ended in the aftermath of
Japan's defeat.
For Aoyama, whose film is set amongst the
cold, modern face of late-' 90s Tokyo, the dualis­
tic opposition between cop and killer is not so cut An Obsession
and dry. U. S . Occupation forces driving around
in jeeps are here replaced by mysterious figures much a remake of Kurosawa's, as a reworking of
clad in anti-radiation suits who perform random its basic premise to fit his own intellectual ends.
executions that pass by unremarked on the side­ T he opening quote from F. Scott Fitzgerald,
lines, whilst echoes of the Aum cult, whose gas "Of course all life's a process of breaking down,
attacks on commuters on the capital's subway but . . . " presages the conflict which forms the
made world news in 1 995, are present in the fig­ backbone of An Obsession, a collision between the
ure of the assassinated leader of the Great Truth dual wills of a man struggling to live, and one
Cult, Kunihiro. Indeed, Aoyama's film is not so drawn inexorably toward the void. As with its
224 • SHINJI AOYAMA

model, Sosuke's nemesis is kept off-screen until Arata , Yo ich i ro S a ito , Ken M itsu i sh i , R e i Ku rita .
near the end of the film, a shadowy mysterious 99 m i n utes . RELEASES: DVD, W i s h bone ( J a p a n , no
figure alluded to in the third person by a string subtitles ) .
of characters closely related to him, including ex­
cult member Mita (Yanagi) and an ex-girlfriend, More than just a romantic weepie, as a j i lted
Kimiko (T oyama) who harbors a pretty deep­ office lady seeks connection in a heartless
rooted death wish of her own. "Your hollowness world.
will draw him to you," an associate of Shimano
warns Sosuke early on in the proceedings. Yuppie love is ostensibly the focus of Aoyama's
Kurosawa was later to dismiss Stray Dog as first departure from the world of guns and vio­
having too much emphasis on technical detail lence, in a tortured tale in which pert young
and not enough on the development of its cen­ twenty-something Rika (Kurita) is rather uncere­
tral concept, though such memorably virtuoso moniously dumped by her boyfriend Ono (Seki­
set pieces as the killer's night-time flight from guchi) within minutes of the opening credits.
the hotel in which he finds himself cornered by One minute she is discussing the wine she was
Toshiro Mifune certainly made up for any per­ planning to buy to go with the new glasses she
ceived dramatic shortcomings. With its austere, bought for his apartment, the next she is swig­
fixed shooting manner interspersed with poetic ging it from the bottle to drown her sorrows in
slow, gliding camera movements, and the peri­ the wake of his decision, cruelly delivered by mo­
odic onscreen blackouts from its protagonist's bile phone. Rika is understandably left crumpled
perspective serving to break up the contiguity by this bolt from the blue, yet still futilely clings
within scenes, An Obsession goes to the other on to the hope that they'll be back together again
extreme. Somber in its manner and spare in its before too long. Alone in her apartment, with
details, it is a far cry from Kurosawa's cat and no one to tum to, she takes to phoning random
mouse games with the audience. strangers for comfort, most of whom, under­
In its desire to probe the inner motivations standably, give her short shrift before hanging
of both investigator and killer rather than satisfy up. One, however, doesn't, comforting her over
the more audience-related concerns of "who­ the phone before leaving with the consolatory
dunit, " key moments in the plot progression are message, "Wait, and he'll come back."
glossed over, with a number of major twists in Spurred on by this advice, Rika refuses to
the tale occurring off-screen. T his apparent am­ let go, repeatedly phoning her ex-boyfriend's
bivalence to pacing and suspense may prove the apartment to leave messages on his answering
make or break point with casual viewers. Taken machine, trawling through pop-psychology ro­
as a thriller, Aoyama's film more often than not mantic self-help texts, and even going as far as
fails to thrill. Taken on its own merits, however, to hire a private detective to find out how Ono
as a stepping stone in the director's increasingly is coping with single life. After a confrontation
sophisticated oeuvre, An Obsession still provides with another girl who answers the door of Ono's
enough food for thought to be of interest, but apartment, Rika threatens suicide, but is sent on
within a rather more conventional format than her way by her unmoved ex-lover. "You never
some of his later work. think of anyone but yourself," he rather hypo­
critically adds. Distraught, Rika contacts the only
person she knows she can turn to, the sympathet­
-.v Shady G rove ic stranger from the previous evening who shows
up to drive her back home to her apartment.
1999. CAST : U rara Awata , Tomo h i ro Sekiguch i , T his young man, Shingo (Arata), is cur-
 Shady Grove · 225

Shady Grove

rently having a few troubles of his own, hav­ lighter moments playing like yet another ditzy
ing just dramatically resigned from his job as chick flick before developing a more meditative
a graphic designer. Nonetheless, as he offers aspect toward the end. Whilst on the surface
her a shoulder to cry on, he notices a blown­ this makes for one of his most accessible films, it
up photograph of a small wooded copse on the also represents another clever case of genre sub­
wall of her apartment, the Shady Grove of the version. Dig deeper beneath the apparent paro­
title. When questioned about it, Rika explains dy of romantic comedy conventions, and you' ll
that it was next to the house where she grew up. see the same themes being developed that reach
As a girl, her father always used to tell her that if their zenith with the epic Eureka, with which
she waited there long enough, her prince would the film shares the cameraman Masaki Tamura.
arrive. Before Shingo leaves, she hands him a Aoyama shoots the bulk of the film using
few more photos of this mysterious place. His the austere digital video medium to portray the
imagination captured by this seemingly ran­ banality of modern urban existence in all its glib
dom meeting, and ignoring the advice that the superficiality, only occasionally switching to
grove has long since been swallowed up by the 3 5mm film for the scenes in the wooded glade
suburbs, he decides to go in search of the spot that appear first in Rika's and later in Shingo's
where the pictures were taken. dreams. Toying with such ideas as the search
Shady Grove seems worlds apart from the vi­ for connection and the misleading expecta­
olent meditations on death and existential angst tions people have of one another, Shady Grove
that permeate Aoyama's earlier work, in its is a keystone in the director's oeuvre in which
226 . SHINJI AOYAMA

Shady Grove

the often oblique approach of his earlier work world at large . Nearly fou r hours i n lengt h , this
finally begins to attain a little more substance. sepia-toned drama is not the easiest fi l m to
As such, it arguably represents one his most sat­ watch , but emerges rewarding and gri pping
isfyingly well-rounded and mature films. agai nst a l l expectations.

When two children take their daily bus ride to

school, a young businessman pulls out a gun and
� Eu reka hijacks the bus. T hree executions and one police
;J... l) 1 :h siege later, the hijacker is dead and the two chil­
Yuriika dren plus bus driver Makoto (Yakusho) are the
only ones to remain physically unscathed.
2000. CAST : Koj i Yaku s h o , Aoi M iyaza k i , Yo i c h i ro T he trauma of the event runs deep within
Saito , M asaru M iyazaki , E i h i S h i i n a , Ken M itsu i­ all three of them, having not only lived through
sh i , Go R ij u . 217 m i n utes . RELEASES: DVD , Artifi­ the hijack, but also witnessed from up close the
c i a l Eye ( U . K . , Engl i s h s u btitles) , J-Works (Japa n , shooting and killing of the hijacker by the po­
Engl i s h/French s u btitl e s ) . lice. Not surprisingly, they are unable to resume
their normal lives. Two years after the incident,
A b u s driver and two c h i l d ren a re witness to Makoto has left his wife and is kicked out of
the h ijack of their bus, and s u rvive only to fi nd his brother's house, while the children are left
that their trauma has detached them from the to survive on their own after their mother has
 Eureka . 227

run away, the death of her husband making it out ofJapan in a long time. Shot in the northern
impossible for her to care for her troubled chil­ Kyushu countryside, the impressive landscapes
dren. With no place to go, Makoto decides he become all the more prominent thanks to the
will put some purpose into his life by moving long takes, many of them wide shots that em­
in with the children, who are now the only in­ phasize the relationship between the individuals
habitants of a family home whose interiors have and the landscape that surrounds them.
come to resemble a trash heap. Makoto cleans T he visual splendor of the film functions
up the place and takes on the role of surrogate in an interestingly paradoxical way, as it is both
father and mother, the traumatized trio real­ overwhelming and underwhelming. T he images
izing that they only feel comfortable in each may be beautiful to look at, but the sepia tint­
other's presence. T his is the start of a slow and ing avoids the risk of burying the dramatic heart
difficult process of healing, which leads past the of the film under the opulence, expressing a so­
arrival of the children's cousin, a murder, and a lemnity that fits well with the less than cheerful
new bus trip before finally arriving at something proceedings. T his paradox is an essential element
resembling liberation. of the film. While Eureka's characters endure
Eureka was a breakthrough film in many emotional crises that most of us never hope to go
ways. Firstly for Aoyama, whose previous work through, it is above all a film about reconstruc­
had been genre exercises that showed an in­ tion, about starting anew and finding a way of
creasing preoccupation with characters and living when the old way has disappeared forever.
emotions, but who here achieves the reverse, T he visual beauty, particularly that of the land­
making a film about human emotions that con­ scapes, works as an influence on this process of
tains occasional elements of genre. Eureka was regeneration. T he protagonists need to search
also Aoyama's international breakthrough. He for happiness in their surroundings, not within
had had the odd film shown at foreign film fes­ themselves. It's very appropriate, then, that the
tivals in the past, but now saw himself compet­ film's second half takes the form of a road movie.
ing for the Palme d' Or in Cannes, where he T his search for happiness and reconstruction
garnered the international film critics' prize and is where Eureka differs from much of his earlier
numerous foreign distribution deals. work. Always fascinated by outcast characters
Secondly, it was a breakthrough for young who find themselves alienated from an increas­
actress Aoi Miyazaki. She had appeared in two ingly absurd society, Aoyama manages to take
films and a television series the previous year, his characters in Eureka a step further, achieving
but her almost wordless performance in Eureka what most of his earlier protagonists never did:
made her a favorite choice with independent di­ the possibility of happiness, a means to live a life
rectors, making a particularly strong impression in one's own little niche within an insane world.
in Akihiko Shiota's Harmful Insect. For the first time, Aoyama truly mimics his men­
Stylistically the film was also something of a tor, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, in suggesting possibilities
breakthrough. Aoyama shot it in Cinemascope, to start anew after destruction has wiped away
a format that had become virrually extinct in all we hold dear. "A tidal wave is coming. And
Japanese film since the 1 97 0s, when 1 6mm cam­ it will engulf everyone, " Aoi Miyazaki voices in
eras became the medium of choice for those who the first minutes of the film, just before embark­
had come from an independent background as ing on the ill-fated bus trip. Engulf her it does,
well as for the V-cinema industry, for which wi­ leaving her and her brother behind in srunned
descreen formats were completely useless. With silence, a silence that lasts for most of the film's
its sepia-toned images, Eureka is certainly one of nearly four-hour running time. T he aftermath
the most visually overwhelming films to come of a tidal wave is always calmer than the onset.
 CHAPTER 16
Naomi Kawase
iitJMmr�
Perhaps more than anything else the past centu­ (Eko Eko Azaraku, 1 995) long preceded Hideo
ry of cinema has been notable for a conspicuous Nakata's The Ring in the revival of mainstream
lack of female filmmakers. T his goes for all ter­ teen-oriented horror. Women filmmakers are
ritories, though in the traditionally male-domi­ even in on the act in the arena of the erotic film,
nated industry in Japan, the problem seems to with the likes of Yumi Yoshiyuki and Sachi Ha­
be that much more acute, at least at first glance. mano contributing literally dozens of titles to
Delve a little deeper, however, and you' ll see that the pinku genre.
there are actually quite a few women directors Indeed, at closer inspection the problem is
working in places you might not have dreamt not so much the absence of female film direc­
of looking. T he first, and best known, is Kinuyo tors as their invisibility, which is certainly not
Tanaka ( 1 9 1 0-77) who, when she wasn't busy a problem you can accuse Naomi Kawase of.
appearing as leading lady for Kenji Mizoguchi For a start, even though in Japan she remains
made a number of films throughout the ' 5 0s a somewhat marginal figure (like all who work
and ' 60s, debuting with Love Letter (Koibuml) in outside of the studios making independent films
1 9 5 3 . Since then, in the last decade we've had for the arthouse market), overseas her name is
two extremes of cinema represented by a new certainly better known than any of the afore­
generation of women directors in works as dis­ mentioned directors, if only due to the huge
similar as Kei Fujiwara's Cronenberg-esque cy­ impact her feature debut Suzaku ( 1 997) had
berpunk splatterfest Organ ( 1 996) and Hisako on the festival jury at Cannes. A second factor
Matsui's Solitude Point (Yukie, 1 997) and Oriume is the intensely personal nature of her films, es­
(2 003), both stories that explore the problems pecially in the early 8mm documentaries with
associated with Alzheimer's disease. which she first began making a name for her­
Kaze Shinda, granddaughter of the great self, Embracing ( 1 992) and Kntatsumori ( 1 994).
scriptwriter/director Kaneto Shinda, gave us Whether onscreen or off, Naomi is clearly the
the lesbian drama LovelJuice (2 000) at the ten­ center of her films, and even if this pigeonhol­
der age of 2 3 , and then there's 2 8-year-old ing as a "woman" director is not something Ka­
Miwa Nishikawa's first offering, Wild Berries wase is entirely happy with, Naomi is still quite
(Hebi Ichigo, 2003 ), a contemporary take on the clearly a woman.
family unit. Let's also not forget that Shimako Basing herself in her home town of Nara
Sata's high-school horror Wizard of Darkness in the western Kansai area of Japan, near both

228
 Naomi Kawase . 229

Kyoto and Osaka but away from the main hub of

the industry in Tokyo, Kawase's films represent
a change in focus from what foreign audiences
are used to seeing from Japan-the bizarre, the
sexy, the violent, the proud, the historical-to­
ward the apolitical, the habitual, and the per­
sonal. Either within the documentary format, or
in the raw naturalism of her documentary-styled
fiction, by presenting her footage in lengthy,
unrefined chunks without the stylistic window
dressing of rousing music in the background or
actors emoting wildly to the camera, she holds Naomi Kawase
the artificiality of the film medium at bay, often
giving the viewer the impression that they are when I came into contact with fi l m was a time

eavesdropping on other people's private lives. when I didn't really have a way to talk about

T his is never more true than in the films she has intimate thi ngs with the people around me,

made about herself. because there were n ' t any people a round to

Born in 1 969, Kawase received her artistic share them with. I also discovered that when
training at the Osaka School of Photography I used fi lm as a med i u m , people were ready to
(now the School of Visual Arts). Whilst there, listen to what I had to say very carefully, more
she discovered the 8mm film format, and im­ so than when I d i d n ' t use fi l m . So I found that
mediately turned the camera on herself and it functioned as a tool of communication for
her immediate surroundings in a series of short me at the time. It was convenient . "

works whose content is hinted at in titles such as

I Focus on That Which Interests Me, The Concreti­ T hroughout the film, Naomi's monotonal,
zation of These Things Flying Around Me and My disembodied voice details the gradual journey
Solo Family. After graduating in 1 989, she stayed of self-awakening that occurs during the quest
on to work as a lecturer at the college for the to find the father she never knew, alongside a
next four years. Indeed, she still lectures there hypnotic collage of shots of flora, fauna, and
when not making films. During this time, she various natural phenomena. In this film and in
continued to work on her own projects, the first her other 8mm work, Kawase focuses heavily
of which to receive significant attention was on textures and forms of everyday things-grass
Embracing, shot in 8mm but later blown up to billowing in the wind, time-lapse cloud forma­
1 6mm for theatrical exhibition. One of the most tions, a ploughed field with mosquitoes danc­
mesmeric and emotive of her works, Embracing ing in the sunlight, a kitchen full of glistening
is an intimate self-portrait of the director, look­ foodstuffs, a messy skyscape of roofs silhou­
ing closely at her own personal environment etted across a blood-red sunset, the smudged­
and back to her childhood in which she was gradated grays that score across the sky. T hese
abandoned by her parents when they divorced strangely beautiful images betray a mastery of
and she was sent to live with her "granny"-ac­ the medium as an art form. T here's an oddly af­
tually her great-aunt and not a blood relation. fecting sequence in which, after rifling through
her childhood snapshots, each photo is held up
"I often think that I should only show these in front of the camera against the original back­
things to people that a re close to me, to close ground where it was taken. T he sparing use of
friends and not to the entire worl d . But the age sound, existing solely as an ambient accompa-
230 • NAOMI KAWASE

niment to the whirr of the camera, enhances tor persistently continued working Tokyo's in­
the feeling of emotional distance. Raw and un­ dependent filmmaking scene, and with her work
polished, Embracing evokes the excitement of beginning to pick up critical attention at festi­
early primitive cinema, or of stumbling across vals both home and abroad, she formed Kumie,
the real-life footage of someone else's private a group of similar-minded filmmakers dedicated
drama, as it ends with Naomi finally making to getting their work screened in as many ven­
phone contact with her father. Embracing won ues as possible. Her first stab at fiction came
the Award For Excellence at the Image Forum with the fifty-five-minute White Moon, which
Festival in 1 993 and also a FIPRESCI special she followed with another personal documen­
mention at the Yamagata International Docu­ tary, Ktitatsumori.
mentary Film Festival in 1 995. Ktitatsumori's title comes from a play on the
words "katatsumuri, " for snail, and "tsumori,"
"When I made Embracing a bout m y father, the meaning plan or intention, stemming from a
main i ntention was not to show it to the world childhood misunderstanding in which she be­
afterward . It was first and foremost an explo­ lieved that slugs were snails without shells, lik­
ration and a way of dealing with it for myself. ening her own family situation to a slug waiting
It more or less just happened to develop that for its house. At forty minutes, it is the same
way, that this became my way of communicat­ length as Embracing, and similarly features an­
ing intimately and closely. But once in a while other subject close to the heart of the director,
I sti l l have my doubts about the appropriate­ the woman who acted as her adoptive mother
ness of it a l l . " as she grew up. Opening with a slow pan across
a tabletop covered in scattered pieces of paper
T hroughout the early ' 90s, the young direc- and a 1 O,000-yen banknote, a sound of snuf-

Filmography 1991 • The Setting Sun ( Hi wa Kata­

• Like Happiness ( Shiawase bukt) [short)
1988
Modokl) [short] • Suzaku ( Moe no Suzaku)
• I Focus on That Which Inter­
ests Me ( Watashi ga Tsuyoku 1992 1997
Kyomi 0 Motta Mono 0 Okiku • Embracing ( Ni Tsutsumarete) • The Weald ( Somaudo Mo­
Fix de Kiritoru) [short) [short) nogatart)
• The Concretization of These 1993 1999
Things Flying around Me • White Moon ( Shiroi Tsukt) • Kaleidoscope ( Mangeky6)
( Watashi ga Iki-Iki to Kaka­ [short] • Wandering at Home: The Third
watte Iko to Suru Jibutsu no Fall Since Starting to Live
1994
Gutaika) [short) Alone ( Tayutafu ni Kokyo­
• Katatsumori [short]
• My J-W-F [short) Hitorigurashi 0 Hajimete,
• Papa 's Ice Cream ( Papa no 1995 Sannenme no Aki nt) [TV)
Sofuto Kurimu) [short) • See the Heavens ( Ten Mi­
2000
take) [short]
1989
• Memory of the Wind: At
• Hotaru
• My Solo Family ( Tatta Hitori
Shibuya on December 26, 2001
no Kazoku) [short]
1995 ( Kaze no Kioku-1995, • Kya Kara Ba A [TV]
• Presently (lma) [short]
12, 26 Shibuya nite) [short)
• A Small Largeness ( Chiisana 2002
Okisa) [short) 1996 • Letter from a Yellow Cherry
• This World (Arawashiyo) [co­ Blossom ( Tsuioku no Dansu)
1990
directed with Hirokazu Kore­
• The Girls ' Daily Bread ( Mega­ 2003
eda] Shara ( Sharasoju)
mitachi no Pan) [short) •
 Naomi Kawase . 231

fling appears on soundtrack as "granny" is in­ The latter was to have an even more decisive im­
troduced. Again, the matter-of-fact naturalism pact on the young director, when he agreed to
is the notable aspect here, as we are treated to a produce Kawase 's first major work for the large
multitude of shots charting a year in life within screen, the fictional feature Suzaku.
this two-person micro-family, with the adop­ Using 3 5mm for the first time and utilizing
tive mother responding to Kawase's offscreen the talents of veteran cinematographer Masaki
questioning as she potters around the kitchen or Tamura, later responsible for the crisp sepia
the garden, planting peas, the camera occasion­ panoramas of Shinji Aoyama's Eureka (2000),
ally fixating on some peripheral detail such as Kawase's foundations in documentary resulted
a worm squirming on the pavement, marooned in a work that blurred the divisions between
from the soil. Though somewhat more conven­ fiction and reality. Using a cast largely made
tional-looking than its predecessor, Katatsumori up of non-professionals and set in a provincial
similarly demonstrates the stylistic traits in de­ village high in the wooded mountains of Nara
picting textures onscreen, and the non-diegesic Prefecture where Kawase was born and raised,
use of background sound, either intensified or Suzaku focuses on the internal dynamics of
interchanged to act as counterpoint to shots to a small rural community when the construc­
which they obviously don't belong. tion of a railroad tunnel is abandoned, failing
to bring the local economy the much needed
"I see myself as some sort of axis connecting boost that it seeks.
these i mages and sounds. I don't record im­ Suzaku went on to play widely on the for­
ages and sounds simu ltaneously. There are eign festival circuit to significant acclaim, and
the images and afterward there will be sound at the tender age of 27 Kawase found herself
or music that is unrelated . They are combined romping home with not only a FIPRESCI
with the function that I have within the fi l m . " award from Rotterdam, but also the prestigious
Camera d'Or prize for new directors from the
The most fascinating part of these early films Cannes Film Festival, the first female Japanese
is clearly the person behind the camera. Kawase director ever to gain such a high degree of in­
is not afraid to draw attention to the medium, ei­ ternational acclaim. Perhaps more surprisingly,
ther. In one shot, as the camera pans around the the Japanese press back at home pricked up
freshly raked soil of the garden, we see her shad­ their ears. At a time when many saw the do­
ow holding the camera, and when Kawase allows mestic film industry as having little to offer the
her granny to finally turn the camera on her, a rest of the world, the idea that a young girl from
lens flare obscures her face as the older woman Nara who cut her teeth making autobiographi­
shoots into the sun. cal home movies could compete on the inter­
Kawase's increasing exposure on the domes­ national circuit and win a major prize came as
tic festival circuit brought her to the attention of quite a shock. The hubbub swelled even louder
a number of influential figures in the industry, when shortly afterward the marriage between
including After Life director Hirokazu Kore-eda, Kawase and her producer for Suzaku, Takenori
whom she met at the Yamagata Documentary Sento, was announced. Few in the mainstream
Film Festival in 1 995, and more importantly, a media took time to note that Kawase was still
producer by the name of Takenori Sento. With making films.
the former, she collaborated on This World ( 1 996),
a series of 8mm film correspondences between "At the time this was rea l ly a big thing and I felt
the two directors intended for a film exhibition l i ke a panda in a zoo. There were a lot of differ­
held by the Yokohama Museum of Modern Art. ent kinds of offers, l i ke , could I give a lecture
232 . NAOMI KAWASE

Shara

here and there, and I couldn't concentrate on somehow her subjects seem more fully rounded
my next fil m for a long time because of that . " and alive than the fictional characters of Suzaku.
One character bares a shattered crenellation of
For her next work, stemming from a dissat­ teeth in a smile, though another later bashfully
isfaction with the way the fictional elements of holds up his hand in front of the camera as it
Suzaku failed to match the harsh economic real­ focuses in on his gummy maw as he tries to eat.
ity of the area, Kawase returned to the wooded But the portrait is never less than an affection­
village of Nishi Yoshino, the location of the first ate one, recording a lifestyle that is as unfamiliar
film, to shoot a documentary on the real-life to urban Japanese as it is to foreign audiences.
community of foresters who work there. The The subject may be different, but both the
end result was The Weald, filmed on a mixture technique and the subjective focus used in The
of video, 8mm, and 1 6mm. Focusing on the Weald remain similar to that of Kawase's earlier
aging members of six families still making their 8mm films. Complementing the tales of the
living from the forest, Kawase allows her sub­ woodcutters are sequences detailing the daily
j ects-introduced in monochrome photos from life of the community. An old man stokes his
their younger days-to deliver their stories to charcoal stove in his hut. Solitary figures trudge
the camera. along forest paths, dwarfed beneath the mag­
None of them are exactly in the springtime nificence of the wooded landscape. A communal
of their youth, and Kawase dwells on this physi­ traditional dance is shot hand-held, played back
cality, their gnarled hands and leathery skin, but in slow motion, the figures advancing frame
 Naomi Kawase • 233

by frame. Between this Kawase focuses on the one of Japan's most famous actors, Seven Samu­
minutiae of nature-icicles dripping and trees rai's Toshiro Mifune. Captured onscreen here is
rustling in the wind-and just as in her earlier the power play between the two artistic forces be­
films, the continuing hum of the camera shut­ hind the cameras as they vie for the attention of
ter, the muffled sound of the wind buffeting the two models, which soon escalates into a full­
the microphone, and the lack of music on the blown conflict between Kawase and Arimoto.
soundtrack remind us that all of this is real. Following her divorce, Kawase returned to
It is for this subjective aspect that Kawase her maiden name and retreated back into fic­
has come in for criticism. In the face of mass tion filmmaking in her home territory of Nara.
depopulation for the city from the younger sec­ Fortunately Sento was still on hand to produce
tors of the community, a phenomenon that has her next film under the J -Works banner of his
struck the rural sectors of Japan particularly Suncent Cinema Works production company.
hard over the past few decades, arguably some Aimed at courting a broader world audience,
sort of political or social context is required the films produced by J -Works were targeted
for these films in this age of hard-hitting, one­ squarely, and rather self-consciously, at the in­
sided media polemic. Using the same scene shot ternational arthouse market rather than main­
throughout various parts of the year to show stream domestic audiences, directed by names
the seasons, a recurrent device throughout her already well established and respected outside of
work, Kawase presents the countryside with a Japan. Some of the films worked, such as Shinji
mystical, timeless quality, seemingly isolated Aoyama's Eureka. Others, such as Nobuhiro
from outside forces. Such criticism is perhaps Suwa's H-Story (2 00 1 ) , were less well received.
valid. Kawase can be accused of "prettifying" the Probably Sento's greatest error was in allow­
impoverished rural areas of Japan. But at least ing the directors so much leeway in realizing
she gives us time to contemplate the images and their individual visions. Picking up a number of
what they mean, whilst evoking a particularly awards and critical plaudits at foreign festivals
vivid sense of an undocumented lifestyle. is one thing, but J -Works was not so successful
Whilst Kawase's marriage to Sento outlasted in persuading people at home to watch Japanese
the interest from the press, the couple divorced films. In late 2 0 0 1 Suncent Cinema Works fold­
less than two years later. During this time, she ed, with Sogo Ishii's costly production of Gojoe
made a further two documentaries under her touted as the reason, leaving a large proportion
married name, Naomi Sento. The first was a 45- of the company's back catalogue unreleased out­
minute special for TV Tokyo, entitled Ui'tznder­ side of the festival circuit.
ing at Home: The Third Fall Since Starting to Live Kawase's contribution to J-Works was Ho­
Alone, which screened in 1 998, again using 8mm taru, and coming so soon after her divorce as it
and video and again returning to the subject of a did, it is difficult not to read any personal feelings
missing father, in this case not her own, but that into this long and grueling but sensitive portray­
of the three grown-up children of a middle-aged al of the difficulties in the relationship between
widow whose husband, it is revealed, had com­ two emotionally scarred people in a small town
mitted suicide. Then in 1 999 came Kaleidoscope, in Nara. Shooting in a naturalistic cinema verite
in which she charted prize-winning photogra­ style over the course of a year allowed Kawase,
pher Shinya Arimoto as he prepared a series of as with her documentary work, to chart the rela­
portraits for two girls from radically different tionship through the four seasons.
social backgrounds-Machiko Ono, the non-ac­
tress plucked from the village of Nishi Yoshino " I wanted to d raw out more rea lity by descri bing
to star in Suzaku, and Mika Mifune, daughter of the seasons very much I n detai l , l i ke the same
234 . NAOMI KAWASE

Shara

trees are wet in June, and when the summer think that after getting intimate physically you
comes they are more green and lively, so you can get really closer to the person . But actu­
can say it is symbolic, but it is very much con­ ally I wanted to show by the positioning of the
nected with reality for m e . " actors that you can't get so far inside of some­
body so quickly or so easi ly. You can't find

This documentary style veracity also somebody really i m portant j ust through sex . "

stretches to the performances, which are almost

painfully direct. In one scene, set the day after With Hotaru, Kawase's reputation became
the couple make love for the first time, they firmly cemented in Europe, despite the film
meet in the street outside one of their homes. only playing in a limited number of venues in
Mer having already shared such a great degree To kyo. When the producer Luciano Rigolini
of physical intimacy together, they both seem from the French/German TV-channel Arte
very awkward with each other in terms of direct approached her with the proposition of financ­
communication. In this lengthy scene the cam­ ing a kind of sequel to Embracing, she accepted
era lingers like a bystander, keeping the viewer the offer. The second instigating factor was the
at a similar literal and emotional distance from death of her long-estranged father. Covering
the couple as they linger at opposing sides of similar territory as her early films on her fam­
the frame, avoiding each other's eyes. ily situation and clocking in at little under an
hour, the result was Kya Kara Ba A, whose title
"What I wanted to say was that people tend to comes from a Buddhist term, a Sanskrit expres-
 Suzaku • 235

sion that has to do with the five elements of air, think it's i m portant to use these experiences

wind, fire, earth, and water. I ' ve had in my life and turn them i nto fiction . "

"When I first heard of this concept I was in­ Whether Kawase will totally abandon her
trigued by it, because the philosophy behind it own personal experiences in her documentary
is that each of these elements on its own has work remains as yet to be seen. Her presence
l ittle meaning, but when they are brought to­ was inevitably felt in Letter from a Yellow Cherry
gether in the right combination something gets Blossom, which covered the final 1 8 hours of the
across and things start to happen. I thought respected critic and photographer Kazuo Nishii
I could draw a parallel with my own life and as he passed away with terminal cancer, and was
work up 'til now. There ' s the relationship with filmed as a two-way dialogue between the sub­
my father, the relations h i p with other members ject and his portrayer.
of my family. They ' re elements that I had not Still, Kawase seemed to be retreading old
dealt with in the right combination before. ground with her next fictional feature, Shara.
So I thought it would be appropriate to name Released in 2 00 3 , it covers the lives of a family
this fi l m after the five elements, because if I living in Nara five years after the unexplained
brought together all the elements that have disappearance of their 1 2 -year-old son. Kawase
been present i n my work so far into this one herself took the role of the heavily pregnant
fi l m , it would be the best way to get across mother after the original star, Reiko Kataoka
what I wanted to convey about life . " (Hush.0 was forced to drop out due to ill health,
but the end results were all too reminiscent of
Kya Kara Ba A mixes the personal documen­ both Suzaku and Hotaru.
tary format of her earlier films with more arti­ Recently, similar to Shinji Aoyama, she has
ficially staged sections, including a scene where been responsible for transforming her own film
Kawase receives a (fake) tattoo. The pain of the fiction into literary fiction with the noveliza­
tattoo and the act of having that tattoo made, of tions of both Suzaku and Hotaru. In the mean­
having pain inflicted on you and in that process time, despite retrospectives in 2 000 at the Nyon
becoming stronger, acts as a metaphor for her Documentary Film Festival in Switzerland, and
childhood rite of passage. Occasionally we get in 2 002 at the Infinity Festival in Alba, Italy and
to see the clapper board and the camera crew, the Musee du J eu de Paume in Paris, her work
harking back to Sh6hei Imamura's ground­ still remains difficult to see, poorly circulated
breaking experimental documentary A Man both in Japan and abroad. It's a crying shame.
Vanishes, the director a magician-like figure For all her critics, Kawase remains a unique
capable of dictating, within the confines of this voice in Japan, and one that cries out to be heard
onscreen world, reality. Even if Kya Kara Ba A by far more people.
does cover familiar territory from her earlier
work, these sections do prove that, at last, Ka­
wase has come back to her starting point and is
finally, in film form at least, in control of her -v Suzaku
own reality. IWO)*�
Moe no Suzaku
"This is of course a very private film and also
in my previous films I 've delved into my own 199 7 . CAST: J u n Ku n i m u ra , Mach i ka Ono, Sach i ko
private l ife a lot. I don't think I can get any Izu m i , Kota ra S h i bata , Yas uyo Ka m i m u ra , S aya­
deeper than I 've gotten now, so from now on I ka Yamaguch i , Kazufu m i M u kah i ra . 95 m i n utes .
236 • NAOMI KAWASE

RELEASES: OVO, Les Fi l m s du Paradoxe (France, ried around the village on the back of her elder
French s u btitles); VH S , Paradoxe (France, French cousin Eisuke's scooter. Life goes on as usual as
s u btitles); VCO, Edko Fi l m s ( H ong Kong, Engl ish/ the family continue to eke out a living from the
C h i nese s u btit l es ) . land, until one day the father, Kozo, wanders off
into the night. Later the family receives a phone
Scenic and beautifu l , Kawase 's Can nes win­ call from the police reporting that his dead body
ner set amongst the rural backdrop of the vil­ has been found, his treasured 8mm camera lying
lage of N ishi Yoshino i n N a ra Prefecture may beside it.
prove a l ittle slow moving for some tastes_ The urban-rural divide in Japan is a big one.
Since the war, and especially during the rapid
The ancient Nara region, considered the spiri­ industrialization of the '60s, the countryside has
tual nexus of Shinto in Japan, is wild, wooded, faced a mass exodus as millions have headed for
mountainous, mysterious, and, above all else, the cities in search of work. With film produc­
traditional. The city itself was Japan's first fixed tion companies now almost exclusively based in
capital between the years 7 1 0 and 7 84, the time Tokyo, despite a small independent filmmaking
known as the Nara period, and, like nearby scene in Osaka, few have remained to document
Kyoto, every year millions of tourists arrive the void that has been left. In Suzaku, Kawase
by the busload to visit the ancient temples, the attempts to show this other side of a Japan that
deer park, and the famous 1 6-meter-tall bronze has been all but buried in neon and ferro-con­
Buddha statue. Nara Prefecture is also home to crete during the developments of the past cen­
one of the most intriguing directors working in tury, and how this rapid urbanization, whilst
Japan today, Naomi Kawase . maybe not to the same extent leaving its physi­
Kawase's first foray into fictional feature cal mark on the countryside, has left a hole in
making stays within these geographical environs, the lives of its inhabitants. This is symbolized
but sees her entering new territory in terms of by the gaping tunnel mouth of the railroad that
its subject matter. Suzaku sees her broadening is under construction, which in the modern se­
the focus from her own immediate emotional quences is shown blocked up and barricaded.
world to take in the dynamics of a whole com­ With the services of Masaki Tamura at her
munity, with a tale on three generations of the disposal, Suzaku, whose title refers to the name
Tahara family, a household inhabiting the re­ of a Chinese deity, certainly captures the moun­
mote cedar logging village of Nishi Yoshino. tainous region in all its majestic beauty. Kawase
Suzaku is divided into two segments. A tells her tale in a series of long, unedited takes,
lengthy prelude set some fifteen years before utilizing a pseudo-documentary style that strives
portrays a community depleted by an earlier for veracity in its attempt to portray the habitu­
economic crisis that saw half of its inhabitants al lives of those that inhabit this emotional heart
departing for the city. Those who remain await ofJapan and their place its this broader environ­
with baited breath the completion of a railroad ment. Background music, as well, is kept down
project that will connect them to the outside to the bare minimum of a simple piano refrain
world and bring much needed economic relief that periodically interrupts the soft throb of ci­
to the area. Flash forward fifteen years, howev­ cadas of this halcyon summer.
er, and the project has been abandoned, leaving To further her end, all the roles in Suzaku
the villagers stranded from modernization and are taken by non-professionals cast from the vil­
seemingly forgotten. Grandmother Tahara is lage, with the exception of Jun Kunimura, who
sent off to an old person's home, whilst the tod­ plays the head of the family, a fairly familiar face
dler Michiru is now a high school student, fer- throughout the '90s, debuting in Yoichi Sai's All
 Hotaru • 237

under the Moon (Tsuki wa Dotchi ni Deteiru) in Beautifu l , naturalistic tale of the trou bled de­
1 99 3 , and going on to play in such important velopment of a relationship between a young
titles as Gojoe, Audition, and Chaos. Machiko stripper and a potter is the c rowning moment
Ono, who plays Michiru, won the Best Actress of Kawase 's featu re fiction.
award at the Singapore Film Festival the same
year and later became one of the focal points of There's a concept known as honne-tatemae in
Kawase's documentary, Kaleidoscope. However, Japan, which governs how members of society
due to the approach taken in Suzaku, no single negotiate their interactions with one another, a
character is really ever allowed to take center dichotomy between an individual's true feelings
stage. The characters don't act, they just float or motivation (honne) and the surface appearance
around in front of the camera: digging the gar­ or fac;:ade that he or she puts forward (tatemae).
den, riding up and down the street on bicycles, It has proven a fundamental conceptual corner­
shuffling in and out of the house, muttering stone for numerous writers, both Japanese and
pleasantries and inconsequentialities to one foreign, to explain a whole host of aspects of]ap­
another, mere figures to be shown going about anese society to uncomprehending outsiders: the
their daily business against an awesome moun­ inscrutable nature of the people and their appar­
tainous backdrop. ent inability to express emotion, or the way that
As a result, Kawase's faked documentary their quiet, polite, and unassuming nature masks
style is ultimately rather difficult to get a grip a society where discretion goes in hand and hand
on. Suzaku is so subservient to portraying daily with what would pass as the most flagrant of
reality that it ignores the drama. The characters moral transgressions in other cultures. And fi­
never make any decisions that will influence the nally there's the sleek modern image which the
flow of the narrative, and one knows that once city of Tokyo projects, masking the fact that out­
the running time has expired, life will go on as side of the Kanto plains, much of]apan has been
usual. There's no higher message, no political left far behind in the rural past.
agenda, no attempt at putting forward any sort In Hotaru, Kawase lets the mask slip on sev­
of judgment on events. Suzaku is just there to be eral fronts. Firstly, as with all her work, it is set
taken at face value. in what might as well be a world away from To­
Because of this, the viewer may feel like a kyo's urban bustle, in the earthier territories of
distant observer watching these people's actions provincial Nara. Secondly, it deals with human
through a telescope. Lyrical and poetic, raw and emotions in a way that is both raw and brutally
beautiful-all of these are adjectives that can be honest. It is perhaps why her work has proven a
applied to Kawase's films, but Suzaku's picture lot more popular abroad than at home. This film
postcard socio-realism lacks the intimacy that picked up a FIPRESCI Award for the director
made her earlier, smaller-scaled work so powerful. at the 2 000 Locarno International Festival, and
yet slipped onto screens back in Japan virtually
unnoticed. Hotaru certainly has a lot to recom­
mend it, and can certainly be said to represent
� Hotaru the purest summation of Kawase's approach
*� throughout her first decade of filmmaking. In
this respect, it showcases both her strengths and
2000. CAST: YLiko N a k a m u r a , Tosh iya N agasawa , weaknesses as a fiction feature director.
M iya ko Yamaguch i , Tos h iyuki Kita m i , Ken M its u i­ Hotaru is centered around the character of
sh i . 164 m i n utes . Ayako, first seen as a teary-eyed seven-year-old
in the film's early stages, after the suicide of her
238 . NAOMI KAWASE

mother leaves her marooned in an adult world. val, with which the film opens, the faces of the
Flash forward twenty years and she is still bearing spectators outside the temple, including a young
the emotional scars, as she works during the eve­ Ayako, bathed with the glow; the dancing lights
nings as a stripper whilst living with her elder sis­ from the glitterball suspended above the stage at
ter, Kyoko. Daiji is a reclusive artisan, carrying on the strip club; the dying embers of Daiji's kiln;
the family tradition of making pottery for the local the fireworks display that sears the sky at the end
temple and still living firmly under the shadow of of the film. Indeed, courtesy of camerawork by
the reputation of his recently deceased grandfa­ Masami Inomoto, who also shot Nobuhiro Su­
ther, whose kiln stands symbolically in the middle wa's highly acclaimed improvisational piece MI
of the forest near his home. When the two meet, Other ( 1 999), another Takenori Sento produc­
Ayako is recovering after an abusive relationship tion, Hotaru is never short of stunn i ng. Shooting
which ended with an unwanted pregnancy and over the course of a year, Kawase fills her film
an abortion. She is immediately impressed with with such naturally beautiful images as a slow
Daiji's gruff honesty and the two begin a relation­ time-lapse sequence of clouds drifting across the
ship, though one that suffers further complica­ face of the moon, and a ferry crossing the sea,
tions when Ayako's grandmother dies and Kyoko against the golden light of a setting sun.
becomes terminally ill with cancer. Like her previous Suzaku, Hotaru is shot in a
The word hotaru means firefly, and is a com­ manner which obscures the distinction between
monplace motif in Japanese arts and literature. documentary and fiction, using handheld cam­
Indeed, a big-budgeted film directed by Yasuo eras and natural light. In this case however, Ka­
Furuhata starring the iconic presence of Ken wase benefits from having fewer characters to
Takakura was released in Japan with the same depict, and a more human hook into the drama
title in the same year as Kawase's film. And yet, in the form of the central romance. Whilst using
as Kawase has pointed out, in the urban areas of a non-professional in the central role of Ayako
Japan fireflies can no longer be seen. The reason (Nakamura, who despite a memorable enough
is that the elaborate mating displays with which performance, has subsequently not appeared
the insects signal to each other are now literally in anything significant), Nagasawa, who plays
buried in the neon glare of the city. Kawase uses Daiji has had roles in a number of films dur­
this metaphor throughout the film to detail how ing the '90s, including Aoyama's Helpless, Kaze
difficult it is for two isolated people to find each Shindo's Love!Jlfice, and Miike's Family. A more
other in a modern world with its myriad distrac­ intriguing presence is Yamaguchi in the role of
tions. The shows put on by the strippers in the Kyoko, a former starlet in Nikkatsu's Roman
tawdry club where Ayako plies her trade to a Porno films of the '70s, including Shogoro
horde of captivated men are an obvious parallel Nishimura's version of Gate of Flesh (Nikutai no
with the lighting displays of the fireflies. Mon, 1 97 7), Noboru Tanaka's contribution to
Moreover, the kanji Kawase uses in the film's the series based on Takashi Ishii's violent rape
title is not the conventional one for the firefly, manga, Angel Guts: Nami (Tenshi no Harawata:
but an alternative compound word made up of Nami, 1 979), and Koyli Ohara's nasty nun flick,
the two characters meaning "falling fire"-the Wet Rope Confession (ShudOjo Nurenawa Zange,
same used in Studio Ghibli's Grave of the Fire­ 1 979). She has made more recent appearances
flies. Kawase makes full use of this falling fire in Go Riju's Chloe (2 00 1 ) and Yoshinari Nishi­
as a further visual metaphor, filling the frame kori's A White Ship (Shiroi Fune, 2 00 1 ) .
with as much natural light as possible-from The raw improvisational approach certainly
the showers of embers falling from the burning contributes to a lot of the film's power, though
brands wielded at the hi-matsuri, or fire festi- to some eyes may appear its biggest stumbling
 Hotaru . 239

block. Kawase's lovers are so moody, withdrawn, Kawase's script consists of a number of simi­
and unresponsive to ont! another that you some­ lar emotional crises steering this central rela­
times wonder why they got together in the first tionship, giving the film an episodic feel that
place. Ayako in particular revels in her role as makes its lengthy running time felt. Hotaru is
the neurotic little girl who never quite grew up, undoubtedly too long, a criticism which can be
desperately seeking a father figure in the form leveled at all of Sento's J-Works productions
of Daiji's hairy craftsman to restrain her and and attributed to the amount of creative leeway
shake her when she gets too hysteric. he gave the directors working under his aegis.
Both characters clearly have a lot of psycho­ But this is perhaps beside the point. In a global
logical hurdles to clear before emerging reborn film culture where new releases from whatever
at the end of the film. After first spending the part of the world seem to invoke the same tired
night together, the two sit in near silence for al­ feelings of deja vu, it's a marvel that a film like
most five minutes, trying to gauge each other's this can still get financed at all. Kawase is the
feelings by reading the subtle shifts in each oth­ only person doing this sort of thing, the only
er's expressions. Ayako confesses to Daiji that person with a finger on the pulse of what is
she's a stripper, and asks if it bothers him before going on in the less well-documented sectors of
insisting he come to watch her performance. Japan. As such, Hotaru remains a powerful and
Embarrassed, he deflects her questions with unique invocation of both time and place, and
more questions, verbal brush-offs. The cut and a remarkably emotive depiction of its two cen­
parry is interspersed with long pregnant pauses. tral characters as they come to terms with their
It's a grueling scene, not only due to its length, roles within it.
but also for its painfully earnest nature.
 CHAPTER 17

Sabu
(Hiroyuki Tanaka)
1]-7" (ffilftfWlf)
It's not uncommon to spot film directors from Tanaka), has corne from the opposite angle, so
the Japanese independent sector popping up in to speak, having started his career in the indus­
roles in each other's films. Seijun Suzuki, who try as an actor. Even more unusual is that the
has developed a neat sideline in TV appearances, transition to film directing has been pretty much
was a conspicuous presence in Shinji Aoyama's absolute. Aside from an appearance in Miike's
Embalming. Aoyama himself has appeared briefly Ichi the Killer and, up until Monday, occasional
in Kiyoshi Kurosawa's License to Live (sitting at a bit parts in his own work, since his debut with
nightclub table alongside Akihiko Shiota) and the Dangan Runner in 1 996 the mild-spoken di­
experimental Barren Illusion, and Go Rijii's Chloe rector appears to have little desire to return to
(Kuroe, 2 00 1 ). Rijii turned up in a small role as his days in front of the camera, opting almost
the bus hijacker in Eureka in return and one of exclusively to remain behind the scenes.
the few guilty pleasures of Aoyama's straight-to­ In doing so, over the past decade he has
video debut Kyokasho ni Nai! was finding Kiyoshi proven himself to be one of the most popular
Kurosawa in a cameo. Rijii also played in Yoichi and dependable directors working in Japanese
Sai's debut All under the Moon (Tsuki wa Dotchi ni cinema. Both at horne and, perhaps to an even
Dete fru) back in 1 993 , and Sai had a major part greater extent, abroad, he has gained a legion
in the drama of Nagis a O shima's Gohatto ( 1 999). of fans through his unique approach of develop­
Takeshi Kitano, of course, turns up everywhere, ing and refining a trademark style of wild and
and Shinya Tsukamoto, when not playing in his free-form, quirky action-comedies populated by
own work, has graced our screens in a variety characters who hurtle headlong though squirm­
of roles, from Kaizo Hayashi's The Most Ter­ ing narratives steered more by the forces of
rible Time in My Life to a colorful appearance incidence and coincidence than their own indi­
as a cross-dressing bottled water salesman in vidual actions. Sabu's films are reckless charges
Ben Wada's The Perfect Education (Kanzen Naru to who-knows-where, in which the ride is more
Shiiku, 1 998), and a more serious recent out­ important than the destination.
ing like Naoki Ichio's A Drowning Man (Oboreru And the ride is seldom a smooth one. The
Rito, 2 002). None of these filmmakers, however, most unforeseen of factors or the simplest of
would count acting as their main profession. misunderstandings can send the plot flying off
Unusually, director Sabu, real-life name Hi­ obliquely in any number of unpredictable di­
royuki Tanaka (sometimes credited as Hiroki rections, with a surprise usually lurking around

240
 Sabu (Hiroyuki Tanaka) . 241

every corner. Take Unlucky Monkey, for instance, characters barely conscious of each other's exis­
in which the story is launched when two bun­ tence come into conflict in unexpected and often
gling first-time bank robbers (played by the quite bizarre ways. As Yamazaki in Unlucky Mon­
director himself and his favorite lead, Shin­ key is fleeing from the police, in another part of
ichi Tsutsumi) arrive at their target only to find town a trio of yakuza accidentally brain their
that another thief, wearing an identical white boss (Ren O sugi) with a bottle whilst pouring a
ski mask, has already got there first. When this drink for him, when another gang member, for a
first unexpected burglar is gunne d down by the joke, bursts into the room wearing the same ski
bank's security guards as he runs across the road mask Yamazaki dropped into a dumpster earlier
to where the two would-be thieves are standing on, and the others spin around in panic. Later,
open-mouthed, the bag of swag sails through Yamazaki finds himself seated alongside the pan­
the air into the waiting arms of Sabu, and then, icked mobsters in a shop selling ramen noodles.
after the security guards' rifles are turned on Similarly Dangan Runner's trajectory is
him, to Tsutsumi's character, Yamazaki. Making launched by a chance meeting at the local conve­
his escape into a maze of back streets, Yamazaki's nience store of three characters who are all hav­
first potential heist becomes more fraught when ing a particularly bad day, whilst the dim-witted
he spins around into the path of a young beauty protagonist of Postman Blues goes about his daily
wearing a walkman who fails to notice him, land­ rounds blissfully unaware that he is being simul­
ing himself even further in hot water when the taneously pursued by both the cops and the mob.
knife he is clutching plunges deep into her chest. Drive kicks off when Asakura, a lonely office
worker who parks in the same spot at the same
"It might appear as circu mstance of cou rse, but time every day to watch the fantasy figure of Ko
if you look at it more closely there's always a Shibasaki rounding the same corner and making
reason why you are somewhere in someplace a purchase at the local florist, one day finds his
at some time. Even though from the outside car invaded by a trio of unwanted joyriders on
it looks l i ke thi ngs happen without a reason , the lam after a major bank job. In a witty twist
there's sti ll a l s o a k i n d o f necessity there. on the central concept of Jan de Bont's Speed
When you move about or when you are con­ ( 1 994), the stressed out white-collar, first seen
fronted by a situation in which you end up by being diagnosed for hypertension by his doctor,
luck or whatever, it is sti ll your reaction to it refuses to break the 40kph speed limit.
that creates something new. So it is not en­ It is this combination of unpredictability,
tirely by chance that these thi ngs happen . " apparent illogicality, slapstick, and keen-eyed
observation of the more absurd details of oth­
Unlucky Monkey is perhaps the archetypal ers' external behavior that lies at the heart of the
Sabu set-up, in every respect. Multiple subplots popularity of Sabu's films. They present us with
play side by side, diverging and converging again a very down-to-earth form of escapism, and one
to combine and interfere with each other, as that anyone can identify with. They typically

Filmography Burusu) 2002

1998 • A1012K [short]
1996 • Drive
• Dangan Runner (Dangan • Unlucky Monkey (Anrakki
Ranna) (a.k.a. Non-Stop) MonM 2003
2000 • The Blessing Bell (K6fuku no
1997 Kane)
• Postman Blues (Posutoman • Monday
• Hard Luck Hero
242 . SABU ( HIROYUKI TANAKA )

ness that surrounds them. In one part of Unlucky

Monkey, Yamazaki attempts to avoid capture by
concealing himself in a crowd of men and women
ducking into a hotel, finding himself unwitting­
ly stuck in the heart of a huge debate between a
group of environmentalists and a company accused
of pollution. In The Blessing Bell, the main charac­
ter, Igarashi, stops for a drink in a tiny bar situated
beneath the rail tracks, where he sits as a silent,
inscrutable witness to an argument going on be­
tween the barkeep and a customer refusing to pay,
followed by the emotional breakdown of a fourth
party to this scene, an aging salaryman who out of
the blue declares that he's dying of cancer.

"The main Interest for me there is the droll ness

of normal people's everyday l ives , how simply
it can turn Into something bizarre . Let's say
that this helplessness sometimes shows you

how fu nny life can be. People are supposed to

be com posed and know how to behave, but

can suddenly deviate from what is ex pected
as normal behavior. Those moments are very
reflective on how people really a re , I t h i n k . "

Sabu (right) on set

Hiroyuki Tanaka's creative path into film­
making is as convoluted as one of his scripts.
deal with characters that you might spot on an In fact, his initial plan was to make it big in the
everyday basis going about their daily business, music industry, starting out as frontman for a
your average everyday Joe. cover band whilst at high school in the Wakaya­
There's the salaryman of Monday, who wakes rna area where he grew up. After working on
up in a strange hotel room, fully clothed and their own material, the band released one self­
in a muck sweat, his memory a huge drunken financed album in a limited run of 500 copies,
void from the night before. There's the epony­ which all ended up being given to the people
mous hero of Postman Blues, who learns to his who'd lent them the money to record it in the
cost what it means to read other people's let­ first place. High school came to an end, and the
ters. There's the down-trodden factory worker individual band members all went their sepa­
in The Blessing Bell, barely conscious of the rate ways to continue their studies, with Tanaka
broader world around him as his long walk to going on to spend the next two years at a design
clear his head after being laid off from work school in Osaka. Here he formed another band,
eventually leads him back to his front door. but when it came to graduation, the pattern re­
At heart, Sabu's characters are blank canvases peated itself once more and he found himself
for the audience to project upon, passive partici­ heading up to Tokyo, alone, where he moved on
pants to the absurdities of the situations they find to his next musical proj ect.
themselves in and silent spectators to the mad- Tanaka's creative destiny was not to lie with-
 Sabu (Hiroyuki Tanaka) · 243

in this particular industry, however, and some­ low-budget V-cinema territory, although he
where along the line he switched to acting. His did get to appear in supporting parts in Ryliichi
first break was a minor role in Sorobanzuku in Hiroki's critically acclaimed mainstream youth
1 986, directed by Family Game director Yoshi­ movie 800 Two Lap Runners (Happyaku Two Lap
mitsu Morita, and starring a famous double act Runners, 1 994) and Takashi Miike's Shinjuku
that broke through at around this time. In a Triad Society.
story about a TV advertising agency, he played
an actor for one of the commercials, cast for the "Up until World Apartment Horror I used my

ability to make a mean face. real name, but after that I played a character

For the next five years, he kept up acting called Sabu. On the set it is common for the

using his real name in a series of small uncred­ actors to call each other by their character's

ited parts, which were, according to the direc­ name, and it stuck as my nickname, so I de­

tor himself, "mostly gangster roles, yakuza, or cided to keep on using it. A lot of people asked

'chinpira'" for films that did little to bring him me about it. It sounds good , it stands out, and

to the attention of critics or the wider public, people always rem e m be r it. When I started
until a breakthrough appearance in Katsuhiro d i recting I stuck to this name . "
O tomo's World Apartment Horror ( 1 99 3 ) gar­
nered him a Best Newcomer award at the Yo­ By 1 996, Tanaka, under his new moniker of
kohama Film Festival. The film, a rare foray Sabu, had successfully steered his career into di­
into live action from the manga artist and recting. His first film, Dangan Runner, was for
director of Akira ( 1 988), tackled the issue of a newly revitalized Nikkatsu, which had just
racial prejudice against S outheast Asian immi­ returned to film production, albeit in a rather
grants in a high-spirited horror comic-styled slimmed-down manner. Sabu's debut work stems
rendition of a story which saw Tanaka's mean out of a dissatisfaction with the type of films
yakuza trying to evict a building-full of Asian being made in Japan at that time, and doesn't fit
immigrants living in Tokyo. They eventually into any of the standard types of genre filmmak­
ward him off by evoking the spirit of a toilet­ ing then popular-the violent, stylized yakuza
dwelling demon. films typified by the work of Takeshi Kitano,
Takashi Miike, or Takashi Ishii; the slow natu­
"Again I played a yakuza, b u t this t i m e it was ralistic arthouse pictures from directors such as
a completely different experience for me: the Nobuhiro Suwa, Naomi Kawase, and Hirokazu
d i rector was a lot more demanding and I had Kore-eda; or the wave of pre-millennial horrors
to work a lot harder for this role, and it was represented by The Ring and Cure.
very interesting to do. Since then I became a As with the best Japanese movies of the era,
little bit spoilt and raised my level for the sort Dangan Runner is a triumph of inventiveness
of roles I would accept, but the qual ity of the in the light of harsh budgetary reality, forcing
scri pts of the work that was offered to me at Sabu to carve out a niche with his own peculiar
that time was below this leve l . I kept on acting approach to storytelling. Though in terms of
but after a while I started to think that it might plot, it is little more than an extended on-foot
be better to start writing and d i recting my own chase scene between three unrelated charac­
stories . So this is why I chose to switch to ters-a petty thief, a convenience store clerk,
d i recting." and a lowly gangster-it is a model of narrative
ingenuity in the way that it keeps the action j og­
The roles didn't get much better after World ging along for the duration of its running time,
Apartment Horror, seldom straying too far from adding the weight of characterization to the
244 . SABU ( HIROYUKI TANAKA)

Hard Luck Hero

three-man tag team by means of flashbacks and A bigger budget meant that Sabu's next of­
their own imagined proj ections of the outcome fering was slightly more substantial, though cer­
of the chase, as their minds begin to wander and tainly no less inventive. Postman Blues features
their bodies begin to tire. a happy-go-lucky postal worker named Sawaki
who, whilst delivering a letter to Noguchi, an
" I n Dangan Runner, my first fil m , I made the old school friend who is now part of the yaku­
characters run throughout the fil m . If I would za, walks off by chance with his freshly severed
have had to do a car chase it would have cost finger after it rolls off the table and falls into
a lot more money, so In that way there's al­ his mailbag. Not only does this land his former
ways a l i m itation when you make a film, and classmate in trouble with his mobster bosses,
from that l i mitation, I differ from other people who need the chopped-off pinkie as proof of
in that I can make a kind of shift and develop the young man's allegiance to the gang, but it
a story along l i nes that are u npredictable for also lands Sawaki in hot water when he is spot­
viewers, I think. Probably that will remain my ted by the police leaving his friend's apartment
style from now on as wel l . I think It's proven to and unwittingly becomes the main suspect in
be successful and has achieved what I want­ a drug-trafficking case. A worthy second step
to enterta in people and also to get them think­ to Sabu's directing career, Postman Blues is fast
Ing a bout the pOints In the story. I am sti li the paced and funny, though the steam was some­
only person that does It this way. " what knocked out of what seemed at first glance
a unique premise by a further coincidence: It
 Sabu (Hiroyuki Tanaka) • 245

traveled several international film festivals to­ I think to myself, it's very hard to look mean

gether with another film revolving around the all the time. The scene i n Monday where the

adventures of an errant postal worker, Norwe­ boss starts complai n i ng about how tough It

gian director PiB Sletaune's Junk Mail (Budbrin­ Is to be a yakuza, It's not completely distant

geren, 1 997). from the truth , because when you start think­

Like Dangan Runner, Postman Blues is struc­ Ing about what type of l ife they lead, and really

tured around a multiple pursuit, a format that think seriously a bout It and not believe a l l the

would be refined throughout much of Sabu's things they show you i n normal yakuza films,

oeuvre. It also features Shinichi Tsutsumi in the you start wondering whether It's such a nice

lead role, an actor who has starred in all of Sabu's way to l ive after all. The thing I picked out was

work up until The Blessing Bell, and whose work comedy, but there a re l ots of other things we
outside of Sabu's oeuvre lies predominantly on can imagine a bout them . "
the stage. It also takes great delight in its repeat­
ed potshots at the tough guy image of the yaku­ Sabu's films have been ready-made hits on
za, attempting to perforate the myth put forward the underground cult circuit and have proven
for years in cinema, that their lifestyle is a par­ wildly popular when they have played on the
ticularly glamorous one. Noguchi's character in festival circuit. Monday won the FIPRESCI
Postman Blues is even shown visibly worshipping prize at Berlin in 2 000, and many of Sabu's films
a poster on his wall of the iconic Ken Takakura, have been released abroad. Until recently the
star of dozens of films in the genre from Toei applause at home has been somewhat muted,
studios. Making heavy use of such familiar regu­ with the director falling some way beneath the
lars as Susumu Terajima and Ren O sugi, instead, radar as far as the serious film critics are con­
Sabu's work has a tendency to portray the yakuza cerned. Nevertheless, with six features under his
as a mixture of bumbling buffoons and craven belt, Sabu has established himself firmly enough
cowards, constantly running scared or squab­ to find his fan base growing ever wider and his
bling like children. In Unlucky Monkey, when status in the industry more secure. Shortly be­
one unfortunate trips, the gun secretly tucked fore the release of Drive in 2 002 , he was called
into his belt goes off and blows a bloody hole in in to direct the 1 7 -minute short film, A I OI 2K,
his crotch. intended as an advertisement for a range of
mobile phones. A J 01 2K features a stand-off
" Of course this is a genre in Japan that is stil l between a renegade robot and a SWAT team
treated very seriously, and there a re a lot of wielding cell phones, set in the Shibuya branch
fi lms in which they a re shown as real cool guys of the Tsutaya chain of video shops, who also
that the viewer either tries to emUlate or feel made the film available for free rental on video
nostalgic about. And actually the young people as a promotion (though the film was later re­
that go to watch these films sometimes end leased on DVD).
up going on to become yakuza themselves . I In the meantime, whilst arguably yet to chart
think that's not a good thing, because in the much in the way of new territory, his films have
end gangsters a re really not very nice people. continued to get bigger and better, slicker and
On the other hand, because they have such a more efficient, and still as wildly entertaining
clear and dangerous i mage it's very easy to as they ever were. Though recent work like The
make fun of them. Blessing Bell has hinted at a change in pace and
"I acted myself for a very long time and direction, it remains to be seen just how deeply
I 've done a lot of yakuza roles, so I know how the Sabu style is ingrained within his work.
you a re supposed to look as a gangster and At any rate, Sabu's work still manages to re-
 main popular abroad. After a domestic theatri­
cal premiere at the 2 00 3 Tokyo International
Film Festival, his Hard Luck Hero, a rock-about
vehicle for the prefab boy band V6 set in the
world of underground kickboxing, was released
directly to DVD in Japan. It's a typical work for
the director, but in a review for Variety, D erek
Elley accused the filmmaker of "hasty scripting"
and as "largely marking time, with only occa­
sional flashes of real inspiration . " Nevertheless,
the film was selected for the Special Invitation
section of the 2 004 Berlin Film Festival.

� Dangan Runner
�jL7 :,.tT-
Dangan Rannii, a. k.a. Bullet Runner,
Non-Stop
1996 . CAST: Tomorowo Taguch i , S h i n i c h i Tsutsu­
m i , Diamond Y u ka i . 8 2 m i n utes . RELEASES: DVD ,
Beam (Japan , no s u btitl e s ) ; VC D , U n iverse ( H ong
Kong, Engl i s h /C h i nese s u btitl e s ) .

A w i l d rollercoaster ride or a w i l d goose chase?

Sabu 's characteristically charismatic debut is
an i nventive piece of na rrative i ngen u ity, and
sets the pace for a n entire career.

Things aren't going well for Yasuda (Tetsuo star

Taguchi). Shortly after his dismissal from the
lowly post of kitchen porter sees him upended
like a turtle on the galley floor covered in shred­
ded cabbage, he is next seen cruelly being given
his marching orders by his girlfriend, shortly
before she exits stage left into the night, arm in
arm with another man.
Desperate measures are called for to salvage
his crumpled pride, and so he conceives a plan
to hold up a local bank. Even this has its obsta­
cles, however. The simple act of buying a face
mask from a local convenience store to disguise
his features is scuppered when he discovers he
Dangan Runner has left his wallet at home. In desperation he
 Monday • 247

stuffs the mask in his pocket anyway, though he random thought patterns as, tired out by their
is spotted by checkout boy Aizawa, who chases exertions, their minds begin to wander. In one
him out of the shop and into the street. nicely amusing scene, while they jog along the
Meanwhile Aizawa (Yukai), a washed-up and pavement, the sight of a pretty young woman
drug-addled rock singer, is having trouble pay­ triggers off a series of sexual flights of fancy in
ing for his latest fix. Obviously his menial em­ all of the runners, as they all imagine themselves
ployment in a convenience store won't support making love to her before coming around to
his habit, and the sight of some lowlife reprobate the reality of their situation and continuing the
pilfering from the shop aisles doesn't do much chase.
to improve his humor, either. He sets off in hot By hardly allowing himself to draw breath
pursuit, though the chase is rudely interrupted in the early stages of the story set-up, Sabu has
by the arrival of his local yakuza dope-peddler some difficulty in maintaining the same mo­
Takeda (Tsutsumi), out to collect payment for mentum throughout the rest of the film, and
the fairly hefty backlog of unpaid-for drugs. just like that of the three running men of the
Takeda has problems of his own, however. title, its pace does begin to flag towards the final
Even whilst hot on the trail of the other two quarter. However, considering the evidently low
losers, he has his own reasons to run. After ac­ budget, Dangan Runner is a remarkably accom­
cidentally allowing his own boss to be rubbed plished debut with a refreshingly different ap­
out by a rival gang, he finds that the rest of his proach. A wild rollercoaster ride, or a wild goose
mob are rather eager to catch up with him. The chase, it's probably best left up to the individual
three men, pursued by a carload of irate mob­ viewer to decide, but it's a fast one nonetheless,
sters, set off on a lengthy on-foot chase through and you do get to see an awful lot of scenery
the streets of Tokyo. along the way.
Sabu's directorial debut sees the former
actor asserting his unique approach to the ac­
tion-comedy: a frenetic, chaotically busy style -.v Monday
that would be refined and perfected over his
successive films. The simple premise set up 1999 . CAST: S h i n i c h i Tsutsu m i , Ren O sugi , Va·
swiftly with the convergence of our main trio of s u ko M atsuyu ki , M as a n o b u Ando , S u s u m u Ter­
protagonists, the film initially threatens to fol­ aj i m a , Tomorowo Tagu ch i , N a o m i N i s h i d a . 100
low the route of the sort of extended multiple m i n utes . RELEASE: DVD , R a p i d Eye Video (Germa­
chase sketches favored by lewd British fun­ ny, German s u btitl e s ) , Taki Co rpo rati on (Japan ,
nyman Benny Hill or the Keystone Cops. Yet no s u btitl e s ) .
Sabu's approach to such a potentially restrictive
linear narrative is in no way as straightforward A salaryman wakes u p i n a hotel room with
as the film's title dangan means bullet-would
- a hangover and a ga ping hole in his memory.
suggest. Turning conventional approaches to Based on objects he fi nds i n his poc kets and
plot structure inside out, Sabu lets the charac­ around his roo m , he manages to retrace the
ters shape the plot rather than the plot shape events of the previous night and comes to a
the characters. shocking d iscovery. A more cha racter-based
The result is wildly unpredictable and often effort for d i rector Sabu, and qu ite a leap for­
quirkily humorous. Rather than more tradition­ ward from his previous fi lms.
al means such as dialogue, the three runners'
characters are fleshed out by use of flashbacks, When young salaryman Takagi wakes up one
daydreams, bizarre POV shots, and seemingly Monday morning, he finds himself in a strange
248 • SABU ( HIROYUKI TANAKA)

hotel room, fully clothed and with a gaping hole for mixing comedy and drama that is second
in his memory. How did he get there and what to none. In his films, the two are mutually ad­
happened to him the night before? As beads of vantageous, with one element enhancing the
sweat start trickling down his forehead, he fum­ weight and impact of the other. Playing a big
bles through his pockets in search oCa handker­ part in this is his eye for detail, born of his ob­
chief. servational skills, which makes small things play
Out falls a bag of purification salt, an item a major role in the unfolding of the story.
traditionally used at Japanese funerals to ward Masterfully constructed and at times ach­
off evil spirits. It brings back the memory of a ingly funny, with another rock-solid tragicomic
wake over the dead body of young Mitsuo (Masa­ performance by the underrated Shinichi Tsut­
nobu And6, the younger of the two layabout sumi, this is one Monday you won't want to give
delinquents from Takeshi Kitano's Kids Return a mISS.
and also seen in Battle Royale), an event which
quite literally ends with a bang and saves the
family the cost of a cremation. From there on,
the previous night's events slowly start to unfold ..v The Blessi ng Bell
in Takagi's mind, spurred on by small objects ¥:miO)iH
he finds around the room and in his own pock­ Kofuku no Kane
ets-objects whose significance for Takagi's fate
grows increasingly ominous. 200 2 . CAST: S u s u m u Teraj i m a , N a o m i N i s h i d a ,
With Monday, Sabu steers well clear of the Itsuj i Itao , Seij u n Suzuki , Ry6ko S h i n oh ar a, T6ru
frenetic, high-speed hijinks he had up until that Masuoka. 87 m i n utes .
moment been known for, going instead for cal­
culated, cleverly constructed situational story­ A slower-paced fi lm for Sabu, but i s this more
telling. This change of pace allows the director med itative tale of a recently fired bl ue-collar
to show that he is not a one-trick pony work­ worker embarking on a quest for meaning i n
ing in the vacuum of his own self-created genre h i s life really a change i n d i rection?
niche, but that he can handle characterization,
can carefully build up his story, and that he ac­ To those taken with Sabu's approach, his films
tually has something to say. just keep getting better and better, but to his
In Monday, Sabu's trademark brand of ab­ detractors there's still an anticipation that the
surdist comedy retains a strong down-to-earth director might someday be capable of deviating
quality which is very much grounded in every­ from the template to deliver something a little
day life and which makes it instantly recogniz­ more substantial, and at first glance, The Bless­
able and thus more effective . The premise of ing Bell would appear to be such a film. Having
a drunken businessman, for instance, carries progressed from on-foot chases, with his 1 996
even more weight when one knows that every debut Dangan Runner, through bicycle chases
weeknight around the midnight hour, Tokyo in Postman Blues, and culminating in the four­
subway trains are full of heavily intoxicated wheel pursuits of his previous film, Drive, as if
salaryman. they all represented the various rungs on the
Monday establishes Sabu as a keen observer, evolutionary ladder, it looked like the direc­
not only of the society around him, but also of tor's automotive obsessions had reached their
human nature and behavior, and, as the film's pinnacle.
guns-versus-reason finale shows, of man's moral Given this, for those awaiting something
fiber. As a director and storyteller, he has a gift different from the director, the opening lengthy
 The Blessing Bell · 249

The Blessing Bell

static shot of a rusting, empty train track filling ribs. A passing policeman rides into the frame
the frame accompanied by the strains of a howl­ on his bicycle, and Igarashi is promptly ushered
ing wind seems rather encouraging. However, it off to jail.
soon becomes clear that Sabu's ostensible stab In prison, a confession from his cellmate
at an art film is not so much a departure as a opens up a new sense of purpose for the redun­
change of pace. dant worker. Upon his release a few hours later,
The Blessing Bell follows the slow, head-down his innocence proven, a visit to the Chance Bar,
trudge of its blue-collar protagonist, Igarashi, where the killer's deceased wife used to work as
through the twenty-four hours succeeding the a hostess, sets in motion a chain of events that
moment he is laid off from his factory when it take in an encounter with a ghostly Seijun Su­
announces it has ceased operations. After fruit­ zuki and a lucky stumble across a winning lot­
lessly scouring the local job ads, Igarashi pauses tery ticket.
to sit and ponder his fate by the banks of a river. Susumu Terajima as Igarashi, here replacing
Here, his silent musings are interrupted by the Sabu's regular leading man Shinichi Tsutsumi
mumbled confessions of a penitent yakuza seated for the first time, makes for a wonderful audi­
a couple of meters in front of him, seemingly in ence identification figure, plodding through the
the midst of a religious conversion. After finish­ film as if carrying the weight of the world on his
ing his speech, the gangster slumps forward and shoulders. Bemused brow furrowed in concen­
rolls down the slope, collapsing in a heap at the tration as he peers frettingly into the beyond,
bottom to reveal a large knife jarred between his our hapless agent is shuffled by the caprices of
250 . SABU ( HIROYUKI TANAKA)

fate through a series of vignettes in which he lating chain reaction narrative akin to Kitano's
stumbles into the daily lives of a host of unre­ Getting Any ?
lated characters. For all that, though,. The Blessing Bell still
With no dialogue for the first twenty min­ ends up back exactly in the same place where it
utes, The Blessing Bell is both slower and more started, and those expecting any radical change
lyrical than Sabu's usual fare, but no less en­ of tack from the director might find themselves
joyable because of it. Melding a host of subtle disappointed. At the risk of damning it with
visual gags in an episodic structure marked by faint praise, Sabu's latest still makes for steady
humorous about-turns in both tone and tra­ and compelling viewing, and even if it doesn't
jectory, perhaps an apt description would have quite satisfy the lofty expectations it initially
the gloomy melancholy of Mike Leigh's Naked engenders, there's still plenty to enjoy here for
( 1 993) rubbing shoulders with an absurdly esca- both fans and casual viewers alike .
 CHAPTER 18

Hideo Nakata
qt m31§�
There have been few more gripping images con­ an end. With the growing popularity of cheaply
jured up by turn-of-the-century fantasy cinema shot straight-to-video pornography during the
than that of the pallid-faced figure of Sadako, a '80s, the market for large-screen erotica was
solitary bloodshot eye peering through her lank, rapidly shrinking. Nikkatsu's production had
greasy locks, emerging jerkily from the cathode­ slimmed down from the previous decade (their
ray tube towards the viewer. With its spare, less­ peak year was 1 9 7 3 , when they released just
is-more approach, The Ring launched a thousand under 70 titles), and to cow1ter competition
nightmares across Asia and Europe, and spawned from the AV market, were making their films
a Hollywood remake en route. Japan had a new rougher and "harder"-not to mention a good
king of horror, and his name was Hideo Nakata. deal cheaper.
Nakata's strength, most efficiently showcased Nakata entered Nikkatsu as an assistant
in The Ring, is an ability to evoke a brooding to the director Masaru Konuma. One of the
sense of anxiety without resorting to cheap scare studio's most treasured possessions, the prolific
tactics, short sharp shocks, or buckets of blood Konuma was the figure behind glossy sado­
and offal. The chilling efficiency of his method masochistic spectacles such as Flower and Snake
has ensured that Nakata's name has become firm­ (Hana to Hebi, 1 974), and Wife to Be Sacrificed
ly identified with the macabre, something about (Ikenie Fujin, 1 974), bot11 starring the statuesque
which the director is not entirely happy, especial­ figure of Japan's favorite fetish actress, Naomi
ly when considering that even a cursory glimpse Tani. During the mid-'80s, even t11is studio vet­
at his track record reveals a surprising diversity eran was beginning to feel the pinch, and was
of works in a number of different genres, from forced to film Woman in a Box: Virgin Sacrifice
documentary to teen-oriented drama. (Hako no Naka no Onna: ShOjo Ikenie, 1 985) on
Like so many filmmakers of his generation, video to be released as part of t11eir new Roman
Nakata's passage into the industry came via X straight-to-video hard core series. In it, a sa­
erotic films, specifically those being produced distic couple kidnap a young girl and take her to
en masse by Nikkatsu. Born in 1 96 1 in Okaya­ t11eir underground lair. Over an hour of rape and
rna Prefecture, by the time Nakata got involved torture ensues, culminating in the young girl
with the company in the mid-'80s, shortly after being imprisoned in a large box wit11 her head
graduating from the prestigious Tokyo Univer­ poking out the top. Though considered a classic
sity, the heyday of Roman Porno was limping to in some circles, Woman in a Box, based on a script

251
252 • HIDEO NAKATA

by Kazuo Komizu under his customary pseud­ scenes in an a musement park, so we had to

onym of Gaira, is pretty strong stuff, boasting pretend that it was for a TV production and
an endless parade of horrific scenes of graphic carried different scripts . "

violence acted out by hideous cast members and

shot with the production values of an Australian And yet, Nakata still harbors a good deal of
soap opera. Indeed, Nakata's first job in the film affection for these days. He went on to work
industry was anything but glamorous. with Konuma on the older director's final works
in the erotic arena, the first film's glossier large
" I n many people's minds Roman Porno Is very screen sequel, Woman in a Box 2 (Hako no Naka
artistic, but In real ity, I was treated almost no Onna 2), as well as Rinbu (a.k.a. La Ronde) in
l i ke a slave. We worked for very long hours 1 988. After a break from filmmaking of over
with a low budget, shooting a 60-70 minute ten years, Konuma returned to the screens with
long feature fi lm in just seven or eight days, the more mainstream offerings of the nostalgic
and we often didn't sleep for 36 hours or so. It piece of family entertainment, Nagisa (2 000), a
was a very hard, tough job. Sometimes we had rite-of-passage movie about a young 1 3 -year­
to shoot In the crowds, so we had to hide the old growing up in the '60s, and Mizue (Onna wa
camera. For example, in Woman In a Box we Basutei de Fuku 0 Torikaeta, 2 002), by which time
shot the first scene in a car very near to Shin· Nakata's career path had led him not only to
j u ku station, so we had to put a black cloth the other side of the world and back, but also to
u p so that passers-by couldn't see what was the top of the Japanese box office. Still, he paid
going on. The camera was hidden but there homage to his mentor with the documentary
was a l ight on the top of it, and the car wasn 't Sadistic and Masochistic in 2 00 1 , made partially
moving, so the passers-by could sometimes for his own enjoyment and partially to introduce
figure out what was going on and would laugh. the name of the director whom Nakata still con­
We had a sort of inferiority complex, which siders a major stylistic and technical influence
Is contradictory as we were making a movie on a wider number of people.
and, of course, this movie would end up being Interestingly, one of Konuma's earlier as­
shown at fil m theaters, but we had to hide sistants from the '70s was a certain Toshiharu
ourselves d u ri ng the fil m shoot. Sometimes we Ikeda, whose ultra-violent, ultra-stylized Evil
had to lie to the people who owned the prop­ Dead Trap (Shiryo no Wana, 1 986), a macabre
erty. For example, we had shot lots of sexual slasher film owing much to the films of Dario

Filmography 1997 2000

• A Town Without Pity (Ansatsu • The Sleeping Bride ( Garasu
1986 no Machi-Gokudo Sosasen) no No)
• Natsutsuki Monogatari [short) ( a . k . a . Assassin Town) • Jushiryo: Gaiten [video)
1992 • Haunted School F ( Gakko no • Jushiryo: Gaiten 2 [video)
• Honto ni Atta Kowai Hanashi Kaidan F) [TV, co-d i rected • Chaos (Kaosu)
[TV seri e s , 4 episodes, co­ with Kiyosh i Kurosawa) 2001
d i rector) 1998 • Sadistic and Masochistic
1995 • The Ring ( Ringu) 2002
• Jokyoshi Nikki: Kinjirareta Sei • Joseph Losey: The Man with • Dark Water ( Honogurai Mizu
1996 Four Names (Joseph Losey: no Soko kara)
Yottsu no Na 0 Motsu Otoko)
• (Ura) Tosatsu Nanpa Do 2003
• Ghost Actress (Joyiirel) 1999 • Last Scene
• Ring 2 ( Ringu 2)
 Hideo Nakata • 253

Argento and David Cronenberg, is to Japanese

horror of the '80s what Nakata's The Ring is
to the '90s. Graphically gruesome and played
straight-faced, Ikeda's film is often seen as the
apotheosis of the splatter movie, foreshadowing
the genre's decline throughout most of the '90s,
until Nakata's film pointed toward new and sub­
tler directions for horror to pursue.

" T h e least I can s a y is t h a t I never l i ked splat­

ter movies In the '80s, the Hollywood style

ones. I never watched them. Perhaps people H ideo Nakata

are bored with them now. I personally think

there are different waves and trends in the In 1 992 , Nakata took his first job as a direc­
horror genre, so maybe I n five or ten years Hol­ tor, prophetically enough, within the field of
lywood m ight start producing these kinds of horror. Honto niAtta Kowai Hanashi [trans: Scary
splatter movies aga i n . Maybe because of the stories that really happened] was a series of one­
developments In computer technology In fi lm hour TV shows which ran for about six months
production we can create every kind of cruel on TV Asahi, each divided into two twenty­
image we can imagine, so probably at the end minute episodes. Nakata directed three of these
of the '80s, we ' d reached this extreme point episodes; Shiryo no Taki [trans: The waterfall of
of expressions of cruelty. So now we a re aware the evil dead] , Norowareta Ningyo [trans: Cursed
that maybe this kind of violence and cruelty is doll] , and Yurei no Sumu Ryokan [trans: The inn
too much for the audience: with so many serial where the ghost lives] .
murders happening in the real world, we regu­ Meanwhile, at the beginning of the '90s
larly watch this sort of thing on the news. This Nikkatsu had decided to get out of the market of
is just my opinion. These days, I think that the erotica, and after a period of over twenty years
audience would l i ke to watch more sophisti­ had returned to more mainstream film produc­
cated or subtle psychological horrors . " tions, albeit low-budget ones for TV or the
straight-to-video market. It was at this time that
It was during these early days at Nikkatsu Nakata moved to London on an artistic scholar­
that Nakata made his very first film as a direc­ ship to study the British Free Cinema movement
tor, independently produced outside of the stu­ at the capital's National Film Archive. Coming
dios for his own fun, a 3 0-minute short called about due to technical changes that resulted in
Natsutsuki Monogatari [trans: Summer moon the increased availability of lightweight 1 6mm
story] . Shot over a course of weekends using camera equipment, this movement of the late
friends from an independent theater company, ' 5 0s and early '60s has parallels with the French
the story was a straightforward drama about a Nouvelle Vague . Stating in its manifesto that it
film projectionist who is asked by a female el­ believed "in the importance of people and the
ementary teacher to show Buster Keaton silent significance of the everyday, " its foundations
comedies at the rural school where she works. lay in a number of low-budget documentaries
Filmed silent in 1 6mm monochrome, it was that centered around the seldom before por­
never intended for commercial distribution, trayed lives of the working classes. Intended
and screened only a couple of times, with a live as a kickback against the more literary based
music accompaniment. classical model of British post-war cinema, the
(Ura) Tosatsu Nanpa Do
 Hideo Nakata • 255

movement's socio-realistic "kitchen sink" ap­ laborations with the acerbic scriptwriter Harold
proach resulted in a number of works sketched Pinter, The Servant ( 1 963), The Accident ( 1 967),
out against the backdrop of a crumbling Brit­ and The Go-Between ( 1 970), memorable for
ish class structure, amongst which are the films their disturbing psychological and warts-and­
of Lindsay Anderson (0 Dreamland, 1 9 5 3 ; This all depictions of the British aristocracy and the
Sporting Life, 1 96 3 ; If. . . , 1 968); Czechoslova­ thin divide that separates them from the masses,
kian-born Karel Reisz (Saturday Night and Sun­ Losey later was responsible for a number of pan­
day Morning, 1 960); Tony Richardson (A Taste of European co-productions such as an adaptation
Honey, 1 96 1 ); and John Schlesinger (Billy Liar, of Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen's The
1 963), as well as a new emigre to the capitol Doll House ( 1 97 3 ) and Les Routes du Sud ( 1 978),
from Poland (via France), Roman Polanski (Re­ about an exiled Spanish revolutionary who hav­
pulsion, 1 96 5 ; Cul-de-Sac, 1 966). ing forged a successful career as a screenwriter,
What attracted Nakata to the movement is returns years later to his homeland.
unclear, but at any rate, the movement had been
a fairly short-lived one, and it wasn't long be­ " H e actually came to Japan to shoot parts of

fore he had seen all of the films he had come his second-to-Iast fil m , La Truite (The Trout,
to watch, allowing him more time to fill in the 1982 ) . This French fi l m has Japanese scenes
gaps in his film knowledge by watching a lot of at the beginning of the fi l m . That was the time

early Hollywood classics and to travel around I was in college and went to a seminar a bout

mainland Europe. cinema. This sem inar I nfluenced me a lot.

The professor was a big fan of Losey 's works,

" I a l s o realized t h a t fi lm production in England but we cou ldn't see any of his American fi lms
and in Europe in general at that time, around other than The Boy With Green Hair, nor any of
1993, was not so active . I watched a special his early British fi lms before The Servant and
effects shoot at Pinewood Studios for Bernardo The Criminal. "
Bertolucc i ' s Little Buddha, but that was my

only active experience of a fil m shoot in Eng­ After completing his scholarship, Nakata
land. I traveled around continental Eu rope a came back to Japan, returning to London in
little and then I decided I needed to do some­ 1 994 to shoot the interviews for his documenta­
thing creative. " ry, though it was to be several years before post­
production was completed. In order to finance
I n 1 99 3 , whilst Nakata was still i n Europe, this pet project, Nakata luckily found several
Nikkatsu went bankrupt. With the future of the directing jobs, including an erotic feature dis­
film industry in Japan looking just as shaky as tributed by Toei, Jokyoshi Nikki: Kinjirareta Sei
it did in Europe, his own career path as a di­ [trans: Female teacher's diary: forbidden sex] .
rector looked uncertain. Nakata decided to The Losey documentary was eventually released
stay on in England for a short while longer to in 1 998, between the two Ring films, to accom­
make a documentary on the director Joseph pany a retrospective of the director's previously
Losey ( 1 909-84) . The U . S .-born filmmaker unreleased work in Japan, as Joseph Losey: The
proved a fascinating subject. Having moved to Man with Four Names, referring to the pseud­
Britain in the ' 5 0s as a result of the McCarthy onyms under which he had to work.
anti-communist witch-hunts, the left-leaning Nakata has made no secret of his disinter­
Losey directed his first films there under a se­ est in horror. Ghost Actress was written purely as
ries of pseudonyms, first putting his name to a commercial exercise in order to gain enough
Time without Pity ( 1 95 6). Best known for his col- money to complete his documentary on Losey,
256 • H I DEO NAKATA

yet at the same time his first feature foray in the Scene is not such a real istic depiction of the
genre, based around a cursed film production, Japanese film industry, from my point of view.

makes an interesting precursor to The Ring. Pro­ But probably those two fi lms share someth i ng

duced by wunderkind Takenori Sento under his that has to do with my love for fil m making.

J -Movie Wars production house, a subsidiary One of my favorite fi lms is Day for Night by

of Japan's first satellite broadcasting company Fran4fois Truffaut. These two fi lms don't look

Wowow, the story revolves around an attempt like this, but probably one of the reasons why I

to make a period drama set during the Second was attracted to that kind of "fi l m production"

World War. Opening with a sequence of tradi­ su b-genre is because I worked as an assistant

tional Japanese dolls staged in various postures director at N i kkatsu stUdios for seven years ,

against a backdrop of translucent shOji paper where those two fi lms were shot. For Last

screens, we join the story as the preliminary Scene, maybe 9 5% of it was shot at N i kkatsu
preparations for the shoot are underway. Dur­ studios, and most of the scenes of Ghost A c­

ing the casting of the film's two main actresses, tress were, too . "
a ghostly subjective presence peers down on the
crew from above the lighting rig. Shortly after its bankruptcy, Nikkatsu stu­
Ghost Actress showcases all the stylistic devic­ dios was bought up by the electronic games
es that the director would use in his later film, giant Namco, and in 1 996 started production
The Ring. Perfectly crafted, and demonstrating once more. One director who was to make his
the director's restrained, even-handed approach debut feature with the newly opened company
to pacing to create an unnerving atmosphere, was Sabu. He was present in Ghost Actress in his
it gained Nakata an award for Best New Di­ original capacity as an actor, playing the role of
rector at the Michinoku International Mystery the first assistant director, and also appeared in
Film Festival in 1 99 7 . The film world setting is Nakata's next work, an erotic film produced by
perhaps the greatest masterstroke, allowing for Nikkatsu directly for the video market.
some effective film-within-a-film trickery, with (Ura) Tosatsu Nanpa Do [trans: (Behind the
the subliminal shots of a beautiful young actress scenes) Hidden camera pick-up technique] is
as she materializes on the daily rushes preparing about a recently graduated photographer who
the ground for Sadako's cursed video in the later harbors lofty artistic intentions, but instead
film. As with Italian director Michele Soavi's fi n ds himself freelancing as an assistant cam­
Deliria (a.k.a. Stage Fright, 1 987), and Nakata's eraman for a glossy men's magazine. He soon
later non-horror offering Last Scene, the set­ finds he gets more than he bargains for when
ting also allowed the director to get around the he becomes entangled with the secretary work­
problem of a limited budget. ing in the front office of the publication. Nakata
himself sees parallels with the main character
"When I thought of the idea for Ghost Actress, I of the story, and with his own path into film­
understood that the budget of this project was making working for Konuma, in this amusing
very l i m ited, so I thought that if I shot the film and well-crafted pink film. It was also one of the
j ust i n the studios, we could avoid the prob­ final roles for Sabu (who sheds his clothes at one
lems of location shooting: h i ring cars, transpor­ point to join in the action) before he decided to
tation from location to location, etc . We shot leave the acting profession in favor of directing.
Ghost Actress in ten and a half days, and Last Less entertaining was Nakata's next film, A
Scene in fifteen days. We were very budget Town without Pity, a perfunctory thriller about
conscious again when we shot Last Scene. a police detective who goes undercover to in­
Ghost Actress is of course a horror fil m . Last filtrate a gang of local mobsters in an attempt
 Hideo Nakata • 257

to disclose allegations of murder and corruption

by a senior colleague. Nakata handles the mate­
rial in a proficient and assured enough manner,
but being slow-moving and with not much in
the way of action, the end results provide little
in the way of a hook for the viewer.
Fortunately bigger things were round the
corner. In the following year he directed the
first two episodes of the three-part Kansai TV
omnibus, Haunted School P, further strengthen­
ing his reputation as a director with the ability
to handle supernatural material in a unique and
chilling fashion (the third episode was directed
by Nakata's main rival in the horror stakes in
Japan, Kiyoshi Kurosawa). But it was his next
production that would bring Nakata to the fore­
front of contemporary Japanese filmmaking.
Koji Suzuki's first novel, The Ring, caused a
huge stir when it was published in the summer
of 1 99 1 , an intriguing mix of mystery, horror,
and pseudo-science involving a murdered child
psychic named Sadako, now expressing her
rage via a telepathic curse spread like a virus by
means of a video cassette. The writer followed
up this roaraway success with The Spiral (Rasen)
in 1 99 5 .
The Ring fi l m project was initiated by three
producers: Takenori Sento, with whom Nakata
had made Ghost Actress; Takashige Ichise, the
young hotshot who produced Kaizo Hayashi's
debut To Sleep So As to D ream at the tender age
of 2 4 and later went on to produce The Grudge
(Juan) series; and Shinya Kawai, later producer
of Joji !ida's Another Heaven (2 000). The pro­
duction had been in development for over a
year before Nakata was brought on board, join­
ing scriptwriter Hiroshi Takahashi with whom
Nakata had worked already on the Honto ni Atta Joseph Losey: The Man with Four Names
Kowai Hanashi TV series and the films Ghost Ac­
tress and A Town without Pity. story to make it work better dramatically. The
Straight away the two got to work on a first major alteration was in changing the char­
script, one which departed in several aspects acter of the novel's central investigator from a
from Suzuki's source material, re-treading al­ man into a young single mother. However, per­
ready proven material from their previous col­ haps the most significant deviations came with
laborations and developing new angles to the the character of Sadako. A prototype of the
258 • HIDEO NAKATA

shambling figure in a white dress, hair brushed company Kadokawa Shoten insisted, and a com­
over her face, had already appeared in the Yurei petition was announced to find a suitable script
no Sumu Ryokan episode from the 1 992 TV se­ to take off from where the first film ended.
ries, which the two had worked on together, About four hundred scripts were submitted, but
and was reprised in Ghost Actress. In Sadako it none proved suitable, so Nakata and Takahashi
reached its most effective incarnation. Moreo­ sat down and came up with a story that would
ver, the scenes from this previous film in which start off almost immediately after the ending of
the Ghost Actress's blank visage appears between the first one and exist independently from the
frames on the newly shot film footage are an events of The Spiral. Branching off to follow the
obvious antecedent for Sadako's cursed video, character of Mai (played by Miki Nakatani), the
developed further in Nakata's Rei Bideo [trans: girlfriend of one of the now-deceased victims of
Spirit video] episode from Haunted School. And the videotape in the first film, Ring 2 is a com­
finally, the scene in which Sadako crawls from plete departure from Suzuki's novels, a hospital
the television screen came not from Suzuki, but horror that builds on the myth of Sadako whilst
was inspired by the Western horrors of David filling in parts of the back story.
Cronenberg's Videodrome ( 1 9 8 3 ) and Tobe
Hooper's Poltergeist ( 1 982). .. The Spiral and Ring 2 have a sort of parallel
In an unusual step for the '90s, the produc­ world. I understand it's a bit confusing. When
ers decided to release the first two Suzuki adap­ we made Ring 2 we were thinki ng of John
tations together as part of a double bill. Nakata's Boorma n ' s Exorcist 2. That's a very pec u l i a r

film opened alongside Joji Iida's The Spiral on horror m o v i e . I shared his desire to m a k e a

January 3 1 , 1 998, and became an instant suc­ very strange horror fil m : scientifi c , sad, and
cess. Iida had already been involved in the more lots of elegance I n one fil m . His intention
faithful TV movie version of the first novel, Is what Inspired us. There a re a few similar
Ringu: Kanzenban [trans: Ring: complete edi­ scenes. "
tion] in a scripting capacity. His adaptation of
The Spiral concentrated more on the scientific Ring 2 came out at the beginning of 1 999 on
aspects of Suzuki's second novel, downplaying a double bill with Shunichi Nagasaki 's Shikoku, a
the horror and mystery in an attempt to ex­ ghostly tale not related to Suzuki's novels. As is
plain, rather than mystify. Playing more along usually the case with sequels, despite similarities
the lines of a classical horror mystery, Nakata's in style with its predecessor, as a standalone film
slow and assured pace and disturbing ambiance, it rarely reached the same terrifying heights,
in which evil lurks within every household ap­ and Nakata sensibly decided to opt out of the
pliance, considerably overshadowed Iida's film. third Ring film, Ring 0: Birthday.
The Ring set in vogue a horror boom which last­ The Sleeping Bride, Nakata's next feature
ed several years, plugged into the end-of-mil­ project, was a complete about turn into ro­
lennium feeling of uncertainty and unease many mantic fantasy, an adaptation of the manga Ga­
were sensing, and not just in Japan. rasu no No [trans: The glass brain] by Astroboy
The immense success of The Ring made it creator Osamu Tezuka, based loosely on the
inevitable that a sequel would be demanded. fairytale Sleeping Beauty. This gentle film, an
The problem was, of course, that Suzuki's sec­ oft-overlooked and underrated part of Nakata's
ond novel, The Spiral, had already been adapted, oeuvre, was not a commercial success, however.
and his third, L oop , had yet to be published (it Released in the same year was Chaos, a taut and
appeared mid- 1 998, and as yet remains un­ intricately plotted kidnapping movie, but nev­
filmed). Nevertheless, Suzuki's publishing ertheless, Nakata's attempts at spreading his
 Hideo Nakata . 259

wings into other genres seemed hindered. With wood remake of The Ring arrived in the States in
horror still a marketable genre to be tapped October 2 002 , his next film premiered in Berlin.
into, 2 000 saw the resurrection of Nakata and Last Scene told the tale of a rather self-inflated
Takahashi's three original Honto ni Atta Kowai '60s movie idol left in a commercial wilderness
Hanashi episodes on a video omnibus entitled, after his onscreen partner quits to get married
Jushiryo: Gaiten [trans: Cursed ghost: supple­ and his wife dies in a car accident. Thirty-seven
mentary story] . years later he arrives, as an old man, to work as
an extra on a rather banal production financed
" H onestly speaki ng, I don't l i ke horror films, by a TV company. Here he forges a friendship
as a person or as an audience member. But with a cynical prop girl who, like him, has be­
critics and reporters look u pon me as a horror come disillusioned about the state of the in­
fil m d i rector, so it's a lmost inescapable for me dustry. However, as the production progresses,
now. People in Hollywood now also look u pon through their relationship they both rediscover
me in the same way, so now, maybe, it's be­ the joy of movie making.
come my fate. But I ' d l i ke to produce different
kinds of movies . " " Last Scene is a straightforward melodra m a .
T h e main i d e a is to make the audience c ry .
Given their immensely successful track re­ Melodrama is my favorite genre, b u t I cannot
cord, Nakata and Takahashi seemed the obvious survive j ust making melodramas, as they don't

choice to adapt Suzuki's 1 997 horror novel Hon­ make so much money . "

oJ!;Urai Mizu no Soko kara [trans: From the bottom

of the murky water] . Dark Water fits comfort­ The story is based on an original idea by the
ably within the genre of Old Dark House chill­ film's producer, Takashige Ichise, who also pro­
ers with obvious precedents in Nicholas Roeg's duced the first two Ring films. Beginning with
Don 't Look Now ( 1 97 3 ) and Stanley Kubrick's a film-within-film sequence, it uses the 1 965
The Shining ( 1 980), featuring an emotionally prologue t o contrast the difference in Japanese
unstable single mother trapped in the midst of production methods over the past thirty years.
a complicated custody battle with an abusive ex­ According to Nakata, the main character is
husband for their five-year-old daughter. Mov­ loosely based on Chishu Ryii , a star actor from
ing to a dilapidated old tenement block on the the ' 5 0s and '60s who appeared in a number of
outskirts of town, both mother and daughter are Ozu's better-known movies such as Tokyo Story,
subjected to increasingly frequent visions of a and who died in 1 993 . Though some review­
young girl in a yellow raincoat. Meanwhile, the ers in Japan saw the film as an implicit criticism
dripping taps, leaking roofs, and overrunning of the new industry structure, Nakata him­
gutters are welling up at an alarmingly steady self stressed that the film was not meant to be
rate, eventually threatening to saturate the en­ anything more than a nostalgic melodrama,
tire building. Though not causing quite the realistic in neither its portrayal of the indus­
same ripples as The Ring, Dark Water did little try working methods nor its central narrative
to harm Nakata's reputation as a sturdy and ef­ arc. Unfortunately the South Korean company
ficient crafter of scary supernatural stories. It that produced it went bankrupt shortly after its
received a relatively widespread release around completion, meaning that this further attempt
the globe for a Japanese horror film, and joined by the director to escape the horror genre into
Chaos to become the third of Nakata's films to more personally favorable territory was, disap­
be bought up for Hollywood treatment. pointingly, not widely distributed theatrically in
In the meantime, shortly after the Holly- Japan, surfacing on video a few months later.
260 . HIDEO NAKATA

With The Ring standing amongst of the Asakawa into an investigation as to the cause.
most prominent Japanese films known abroad There seems to be some link with a news report
at the tail end of the millenium, there has been she is working on regarding urban myths, spe­
significant foreign interest in its director, who cifically one regarding a video cassette that kills
had a number of discussions with Hollywood anyone who watches it, with the only way to
studios. Nakata himself is eager to go wherever remove the curse being to show it to someone
the work takes him, be it Hollywood, Europe, else within the space of a week. Reiko follows
or continuing to make films within his horne the trail of corpses down the Izu peninsula to a
country, though he harbors a desire not to be rented holiday cabin where Tomoko had been
typecast. The question that is on everybody's holidaying with her deceased companions. Here
lips at this early stage in his career is whether he she discovers an unmarked video tape, which
will be able to shake off Sadako's curse. Having she puts into the machine. The tape contains a
already covered such diverse ground in such a sequence that shows a young girl brushing her
short time, this seems a very likely possibility. hair in a mirror, overlaid with the Chinese char­
acters that spell the name "Sadako," followed by
a grainy sequence of a girl crawling from a well
and towards the viewer.
..v The Ring Realizing the link, and haunted with the
I) >-, -;J' premonition of her own demise, Reiko turns
Ringu for help to her ex-husband Ryliji (played by for­
mer action idol and protege of Sonny Chiba,
1998. CAST: N a n a ko M ats u s h i m a , H i royu ki Sana­ Hiroyuki "Henry" Sanada-star of Norifumi
d a , M i ki N a katan i , R i kiya Ota k a , Y iJ ko Takeuch i , Suzuki's messy 1 982 actioner Roaring FirelHoero
H itom i S ato . 9 5 m i n utes . RELEASES: DVD , U n iver­ Tekken, who much later took center stage in Yoji
sal ( U . S . , Engl i s h s u btitle s ) , Tartan ( U . K . , Engl i s h Yamada's Twilight SamurailTasogare Seibei, 2 002 ,
su btit l e s ) , S pectru m DVD ( Kore a , Engl ish/Kore­ and had a sizeable part in the U.S. production
an s u btitl e s ) . The Last Samurai, 2 00 3).
Following a series of clues in a race against
"The key l i n e is very simple. There is a cursed time to save her life, the two eventually pinpoint
video which can kill very q u ickly, i n seven the source of the curse on the island of O shima,
days exactly, and the th ree main cha racters just south of the Izu peninsula. Here they un­
watch the video. How can they get away from cover the legend of Sadako Yamamura, a child
the c u rse? That kind of very simple and strong psychic pitched down a well thirty years prior,
story, it m ight not be very realistic, but, wel l , and now somehow manifesting herself by means
VCRs and TVs have become s o common i n o u r of the video.
d a i l y l ives, i n J a p a n and i n other Asi an coun­ Koji Suzuki's novel The Ring was first pub­
tries, as wel l as i n E u rope and America. And lished in 1 99 1 . Its simple plotline of a cryptic
of cou rse , Koji Suzu k i ' s ideas are very su it­ message encoded onto a videocassette that kills
able for popu lar horror movies, especially for anyone who watches it proved familiar and
teenagers . " -H i deo N a kata simple enough to grasp the public's imagina­
tion firmly in its steely grip, finding such analo­
The mysterious death of her teenage niece, To­ gies in the real world as chain letters, computer
moko, and the seemingly unconnected demise viruses, and bootleg videos. Its popularity way
of three of her friends at exactly the same time exceeded the author's expectations, leading to a
leads TV journalist and single mother Reiko new interest in horror in Japan and prompting
 The Ring • 261

the publication of The Spiral in 1 99 5 and Loop in Ring 2 branched off from the original concept
1 998 to form an ad hoc trilogy that appears to in a well-constructed but uncalled-for sequel
have evolved rather than being constructed to that continued right where the original left
any set plan. off, before Nakata stepped out of the franchise
First transferring from the page to the to make way for Norio Tsuruta, later director
screen by way of a plodding TV adaptation, of the disappointing adaptation of Junji Ito's
Ringu: Kanzenban (directed by Chisui Takiga­ manga about a rural town besieged by killer
wa), Nakata's theatrical representation is where scarecrows, Kakashi (2 00 1 ) . The final theatrical
the curse of Sadako found its ideal host. It radi­ release of this series was the "prequel" film Ring
cally reshaped the source material, assimilat­ 0: Birthday (Ringu 0: Biisude), based on one of a
ing aspects of Nakata's own film oeuvre into compendium of short stories that made up Birth­
the substance to dress up the original pseudo­ day, Suzuki's fourth book in the series. Its disap­
scientific horrors in the guise of a traditional pointing box office result when it was released
mystery chiller, with its precedents in the onryo, on the same double bill as Toshiyuki Mizutani's
or vengeful ghost, scenario deeply ingrained Isola (Taju Jinkaku ShOjo Isola) in 2 000 put pay
in Japanese folklore. Released on a double bill to any further sequels in Japan, but by this time
with Joji Iida's adaptation of Suzuki's follow-up the accountants in Los Angeles had already got
novel The Spiral, the first split occurred when a whiff of The Ring's box office success.
both films spawned their own parallel TV se­ DreamWorks rapidly snatched up the re­
ries, both diverging wildly from their respective make rights, along with a host of other Asian
literary sources: Rasen: The Series, delivered in films unknown to the broader film-going pop­
an ominous thirteen episodes, and the twelve ulace, with Sadako mutating to Samara in the
episodes of Ringu: Saishusho [trans: Ring: the process. The U. S . version of The Ring, directed
final chapter] . by Gore Verbinski, of Mouse Hunt ( 1 997) and
Nakata's adaptation rapidly became the top­ The Mexican (2 00 1 ) fame, and penned by Scream
grossing horror film of all time at the domestic 3 screenwriter Ehren Kruger, was released in
box office, and set in motion a torrent of ter­ 2 002 , and preceded the U. S . DVD release of
rors that included Uzumaki and the Tomie series the Japanese original (released under its ro­
(Tomie directed by Ataru Oikawa in 1 998; Tomie manized Japanese katakana title Ringu to avoid
Replay directed by Fujiro Mitsuishi in 2 000; confusion) by about six months. The box office
Tomie Rebirth from The Grudge director Takashi receipts were good enough to warrant a sequel,
Shimizu in 2 00 1 ; and Tomie Final Chapter For­ which, in a further deviation, was not only based
bidden FruitlTomie SaishushO Kindan no Kajitsu on an original script unrelated to its Japanese
directed by Shun Nakahara). models but also marked Nakata's long-awaited
Taking off like a storm across Southeast debut as a Hollywood director.
Asia, spawning a Korean remake along the way Looking back on Nakata's version, as so
(Kim Dong-bin's The Ring: Virus in 1 999), the many attracted by the U . S . remake have done, it
story modeled the very method by which Sada­ might seem difficult to see what the original fuss
ko's curse transmitted itself. The Ring's reputa­ was about. After all, The Ring's central premise,
tion spread across the world by means of video high on concept and low on plot logic, is only
dupes, Hong Kong VCDs and word of mouth, one short step away from such silly films as Wes
with well-received festival screenings followed Craven's Shocker ( 1 989) that had seen the slasher
by more widespread theatrical distribution genre falling on its feet just ten years before.
throughout much of Western Europe. After a wane in popularity during the first
Meanwhile, with The Spiral already adapted, half of the decade, Craven had rekindled the
262 . HIDEO NAKATA

horror genre himself in the West with the film's hand-held VHS cinema-verite and Na­
Scream series ( 1 996), a tongue-in-cheek spin on kata's creepy handling of the flickering found
the films with which the director had made his footage of Sadako's video (the contents of which
name. However, the postmodernist conceit cen­ were never described in the original novel), full
tral to Scream and the mini-wave of films that of grainy, drenched-out colors periodically in­
followed it, of ironically distancing themselves terrupted by bursts of static.
from the full force of their violent fantasies by But perhaps the most notable aspect is the
not taking themselves as anything more seri­ restrained handling of the material. The Ring has
ous than mere entertainment, "a laugh and a nothing in the way of gore or nudity. There are
scream," was already beginning to lose its nov­ no loud shocks or screams or bangs and bumps.
elty by the tail end of the millennium. With Using an unobtrusively even style of long takes
horror re-established as a marketable genre and mid to long shots, Nakata adopts a somber
worldwide, the ground was prepared for a more and narrative-driven approach to evoke the in­
back-to-basics approach. nate uncanniness of its central premise, con­
Outside of such obviously U. S .-modeled juring up an all-pervading aura of anxiety and
slasher offerings as Toshiharu Ikeda's Evil Dead unease that lingers long after the film has fin­
Trap or Kiyoshi Kurosawa's The Guard from ished. Plugging into the pre-millennial zeitgeist
Underground, Japanese horrors had previously of its time of release, The Ring sports some in­
either been grounded in folklore and legend, credibly effective moments, all laid down to an
in ghost stories such as Masaki Kobayashi's electronic soundtrack of onomatopoeic groans
portmanteau of Lafcadio Hearn short stories, and whirs. You can feel the goose bumps during
Kwaidan ( 1 964) or Satsuo Yamamoto's The Bride Sadako's manifestation through the TV screen.
from Hell (Kaidan Botandoro, 1 968), or merely This first film, however, leaves the whys and
Asian riffs on transplanted Western gothic sta­ wherefores of its plot to its successors. It is un­
ples, such as Michio Yamamoto's Lake of Dracula doubtedly why some find the very vagueness of
(Chi 0 Suu Me, 1 97 1 ) or Hajime Sato's The Ghost the story so unsatisfying, as Hiroshi Takahashi's
of the Hunchback (Kaidan Semushi Otoko, 1 965). script provides very little in the way of explana­
Where The Ring succeeded was in marrying tion and many plot strands are left untied at the
the vengeful ghost scenario with the sanitized end. Intriguingly, !ida's The Spiral suffers from
teen-pitched genre revival of Craven's films. the reverse, explaining too much in its attempt
In doing so, it got back to the very basis of to get beneath the surface of Sadako's character.
what made the horror genre work in the first Koji Suzuki has subsequently moved away
place-the mystery element, the feeling that from horror writing. Nakata, despite misgivings
there is something inexplicable lurking just about being typecast in the genre with which he
beneath the surface of normal everyday living. made his name, after two further films returned
In its modern-day setting, Nakata realizes that with the haunted house thriller Dark Water in
the strongest light creates the darkest shad­ 2 00 1 . With the character of Sadako now co­
ows, allowing him to play his horrors entirely opted in the U.S. as Samara for any number of
straight-faced. potential remakes, the producers of the original
The Ring's urban mythological basis struck have literally given up the ghost. On Sunday,
a chord with a general public who had flocked August 1 1 , 2 002 , during the Japanese public
in droves to see Daniel Myrick's and Eduardo holiday of a-Bon, the Festival of the D ead, a
Sanchez's then popular The Blair Witch Project symbolic funeral for Sadako was held in Tokyo'S
( 1 999) . The parallel is all the more seductive Harajuku area.
thanks to the similarity in style between that
 The Sleeping Bride . 263

-.v The Sleepi ng Bride

iJ7AO)jfffi
Garasu no Na
2000 . CAST: Yuki Kohara, R i s a Gote , Ke mei Eno­
moto , Tomoka H ayas h i , M i c h i ko Kawa i , Yuko N a­
tori . 100 m i n utes . RELEASES: DVD , W i n son ( H ong
Ko ng, Engl ish/Ch i nese s u btitl e s ) .

A young girl awakes from her coma when she

is kissed by the boy who grew u p with her in
the private sanatorium where she has l ived
since her birth, but for how long will she re­
main awake? Teen-oriented romantic drama
based on a manga by Osamu Tezuka.

In 1 954, a plane crashes in the environs of

Mount Fuji. The sole survivor is a heavily preg­
nant woman named Masako, carrying a baby girl
inside of her, but she dies several weeks later.
Before doing so, however, she gives birth. Flaw­
less in every other way, the child, named Yumi,
is born in a coma and refuses to wake up. Years
later, housed in a private sanatorium paid for by
her father, Yumi is tended to by Dr. Hikawa and
a host of surrounding nurses as they search for a
possible cure to her strange condition.
Several years later, a fellow patient at this
private clinic, a six-year-old named Yuichi being
treated for asthma, stumbles into Yumi's private
room to discover her asleep in her bed. After
being warned to keep away from this private
space by one of the nurses, he chances upon an
illustrated children's book in the nursery con­ The Sleeping Bride
taining the story Sleeping Beauty. Inspired by the
tale, he rushes to her bedside every day, mut­ As with the two works that bracket it, T he
tering the words "Wake up. I'm a prince" as he Ring and Chaos, it's difficult to know how much
kisses her, a habit which continues, fair weather to give away in terms of a synopsis for Sleeping
or foul, long after he has been discharged from Bride. The story has the clarity of a fable, un­
the hospital. In 1 97 2 , a TV news bulletin on the ravelling slowly and evenly in a linear fashion,
still sleeping Yumi stirs up distant memories in with no sudden twists or great fanfares to signify
the now 1 7 -year-old Yuichi, drawing him to crucial turning points, and every scene taking us
her bedside to plant a kiss on the lips of his own in new and unexpected directions. Because of
sleeping beauty just one more time. This time, this, the film remains a joy to watch from start
however, she wakes up. to finish.
264 . HIDEO NAKATA

It's a testament to the strength of the mate­ Nakata's no-frills approach to storytelling, and
rial Nakata has to work with. Sleeping Bride is the charming end results certainly have a lot to
based on the manga Garasu no No [trans: The recommend.
glass brain] by Osamu Tezuka ( 1 92 8-89). Often
referred to as the "The God of Manga," Tezuka
is a household name in Japan. His first work,
the revolutionary 2 00-page Shintakarajima ...v Chaos
[trans: New treasure island] published in 1 947, :tJ ;t.A
pioneered the format of the graphic novel, set­ Kaosu
ting in motion Japan's multi-million-yen comic
industry. Tezuka's comics introduced close-ups, 2000 . CAST: M a s ato H agiwara , M i ki N a kata n i ,
different frame sizes, katakana sound effects, Ken M its u i sh i , Taro Suwa. 104 m i n utes . RELEAS­

and lengthy action sequences sometimes spread ES: DVD , Kino I nternational ( U . S . , Engl i s h s u bti­
across a number of pages, and over the next tles), Taki Co rporation (Japa n , Engl i s h s u btitle s ) ,
40 years the prolific artist went on to create a Tartan ( U . K . , Engl i s h s u btitl e s ) , S pectru m DVD
plethora of well-known works in the same style, ( Kore a , Engl i s h / Korean s u btitl e s ) .
including Mighty Atom (Tetsuwan Atomu), Black
Jack (Burakku Jakku) and Princess Knight (Ribon Tricky but meticulously structu red mystery
no KishI). A number of these have been pub­ thriller unfolding around a kidnapping a n d an
lished in English language versions. Setting up alluring femme fata le, handled with the same
his own production house named Mushi Pro­ assu red pacing that makes N a kata 's horror so
ductions in 1 962 , he also developed a healthy effective.
sideline in animation, adapting a number of his
works for both the small and large screen, in­ In an expensive French restaurant, a wealthy­
cluding the seminal TV series of Mighty Atom looking older man, Komiyama, is having lunch
( 1 963 ), better known under the international with a beautiful woman. After getting up to
title of Astro Boy, and Kimba the White Lion (Jan­ leave, the elegantly dressed younger lady slips
guru Taitei, 1 965). out of the restaurant whilst her partner is paying
Though a good proportion of Tezuka's the bill. Initially unconcerned by her disappear­
work has been adapted to the screen as anima­ ance, he returns to work assuming she has gone
tion, Sleeping Bride is one of the few attempts back home. Shortly after getting back to his of­
to realize the artist's vision as a live-action film. fice, he receives a phone call from a desperate­
Nakata himself speaks disparagingly about his sounding voice informing him that his young
first major turn away from the horror genre, wife, Saori, has been kidnapped, and telling him
claiming that Tezuka's world is too pure for a to dump off a taped-up plastic bag containing
successful live-action treatment. The film was 30 million yen in a rest area by a suburban road
not a great commercial success, labeled at the junction. Komiyama immediately gets the po­
time of its release as an "idol movie," whose lice involved, but to no avail, and the kidnapper
sole purpose was to showcase its two unfeasi­ manages to disappear into thin air with both his
bly beautiful teenage leads (neither of whom money and his wife.
have achieved any subsequent level of success The story now shifts to a different viewpoint,
within the film industry). Whilst perversely one in which the man we have already seen as the
can't help thinking that the material might be kidnapper is approached in his house by a young
better suited to the cartoon format, the lucid­ lady dressed in shabby-looking clothes. After re­
ity of Tezuka's core idea is well served here by moving her hat and glasses, we recognize her as
 Chaos . 265

the beautiful young diner from the first scene, proves dense and satisfying enough to reward
now willingly offering herself up for capture in repeated viewings, with every five minutes de­
order to dupe 30 million yen from her wealthy livering an abrupt about-turn in our handle of
spouse. Saori has been left the keys of an apart­ what is going on.
ment belonging to a friend of hers, so that she can Chaos also proves that Nakata's assured pac­
feed her friend's pet fish while she is out of town ing is just as well suited to the mystery thriller as
for a couple of months, providing a convenient it is to horror, using a trademark visual econo­
place to hide out for a few days. In order to stage my to create a slow-burning aura of tension and
a more convincing kidnapping, her abductor mystery. This is further fueled by the underly­
lays down a series of rules during her stay there, ing sexual frisson between abductor and abduct­
which include not feeding the fish, not touch­ ed, the latter played by a stunning-looking Miki
ing anything, and to await the three rings on the Nakatani, the actress who had bridged the gap
telephone to signal her to unlock the apartment between Nakata's The Ring , Ring 2, and Iida's
door to let him in when he returns. He then The Spiral in the role of Mai.
binds her up and leaves to pick up the money. Nevertheless, Nakata's restrained handling
However, when he gets back, he finds the fish of the material, whilst bringing a subtle moral
alive in the tank, and Saori dead on the floor. He ambivalence to the characters, upon a single
is then startled by a phone call, through which a viewing also occasionally threatens to obscure
muffled voice delivers his next set of instructions, crucial plot turning points, something exac­
ones that will implicate him even deeper in this erbated by Nakata's technique of keeping the
dangerous triangle of deception. camera predominantly at mid shot, rarely allow­
Following the fairytale simplicity of The ing us a full view of the characters' faces.
Sleeping Bride, Nakata's Chaos surely lives up to Chaos is a film that requires a lot of atten­
its name as one of the most complex and tortur­ tion by the viewer. Constantly twisting between
ously plotted thrillers released in recent years. events and perspectives and with only the oc­
Based on the mystery novel Sarawaretai Onna casional visual cue to aid the viewer in position­
by Shogo Utano and adapted for the sceen ing each scene on the narrative timeline-the
by Hisashi Saito, a sometime director who in pounding shot of rain with which the film be­
that same year made Sunday Drive from his gins, for example-it will prove anything but an
own script, it is a meticulously crafted kidnap­ easy ride for people who like every plot point
ping movie revolving around a series of body spelled out in bold capitals. Still, those that can
doubles, double crossings, and double bluffs, follow its torturous path will find themselves
adroitly plotted and unfolding its mystery at gripped from start to finish.
a slow and steady pace. Saito 's script certainly
 CHAPTER 19

Akihiko Shiota
!MmB)j�
Another alumnus o f Tokyo's Rikkyo University, "I think Kiyoshl Kurosawa is a genius. He choos­
Akihiko Shiota is, like his former student pals es to show this changing society through hor­
Makoto Shinozaki and Shinji Aoyama, a film­ ror, the horror genre. In his horror films there

maker whose attitudes toward cinema were is a special analogy between everyday life and

shaped by Shigehiko Hasumi and Kiyoshi Ku­ terror. He always uses both of these elements
rosawa. Shiota's own reading of how the Rikkyo and mixes them, making it i m possi ble to un­
cine-club came to be deflects the reading that derstand where one ends and the other begi ns.
its members were tabula rasa entirely molded by He can do this so well . "
Hasumi and Kurosawa.
The variety of tasks he handled on the Ku­
" It's not really true that this fi l m circle was rosawa films demonstrated the multi-functional
the starting point for a l l of us. Maybe we met nature of Shiota's talent. Involved in lighting,
there because we had some common point. camerawork, assistant directing, and even music
Of cou rse there were many people In that fi lm and acting, his versatility would become a staple
circle and a l l these people had different views of his early career. He added scriptwriting to
and opinions. Maybe there was a meeting his roster of talents by serving as apprentice to
point that was the same for all of us. You ' re screenwriter Atsushi Yamatoya, whose own cred­
right that there are similar points between my its included Seijun Suzuki's Branded to Kill, Koji
fi lms, Kurosawa 's, Shinozaki's, and maybe oth­ Wakamatsu's Go! Go! Second Time Virgin (Yuke
ers, but I don't know why . " Yuke Nidome no ShOjo, 1 969) and several entries
in the long-running Lupin III animation series.
Shiota, however, does not deny his admi­ Although Shiota made his own directorial
ration for Kurosawa. Even before graduating debut in 1 98 3 with the self-penned, 65 -min­
from university, he was already assisting Kuro­ ute Falala-which won the PIA Film Festival
sawa on the shooting of the latter's short film competition-he would spend the next decade
Toso Zenya ( 1 982 , co-directed with Kunitoshi working mainly as a scriptwriter. Like many
Manda), following this up by working as an all­ of his contemporaries he found a refuge and a
round helping hand on Kurosawa's debut fea­ source of income in V-cinema, which allowed
ture Knndagawa Wars and his sophomore effort him to explore filmmaking and storytelling
The Excitement of the Do-Re-Mi-Fa Girl. through a genre movie filter. He wrote scripts

266
 Akihiko Shiota . 267

for Katsuji Kanazawa's erotic thriller Dirty Blue " People have an increasing tendency to protect

( 1 992), Shoichi Chinzei's adaptation of the children these days, much more so than be­

erotic manga Pachinkii Nami ( 1 992). His writing fore . They try to build somet h i ng around their

also reunited him with Kiyoshi Kurosawa, with own children, without al lowing them to be­

whom he co-scripted the fourth installment of come human beings, in a way. But they forget

the Suit Yourself or Shoot Yourself! series. that children have their own personal ity when

With the predominance of erotic films in his they grow up, and they don't want to know

work as a scriptwriter, it's no surprise that Shi­ the kind of person their children a re becoming.

ota's first feature-length film as a director was a They want them to always stay c h i l d re n . For

straight-to-video pink film. Entitled The Nude me, it's much more i nte resting to actually dis­

Woman ( 1 996), it was written by Hiroshi Taka­ cover that emerging personality, to go deeper

hashi, a frequent collaborator of Kurosawa's and deeper into their world , because that is

who would go on to pen Hideo Nakata's T he where you find their own beauty, In the way

Ring and its sequels. Shot on video and made in they grow u p and become adults . "

a mere five days, despite its modest origins The

Nude Woman is closely related to his later films The similarities with The Nude Woman were
Moonlig ht Whispers and Gips, all of which fea­ apparent in Moonlight Whispers' female protago­
ture as their protagonist a woman who discovers nist. Attracted to a classmate who turns out to
her own darker desires and emotions and can't be a masochist, she gradually discovers her own
help but act on them. capacity for sadism. D espite her initial shame
The erotic aspect would, however, quickly and denial, she slowly starts to realize that this is
disappear from his work altogether. Once freed what makes her compatible with the young man
of the genre constraints of V-cinema, Shiota she is attracted to.
stuck with the same themes, but he approached
them less as subjects for sensationalism than as " Of course there is this a mbivalence in my

honest expressions of human emotions. His first films, but it's this a mbivalence that is most

theatrical feature Moonlight Whispers, released interesting to me. That means there Is a con­

in 1 999, treated the fledgling sadomasochistic trast in a character, a harsh one eve n . They

relationship between two high school students have a weak point and a very powerful point.

without ever crossing the line into pervy sen­ When these two poi nts come together there
sationalism or false shocks. With an eye for the is a kind of explosion. When I cast the actors

subtle minutiae of human behavior and a keen for my fi lms I always try to fi nd people who can
understanding of the psychology of children, express this a mbivalence of the characters,
the resulting film was an astonishingly sincere weakness at the same time as strength. I have

look at teenage sexual and social anxiety. an interest in this kind of person . She t h i n ks of

herself as normal and that she can have a nor-

Filmography • Moonlight Whispers ( Gekko • Harmful Insect (Gaichii)

no Sasayaki ) (a.k.a. Sasay­
1984 2003
akl) • Kaette Kita Deka Matsuri [co­
• Falala Don 't Look Back ( Dokomad­
•
director]
1996 emo Ik6) • Resurrection ( Yomigaen)
• The Nude Woman (Roshutsu­ 2000
kyo no Onna) [video] 2004
• Gips (Gipusu) • Canary (Kanaria)
1999 2001
268 • AKIHIKO SHIOTA

mal relationship with a normal man. But she is As the boys seek ways to deal with the onset
with a masochistic man and actually she be­ of maturity, one of their methods lies in disobe­
comes a sadist herself. Even if she didn't think dience. Delinquency is a way to achieve freedom,
of herself as being a sadist, she changes little to grow up but not conform. The gap between
by l ittle. Then there 's this kind of explosion individuality and conformity, illustrated by way
when she says, 'Why, if I ' m norm a l , do I have of delinquent behavior, is a theme the director
to be with a man l i ke you? ' " would explore in more (and more painful) detail
in Harmful Insect two years later.
This acute grasp o f children's psychology
has become the main characteristic of Shiota's "I wanted to portray this gap. It's a gap be­
work. His next film, Don 't Look Back, released tween the ones who can fit in with the rules
in Japan the same year as Moonlight Whispers, of society and the ones who choose to stay
focused on the friendship between two ten­ outside these social rules. For example, a child
year-old boys and the onset of adolescence and can go to school and learn all kinds of things ,
maturity that slowly begins to cloud over their but he has no alternatives in life. He has no
camaraderie. Partially set to the theme of The other choices besides going to schoo l . This
Longest Day (as played by three little girls on causes a double identity in young people, es­
portable keyboards), the boys fall out with each pecially at thirteen, fou rteen years old. On the
other, make new friends, discover girls, and try outside they look satisfied with their lives and
to cope with loss and tragedy. the way things are going, because everything
It sounds like a meandering plotline, but for has been organized in every deta i l , but in their
Shiota it's a tool to have the children express a inner personal ity they can have some very vio­
wealth of often confused emotions. Stripping lent aspects. There is an am bivalence between
his work even further of excess baggage, there the two . "

is not even the slightest hint of anything poten­

tially lurid. What we are left with is a very pure Don 't Look Back was co-produced by Eiga
and genuine look at children and their behav­ Bigakko, the Film School of Tokyo, a privately
IOr. run film school founded by producer/exhibitor
It's tempting and easy to refer to any film Eurospace and Tokyo's cinephilic Athenee Fran­
about childhood as nostalgic. However, as the �ais cultural center. Shiota, who by that time
title indicates, there is no nostalgia as such in had also garnered a reputation as a film critic
Don 't Look Back. This is not an adult's teary­ for the now defunct Japanese edition of Cahiers
eyed retrospective of the innocent days of child­ du Cinema, is one of the filmmakers employed
hood, in which all is harmless mischief caught in as a teacher. The school not only co-produced
golden hues. There is no sun to cast those gold­ the film, but sent many of its students to work
en hues, as the film seems almost perpetually on the crew (Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Barren Illu­
caught in twilight, expressing these children's sion and Joji Matsuoka's Acacia "WalklAkashia no
state of being in between childhood's daylight Michi (2 00 1 ) were two other such experiments).
and maturity's darkness. The former is lost, the Shiota used his school ties well, since his next
latter is inevitable but, as is better indicated by two films, Gips and Harmful Insect, were both
the film's Japanese title, which translates rough­ co-scripted by students.
ly as "Let's go as far as we can," that darkness Gips (2 00 1 ) was an entry into the Love Cin­
needn't be a bad thing. With Shiota frequently ema project, a series of six low-budget features
shooting his young actors from the back, the shot on digital video by some of the country's
message is clear from the film's style alone. foremost young directors, chiefly among them
 Akihiko Shiota • 269

Ryiiichi Hiroki's Tok yo Trash Baby (2 000), Isao

Yukisada's Enclosed Pain (Tojiru Hi, 2 000), and
Takashi Miike's Visitor Q (2 00 1 ) . Named after the
Japanese word for plaster of paris, the film dealt
again with the awakening of desire and obses­
sion in female characters. With additional hints
at lesbianism and murder, the story concerned a
young woman's fetish for wearing a cast around
her leg, a fixation that found its source in an in­
cident during puberty in which she broke her
leg and subsequently found herself the center of
amorous attention from a teacher. She befriends
a girl who helps her when she clumsily fiddles Fa/a/a
around with her shoe, and the discovery that the
two are the same age is only the beginning of childhood, one that also displays his preferences
the newcomer's increasing identification with for staying close to reality:
the fake invalid, which reaches its completion
when she tries on the cast herself. "If you want to describe the problems of Japa­

Shiota lets the intriguing plot unravel at nese society today, teenagers a re a fitting

a sure but steady pace, and the drama is com­ symbo l . It's always they who a re confronted
pelling and entertaining. But while the film is with and related to those problem s . "
technically proficient enough, the director does
little to fully exploit the advantages of the digi­ The story of a young girl growing up in a
tal medium, sticking with a limited number of broken home, Harmful Insect returned to a
locations, minimal set dressing, and a visual number of the themes present in Don 't Look
style predominantly composed of static long Back, most notably the advent of maturity in
shots. With the medium imposed upon him by children. Here, Shiota intensifies the situation
the producers and the minimal budget, Shiota by presenting a character who is outwardly still
himself recognizes the film's shortcomings. a child, but whose home life forces her to grow
up at an almost unnaturally fast pace. With a
" Gips was composed mainly of still shots, be­ single mother who fails to juggle her job and the
cause the film dealt with a certain psychologi­ care for her daughter, Harmful Insect's protago­
cal matter. So in this case, digital video was nist, Sachiko, is left to her own devices and finds
not the best medium to use. But I do have herself alienated first from her friends and class­
great inte rest i n digital video, and in the future mates, then gradually from society as a whole.
I ' d l i ke to make a movie about teenagers using
digital video. It could be a very good way to "She is a very sad young gi rl , and this sadness
express the vital ity of young people. " lies in the fact that she is forced to become
an adult. M aybe when you see her in this fil m ,
Gips turned out to be only a temporary side­ you t h i n k s h e is very strong and s h e is very
step away from the subject of children and ado­ close to being an adult. She's becoming an
lescents. The theme continued to fascinate him adult, so she certainly has a kind of strength
and he returned to his trusted territory with that's unusual in people who are so young. But
200 1 's Harmful Insect. Shiota has a simple expla­ I think that she is actually a very weak young
nation for his preoccupation with the subject of girl who is hiding all her weak points . She tries
270 . AKIHIKO SHIOTA

not to show them to others. Also, she doesn't relatives and lovers, many of whom have moved
speak so much because words always come on and started new lives. Saddled with relatively
from feel ings. If she speaks only one phrase, lightweight leads, Shiota populated the sup­
her feeli ngs come out and she wouldn't be able porting roles with experienced and talented ac­
to stop that feeling which she has kept hidden tors like Kunie Tanaka, Sho Aikawa, and Yusuke
deep i nside her. " Iseya, and maintained the solemn tone of the
film admirably, until a finale somewhat convo­
The character of Sachiko is played by the lutedly revolving around a rock concert turned
young actress Aoi Miyazaki, who first carne to it into a promo for the singing career of actress
prominence in Shinji Aoyama's Eureka in a role Ko Shibasaki.
that showed off her ability to act with little or Resurrection was a welcome change of pace
no dialogue. Like her work in Aoyama's film, for Shiota, showing that the director has more
in Harmful Insect her almost wordless perfor­ aces up his sleeve, which he will no doubt con­
mance communicates a wealth of emotions and tinue to play in the years to corne.
confusion.

" I think she's the best actress I could ever hope

to find. Maybe from now on, I won 't be able to � Moonl ight Whispers
find another actress who is that good. She has FB'G(7)Iii �
great intuition, so even if this character can't
Gekko no Sasayaki, a.k.a. Sasayaki
be explained with dialogue, she understood

well what it was she had to express by using 1999 . CAST: Kenj i M iz u h a s h i , Tsugu m i , Kota Ku­
her face and posture. From the beginning I san o, H a ru m i I n o u e . 96 m i n utes . RELEASE: DVD,
only thought of Aol for this role because I had Kino on Video ( U . S . , Engl i s h s u btitles) .
seen Eureka and thought she was wonderful in
that fi l m . I got to meet her soon after that and A teenager falls in love with his glamorous
found that she was also a wonderful person In classmate , but he expresses his affection
real l ife , as well as being very charming. " through masochistic behavior. Confronted
with this, the girl gradually d iscovers her own
Although his career so far has been charac­ latent sadistic tendencies. Shiota fi lms this
terized by sensitive portrayals of children, Aki­ potentially racy storyl ine with the emphasis
hiko Shiota has said that he wants to branch out on psychological depth rather than titi l l atio n .
and treat other subjects as well. His passion for
genre cinema, nurtured during his days at Rik­ Released in theaters in ]apan on the same day as
kyo, has never left him. After toying with the Don 't Look Back, Moonlight Whispers marks the
idea of making a musical about female assassins, beginning of Akihiko Shiota's exploration of the
which he quickly abandoned after Seijun Suzu­ theme that has continued to fascinate him in his
ki's Pistol Opera, he took on his first big-budget subsequent productions: the emerging maturity
commercial assignment. Resurrection, produced in adolescents. Based on a manga by Masahiko
by Toho studios, was set up as a romantic drama Kikuni, Moonlight Whispers is a tale of the awak­
about the deceased returning to their loved ones ening sexuality in two high school students that
from the beyond, but was given a shot in the emerges as a poignant, emotional, and touching
arm by Shiota's unsentimental treatment of the drama.
subject matter. He focused on the confusion and Takuya (Mizuhashi) appears to be a student
insecurity the reappearances cause to surviving like any other. Somewhat withdrawn, he admires
 Moonlight Whispers · 271

his beautiful classmate Satsuki (Tsugumi), with

whom he shares a long friendship and a talent
for the sport of kendo. In the opening scene, we
see the two practicing this sword fighting form,
in which they are the bright young hopes of their
school. In an empty sports hall, Takuya lets him­
self be beaten by Satsuki. Though she blames it
on his lack of concentration, the truth behind
his intentional defeat becomes clear as the story
starts to develop: Takuya's burgeoning sexuality
manifests itself in masochistic behavior.
Since his urges initially only manifest them­
selves in very subtle ways, Satsuki remains bliss­
fully unaware of Takuya's dark side and the
relationship between the two grows stronger,
blossoming into a typical teenage love affair.
The happiness is violently interrupted when
Satsuki discovers that Takuya has not only been
collecting her soiled underwear, but that he has
also been recording her on the toilet with a hid­
den tape recorder and taking pictures of her in
secret. When she tells him in no uncertain terms
that their relationship is over, Takuya begs her
to stay, pledging total obedience and pronounc­
ing himself her "dog. " Although she wishes to
have nothing more to do with this hentai (per­
vert) and subsequently avoids him completely,
when she takes up with another classmate in
order to hurt him, she doesn't realize that she
is in fact giving in to Takuya's urges. But the
boy's insistence leads her to discover that she
too has a hidden side to her sexuality, and she
soon starts to enjoy inflicting mental and physi­
cal pain on Takuya, ironically bringing the two Moonlight Whispers
of them closer in the process.
In the reviews that accompanied this film's nents, Moonlight Whispers becomes an unexpect­
limited U. S . theatrical release in late 2 000 edly touching film. It portrays two young people
(where it played under the title Sasayakt), the struggling against themselves and against their
word "disturbing" was used more than once to environment, revealing along the way just how
describe Moonlight Whispers. But despite the po­ much, in the course of growing up, the self is
tentially provocative-or to some perhaps even shaped by the environment. Shiota arrives at
offensive-subject matter, this film is anything the conclusion that stepping outside society is
but disturbing. With two characters whose ac­ the only road open to his characters if they wish
tions ring true in every scene and an admirably to be truthful to themselves as individuals. It's
restrained handling of the film's sexual compo- a conclusion that continues to infuse the films
272 • AKIHI KO SHIOTA

in his still short career, in particular Don 't Look A someti mes diffi c u lt b u t ultimately poignant
Back and Harmful Insect. and truthful portrait of a young girl lost i n the
But for all of a director's intentions, the big, bad world . Akihiko Shiota ' s ultimate ex­
ability to express them still hinges on the tal­ pression of child hood isolatio n .
ents of his lead actors. Thankfully, in Moonlight
Whispers, as in Shiota's later films, the young With the exception of the sidestep into the digi­
leads show an uncanny ability to express the in­ tal realm with Gips, the films of director Akihiko
nermost feelings of their characters by way of Shiota have shown a strong affinity and concern
their actions and expressions. Kenji Mizuhashi for the world of teenagers. But rather than mak­
in particular succeeds in bringing across the ing bittersweet and predictable coming-of-age
ambivalence in Takuya admirably. The implica­ dramas, the director has consistently explored
tion of maturity in his masochism and in his sad the deeper motivations and the psychology of
countenance contrasts strongly with his child­ adolescents on the brink of physical and mental
like appearance : the school uniform he wears maturity.
and the bicycle he holds in his hands. The fact Harmful Insect is no exception, and in some
that he was much older than the character he ways it is perhaps even his ultimate statement on
portrays (he was 24 when the film was made) the subject. As with his earlier films, Shiota pays
is impossible to guess from his appearance, but particular attention to the maturity of his lead
must have been a major factor in the strength of character, the 1 3 -year-old Sachiko. The girl has
his performance. Mizuhashi finds a good match come out of a failed love affair with her high
in Tsugumi, who veers from lovestruck teen school math teacher, an affair whose implica­
via broken blossom to fledgling sadist in a way tions are intentionally kept vague but which re­
that is always believable, all along managing to sulted in the teacher leaving school for a remote
give Satsuki the aura of distant desirability that region of the country, where he now works at a
drives Takuya's actions. She would a few years nuclear power plant. The two still correspond,
later play Seiichi Tanabe's stalking colleague in but their letters, shown in captions throughout
Ryosuke Hashiguchi's Hush! the film, never arrive in neat order and follow a
With his two leads, Shiota creates a tale criss-cross pattern making proper communica­
that refreshingly ignores its own potential for tion virtually impossible. It's emblematic for the
provocation. Instead he delves deeper and dares lack of communication Sachiko feels with most
to be much more profound, portraying the am­ of the people around her.
bivalence in two young people whose choice is Sachiko's single mother (Ryo) is unable to
between forever denying what they are or going juggle motherhood and the need to make a liv­
through misery in order to accept themselves. ing, and after her failed suicide attempt Sachiko
drops out of school. Secretive, quiet, and hid­
ing her emotional problems from the world,
Sachiko seems unable to communicate with her
...v Harmful I nsect mother or her school friends and soon takes up
W!:Il with a young loner (Tetsu Sawaki), who comes
Gaichit to her aid when the girl is stalked at night by a
lusty salaryman.
2 00 1 . CAST: Aoi M iyazaki , Ry6 , S e i i c h i Tanabe , The young man lives with his retarded uncle
Y u su ke I seya , E i h i S h i i n a , Yusaku Suzu ki , Tetsu in a scrap yard as an outcast from society. Sa­
Sawaki . 92 m i n utes . RELEASE: DVD, Beam Enter­ chiko seems to find something to relate to in the
ta i n ment ( J a pa n , no s u btitl e s ) . lives of these two outsiders, who are as misun-
 Harmful Insect • 273

derstood by people around them as she is, but

any illusion of happiness is quickly dispelled
when the boy becomes the target of a violent
gang of juvenile delinquents and Sachiko finds
herself once again the victim of sexual aggres­
sion, this time from her mother's new live-in
boyfriend.
As witnessed from the synopsis, Harmful
Insect certainly doesn't handle its protagonists
with kid gloves. Sachiko suffers through a series
of tragedies that push her toward an early, disil­
lusioned maturity. At times when her classmates
are going though all the rituals of early adoles­
cence, she retreats further and further into her
shell where confusion reigns. A brief return to
school at the insistence of her best friend only
confronts her with the fact that she no longer
feels any mental connection with children her
own age, and results in more hurt for both her
and her friends. But contrary to a film like Lars
Von Trier's Dancer in the Dark, the tragedy that
befalls the lead character is not a tool for the di­
rector to manipulate his audience into shedding
tears. Harmful Insect attempts to signal social
ills and translates them into one of the people
who suffers from them the most: a confused and
vulnerable girl confronted with the violence of
society at too early an age.
Generally, non-Japanese still tend to hold
the belief that Japan is a very safe society. Per­
haps when compared to many other countries it
relatively is, but the way Shiota portrays it cre­
ates a very different impression. It's this belief
(or misconception) that could be Harmful In­
sect's greatest stumbling block in communicating Harmful Insect
with a foreign audience. There is no window for
us as foreign viewers through which to view the 1 3 -year-old girl being harassed and bothered by
tragedies that befall Sachiko, no immediately adult males might well rub some the wrong way
recognizable framework to aid us in sympathiz­ (as they did at the film's world premiere at the
ing with the filmmaker's good intentions-like 2 00 1 Venice Film Festival, where angered boo­
the indictment of child prostitution in Swedish ing could be heard when the credits rolled). The
director Lukas Moodysson's similarly themed implication that Sachiko was involved in a pos­
Lilya 4-Ever (2002). sibly sexual, and thus pedophilic, relationship
As a result, Harmful Insect is not an easy with her math teacher does nothing to soften
film to take in, and the persistent images of a the impact, even though it is never stated that
274 . AKIHIKO SHIOTA

the meeting between them ever went to such of what growing up should be like. The seeds
extremes. of maturity are present in children and young
Thankfully, Shiota avoids the pitfalls of adolescents, and these include the seeds of vio­
exploitation and dares to put himself in a vul­ lence and sexuality. Shiota doesn't exploit these
nerable position. By focusing so strongly on aspects, but shows the process of those seeds
Sachiko's psychology he is being very honest, coming into bloom, and how that developing
but it's an honesty not many people will easily maturity is in contrast (or perhaps even in con­
sympathize with, since it touches on something flict) with the child who carries it. In this very
many of us prefer to deny. The ambivalence contrast lies the confusion that is such a major
between child and adult that forms the core of factor of our adolescence, a confusion whose
Sachiko's character (as it did with the characters implications are much greater than the inof­
in Moonlig ht Whispers) is a much more truth­ fensively awkward fiddlings with tampons and
ful representation of child psychology than syr­ pimples that pass for portraits of puberty in the
upy sweet depictions of childhood as a period of average John Hughes comedy. Harmful Insect is
untainted innocence and bliss. It may be hard to brave enough to confront us with what we pre­
swallow for some, but it does confront us with fer to deny-an essential function of art if ever
how we have distorted the memories of our there was one.
own childhood to fit a socially accepted ideal
 CHAPTER 20
The Other Players

script with American writer Leonard Schrader,

-v The Man Who Stole the Sun brother of Mishima director Paul and a Japano­
�I�JH: �lvtilJj phile who had previously written the novel from
Taiyo 0 Nusunda Otoko which Sidney Pollack's The Yakuza ( 1 97 5 , star­
ring Robert Mitchum and Ken Takakura) had
1979. DIRECTOR: Kazuhiko Hasegawa, �:ttJflfoEif. been adapted, as well as having scripted an entry
CAST: Kenji Sawada, Bunta Sugawara, Kimiko Ike­ in the long-running Otoko wa Tsurai yo/Tara-san
gami, Yutaka Mizutani, Toshiyuki Nishida, Kazuo series with Y6ji Yamada.
Kitamura. 141 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Amuse Kenji Sawada plays long-haired, bubble­
Pictures (Japan, Engl ish subtitles). Mei Ah (Hong gum-chewing high school chemistry teacher
Kong, English/Chinese subtitles). Makoto Kid6, an unwilling slave to the daily
grind of packed commuter trains, teaching to
A young high school science teacher builds students whose only interest is passing their
his own atomic bomb and drives the police exams so they can forget what he taught them as
mad with a set of outrageous demands. This quic kly as possible. While returning from a field
critical look at the nuclear arms race and the trip with his class, his school bus is hijacked by
hedonism of the bubble economy is an over­ a stressed-out salar yman who threatens to blow
looked gem badly in need of rediscovery. up the bus and himself and the children w ith it.
The police intervene, and it's thanks to Makoto
Though largely unknown outside its home and the detective Yamashita (Bunta Sugawara)
country, The Man Who Stole the Sun is one of the that the hijacker is apprehended.
pivotal films in Japanese film history. Almost a Despite his seeming heroics, Makoto nur­
final twitch of the old studio system, it was half tures some odd tendencies of his own. After ex­
a studio film and half independent: On the one perimenting with an anesthetic spray on his cat
hand it had two major stars in the lead and was and on the beat cop at the local kohan, he executes
distributed nationwide by Toho; on the other it a carefully planned break-in into a power station,
was produced by an independent company and where he steals an amount of plutonium. With
had a crew consisting of some of the more im­ ins trum ents taken from his school, he proceeds
portant names in early '80s independent film. to build his own football-sized atomic bomb, all
Director Kazuhiko Hasegawa co-wrote the the while chewing gum, singing the theme song

275
276 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

to Astroboy, or watching TV Although he has The film's finale pits Makoto and Yamashita
taken safety precautions, his distractions make against each other, like two superpowers fight­
him screw up badly, causing an element to ex­ ing over the ultimate prize: the nuclear bomb.
plode inside his oven while he is too busy watch­ Although one of them emerges victorious from
ing TV to pay attention to what he's doing. He the battle, in the end it's the bomb itself that will
manages to build the bomb despite the setback, win, as the ominous freeze frame of the ticking
but the accident has released some radiation. contraption expresses.
The bomb finished and working, Makoto The Man Who Stole the Sun also comments
swiftly proceeds to the next step: urban terror­ on the darker consequences of the bubble econ­
·
ism. He threatens to blow up the capital if his omy: the stuffed commuter trains, the disaffect­
demands are not met. His first: no interruption ed students, the suicides and freak-outs among
of the live broadcast of the baseball game by the stressed salar yman. Hasegawa suggests that
nine o'clock news. The police, led by the same there lurks a Makoto in every single participant
detective Yamashita of the bus hijack, have to in that rat race, that anyone can snap and do
move heaven and earth to meet the demand, unpredictable things. Hasegawa's portrayal of
even calling for the prime minister to intervene. these problems is not one-sided, however. One
Watching on his TV set how the game contin­ effect of the bubble he emphasizes in particular
ues at nine that evening, Makoto concocts a new is hedonism, illustrated by Makoto's carelessness
ransom demand: allow The Rolling Stones into as he goes about building his homemade bomb
the country to play a concert in Tokyo (they had and the absurdity of his ransom demands. Ma­
been banned from entering Japan for drug use). koto may be the victim of a sick society, but he
But just as it looks like this plan too will be a makes little constructive effort to escape from it.
success, Makoto notices his hair is starting to fall This is where the film differs from other treatis­
out and that some of his teeth are coming loose. es on contemporary urban frustra t ion, in partic­
The Man Who Stole the Sun is undeniably ular the rather self-righteous Michael Douglas
dated, both in its message and in its style. How­ vehicle Falling Down Goel Schumacher, 1 993 ) .
ever, in many ways it is also more modern than For a film so rich and significant, it's a
the vast majority of films made in Japan around mystery this never saw wider exposure. Its
that time. Not many mainstream films were themes are anything but culturally specific and
tackling contemporary issues and setting them to Hasegawa's abilities as a filmmaker are evident
Bob Ma dey music. It's in the fact that The Man throughout, including some very perceptive
Who Stole the Sun is so very much of its time that and subtle use of flashbacks in exploring the
the film finds a lot of its validity. Despite the plot, relationship between his two main characters.
this is not a hijack thriller in the mold of John Western reappraisals are definitely in order for
Frankenheimer's Black Sunday (1 97 7) or John both the film and director Kazuhiko Hasegawa,
McTiernan's Die Hard ( 1 987). While it certainly who started out in the late '60s as an assistant
doesn't lack for tension and excitement, there director to Shohei Imamura on The Profound
are real-life concerns at play here. The film's Desire of the Gods and A History of Post- U7rtr
opening shot is of the mushroom cloud, with the Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess. Hasegawa went
national symbol of the rising sun superimposed on to work at Nikkatsu under Roman Porno di­
over it. Makoto's ransom demands can be read rectors Tatsumi Kumashiro and Toshiya Fujita
as a metaphor for the lie that harnessed atomic and wrote the scripts for Kumashiro's Bitterness
power is a benign force that will bring happiness of Youth (Seishun no Satetsu) and Yoimachigusa
and progress, except that the young man's hair (both 1 974) before making his own directorial
is falling out and his gums are starting to bleed. debut in 1 976 with Young Murderer (Seishun no
 Family Game • 277

Satsujinsha). The film, co-produced by Imamura Seminal satire on the workings of the family
Productions and New Wave luminaries ATG, unit. Unconventional comedy by former 8mm
was invited to the Cannes Film Festival the fol­ experimentalist Yoshimitsu Morita became a
lowing year. box office hit, partially thanks to the involve­
Despite the considerable popularity of The ment of star actor Yusaku Matsuda.
Man Who Stole the Sun, Hasegawa went into
early retirement as a director after his second Living in an apartment on the outskirts of
film, as if consciously making way for a new gen­ Tokyo, the Numatas seem like the model Japa­
eration of filmmakers like Sogo Ishii and Kiyoshi nese nuclear family. The father (Itami) leaves
Kurosawa, both of whom he took under his wing for work early and comes back late, usually
as participants in the newly founded Director's drunk from after-work social gatherings. Moth­
Company (Kurosawa worked as assistant direc­ er (Yuki) seems competent only in the kitchen
tor on the film). Both through his work and his and subsequently spends most of her time there.
founding of the Director's Company, Hasegawa Elder son Shinichi (Tsujita) is in a top high
became the bridge between the studio system school and cruises through without much effort.
and the independent scene of the 1 980s, a posi ­ Younger son Shigeyuki (Miyakawa), however, is
tion he shares with indie pioneer Shinji Somai . the black sheep: He is unmotivated by school­
Hasegawa is still highly regarded in Japan. work, his grades are a disaster, and he regularly
Both his films were the subject of high-profile skips classes by feigning sickness in front of his
special edition DVD reissues, and many a film over-caring mother. The only classmate that has
buff harbors the wish to one day see him return worse grades is Hamamoto, the class's "stupid
to the director's chair. Although he didn't en­ and ugly" girl, as Shigeyuki calls her. His grades,
tirely become a hermit-his macho nightlife an­ though, aren't that much better than hers.
tics still garner publicity-aside from an acting A parade of private tutors has already visited
appearance in Seijun Suzuki's Yumeji ( 1 99 1 ) he the Numata household, most of them giving
hasn't been very involved with cinema. He long up on the boy's unwillingness to perform. But
nurtured a project about the 1 972 Red Army Mom and Dad are dead set on seeing Shigeyuki
hostage situation at Asama Sanso, but took so follow in his brother's footsteps and go to a top
long to bring it to the screen that two other di­ high school and from there to a top university,
rectors beat him to it: Masato Harada's de-politi­ the only chance of getting a good job later in
cized The Choice ofHercules (Totsunyu Seyo! Asama life. And so another teacher is drafted in, but
Sanso Jiken, 2 002) and Rain of Light (Hikari no this particular gentleman, a university student
Ame, 2 002), directed by Hasegawa's own former named Yoshimoto (Matsuda), uses rather differ­
Director's Company protege Banmei Takahashi. ent methods from his predecessors.
Yoshimoto is himself only an average stu­
dent from an average university, but where the
long line of previous tutors failed, it's e xactly his
� Family Game lack of academic prowess that makes him con­
�h'*)l- A nect with Shigeyuki. Yoshimoto's solution is
Kazoku Gemu not to make the boy conform, but to boost his
confidence, to render him a strong individual
1983. DIRECTOR: Yoshimitsu Morita. %'.REBjj':YG. CAST: rather than another brick in the wall. Tactically
Yusaku Matsuda, J uzo Itami, Ichirota Miyakawa, influencing the various family members with his
Saori Yuki, J unichi Tsujita, Yoko Aki. 106 minutes. non-conformist behavior, he brings the absur­
RELEASES: DVD, Pioneer (Japan, no subtitles). dity of their loveless and uncommunicative lives
278 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

to the surface, culminating in a chaotic family lent of Steve McQueen. First making a splash
dinner in which all illusions are shattered and as the rookie detective in the cop series Taiyo ni
the education of Shigeyuki is completed. Hoero [trans: Howl at the sun] he moved on to
Although based on a novel by Y6hei co-star in several films, including the Kadokawa
Honma, Family Game's structure is similar to production Proof of the Man (Ningen no Shomei,
the one used by Pier Paolo Pasolini on Theo­ 1 978). His first true starring vehicle was Mot­
rem (Teorema, 1 968), with the entry of a youn g tomo Kiken na Yiigi [trans: The most dangerous
stranger into the family unit resulting in the game] in 1 978 , in which he played a profes­
exposure of hypocrisy and the destruction of sional assassin. The popularity of the film led to
norms. Here, the conclusion is that the way to two sequels, after which he took on the role for
escape the social conveyor belt of school, exams, which he is still best remembered, that of the
university, and lifetime employment is through dandy private eye hero in the TV series Tantei
individualism. The message is deftly translated Monogatari [trans: Detective story] .
by director Morita into the style of the film, At the height of his popularity he sought to
which consistently emphasizes the absurdity of diversify and started accepting more challeng­
the middle class ideal. The apartment building ing roles, playing the gaunt psychopath in Yajii
looks out over an industrial no man's land, while Shisubeshi [trans: The beast must die] ( 1 980, for
the Numata residence itself is so cramped that which the already wiry actor lost 1 0 Ibs. and al­
no privacy is possible. Shinichi can only get to legedly even had some of his teeth removed),
his room through Shigeyuki's, and he is able to the bearded playwright in Seijun Suzuki's Mi­
hear every word exchanged between his little rage Theater (Kagero-Za, 1 9 8 1 ) , and the dorky
brother and the tutor. When Mom and Dad Yoshimoto in Family Game. He also directed
want to talk in private, they do it in their car and starred in A Homansu ( 1 9 8 5 , the title is an
outside. Morita uses no music in the film but untranslatable play on words, a combination
amplifies sound effects instead, particularly the of 'idiot' and 'performance'), a hyper-stylized
sounds produced during meals, underlining manga adaptation that saw Matsuda both playing
the intrusive nature of the environment. At the up to and making fun of his own macho image.
same time, even though the family members are After starring in Kinji Fukasaku's The Rage of
always confronted with each other, real commu­ Love, Matsuda was diagnosed with cancer of the
nication never takes place. At the dinner table, bladder, but he decided to postpone medical
they sit side by side instead of facing one anoth­ treatment to appear in Black Rain, realizing his
er, and the climactic "last supper, " which sees dream of being in a Hollywood film. It would be
the entire family plus Yoshimoto all squeezed in his last work. He died in November 1 989, leav­
on the same side of the table, is an unforgettably ing behind his actress wife Miyuki (from Takashi
glorious mess. Miike's Audition) and three children, including
Another master stroke on the part of the di­ his son RyUhei (Gohatto, Blue Spring), as well as
rector was the casting of Yiisaku Matsuda in the an enduring fan following (more than a decade
role of Yoshimoto. For Matsuda, the role was after his death, his likeness was used in the Cap­
a radical break with his image. One of the big­ com video game Onimusha 2).
gest stars of the 1 970s, on both TV and silver The commercial success of Family Game
screen, Matsuda came to prominence as an ac­ certainly helped in establishing Matsuda as a
tion hero in the purest sense of the term. Best proper actor, rather than as merely an action
known abroad as the villain who taunts Michael star. It also meant a great change for director
Douglas in Ridley Scott's Black Rain ( 1 989), Yoshimitsu Morita, who today is pegged as a
Matsuda was in some ways the Japanese equiva- mainstream director and potential hit maker,
 Fire Festival • 279

but who started out on a much more modest ing three dark thrillers in a row: Keiho (39 Keiha
level. Debuting with the 8mm feature Raibu: Dai Sanjukyu la, 1 999), The Black House (Kuroi
Chigasaki in 1 97 8, he became part of the Nik­ Ie, also '99) and Copycat Killer (Mohahan, 2 002).
katsu Roman Porno treadmill, directing The His versatility notwithstanding, Family
Stripper (Maruhon Uwasa no Sutorippa, 1 982) Game remains as perhaps the defining Yoshim­
and Pink Salon (Pinku Katto: Futoku Aishite Fu­ itsu Morita film. Powerful enough to become
kaku Aishite, 1 98 3 ) before moving to ATG for a hit with both audiences and critics and to in­
Family Game. The success of the film made him spire no less than two reactions/remakes: Sago
a sought-after director, resulting in a career Ishii's Crazy Family (Gyakufunsha Kazoku, 1 984)
that would see him work in a variety of genres. and Takashi Miike's Visitor Q (200 1 ) , the latter
Morita was quickly adopted into the entourage a kind of Family Game in reverse that takes the
of producer Haruki Kadokawa, as ever shrewdly chaos at the end of Morita's film as its starting
in tune with any chance to make big bucks, for point and shows how a family is reconstructed
whom he made Main Theme (Mein Twa, 1 9 84) . rather than deconstructed . Quite rightly, Fam­
He then re-teamed with Yusaku Matsuda for the ily Game is still regarded as one of the standout
romantic drama And Then (Sorekara, 1 985) and Japanese films of the '80s.
a year later directed Sorobanzuku, a satire set in
the world of advertising that is now a footnote
in the annals of Japanese cinema history for
being the acting debut of Sabu (then billed as � Fire Festival
Hiroki Tanaka) . In 1 989 Morita signed the first 1<*�1J
big-screen adaptation of B anana Yoshimoto's Hi-Matsuri
novel Kitchen (the second was made eight years
later by Hong Kong director Yim Ho), which 1985. DIRECTOR: Mitsuo Yanagimachi, f!jp1llJ 7't�.
featured former Bond girl Mie Hama. CAST: Kinya Kitaoji, Kiwako Taichi, Ryota Nakamo­
Surviving admirably through the barren to, Norihei Miki, Rikiya Yasuoka, Junko Miyashita,
landscape of the '80s, Morita kept up the pace Kin Sugai, Sachiko Matsushita. 123 minutes. RE­

and the promise the following decade, delivering LEASES: DVD, Kine Jumposha (Japan, no subtitles).
one of the box office smashes of the watershed
year 1 997 with the steamy romance Lost Paradise Man at the mercy of the environment, in this
(Shitsurakuen), one of several films that year that vivid and mystical celebration of nature's pri­
would launch Kaji Yakusho to screen stardom. mal forces set against a backdrop of small­
Yakusho plays floppy-haired, 50-year-old book town gossip and longstanding feuds.
editor Shaichira, who falls in love with 37 -year­
old calligraphy teacher Rinko (played by Hitomi Situated between the mountains of Kumano and
Kuroki). Both are married, and when the affair the deep blue sea, the fishing town of Nigishima
is discovered, the obsessive couple lose their has a population that is neatly divided into one
jobs and respective spouses. With noth ing left of three categories: mountain people, sea peo­
in the world but each other, they retire to a hut ple, and outsiders. Tatsuo is of the first group, a
on the slopes of snow-covered Mount Fuji to rough and boorish lumberjack who not only de­
die together locked in a mortal embrace, ingest­ pends on the wooded forests above the town for
ing po iso ned wine before engaging in their final his economic survival, but also takes an almost
coupling. Admirably, Morita refused to play it primal delight in hunting, setting snares for wild
safe after the success of Lost Paradise, and went animals and standing naked in the rain commun­
off into a completely different direction, deliver- ing with the ancient goddess of the mountain.
280 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

Plans for the development of a new marine the United States, premiering at the 2 3 rd New
park, whilst broadening the economic base of a York Film Festival and also picking up a Silver
community that has hitherto been dependant on Leopard Award at Locarno in Switzerland.
logging and fishing for its survival, threaten to Set amongst the scenic natural beauty of the
disturb the region's natural equilibrium. Still, this Kumano area just south of Osaka, considered
new economic incursion is strongly welcomed to be a traditional stronghold for Japan's indig­
by the town's fishermen, not to mention such enous Shinto religion, it is inspired by a real-life
operators as sleazy land broker Yamakawa, who case in which a local man murdered his family
sees a unique business opportuni ty in the new before killing himself. In a rousing and mystical
tourism trade that the development will bring to celebration of nature's primal forces set against
area (a neighboring town, Yamakawa notes, has a backdrop of small-town gossip and longstand­
even been graced with a nuclear power station). ing feuds, Yanagimachi carefully balances en­
Tatsuo's refusal to sign away his house to vironmental concerns with the sociological,
the developers, effectively blocking the project, adopting an objective, non-judgmental, and al­
strains his relationship with the local commu­ most documentary-styled approach, majestically
ni ty, and when an oil slick leaves a wake of dead depicted by cinematographer Masaki Tamura in
fish floating belly-up in their nursery pool, the a manner not dissimilar to his work on Naomi
fingers of accusation point to him for sabotaging Kawase's Suzaku.
the project. Mer he believes he has been spoken Much of the film's apparent ambivalence
to directly by the Shinto gods of the forest, Tat­ lies in its comple x yet unsympathetic central
suo violently interrupts the town's annual purifi­ character. A coarse bully who cheats on his wife
cation rites, the hi-matsuri (the fire festival of the (played by Junko Miyashita, the Nikkatsu starlet
film's title) before returning to his home to slay of such '70s Roman Porno classics as Noboru
his family and turn the shotgun on himself. Tanaka's Watcher in the AtticlEdogawa Rampo
One of the more salient films from the by Ryokikan Yaneura no Sanposha, 1 976, and Tatsu­
and large otherwise barren cinematic landscape mi Kumashiro's The Woman with Red HairlAkai
of the '80s, Fire Festival is generally considered Kami no anna, 1 979) and two young children
to be the cro wning achievement of the period's when his old girlfriend Kimiko returns to the
foremost independent director Yanagimachi, area, Tatsuo's love of the outdoors seemingly
who set up his own production company Gunro has little to do with environmental protection.
Films in 1 974 in order to make his legendarily In an early scene we see him training his hunt­
titled 1 6mm documentary on Tokyo's bosozoku ing dogs to attack a wild boar kept in a pen in
biker gangs, Godspeed You! Black Emperor (Goddo his garden, cruelly reveling in the bloodshed.
Supldo Yu! Black Emperor, 1 976). Mer two forays His arrogant adoption of the role of elect­
into independent feature making, A 19 Year Old's ed spokesman to the ancient Shinto deities is
Map (jUkyusai no Chizu, 1 97 9) and Farewell to the similarly compromised as he swims in sacred
Land (Saraba Itoshiki Daichi, 1 982), Yanagimachi waters and hunts for the protected monkeys
found financing for his next film from the Seibu that inhabit the forest. When his nai·ve protege,
chain of department stores, then looking to e x­ Ryota, mistakenly uses a piece of wood from a
pand its interests into the realm of the arts. Based sacred tree to catch a pigeon in a snare, Tatsuo
on a script by Kenji Nakagami, the writer whose orders him to drop his pants and e xpose himself
life and work formed the basis of Shinji Aoyama's to the mountain goddess for this mistake, bull­
To the Alley, and who was born in the Kumano ishly claiming he himself has made love to the
region where the film is set, Fire Festival became goddess. A pigheaded reactionary, he is unable
the first of the director's films to be released in to articulate e xactly why he is against the devel-
 Tampopo • 281

opment other than a Luddite's unwillingness to Tampopo is an episodic trip through mankind's
change. obsession with food. The eponymous hero­
With the subsequent killing spree invoked ine (Miyamoto, whose character's name is the
by Tatsuo's tree-hugging communion with Japanese word for dandelion) is not altogether
the gods in the final reel, stunningly rendered successful at preparing a go�d bowl of noodle
against a windswept backdrop of rustling trees soup, something a couple of macho truck driv­
and driving rain, Yanagimachi seems to be ers (Yamazaki and Watanabe ) are quick to point
suggesting that man is more shaped by his en­ out. Experts on the subject thanks to the count­
vironment than vice versa. Intrusions of moder­ less breaks spent in roadside noodle bars, the
nity, most obviously manifested in the recurrent two men decide to tutor Tampopo in the art of
motif of a truck that drives around the area pa­ ramen, taking her on spying trips to competing
thetically blaring out tinny radio jingles over a restaurants and putting her through her paces
loudspeaker, are pointedly overwhelmed by the with a series of kitchen drills.
sweeping natural settings, with their unrelent­ This main story of Tampopo is interspersed
ing aural soundscape of wind howling through with comic skits featuring characters from vari­
towering forest canopies, vast billowing expans­ ous layers of Japanese society and their rela­
es of foliage, and the slow susurrus of the sea. tionships with food. In one of these, a group of
Fire Festival is evenly paced, meditative and senior corporate managers and their junior col­
thought-provoking, providing little in the way league have dinner at a French gourmet restau­
of explanation or resolution to the events that rant, where the respectable superiors all order
unfold on its broad canvas, instead placing that the same course because of their inability to read
responsibility firmly within the hands of the the French-language menu. The bumbling ju­
viewer. It's a challenging approach but a poten­ nior exec, however, speaks the language fluently
tially rewarding one. Either way, Fire Festival is and effortlessly orders himself a sumptuous meal
a remarkable achievement. where his superiors are all stuck with soup and
fish. This scene is representative of the tone of
these sketches, all of which show that whatever
status we prefer to see ourselves in and however
"" Tampopo we wish to distance ourselves from our fellow
7/';f,;f, man, in the end all human beings are united in
limpopo their dependence on, and love for, food.
Featuring an early co-starring role by Koji
1985. DIRECTOR: Juz6 Itami, fJtfl+ =:. CAST: Nobu­ Yakusho as a suave gangster who uses food as part
ko Miyamoto, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken Watanabe, of the erotic interplay with his pretty mistress,
Rikiya Yasuoka, K6ji Yakusho. 115 minutes. RE­ Tampopo is a likable comedy. Although many of
LEASES: DVD, Fox Lorber (U.S. , English subtitles). the jokes develop along predictable lines, the
film's jabs at society are nicely observed, nearly
Longish but charming hit comedy a bout the always sympathizing with the downtrodden and
search for the perfect noodle soup, this estab­ the underdogs, while Miyamoto (Itami's wife and
l ished the Juzo Ita m i style and virtually defined frequent lead actress ) forms a charismatic lead.
Japanese cinema for Western audiences in the Tampopo established Itami's name on an in­
1980s. ternational level, where his work became all the
more appreciated as a result of the dearth of de­
Built around the framework of a female noo­ cent films that made it out of Japan at the time.
dle shop owner's quest for the perfect ramen, Subsequently, Itami became firmly associated
282 • THE OTHER PLAYERS

with directing satiric comedies, but his presence his film. Itami used his own hospital experiences
within the Japanese film industry stretches back as the basis for The Last Dance (Daibyonin, 1 99 3 ) ,
a lot further than his directorial work of the a satire of the medical world about a fi l m direc­
1 980s. Real name Yoshihiro Ikeuchi, he is the tor trying to finish his final film while suffering
son of pre-warjidai-geki director Mansaku Itami from terminal cancer. His adaptation of Nobel
(Yoshitoyo Ikeuchi) . Keeping his father's nom de Prize winner Kenzabur6 Ge's novel A Quiet
plume, though initially with the first name Ich­ Life (Shizukana Seikatsu, 1 995) was a major de­
iz6, he made his debut as an actor in the early parture from Itami's normal formula, its source
1 960s, playing mainly supporting parts for the material based on the birth of the novelist's
next three deacades, including turns in Asian­ brain-damaged son. Itami swiftly returned to
flavored Hollywood epics like Nicholas Ray's 55 familiar ground, however, with retreads of the
Days at Peking ( 1 96 3 ) and Richard Brooks' Lord Tampopo formula in Supermarket Woman (Supii
Jim ( 1 965). He was also seen in Kon Ichikawa's no Onna, 1 996) and Marutai no Onna ( 1 997)
adaptation of S6seki Natsume's novel I Am a Cat [trans: Woman under police protection] , once
( Wagahai wa Neko de Aru, 1 97 5 ) and opposite again starring Miyamoto.
Meiko Kaji and a young Yoshio Harada in the In late 1 99 7, with Marutai no Onna showing
second installment of the Lady Snowblood series in theaters, Itami committed suicide by jump­
(Shurayukihime: Urami Renka, 1 974, directed by ing off a seven-story building in Tokyo, alleg­
Toshiya Fujita). edly over the impending tabloid revelation of
After playing the salaryman father in Yoshi­ an affair with a 2 6-year-old office lady, although
mitsu Morita's wildly successful Family Game, some people speculated over links between his
Itami set up his own production company, Itami death and his earlier troubles with the mob.
Productions and moved behind the camera to
direct The Funeral (Ososhikl) in 1 984. Well re­
ceived both at home and abroad (it won an
award at the Taormina Film Festival in Italy), -.It The Mystery of Rampo
the film was a forerunner to Tampopo in its epi­ Rampo
sodic structure and in its gently satirical look
at the clashes between various social groups, as 1994. DIRECTORS: Rintaro MayuzumijKazuyoshi
well in the casting of Nobuko Miyamoto and Okuyama, 1il)lvt�0.!j / �WWEl3. CAST: Masa­
Tsutomu Yamazaki in the lead roles. hiro Motoki, Naoto Takenaka, Michiko Hada,
Itami continued in comedy for the next few Teruyuki Kagawa, Mikijiro Hira. 93/97/100 min­
years, his wife taking the lead roles in A Tax­ utes. RELEASES: VHS, Bandai Visual (Japan, no
ing Woman (Marusa no Onna, 1 987) and its se­ subtitles, Okuyama version). Collection Auteurs
quel A Taxing Woman Returns (Marusa no Onna (France, French subtitles, international version).
2, 1 988), about a tax inspector who falls in love
with the embezzler she is supposed to be in­ It's wild, but it works. Shoc h i k u ' s centenary bash
vestigating. Miyamoto also took the lead in attempts to plumb the m i nds of one of Japan's
the comedies Tales of a Golden Geisha (Ageman, most celebrated pulp writers i n a bizarre mish­
1 990) and Minbo, or the Gentle Art of Japanese mash of animation, smoldering period drama,
Extortion (Minbo no Onna, 1 992), the latter a obscure psycho-sexual i m agery, and state of the
veritable encyclopedia of the extortion practices art special effects.
of the yakuza that landed its director in hospital,
after an attempt on his life by what were alleg­ Sexy, fantastic, vivid, subversive-for over 5 0
edly gangsters unhappy with the frankness of years the collected works o f the writer Edogawa
 The Mystery of Rampo • 283

Rampo ( 1 894- 1 965), Japan's celebrated master during the '60s. In the summer of 2 002 , TB S
of mystery fiction, have enjoyed a persistent run Television screened a one-off special directed by
of success in Japan, in print, on screen, and even Seita Yamamoto, which saw Masakazu Tamura
on stage, as in Yukio Mishima's 1 95 6 adaptation as Akechi pitted against "Beat" Takeshi in the
of Black Lizard, later filmed by Kinji Fukasaku oft-filmed Kogoro Akechi vs. the Fiend with Twen­
in 1 968. ty Faces (Akechi Kogoro Tai Knijin Niju Menso).
Born Taro Hirai, the son of a merchant­ The year 1 994 saw the hundredth anniver­
lawyer, Rampo spent the best part of his youth sary of Rampo's birth, and was marked with a
avidly feeding his fertile imagination with the number of film adaptations of his work. Akio
newly translated writings of such notable West­ Jissoji made The Watcher in the Attic (Yaneura
ern practitioners of the detective story as Sir Ar­ no Sanposha)-a work which had already been
thur Conan Doyle and Maurice Leblanc, which adapted for Nikkatsu by Noboru Tanaka in
had begun making their way into the country at 1 976, and is considered one of the high points
the turn of the twentieth century. When it final­ of the studio's Roman Porno output-and Toru
ly came to putting the fruits of his own fe rvent Kawashima directed Oshie to Tabi Suru Otoko
imagination down in print with the 1 92 3 short [trans: The traveling man with the pressed pic­
story Ni-sen Doka [trans: The two sen copper ture J. The year also marked the centenary of the
coin] , he settled for the phonemic approximation Shochiku Corporation film company. Top pro­
of the name of one of his literary heroes, Edgar ducer Kazuyoshi Okuyama, son of Shochiku's
Allan Poe (e-do-ga-wa-ran-po), as his nom de then president Toru Okuyama, decided to cel­
plume. This name is somewhat of a double pun, ebrate both events in epic style with a film based
as the Chinese characters used by Hirai translate on the writer's life.
into "walking in disarray by the Edo River. " Rintaro Mayuzurni, a TV director from
Rampo's acclaim in the English language lies NHK, was drafted to direct, and two of the na­
pretty much exclusively with Japanese Tales ofMys­ tion's most recognizable faces took the leading
tery and Imagination, an anthology of short hor­ roles. Rampo himself was played by the pug-faced
ror stories first translated in 1 95 6 by the Charles Naoto Takenaka, a popular comedian with a film
Tuttle publishing house. The limited number of career stretching back to the mid-'80s. He has also
film adaptations of his writing released outside played in harder, more straight-faced fare such as
of Japan have similarly been oriented around his a number of films for Gonin director Takashi Ishll,
more horrifically perverse works-Blind Beast and is himself an occasional director with films
(Miiju, Yasuzo Masumura, 1 969) ; Horror of the like Nowhere Man (Muno no Hita, 1 99 1 ) and Tokyo
Malformed Men (Kyofu Kikai Ningen, Teruo Ishii, Biyori ( 1 997). The part of Rampo's cha nning
1 968), and Shinya Tsukamoto's Gemini. literary hero, detective Akec hi, was filled by the
However, peeping toms, sightless psycho­ suave Masahiro Motoki, a former teen model and
pathic sculptors, and deadly doppelgangers ac­ pinup poster boy from the boy band Shibuga kitai
tually make up a rather small part of Rampo's ("The Cool Kid Trio") from 1 982 to 1 988. After a
fiction, and in his homeland he is remembered string of roles in TV dramas, Moto ki's first major
more for his detective stories, predominantly film role came in Masayuki Suo's Fancy Dance in
featuring the dashing master of logic and dis­ 1 989, after which he bared his body to the world
guise, detective Kogoro Akechi, and his later in a nude photo book published in 1 99 1 entitled
Boys Detective Gang series of children's books, "White Room. " Rampo marked the first of three
about an agency of amateur juvenile detectives consecutive films in which Moto ki appeared
who featured in a number of films for Toei alongside Takenaka, the following two being
during the ' 5 0s and a long running TV series Gonin and Shall We Dance?
284 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

Taking Rampo's unpublished novella Osei who advocated changes in the national consti­
TOjo [trans: The appearance of Osei] as its start­ tution. The accession of the Sh6wa Emperor
ing point, Rompo is not so exactly a cinematic Hirohito in 1 92 6 marked a time when the in­
reconstruction of the author's life, though by creasingly nationalistic political tide was being
using a number of props such as a hat and a box officially weighted toward a return to tradition­
of matches that actually belonged to the author, al Japanese values and culture. Rampo's books,
it certainly makes bold claims to period detail. with their appeal to the masses, lack of any
Nor is it a straightforward adaptation of Ram­ higher message, and such an obviously deca­
po's banned source novel. Instead it takes upon dent and "foreign" source of inspiration, were
its shoulders the rather ambitious task or put­ obvious targets . A number of them were banned
ting the author's work into a historical context outright by the state censors, including Osei
in order to portray the conditions which gave TOjo, leading Rampo to withdraw from creative
rise to his uniquely flamboyant output. It is also writing for a couple of years. During this time
an attempt to delve into the very soul of the au­ he began work on his autobiography, in which
thor to get to the heart of what exactly it was he expressed his own disillusionment with the
that made his work so enduringly resonant with increasingly oppressive nature of early Sh6wa
the general public. Japan. History, of course, would bear him out
The fact is, in his day Rampo was really not over the next couple of decades.
well regarded by the literary establishment, who "Rampo was a man who felt at odds with
looked upon his work as mere pulp fodder for the times and departed from it by creating his
the masses. The increasingly militarist govern­ own world," Okuyama stated in the press notes
ment regime at the beginning of the Sh6wa at the time of the film's release. Rompo takes a
period wasn't too keen on it either, objecting speculative peak inside the writer's mind during
to the "aberrant moral content" found in such this time when his work was increasingly falling
spine-chilling short stories as The Caterpillar foul of the censors. After an animated rendition
(Imomushl) and The Red Chamber (Akai Heya). of Osei TOjo's basic setup-that of a mysterious
With the opening up to the rest of the world woman who locks her husband in her nagamochi
in the latter half of the nineteenth century after (the antique chest in which a bride stores her
almost 3 00 years of self-imposed isolation, the trousseau, the possessions she takes with her
subsequent period had seen a vast influx of when she moves to the household of her new
cultural and artistic values pouring into Japan. husband), and leaves him to suffocate-we see
Foppish men sashayed down the streets in frock a rather sullen-looking Rampo being hauled up
jackets. Jazz music blared into the streets from in front of a government representative who
European-styled cafes. The moga (modern girl) orders his latest work to be destroyed. Rampo
wore her hair in a short bobbed cut, shedding mopes back home and puts a match to the only
the traditional kimono in favor of the flapper existing copy of the offending manuscript, but
dress. Artists in every field began assimilating shortly afterward his editor shows him a news­
such alien ideas as Romanticism, Surrealism, paper clipping detailing a woman convicted of
Futurism, and abstraction into their work, and exactly the same offense.
intellectuals flirted with political ideals like Rampo is drawn into his own investiga­
Communism and freedom of speech. tion, and tracks down the beautiful widow, Shi­
By the mid - 1 92 Os the pendulum had swung zuko, (played by Japanese supermodel Michiko
too far. The Peace Preservation Law of 1 92 5 Hada in her big screen debut) in the antiques
i s often considered the turning point, severely shop that she ran with her deceased husband.
curtailing the powers of those political groups Unable to reconcile the startling link between
 The Mystery of Rampo . 285

his unpublished novel and this eerie real-life complicated optical effects and innovative CGI
crime, he invokes his alter ego, handsome de­ technology. D espite such technology being then
tective Akechi, in an attempt at bringing a fic­ fairly much in its infancy and without the re­
tional conclusion to these strange events. From sources available to Hollywood filmmakers, this
this moment on we're immersed in a world of imagery not only integrates smoothly within the
fantasy, where Shizuko is now playing mistress film's ambitious narrative, but also manages to
to the twisted Marquis Ogawara, a sadistic old bring a slick veneer to the look of the film with­
pervert who seeks gratification by dressing up as out drawing attention to itself. A scene in which
his dead mother. the Marquis projects pornographic film foot­
Biopics about writers are notoriously dif­ age onto the naked body of his captive mistress,
ficult to pull off. When Mayuzumi turned in overlaying it with more and more erotic imag­
his version, producer Okuyama-a man seem­ ery to invoke the spiraling sense of delirium that
ingly dedicated to rubbing up his directors the lies at the heart of Rampo's potent prose, suits
wrong way, having already had a major bust-up perfectly the central conceit of using cinema as
with Kitano over Sonatine-thought the piece a means of investigating the various layers that
lacked a little oomph for such a high-profile exist between reality and fantasy. One of the
cinematic event, and promptly re-shot over half most sensational set pieces of Japanese cinema
of it. As a result, Rampo surfaced theatrically in of the decade, its explici mess also managed to
two versions in Japan, released simultaneously: whip up further press coverage.
Mayuzumi's original weighs in at 93 minutes, This daring collage of film styles and media
whilst the Okuyama version is 97 minutes. To (which also includes archival footage of Meiji­
further complicate matters, an extra three min­ period Japan and clips taken from Susumu
utes made it onto the latter when it was released Yugei's 1 954 three-part serialization of Sho­
worldwide as The Mystery of Rampo in an "In­ chiku's early version of The Fiend with Twenty
ternational Version," which was curiously also Faces) fits in with the fragmentary approach to
made available on video in Japan. the narrative, though perhaps the sum of the
Despite taking the magnanimous step of parts add up to rather less than their whole in
releasing both versions of the film at the same their attempt to invoke the full force of Rampo's
time to allow audiences to decide which was the wildly fantastical imagination, especially when
better, Mayuzurni's version barely stood a chance laid aside the subtle poetry of Mayuzumi's more
against Okuyama's media-courting showman­ cohesive narrative. Nevertheless, Okuyama
ship that accompanied the new edit. The new just about pulls it off. Rampo is indeed an un­
animated opening sequence (Mayuzurni begins restrained visual extravaganza that is difficult
straight in the banning scene) and scenes such to ignore, looking a great deal slicker and more
as an opulent party to which Rampo gives an adventurous than anything else released from
address to a number of prominent Japanese ce­ Japan in the '90s. It was also the highest-gross­
lebrities (look carefully for Kinji Fukasaku and ing domestic release of its year, and successfully
Koji Wakamatsu) highlight the "big is better" played overseas in a number of territories where
approach that is adopted throughout the entire it was greeted by audiences with a mixture of
exercise. Okuyama's film was more than just an admiration and slack-jawed incomprehension.
homage to Rampo . It was a calculated cinematic Mayuzumi returned to TV production, later
event. bringing to the big screen Suzuran ShOjo Moe no
Okuyama makes ostentatious use of the full Monogatari [trans: Lily of the valley: the story
complement of state-of-the-art cinema tech­ of young girl Moe), a Shochiku production of
niques available to him at the time, including an NHK drama about a twelve-year-old girl
286 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

growing up in Hokkaido. Aside from the 1 996 Gonin is a grim, violent, but also gorgeously
Daitiiryii no Kurisumasu Tsuri [trans: The presi­ stylized reflection of a country's rapid social de­
dent's Chrisnnas tree] , an unashamed tearjerker cline. Remorselessly tapping into the zeitgeist
set in New York, Okuyama kept away from di­ and laying his findings bare for all to see, direc­
rection until the 2 00 3 documentary about For­ tor Takashi Ishii goes one better than his nor­
mula One racing, Crash (Kurasshu). His next few mal portrayal of human beings under duress and
stints at production for Shochiku include the finds a way to express his favorite theme with
Tarantino-esque action movie Score (Atsushi Mu­ social relevance.
roga, 1 995), Gonin, Shohei Imamura's The Eel, Five men represent the rupture in the so­
and the feature-length anime based on Osamu cial fabric caused by the burst ofJapan's bubble
Tezuka's classic manga, Black Jack (Osamu economy: Ogiwara (Takenaka) is a salaryman
Dezaki, 1 996), though his subsequent attempts who after 20 years of loyal service is fired from
at creating the same stir overseas as Rampo with his company. Venting his frustrations at a roof­
Masato Harada's Rowing Through, a U.S. -based top batting cage, he encounters Bandai (Sato), a
movie about a rowing team, met a marked box club owner deep in debt with the yakuza. Mit­
office failure. Mer a series of expensive failures, suya (Motoki) is a flamboyant gay misfit who
he was later ousted from his role as one of the lives off blackmailing his rich partners, includ­
top figures at Shochiku on January 1 9, 1 998, in ing Bandai. Hizu (Nezu) is a washed-up ex-cop
a much publicized boardroom coup, going on to and ex-con who now works as a bouncer at a
form the Team Okuyama production company hostess club, using an eagerness for violence as
responsible for, amongst other films, Dora Heita a way to hide his self-loathing. Jimmy (Shiina),
(2000), Kon Ichikawa's period action comedy finally, is the boyfriend of Thai hooker Nami,
based on a script co-written with Akira Kuro­ whom he tries to buy off the same yakuza group
sawa, Keisuke Kinoshita, and Masaki Kobayashi that is tightening the screws on Bandai.
almost thirty years before. All of them men who either have nothing left
to lose or carry a grudge against the gangsters,
the five are united by the club owner's daring
-J, Gonin plan to raid the yakuza headquarters and steal
all their cash. The desperate Ogiwara handed
1995. DIRECTOR: Takashi Ishii, Efj:�qg. CAST: Naoto his resume to Bandai for a job, Mitsuya refuses
Takenaka, Koichi Sato, Takeshi Kitano, Masa­ to leave his side before seeing the money, Hizu
hiro Motoki, Kazuya Kimura, Kippei Shiina, Jinpa­ is an old acquaintance, and Jimmy is someone
chi Nezu. 109 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Leo Films Bandai saw at the yakuza offices and recognized
(U .S. , English subtitles), Tokyo Bullet/MIA Video as a fellow victim. The group is formed and the
(U . K . , English subtitles), Ocean Shores (Hong plan carried out, chaotically and not without
Kong, English/Chinese subtitles). bloodshed on account of Ogiwara's increasing
psychosis, but the men manage to snag the loot
Stylish and moody action thriller in which five and get away.
washed-up everymen take on the yakuza in a sui­ Bandai immediately becomes the main
cidal smash-and-grab . A grim account of Japan's suspect, but the gang quickly figures out who
rapid economic and moral decline, and one of else were behind the heist when they first real­
the most significant fi lms by genre stylist Ta­ ize Nami's passport has been lifted from their
kash i I s h i i . safe and then find Ogiwara's CV in Bandai's
office . A pair of hinnen (Kitano and Kimura)
One of the major Japanese films of the '90s, is drummed up to find and punish the culprits,
 Gonin . 287

but in their search a lot of dark secrets about fully constructed narrative and beautiful cin­
the five men, as well as the killers themselves, ematography, an uninspired Ishii relied entirely
are revealed. on the central gimmick of having five women as
Director Takashi Ishii is known for his love protagonists instead of five men. Even his re­
of genre, and most of his work consists of varia­ curring motif, that of the human body and mind
tions on some of the staples of the crime genre: under extreme duress, lacked resonance on ac­
the film noir redux of Original Sin (Shinde mo Ii, count of several underwritten characters.
1 992), A Night in the Nude (Nudo no Yoru, 1 99 3 ) , Ishii's films replay the motif of humans
and Tenshi no Harawata: Akai Senko ( 1 994) ; the under pressure with admirable consistency.
rape-revenge film with Freeze Me (2000) ; and This makes them something of an acquired
the hitman dramas Black Angel Vol. 1 and Vol. taste, since the director's preferred method of
2 (Kuro no Tenshi, 1 998/99) . The basic plot of inflicting pain and stress on his (mostly female)
Gonin is the most classic form of heist movie: characters is through rape. This approach goes
An assorted group of individuals pull off a all the way back to Ishii's origins as a manga
seemingly impossible robbery, but find them­ artist, finding fame through the Angel Guts se­
selves hunted by their own targets . While Ishii ries. The series was brought to the screen as
nearly always approaches the basic genres of his Nikkatsu Roman Porno in the late 1 970s, di­
films with a sense of personalized innovation, rected by such studio veterans Chusei Sone and
with Gonin he takes a step further and has it re­ Noboru Tanaka. Ishii himself wrote the screen­
flect and comment on the social climate in his plays, which would become his main activity
country. in the following decade when he also penned
One of the first Japanese films to do so, pre­ films like Toshiharu Ikeda's stylish slasher Evil
ceding a wave of socially committed indepen­ Dead Trap (Shiryo no IiVtma, 1 987). He made his
dent films from the second half of the '90s, it's own directorial debut with Angel Guts: Red Ver­
also one of the most pessimistic. Made during tigo (Tenshi no Harawata: Akai Memal) in 1 98 8 ,
the fact, rather than after it, the film reflects which s e t the pattern for h i s later films b y fea­
the uncertainty and the feeling of hopelessness turing a woman named Nami (the name shared
of seeing 50 years of unbridled prosperity and by most of his suffering heroines) who is first
security crumble to dust. The basic foundations raped and subsequently almost run over by a
of contemporary life receive crippling blows in car. The driver thinks she is dead and takes her
Gonin: Job opportunities are non-existent, one body along, after which the story takes several
of the good guys butchers his own wife and unexpected turns that confront its protagonist
child, suicide is a realistic option, violence is with additional threats.
ubiquitous, and to top it all off Ishii kills off the Ishii has been making variations on this basic
audience identification figure twenty minutes scenario ever since, always featuring a woman
before the end of the film, brutally depriving in extreme peril who often ends up fighting her
both his viewers and his protagonists of their way out and conquering her subjugation. Al­
final strands of hope. though not all his films offer satisfactory context
If any further proof were needed of Gonin's and motivation for their portrayal of rape, Ishii's
depth and relevance, it was Ishii himself who de­ main interest lies in how the body and mind can
livered it with the sequel Gonin 2 the following cope with such conditions, which he translates
year. In it he revisited the same plot structure, formally through the use of wide-angle lenses
but this time it was devoid of any deeper mean­ that distort and thereby emphasize the human
ing or allusion. In a flatly directed and written body and its movements, by shooting scenes
film, which lacked even its predecessor's care- of violence in long single takes, as well as by
288 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

capturing his characters within cramped and re­ Otaru, Hokkaido. Though Itsuki 's mother as­
stricted spaces. Despite being the only all-male sures her that the old house has long since been
entry in his filmography, Gonin essentially ex­ demolished, Hiroko is seized by the romantic
plored the same subject matter. notion of writing a brief letter to her dead lover
Ishii's approach reached its apex with Freeze at his childhood home inquiring after his well­
Me, the story of a young woman who is left by being. After dispatching it in a gesture intended
her boyfriend after she is raped, and who is re­ to lay his memory to rest, she embarks on a ro­
visited by the three men who violated her after mantic affair with Itsuki's former best friend, a
she has started to build a new life for herself. local glassblower named Shigeru.
Reminiscent of Meir Zarchi's notorious I Spit on She is astonished when a few days later a
Your Grave ( 1 978), Freeze Me took Ishii's main reply comes back, from someone signed Itsuki,
motif about as far as it could go. Perhaps this stating briefly and succinctly that aside from a
was the reason why, after directing a one-hour bad cold that won't shift, its sender is alive and
straight-to-video vehicle for a group ofJapanese well. Initially she dismisses it as a cruel joke,
rappers called Tokyo GP, he seemingly disap­ until Shigeru points out that if the house was in­
peared off the face of the earth for the follow­ deed lying beneath a recently constructed high­
ing four years. He re-emerged in 2 004, and was way, as Itsuki's mother told her, then the letter
back to his old tricks with an adaptation of S/M would never have been delivered. Intri gued, Hi­
expert Oniroku Dan's novel Flower and Snake roko finds herself unable to resist writing back.
(Hana to Hebt) , previously filmed by Roman Meanwhile in Otaru, there's clearly been
Porno stalwart Masaru Konuma. a case of mistaken identity, as a young single
woman named Itsuki Fuji finds herself receiving
a string of strange letters ftom the lady in Kobe.
Humoring Hiroko, she replies to them, before
� Love Letter coming clean and revealing that the bane of her
a . k. a . When I Close My Ey es junior high school years was a young boy in the
same class who coincidentally shared exactly the
1995. DIRECTOR: Shunji Iwai. :!5#i�=. CAST: Miho same name as her. For several long and hard
Nakayama, Etsushi Toyokawa, Bunjaku Han, years, the two endured the taunts and teasings
Katsuyuki Shinohara, Miki Sakai, Takashi Kashi­ of their classmates, finding themselves unable to
wabara, Mariko Kaga, Keiichi Suzuki, Ken Mitsui­ break from each other's company due to their
shi, Tomorowo Taguchi. 117 minutes. RELEASES: neighboring position on the school register, as
DVD, King (Japan, English subtitles), Dawoori they shared such duties as working after class in
(Korea, English/Japanese/Korean subtitles). the school library together.
Shigeru suggests that both Hiroko and he
Iwa i ' s romantic debut is a slick treatise on time make a pilgrimage to Otaru to meet this com­
and memory, centered around a case of mistak­ mon link with her past face to face, though by a
en identity and the i m possibility of real ly know­ twist of fate they never actually cross paths with
i ng someone. her new correspondent. By this time, however,
it seems that Itsuki shares even more in com­
After the anniversary of the death of her fiance, mon with Hiroko than the name of her dead
Itsuki Fuji, in a mountaineering accident, Hi­ classmate.
roko Watanabe chances upon an old junior high Shunji Iwai sits rather distinctly from the
school yearbook at his mother's house in Kobe. other directors who made their names in the
It lists their old family address in the town of '90s, in that rather than working his way up the
 Love Letter • 289

hierarchy within the major studios or working to run away from home, but she is not going
on the production of pink films, he cut his teeth alone.
on music video production and work for cable Undo ( 1 994) was a slightly more adult­
TV Prior to Love Letter, he directed a number oriented tale, about a young cohabiting couple
of TV dramas running just short of an hour, whose relationship difficulties have driven the
including Ghost Soup ( 1 992) , a twee comedy in woman to the brink of mental collapse. Mad­
which a man finds that the apartment he has ness was again the theme of Picnic ( 1 994), fea­
moved into is haunted by some exceedingly ir­ turing three mental patients who escape from
ritating ghosts, and Fried Dragon Fish: Thomas their asylum, and then rather perversely decide
Earwing 's Arowana ( 1 99 3 ) , featuring an early that rather than jump over the wall, they should
role for Tadanobu Asano as a fanatical fish col­ walk along it.
lector embroiled in smuggling the valuable With the success of Love Letter and the pop­
Arowana dragon fish. ularity of his TV work, unusual for a Japanese
Both of these TV works laid out the stylis­ film director, Iwai achieved a legendary status
tic agenda for the director's later film work: the akin to a rock star. With his shoulder-length
gliding cameras and the super-saturated colors hair he even looked like one. By waving aside
of Fried Dragon Fish, the lengthy sequence as any distinction between cinema, music video,
the cast of Ghost Soup perform a dance number and TV drama, he appealed to an audience
clearly modeled on Michael Jackson's Thriller. that had previously been uncatered to, keeping
Iwai effectively brought in a new visual aesthetic his finger firmly on the pulse of contemporary
sense adopted from the pop promo world, filling youth culture by cannily associating himself with
his work with musical interludes set to contem­ some of the most popular musical talents of the
porary music and a host of visual tricks culled day. Love Letter's central star, Miho Nakayama,
from the video mixing desk. had conducted a successful singing career ever
But these two works really only laid the since 1 986, and another popular songstress in
groundwork for Iwai's later experimentations. the form of Chara starred in Picnic (alongside
Though both were made more widely avail­ Asano, whom she later married) .
able on video and DVD following the success But it was his second feature, S wallowtail But­
of Love Letter and his next feature, Swallowtail terfly, again starring Chara, that came to define
Butterfly (Suwaroteiru, 1 996), perhaps they are an entire generation. Set amongst the denizens
better suited for TV, diverting enough but ldti­ of Yen Town, a community of Asian immigrants
mately fairly vacuous. Nevertheless, even in his who speak in a mixture of broken English, Man­
TV work Iwai soon managed to strike a more darin, and Japanese, drawn to Japan believing in
satisfying balance between the cosmetic and the power of the "Yen. " This they find in the
the dramatic. His 5 2 -minute drama Fireworks, form of a cassette of Frank Sinatra's My Way,
Should We See It From the Side or the Bottom? discovered in the stomach of a dead gangster,
( Uchiage Hana Bi. Shita Knra Miruka? Yoko Knra which strangely holds the key, in the form of
Miruka?, 1 99 3 ) earned him the Best Newcomer a cryptic magnetic code, to a money-printing
award from the Japanese Directors' Association scam that seems the answer to all their dreams.
in 1 993 . An innocent tale of young love as two Both critics and audiences were firmly di­
elementary school boys, Norimichi and Yusuke, vided, mainly down age lines, as to the merits
vie for the attention of classmate Nazuna. What of S wallowtail. Clocking in at 1 47 minutes it is
they don't realize is that Nazuna's parents are undoubtedly overlong, but more than that, its
on the verge of divorcing, with Nazuna follow­ story, couched within the template of a sim­
ing her mother. One day Nazuna packs her bags ple morality tale, seems merely an excuse to
290 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

showcase Iwai's aesthetic sensibilities. Undeni­ ( 1 87 1 - 1 92 2 ) in its meditation on time, identity,

ably well-crafted, still there's something vaguely and reconstructed memory, as Itsuki recounts
patronizing about its portrayal of Asians in how her namesake used to sign his names on
] apan, living on the perimeters of Tokyo eking slips inside all the books on the library shelves to
out their survival by drug dealing, prostitu­ make it look like he had read them all.
tion, and scavenging around in scrap metal tips, By the time their correspondence reveals a
with the modern-day Tokyo of the real world hitherto hidden side to Itsuki's former fiance's
barely alluded to. Rather than any convinc­ personality, it becomes clear that Iwai's film is
ing portrayal, the ersatz shanty town of Swal­ more about surface appearances than straight­
lowtail seems little more than a soundstage for forward nostalgia, fitting for a director whose
Iwai to stage his gaudy musical numbers (the work has often been criticized as mere window­
soundtrack, sung by the band in the film led by dressing. In this instance, the polished veneer
ehara, became a top-seller), his images buried of the image complements rather than detracts
in a technical virtuosity verging on glibness, and from the central premise. From the open­
the outlaw glamor of its inhabitants catering ing snowbound moments, Love Letter is a very
squarely to the youth market. A few years later, polished work indeed, a faultlessly paced flow
it already looked passe. of beautifully controlled widescreen images.
Iwai's films don't lend themselves particu­ Taking his lead from his work in music video,
larly well to analysis. From the self-conscious Iwai carefully storyboarded the entire film be­
mugging of Ghost Soup and Fried Dragon Fish fore shooting, and these animated storyboards
to the overblown street-savvy hipness of Swal­ are included on the DVD releases to be played
lowtail, they are all firmly rooted in the era in alongside the original soundtrack.
which they are made. But in the case of Love Iwai only really recaptured the buoyant
Letter, produced by Fuji Television as with all of simplicity of his polished debut with April Story
his previous works, he seems to have pitched the (Shigatsu Monogatari, 1 998), a slight story about
level just right. Rather than dating his work by the experiences of girl from Hokkaido embark­
orchestrating it to a soundtrack of contemporary ing on a co-ed college career in Tokyo. During
music, the score, by Remedios, here consists of a lull in his filmmaking output of several years,
a number of sweeping classically influenced mo­ he continued to explore new technology and the
tifs. Quirky characters whose presence grated in means of visual expression it provided by de­
his earlier dramas seem less crudely drawn here, veloping his story for All About Lily Chou-Chou
such as the twitching schoolgirl who elicits the (Ririi Shushu no Subete) as an "interactive novel"
female Itsuki's help in approaching her name­ made available over the Internet. The result­
sake, and the cast (including Toyokawa, fresh ing film version, released theatrically in 2 00 1 ,
from Iwai's previous Undo, and his role as one of saw the director moving into darker territory. It
the brooding psychokinetic brothers from Joji tells the story of an ostracized 1 4-year-old's ob­
Iida's popular TV series and theatrical spin-off session with the fictional pop idol of the film's
Night Head in 1 994) all do their job admirably. title, escaping into a virtual community of the
Whilst the plot, which is no less contrived singer's fans by means of a chat room that he
than his other works, feels hot from the squeaky­ has set up. This was followed by Arita, one of
clean pages of a shiijo manga (girls comic), its the seven shorts included in the compendium
simplicity works in its favor. It also touches on Jam Films (2 002), alongside works by Joji Iida
deeper themes than Iwai's other films, even going (Another Heaven), RyUhei Kitamura ( Versus),
as far as to checklist A la recherche du temps perdu Rokuro Mochizuki (Onibl), and Iwai's assistant
(Remembrance of Things Past) by Marcel Proust director on Love Letter, Isao Yukisada (GO).
 MARKS • 291

..v MARKS a straightforward murder mystery. D espite ap­

7- :77-O)LIJ parently masquerading as a conventional police
Miikusu no Yama procedural, MARKS soon adopts a more frag­
mentary approach to the narrative in a collage
1995. DIRECTOR: Y6ichi Sai, 1tii$-. CAST: Kiichi of seemingly unrelated plot strands that never
Nakai, Ittoku Kishibe, Masato Furuoya, Masato quite tie up.
Hagiwara, Ren Osugi, Nenji Kobayashi, Susumu In attempting to find the murderer purely
Terajima. 138 minutes. RELEASES: VCD, Asia Video by inference from the limited clues provided,
Publishing (Hong Kong, English/Chinese subtitles). the steadfast Aida finds himself so far off the
mark that it is only by a lucky coincidence that
A young former asyl um resident m ight hold the the case is finally tied up at the film's conclu­
key to a seemi ngly u n related spate of murders sion (albeit rather messily) . Though the plot
sweeping Tokyo, in S a i ' s dark and slow-moving reveals information unavailable to the inspec­
existential thriller. tor, it is presented in such a scattershot fashion
that whether the viewer will be able to forge the
When the appearance of the corpse of a for­ connections to come out any less confused at
mer mobster in a classy residential district of the end than its protagonist is debatable.
Tokyo is followed a few days later by the murder In this way Sai is justified in depicting his
of a Ministry of Justice official, there's seem­ search against the squabbling and infighting of
ingly nothing to link the two victims except the the raincoated ranks of the Seventh Homicide
modus operandi: a gory seven-inch-Iong wound Section, who by opting to do their detective
penetrating through the victims' left eyes and work without leaving the office, barely scrape the
exiting through the top of their heads. surface of the impenetrable mystery. Comprising
Workmanlike detective Aida (Nakai) is as­ a host of familiar faces such as Susumu Terajima
signed to the first case, but his obstinate meth­ and Ren O sugi, these scenes provide some of the
ods are soon putting noses out of joint, especially film's most intri guing and amusing moments.
when a rival homicide division is assigned to the Sai has to be admired for the way in which
case of the second murder. Meanwhile Hiroyuki he conjures up a hauntingly austere atmosphere
(Hagiwara), a disturbed young man tormented to suggest the existential void that lies at the
by long-suppressed memories of his parents' sui­ heart of any obsessive quest for truth or self­
cide beneath a windswept mountain, is released knowledge. Hiroyuki's desire to return to the
from his mental asylum and finds shelter and a slopes of Mount Kitadake after years of being
warm bosom to lay his head on with his former cooped away in a mental institution is paralleled
nurse. But what is the significance of the acronym with Aida's frustrated attempts to find the link
MARKS scribbled into the private diary of the between the double murder, prompting the de­
troubled twenty-seven-year-old, and what is his tective's oft-repeated line, "It's one helluva job
link to the members of a university mountaineer­ being a cop. "
ing club and a murder committed by a group of For all its cool visual detachment, though,
student radicals before he was even born? Sai's approach to the original source comes
Based on a novel by Kaoru Takamura, this across as remarkably deferential. The pace is
haunting mystery thriller is an opaque and per­ languorous and literal, denying the viewer the
plexing piece. Director Sai establishes from the pleasure of a single audience focus, and pep­
very offset that he is concerned more with mood pered as it is with such unpalatable moments as
and character than with providing a convoluted the opening buggery scene and an unflinching
"logical" solution to what might otherwise be depiction of an attempt to stall a corpse's poten-
292 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

tial dental identification by means of a climbing mas that proved so popular in Japan around the
pick, MARKS's bleak vision is not going to ap­ year of its release.
peal to all tastes.
Born in Nagano in 1 949, a second-genera­
tion Korean, Sai started working in film in 1 9 7 5 ,
i n the capacity o f assistant director o n Yoshihiko --v Memories
Okamoto's documentary Kokuhatsu: Zainichi
Kankokujin Seijihan Repoto [trans: Indictment: Memories Episode 1: M agnetic
Crimes against Japanese-born Koreans report] , Rose
and acted as producer on Tetsuro Nunokawa's f1.It9:O)m� �-c-
Bastard on the Border (Maboroshi no Konminzoku
Kanojo no Omoide
Kyowakoku [trans: The illusion of a mixed-race
republic)). His first work in commercial film­ DIRECTOR: K6ji Morimoto, �*�J:U .
making came as an assistant director on Nagisa
O shima's In the Realm of the Senses. He much Memories Episode 2: Stink Bom b
later appeared in front of the camera in the Ji5!:�gg
same director's Gohatto. Saishu Heiki
After serving his dues as an assistant director,
he made his debut in 1 98 3 with Jukkai no Mo­ DIRECTOR: Tensai Okamura, 1ttiJ ;ft7(JIi.
sukito [trans: The mosquito on the 1 0th floor] ,
starring the flamboyant rocker Yiiya Uchida, Memories Episode 3 : Cannon
who made a controversial bid for governor Fodder
of Tokyo in the early '90s. This was followed ::klifYO)f:ij
swiftly by an erotic thriller for Nikkatsu, Seiteki
Taiha no Machi
Hanzai [trans: Sexual crime] in the same year.
Throughout the '80s he worked on a number of DIRECTOR: Katsuhiro () tomo, ::kti:.5ti$. 1996. VOICE

hard-boiled crime dramas such as Tomo yo, Shi­ CAST: Tsutomu Isobe, Gara Takashima, K6ichi
zuka ni Nemure [trans: Sleep quietly, friend] for Yamadera, Sh6z6 lizuka, Shigeru Chiba, Hideyuki
Kadokawa in 1 98 5 . Hori, Isamu Hayashi. 113 minutes. RELEASES: DVD,
But Sai's major contribution to Japanese Emotion (Japan, English/Japanese subtitles),
cinema in the '90s was his depiction of the dis­ Mac (Hong Kong, English/Chinese subtitles).
crimination faced by a Korean cab driver and
his Filipino barmaid girlfriend in the acclaimed Portmanteau fi l m based on th ree origi nal stories
comedy drama All under the Moon (Tsuki wa by manga maestro Otomo is a perfect entry point
Dotchi ni Deteiru, 1 99 3 ) . Since then, Sai has into the world of Japanese ani mation.
tended toward mainstream productions such
as Tokyo Deluxe (Heisei Musekinin Ikka Tokyo Akira ( 1 988) is widely credited as the first full­
Derakkusu, 1 995), a black comedy about a fam­ length animated feature to play widely in cin­
ily of conmen; the comic Japanese-cop-vs.-Ko­ emas outside of Japan, opening the eyes of
rean-gangster antics of Dog Race (Inu Hashiru, foreign audiences to the joys of what is some­
1 998); the Okinawan-set The Pig 's Retribution times referred to as "Japanimation . " A dazzling
(Buta no Mukui, 1 999); the prison reform drama tale of a young teenager with psychic powers
Doing Time (Keimusho no Naka, 2 002); and Quill run amok in a Tokyo of the future who unearths
(Kuiru, 2 004), a drama about a guide dog, and a government-sponsored terrorist conspiracy,
the most successful of the wave of canine dra- this cyberpunk classic almost single-handedly
 Memories . 293

set in motion the otaku (fan boy) craze in the becoming the first graphic novel to win the Sci­
West in the early '90s. The name of its direc­ ence Fiction Grand Prix in Japan, an award pre­
tor, Katsuhiro O tomo, rapidly became almost viously only applicable to literary fiction.
synonymous with Japanese animation, though This was swiftly succeeded by the sweep­
surprisingly his work in the field has actually ing vision of Akira, an epic 2 ,000-page manga
proven rather sparse. that ran from 1 982 to 1 990, set in the metrop­
One of the reasons for this may be that olis of Neo Tokyo in 2 0 1 9, thirty-one years
Otomo's background lies not within the film after World War III. This long-running series
world, but in the field of manga comics. Nev­ cemented O tomo's name in Japan as a pioneer
ertheless, thanks to his numerous collaborations of the manga form, and overseas too, when the
with other respected practitioners in the ani­ translated version was released as a series of vol­
mation field, he has come to be seen as the fig­ umes that first saw publication in the United
urehead of a school of thought whose members States in 1 988, coinciding with the release of
include Satoshi Kon (Peifect Blue, 1 998), Yo­ the film. O tomo's increasing involvement with
shiaki Kawajiri (Ninja Scroll, 1 993), and Rintaro animation was to drag him away from the print­
(Metropolis, 2 00 1 ) . All of these directors share the ed page, his last major work being The Legend of
same vision of utilizing a hyper-realistic style, its Mother Sarah in 1 990.
basis firmly within cinematic technique, to cre­ During the eight years he worked on the
ate intelligent and well-wrought stories within manga of Akira, O tomo began to make increas­
richly rendered worlds. The three-part omnibus ingly frequent forays into the world of film. In
film, Memories, is a testament to the talents of a 1 982 he took time out to make his 1 6mm debut,
several of O tomo's contemporaries and makes a 60-minute self-produced experimental live­
for a perfect introduction to this domain. action work about a group of gun crazy teenag­
Born in 1 95 4 in Miyagi, O tomo began his ers, Jiyu 0 Warera ni [trans: Give us freedom, the
career as an illustrator in the early '70s, before title contains a pun with the similarity between
his first manga story Gun Report (]usez), a loose the words for freedom (jiyu) and gun (ju)] , but
adaptation of Prosper Merimee's short story his first real work in anime came when he con­
Mateo Falcone was published in 1 97 3 . For the tributed character designs to Rintaro's Harma­
rest of the '70s he contributed numerous short gedon (Genma Taisen, 1 98 3 ) .
works to the comic magazine Action, including O tomo made his official directorial debut
some adaptations of Western writers, before be­ in animation with one of the three parts of the
ginning work in 1 979 on his first longer serial­ anime compendium Manie Manie Meikyu Mono­
ized story, Fireball. It was his first major work gatari in 1 98 7 , known as Labyrinth Story but also
in the field of science fiction, revolving around released abroad as Neo Tokyo. Alongside episodes
the theme of humans pitted against a large om­ by Rintaro and Yoshiaki Kawajiri, his KOji Chilshi
nipotent computer, though the serial was never Meirei [trans: Order to stop construction] was
in fact completed. a riff on the "machines gone mad" idea, with a
Fireball was followed by O tomo's break­ group of mechanized workers deep in the heart
through manga Domu: A Child's Dream, which, of the Amazon rain forest refusing to terminate
like Akira, featured protagonists with psychic their program, even after the contract with the
powers, this time battling it out against the Japanese construction company that owns them
background of crumbling tenement blocks in a is canceled by the country's corrupt govern­
decaying future. The serialization, which began ment. The next year he contributed two seg­
in 1 980, was compiled into a single volume and ments to another omnibus film, Robot Carnival
released in 1 98 3 when it bore the distinction of ( 1 988), alongside some of what would become
294 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

the major names ofJapanese animation over the named Eva, whose presence soon manifests it­
coming years, before he was put at the helm of self by means of an array of projections and holo­
the animated version of Akira. graphic images. The unwanted visitors soon
Considering the scale of the success ofAkira, find themselves overwhelmed by the singer's
it seems a little strange that for his next film memories, active participants in a drama where
a tomo would turn to live-action. World Apart­ the ghosts of Eva's past, including her deceased
ment Horror ( 1 99 1 ) centered around a building lover, act out their roles within this illusionary
full of Asians living in Tokyo harassed by an in­ stage. The Japanese title of this segment, and
effectual yakuza eager to evict them (played by the original story on which it is based, is Konojo
Hiroyuki Tanaka, who would later move on to no Omoide, which translates as Her Memories.
feature directing himself under the pseudonym Okamura's second part, Stink Bomb, takes it­
Sabu). Peifect Blue director Satoshi Kon was self slightly less seriously. It features a laboratory
responsible for drawing the manga adaptation. researcher for a pharmaceutical company who
Kon also worked designing the backgrounds for finds himself pursued by the entire Japanese Self
Hiroyuki Kitakubo's ROjin Z ( 1 99 1 ), which was Defense Forces and the American army after
scripted by the Akira director. Its highly origi­ unwittingly ingesting a substance he believes
nal story featured residents of a geriatric com­ to be a cure for the cold. The substance, in fact
munity used as guinea pigs for a new military developed for biochemical warfare, makes him
machine disguised as a hospital bed that tends exude foul odorous clouds of gas, which cause
to the every need of its patient. everyone around him to pass out as he heads to­
But though a tomo managed to maintain his ward his company head office in Tokyo.
profile in the anime world on the back of the a tomo's intriguing and technically innovative
lofty reputation ofAkira, his only real significant Cannon Fodder, at fifteen minutes, is the shortest
work during the '90s was Memories. The film of the three stories. Set in a dystopian no-man's­
was a portmanteau of three films based on pre­ land of the future, a young boy dreams of taking
viously written short manga stories by a tomo. his father's role as one of the legions of operators
For the film, he took the role of project planner, of the huge cannons that encase the city walls fir­
scripted two of the parts, and also directed the ing shells off at a distant, unnamed foe. Stylisti­
film's third and final one. cally poles apart from the other segments, it is
Memories' first segment, Magnetic Rose, is per­ memorable for the opening sequence consisting
haps the most substantial and impressive of the of a lengthy unbroken take, and its flat blocky
three, and the only one not scripted by a tomo. visuals and muted color palate, reminiscent of
Instead, Satoshi Kon's screenplay, directed by animation from the Soviet Republic and Eastern
Koji Morimoto, in many ways foreshadows the Bloc countries during the communist period.
approach he utilized for Peifect Blue, playing For a long time, Memories remained un­
with the same themes of memory, fantasy, and distributed outside of Japan, only available on
phantasm, and prompting the eternal question, imported DVD or laserdisc, which is a shame,
"What is reality? " A ragtag team of deep space because there is something for everyone in it.
salvage operators stray into the Sargasso Zone The three stories are radically different in terms
and are drawn toward a huge rose-shaped hunk of their tone, style, and execution, a testimony to
of matter floating through the ether. Entering, the diversity of Japanese animation during the
they find themselves in a baroque opera house '90s, and all feature top-notch production values.
dominated by a huge chandelier and flanked by In the meantime, aside from scripting
marble pillars. This setting turns out to be the Rintaro's Metropolis (2 00 1 ) , based on a Tezuka
floating tomb of a long dead female opera singer manga from 1 949, and contributing to Hiro-
 Organ . 29 5

tsugu Kawasaki 's Spriggan ( 1 998), O tomo spent brother-sister pair that runs the organ gang.
nine years overseeing the troubled development Junichi's day job is as a biology teacher at a girls'
of his pet project, Steam Boy, which was finally high school, where he uses the virgin blood of
released in July 2 004. his students to keep the limbless Tosaka alive.
Junichi's one-eyed sister, Yiiko (director Fuji­
wara), meanwhile tries to fend off the police in­
vestigation as well as their yakuza masters, who
-.J,. Organ are eager to eliminate her and her brother for
;tJvxt;.;­ attracting the cops with the mess they made.
Drugan If there is one positive thing to be said about
Organ's all-pervasive images of decay, it's that
1996.DIRECTOR: Kei Fujiwara, )jJJ1j(*. CAST: Kimihiko they are admirably consistent. From the film's
Hasegawa, Kenjin Nasa, Kei Fujiwara, Ryu Okubo, plot to its grotesque make-up effects and its lo­
Shun Sugata, Reona Hirota. 110 minutes (Japa­ cations, putrefaction is the constant defining fac­
nese theatrical release: 102 minutes). RELEASE: tor. People rat each other out, cops rape the wife
DVD, Synapse Films (U.S., English subtitles). of one of their own colleagues, men are beaten
within an inch of their lives and left to die in the
Violent, chaotic, and gory tale a bout underground gutter, Junichi keeps his diseased liver in check
organ trade, performed by the members of an ex­ with experimental drugs that spawn a festering
perimental theater gro u p . A su itably sickly atmo­ growth on his torso. All of this unravels amid
sphere pervades the proceedings, but the fi l m ' s run-down structures and squalid buildings.
images o f decay all ude to post-bubble social col­ The world of Organ is a world gone mad. But
lapse as much as to unabashed splatter. it's a world that is built on true foundations; the
film's relentless pessimism has its roots in daily
The directorial debut of Shinya Tsukamoto's life. As one character explains when the cops in­
former collaborator is notorious for its over­ vestigate the dilapidated, rickety shed where the
the-top gore. But although it has been called organ gang performed an operation the previous
everything from fetid to mean-spirited, the film night, "Before the bubble burst, this used to be a
has more going for it than festering boils and thriving business. " Organ is a reflection of post­
bleeding stumps. Admittedly, much of the film's bubble Japan, a society in chaos where old values
visuals contain just such gory, freak-out nasti­ have died, where what was once prosperous is
ness. It certainly doesn't shy away from showing now in a state of squalor. With business in disar­
or occasionally reveling in it. ray, money is made by slicing people open. To
Cops Numata and Tosaka manage to infil­ emphasize this chaotic, amoral confusion, Fuji­
trate the gang of organ traders they have been wara edited the film in a non-continuous manner,
shadowing for ages, but the pair are unmasked jump-cutting within scenes and ignoring smooth
in the middle of surgery on a corpse than turns transitions between sequences. Organ's chaos is
out to still be alive. After a messy battle, Nu­ all-encompassing, in form as well as content.
mata is given an injection of an unknown barbi­ That the director/actress would so
turate, while Tosaka is kidnapped by the gang. fortuitously tap into the post-bubble vibe can
Numata goes walkabout in a stupor and is fired be traced back to her pre-cinema days. The
from the force. His colleagues, headed by To­ child of a poor country family with a history of
saka's identical twin, go searching for the miss­ mental illness, Fujiwara moved to Tokyo and
ing policeman, who is now a human vegetable spent years heading her own underground the­
in the makeshift lab of Junichi Saeki, half of the ater companies. Perhaps partially by choice, the
296 • THE OTHER PLAYERS

country's prosperity was never hers to share in. themes are universal and the emotional scale is
She collaborated with Shinya Tsukamoto on his large. It's perhaps small wonder that, with its
plays and early 8mm films, culminating in roles advertising campaign that downplayed the film's
both in front of and behind the camera on Tet­ Asian aspects in a poster featuring merely a pair
suo: The Iron Man. But when Tsukamoto went of male and female legs, Masayuki Suo's film had
off to make Hiruko the Goblin for major studio audiences flocking into U.S. cinemas in droves.
Shochiku, Fujiwara went back to street theater. Released by Miramax in a slimmed-down
She formed the Organ Vital company, with 1 1 8-minute edit, Shall We Dance? is a far warm­
whom she eventually mounted and performed er film than most Japanese works showcased
Organ, first as a play and subsequently as a film. abroad and went on to become one of the high­
Released in Japan with eight minutes of cuts est-earning foreign language titles of all time,
ordered by censorship body Eirin, the film was grossing $9.7 million in America, though due to
sold to several foreign distributors in its full Academy rules was deprived of a Best Foreign
1 1 0-minute "director's cut" version. Fujiwara Language Academy Award nomination in 1 997
has long planned to make Organ 2, but while because it had already been shown on television
she shot some footage for it, the film itself never in Japan the previous year.
materialized. Perhaps she realized that her own Koji Yakusho, one of the top box office
debut film is one tough act to follow. draws in the late '90s through his roles in Cure
and Lost Paradise, plays Sugiyama, the ultimate
time-serving, clock-watching employee. Mar­
ried with a teenage daughter, mortgaged up to
...v Shall We Dance? his eyeballs, and financially trapped in an insipid
Shall We �' :,; A ? career in accountancy outside of which he has
no interests nor any time or energy for them, he
Shall We Dansu?
is but one of the millions of faceless salarymen
1996. DIRECTOR: Masayuki Suo, Ji'ij fllJ iHr . CAST: that rise before daybreak, trudge dutifully into
Koji Yakusho, Tamiyo Kusakari, Naoto Takenaka, the office to stare out of the window all day, and
Eriko Watanabe, Masahiro Motoki. 136 minutes shamble home twelve hours later on their long
(international version 118 minutes). RELEASES: commute back to the suburbs. The only glim­
VHS, Miramax (U.S., English subtitles); VCO, mer of excitement in his monotonous lifestyle is
Edko (Hong Kong, English/Chinese subtitles). the beautiful young woman (Kusakari) whom he
spots from the train home every evening, gaz­
Time-serving office drone finds hi mself a valued ing wistfully from the window of a nearby dance
member of a bal l room dancing club in one of the school. Against his better judgment, he secretly
to�grossing foreign fi l m releases of its time in enrolls and is soon drawn into the surreptitious
the U n ited States. world of private lessons and weekend socials.
However, the girl, whose name is Mai, has
The average man in the street feeling increas­ no time for the amorous advances of the hordes
ingly alienated from his daily life reintegrated of lonely men who stumble through the door
into the fold and, in the process, stumbling of the dance school every night. She has her
across his own unique way of expressing his own psychological cross to bear in the form of a
identity in a celebration of song and dance-the tumble taken during the final rounds of the in­
cross-cultural appeal of Shall We Dance? is not ternational championships years before at that
so surprising. The story bears all the hallmarks Mecca of ballroom dancing, Blackpool, Eng­
of the classical dramatic model of comedy. The land. Meanwhile, as Sugiyama overcomes his
 Shall We Dance? • 29 7

initial awkwardness on the dance floor, along established the template for the director's two
with the others in his beginners ' class he soon subsequent comedies-a group of men forced
finds himself loving dance as an end in itself. together by circumstance in a colorful milieu far
His wife, suspicious of his recent spate of exu­ removed from their usual element. In this first
berance and the lingering scent of perfume on film, the location was a Buddhist monastery, in
his shirts, hires a private detective to find out which Motoki's singer in a ska band decides to
what exactly is going on. hide out from his fans for a year. Whilst there,
Director Masayuki Suo warrants a mention he finds himself amongst a motley assortment
in any serious look at Japanese film, if only for of shaven-headed characters who have similarly
his irreverent debut, a soft-porn pastiche of the opted for the ascetic life, humorously detailing
films of one of the national cinema's most trea­ the grudging acolyte's nocturnal secret feasts
sured possessions, Yasujiro Ozu, with Abnor­ with sneaked-in buckets of KFC and the harsh
mal Family (Hentai Kazoku Aniki no Yome-San, administrations by a long wooden stick for
1 984). Made for the prolific skin-flick producers breaking the strict monastic code.
Kokuei and distributed by Shintoho, in a year in Sumo Do, Sumo Don 't (Shiko Funjatta, 1 992)
which Japanese cinema had seemingly reached saw Motoki's return in the lead role, this time
its furthest point from the Golden Age of the as a student about to flunk his graduation un­
' 5 0s, this sixty-two-minute pink film was shot in less he redeems himself by entering the college's
the same long static takes that Ozu was famed sumo wrestling club. In both of these films, Suo
for, the camera position low on the ground makes use of a comic troupe who would join
and perpendicular to the action, with allusions him for Shall We Dance?, including the smiling,
to a number of the master's films, including corpulent Hiromasa Taguchi and the scrawny
Tokyo Story (Tokyo Monogatari, 1 9 5 3 ) and his Naoto Takenaka, in the second film making for
final work, An Autumn Afternoon (Sanma no Aji, an unlikely figure to carry on the college sumo
1 963). Here the nuclear family unit of Ozu's tradition. Returning under the same character
films has transformed to meet the requirements name of Aoki, Takenaka's performance in Shall
of the genre. The youngest son peeps on as elder We Dance? as the systems analyst at Sugiyama's
brother indulges his voracious sexual appetite company is a master stroke. By day the butt of
with the buxom young bride who has just moved office ridicule, at night transformed Flashdance­
in under the family roof. The daughter has se­ style into a testosterone-dripping King of the
cretly left her job as an office lady for a more Pasadoble, he almost completely steals the show
lucrative role working in a sex sauna, where her in one of the finest comic turns of the past few
first customer turns out to be her elder brother. years. Unfortunately, overexposure and a predi­
Father's serenely contented grins are this time lection for sticking with the same type of part
induced by sake rather than any innate feelings in numerous films including Shinobu Yaguchi's
of Zen, as he dreams of the girl working at the U7aterboys (200 1 ) and Fumihiko " Sori" Masuri's
local bar whom he fantasizes as looking like his Ping Pong (2 002) has rendered Takenaka's comic
deceased wife. A hilarious collection of film buff schtick somewhat less effective, a sort of Japa­
in-jokes ladled out with liberal doses of eroti­ nese equivalent of Robin Williams.
cism, Abnormal Family went far beyond the re­ If Suo's previous two films worked by pitch­
quirements of the sex film genre to achieve cult ing their modern-day protagonists into more
status in its own country. traditionally Japanese milieus, perhaps the rea­
Suo's first mainstream feature, Fancy Dance, son for the wider international success of Shall
not only brought young teen idol Masahiro We Dance? lies in making a film for an audience
Motoki his first large-screen success, but also that remains largely uncatered to-the middle-
298 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

aged professional. Its characters are reserved Despite preliminary discussions with Miramax
and self-conscious males who have willingly for the remake proj ect, which he detailed in the
thrown themselves into a world where women book 'Shall We Dansu? ' Amerika 0 Iku [trans:
predominate, overcoming their initial inhibitions 'Shall we dance? ' Going to America] , he has not
to guiltily indulge in their harmless pleasures to directed anything subsequently. He did, howev­
the full. All of those enrolled in the dance course er, get to marry the film's lead actress, the beau­
are there for reasons that they'd rather not have tiful Tamiyo Kusakari, whose ethereal presence
to explain. "Yeah, they all say that! " counters one first lured Yakusho from his commuter train.
character when Sugiyama explains that he took
up ballroom dancing after he heard it was a good
form of exercise. "People will think I'm only
here for the girls," says another. -.v Kichiku
It is the dancers' discovery of a mutual bond W.tii A ��
via this secret life that ultimately proves so Kichiku Dai Enkai
heartwarming, with perhaps the most exhilarat­
ing aspect being that they all look as if they're 1997. DIRECTOR: Kazuyoshi Kumakiri, ��W ;fD g .
enjoying themselves so much. The vivacious CAST: Sumiko Mikami, Shunsuke Sawada, Shigeru
dance sequences are packed full of visual detail, Bokuda, Toshiyuki Sugihara, Kentar6 Ogiso. 103
taking in each of the characters and their individ­ minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Japan Shock Entertain­
ual dancing styles as they all maintain a degree ment (The Netherlands, English/Dutch/German
of buoyant absurdity all the more endearing for subtitles), Artsmagic (U.S. , English subtitles).
the fact that they are expressed in terms of their
physicality rather than language. From his first With its leader in jail, the radical idealism of a
awkward steps onto the dance floor, stuttering small group of student activists quickly makes
Sugiyama'S emotional journey from respected way for abuse of power, culminating in a coun­
but unfulfilled office drudge to an assured and tryside bloodbath. Low-budget, experimental
valued member of the dance school is uplifting debut that turned heads ( and stomachs) and
in the extreme. Shall We Dance? is colorful, mov­ made its student director the darling of the
ing, and inspiring, and still, after the initial criti­ most prestigious film festivals.
cal clamoring has subsided, its simple-minded
escapism is just as hard to resist as ever. While studying at the Osaka Arts University,
Picking up an impressive thirteen Japanese Kazuyoshi Kumakiri allegedly found several
Academy Awards upon its release in its home rolls of archival footage of student riots from
country in 1 996, the U. S . success ensured that the 1 970s in a closet. Kumakiri had previous­
the remake rights were immediately snapped up. ly attempted unsuccessfully to make several
The original package, with Tom Hanks tipped Monty Python-esque black comedy shorts, and
to star and John Turteltaub (guiding hand be­ was planning to make a feature as his graduation
hind Cool Runnings, Phenomenon, and Instinct) project. The found footage provided the spark
to direct, was never actually green-lighted, but for what would become Kichiku, the portrait of a
years later the project was once more given the group of out-of-control student radicals.
go-ahead, this time with Richard Gere and Jen­ Sometime during the 1 970s Aizawa, the lead­
nifer Lopez in the central roles, and Peter Chel­ er of a left-wing student group, is locked up in a
som helming the production. jail cell. When his cellmate Fujiwara is released,
In the meantime, one of] apan's most under­ Aizawa asks him to look up and join his group,
valued directors has been left on the sidelines. which he left in the care of girlfriend Masami.
 Kichiku • 299

Arriving at their hideaway, Fujiwara quickly in the fi l m . It made me feel ashamed of myself,

learns that radical ideas are few and far between l i ke I was the worst person i n the world to be

and that the political cause has become merely able to think of those t h i ngs . " -Kazuyoshi

an excuse to hang out and party together, and Kumakiri

for a few hangers-on to find some sense of their

own identity. Masami switches sexual partners Kichiku certainly is violent. It takes a sharp
just about every night, taking her pick from the turn into gross-out territory in its second half,
all-male membership. Aizawa's imminent release with a lingering close-up of Yamane's half-ex­
and Masami's temporary, status quo leadership ploded head as its gory highlight. The change is
create a sense of security and comfort. sudden, too sudden some critics have noted, and
When news reaches them that Aizawa has the low budget renders the effects more silly
committed suicide in his jail cell, mere days than shocking.
before he is to be set free, the bubble bursts. However, delivering shocks does not seem
Uncertainty over the future of the group and to be the main motivating factor. What matters
questions of loyalty surface. Soon, the merest of more is the absurdity of what goes on, and in this
doubts is enough to awake paranoia in Masami, sense the exaggeration certainly has a function.
her sexual experiences with the young men be­ Kumakiri's targets are the enforced hierarchy of
coming a major factor in deciding who stays and the group unit and the abuse of power this can
who goes. When Yamane, the most openly criti­ all too easily provoke. The student group forms
cal member, attempts to leave the group and a miniature society that degenerates beneath the
start a more politically active cell of his own, surface, a degeneration that had already started
he is taken into the woods and brutally beaten. before Aizawa's suicide, which was merely the
Then Masami has Kumagaya , the only one of catalyst that brought it out into the open. Ma­
the group to have rebuffed her sexual advances, sami's sexual games and the hanger-on mental­
undergo the same treatment. The beatings soon ity of most of the members, who try desperately
turn to torture, the torture to maiming, and the to find a group to belong to and from which to
maiming to murder. In a true descent into hell, derive their identity, form a dangerous mixture,
the others are dragged along with Masami's the extent of which goes unnoticed by everyone
manipulative madness, and the members of the until it's too late. It is a very real danger for any
group turn on one another. society that has turned hierarchy and the group
unit into an ideal.
" I n university j ust before making Kichiku, I Kumakiri, who was twenty-three when he
made a ten-mi nute short with a few other stu­ made Kichiku, handles the group dynamics well.
dents. I di rected it, because I noticed most The sudden change in the film is less apparent
of the others d i d n 't t h i n k about d i recting in the story, which builds up to the eruption of
seriously. To me it was very serious, so there violence through the aforementioned degen­
was a clear difference in our states of mind. eration, than in the form: The location changes
They didn't work very seriously, and that an­ from the claustrophobic apartment to a wooded
noyed me. So sometimes I felt l i ke I wanted hillside, where the tensions are at last released.
to kill the other students , especially when I The director also adds a subtle supernatural spin
was a l l alone doing the editi ng. The premise to his tale in the person of Fujiwara. Remaining
of Kichiku rea l l y reflected this. I n a way it's a a sidelined observer throughout, he becomes
very personal fi l m . I l i berated my own desires the avenging spirit of his friend Aizawa, who has
for violence and tried to open the inside of my come to judge his former disciples for betray­
mind to let out all the poison . And it's all there ing the group's ideological principles. Kntana in
300 • THE OTHER PLAYERS

hand, he stands and watches until even the most Ryuko, in the Unfaithful Evening (Kanashiku Na­
passive member has turned into a homicidal ruhodo Fujitsu na Yozora Ni, 2 000) portraying an
loony before meting out his swift judgment. unhinged family that stemmed in a direct lin­
It took the young director four years to eage from Yoshimitsu Morita's Family Game
come up with his sophomore effort Hole in and that would find resonance in Kumakiri's
the Sky (Sora no Ana), a slower-paced drama Antenna. United in the Planet Studyo + 1 pro­
that nevertheless dealt with a similar theme to duction company, these Osaka-based film­
Kichiku: that of the effects of isolation on human makers set up an alternative to the filmmaking
relationships. Yakuza movie stalwart Susumu monolith of Tokyo, producing, distributing, and
Terajima played the owner of a roadside restau­ handling the international sales of their own
rant in Hokkaido, a man with a mother complex works. With the first festival retrospective al­
who falls in love with a young woman dumped ready devoted to them at the 2 002 Hong Kong
on the doorstep by her boyftiend in the middle Film Festival and the swift acceptance of their
of a holiday trip. The film received good critical work by Japanese critics and fellow filmmakers
notices and played some festivals, but didn't do (Kumakiri, Yamashita, and Honda all contribut­
much to set the world on fire. Kumakiri's third ed to Makoto Shinozaki's Cop Festival project),
film, Antenna, however, saw him elevated back it looks as if they are succeeding in carving out
to the highest platform, receiving its world pre­ their own permanent niche within the Japanese
miere at the 2 003 Venice Film Festival. cinema landscape.
Kumakiri was only the first of a number of
graduates of the Osaka Arts University ( O saka
Geidai) to make an impact on the Japanese film
scene at the change of the millennium. Several -.v Onibi: The Fire Within
of his fellow alumni came out with their first in­ 1Jl 1<
dependent features as Kichiku made its round of Onibi
the international festivals: Nobuhiro Yamashi­
ta, whose dry-witted slacker comedy Hazy 1997. DIRECTOR: Rokur6 Mochizuki, � Fl 7\fl�. CAST:

Life (Don ten Seikatsu, 1 999) swiftly gained him Yoshio Harada, Reiko Kataoka, Sh6 Aikawa, Eiji
enough critical favor, and comparisons with Jim Okuda, Kazuki Kitamura. 101 minutes. RELEASES:

Jarmusch, to mount his follow-ups in rapid suc­ DVD, Gaga Communications (Japan, no subtitles),
cession. No One 's Ark (Baka no Hakobune, 2 002) Artsmagic (U.S'; U . K., English subtitles); VHS, Les
was both touching and absurd in its portrayal Films du Paradoxe (France, French subtitles).
of an underachieving couple trying to make a
fortune in post-bubble Japan by selling an un­ A middle-aged ex-con and former yakuza hit man
drinkable health beverage. Receiving its world tries to lead a qu iet l ife, but is pul led back i nto
premiere in Toronto a year later, Ramblers (Ri­ violence by a young woman trying desperately
arizumu no Yado, 2003) sees Yamashita continu­ to bury her seedy past. Japan's most overlooked
ing his amiably meandering portraits of youth yakuza fi l m di rector takes a ti red plot and in­
in search of a set of values. jects it with so much pathos that he delivers his
Slightly less observant is the wildly tongue­ masterpiece i n the process.
in-cheek work of Ryliichi Honda, director of
the ultra-campy declaration of love to '60s pop Genre films can be much more effective vehicles
cinema Tokyo Shameless Paradise (Tokyo Harenchi for the portrayal of human emotions than
Tengoku Sayonara no Blues, 2 0 0 1 ) , while Takashi straightforward dramas. This goes for gangster
Ujita has a sensibility closer to Kumakiri's, his films in particular, with their portraits of human
 Onibi: The Fire Within . 301

beings leading short but intense lives and the the club's pretty pianist Y6ko (Kataoka), and the
central role played by the extreme contrast be­ old fox quickly finds himself falling for this young
tween life and death. It's a genre that exagger­ woman who can play his favorite classical pieces.
ates human life, that enlarges and intensifies the But Y6ko has a dark past she is eager to erase and
individual's emotions, thereby creating the pos­ she asks Kunihiro to teach her how to kill the man
sibility of delivering profoundly affecting state­ she feels is responsible for her sorrow.
ments. There are few better examples of this in Onibi's plot is a mixture of two of the genre's
contemporary cinema than Rokur6 Mochizuki's most enduring and well-traveled narratives: the
Onibi: The Fire Within. gangster who returns trom jail to find his world
Kunihiro (Harada), once nicknamed "Fire­ completely changed, and the killer who takes
ball' " for his intense, sure-fire methods, is a for­ on one last job to help the woman he loves. But
mer mob killer recently released trom his second the resulting film is anything but a tired retread.
stretch in prison. Knowing full well that a third With a career-best performance from Yoshio
conviction will automatically mean a life sen­ Harada, whose macho swagger took him to
tence, he is determined to stay on the straight great heights of popularity in the '80s but who
and narrow. Renting a room in the house of a here is all calmness and restraint, Onibi is one
former fellow inmate, he is more than willing of the most emotionally involving and moving
to spend the rest of his life doing odd jobs to Japanese gangster films in many years. We love
get by, but his extremely reverent and extremely Kunihiro trom the first moment we see him
persistent former underling Tanizawa (Aikawa) burning incense at his old boss's grave. When
keeps trying to persuade him to return to yaku­ we get to know about his past, we love him even
za life. "Today's yakuza are all about money, " he more for making the choice he's made. But then
explains his determination to a colleague, "but we are slowly tortured by seeing him slip back
they're wrong. Being a yakuza is all about vio­ into a life of violence, especially because he re­
lence. And if you have a killer like Kunihiro on mains so likable throughout.
your side, you need nothing else. " To this end, Mochizuki uses the inherent ex­
Kunihiro resists, no longer feeling alle­ aggeration of the gangster genre well, getting us
giance to his old gang, which has been absorbed to care deeply for his protagonist through the ex­
by their former rivals while he was in j ail. Tani­ treme situation that forces him to make his moral
zawa offers an envelope of money as a gift, but choices. The director manages to sustain this all
the middle-aged killer asks to have his photo the way through the very end of the film, with a
camera instead. Then when the offer comes to payoff that comes after the end credits are over.
be a driver for the gang's boss My6jin (Okuda), In addition to its portrait of the emotional
he feels it sufficiently risk-tree and legal enough consequences of one man's moral choices, Onibi
and takes it. While the boss apologizes for the is also an exploration of images as an affirmation
drop in rank, Kunihiro is more than happy to of existence. Initially by way of the snapshots
spend his time behind the wheel, filling in the Kunihiro takes with Tanizawa's camera, but
long stretches of inactivity with reading, sleep­ gradually the affirmation of the negative aspects
ing, and listening to classical music. are brought into play through the photographs
When My6jin asks him to help out two of his from Y6ko's past she is so eager to wipe out of
men in a scuffle with a rival gang who owe them existence. This exploration of the relationship
money, Kunihiro not only saves the bumbling pair, between recorded images and life also played a
he also comes back with all the money the other part in a previous Mochizuki film, Another Lone­
gang owes the My6jin group. The boss treats ly Hitman (Shin Knnashiki Hittoman, 1 995), and
him to drinks at a hostess club and a night with hints at his very conscious approach to cinema,
302 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

which goes all the way back to his days as a film had the chance to show his non-conformist side
student. with Apron Stage (Debeso, 1 996), about the trials
After a failed stint in university studying lit­ and tribulations of a traveling vaudeville troupe,
erature, Mochizuki joined the film classes of and The Outer Way (Gedo, 1 998), an absurdist
Image Forum, Tokyo's bastion of experimental tale of a humiliated cop who helps clean up the
cinema. He was invited to work on a film by one scum in a small town but who proves to be lack­
of his teachers, but the project was canceled soon ing in moral fiber himself.
thereafter. He joined Nikkatsu studios, but did Less audacious than Takashi Miike and less
so right when the studio was shutting down its arty than Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and therefore less
Roman Porn o production line. Before he'd prop­ obvious to be singled out for foreign exposure,
erly entered, he was already on his way out, along Mochizuki has largely been shorn of the rec­
with most of the studio's other contract staff. He ognition he deserves. He seemed to be on the
joined Nikkatsu director Genji Nakamura's in­ verge of an international breakthrough in 1 998,
dependent pinku eiga production company, first when the Rotterdam Film Festival showed a
as a scriptwriter, later also as a director. When retrospective of ten of his films and Onibi was
the porn market made its switch to video in the released theatrically in France. However, any
mid-'80s, Mochizuki left Nakamura's circle and follow-up has been curiously lacking. Two films
founded his own company, E-StaffUnion, churn­ did the rounds of the occasional festival: Minaz­
ing out an astonishing volume of porn videos (the uki ( 1 999), the tale of a middle-aged salaryman's
number ranges from 1 2 0 to 3 00, depending on search for his missing wife, and Coward (Chin­
whom you believe), with titles like Onanie Mu­ pira, 2 000) a film about a misfit young gangster
sume: Midarana Shiseikatsu [trans: Masturbation and his involvement with three women, not
girl: my lewd private life] . He poured his feel­ to be confused with Shinji Aoyama's Chinpira,
ings about this period into his autobiographical a.k.a. Two Punks.
debut feature Skinless Night ( 1 990), about a porn Suffering business setbacks at the start of the
director who is reminded of his original artistic new millennium (the bankruptcy of his produc­
ambitions after stumbling upon the film he made tion company and the cancelation of two film
as a student. The conclusion Mochizuki reached projects), Mochizuki is now mainly active, and
in the film, that pragmatism will always conquer quite prolifically so, in the straight-to-video arena,
idealism, would become illustrative for his own whereas internationally recognized filmmakers
career. Because even though he was gradually like Takashi Miike, Kiyoshi Kurosawa, and Shinji
able to leave the porn industry behind him, he's Aoyama have managed increasingly to move away
had to compromise in order to find freedom of from it, finding critical acclaim in the process.
creative expression. It certainly is not his own lack of devotion
Like many of his contemporaries, Mochizuki that is to blame for the situation. Still fiercely
made a name for himself directing yakuza films. original, in 2 002 he made Kamachi, based on
He has professed to hate the yakuza in real life, the life of precocious poet and painter Kamachi
and this stance is reflected in his films, which Yamada, who electrocuted himself on his elec­
shun macho heroism and favor the doomed out­ tric guitar at age 1 7 , leaving behind a legacy of
sider. After definitely establishing himself with work dealing with the pressures of conformity.
The Wicked Reporter (Gokudo Kisha, 1 994) and Rokuro Mochizuki will no doubt continue to
its two sequels, he went on to make the elegiac turn out idiosyncratic films, within genre re­
gangster films Another Lonely Hitman, A Yakuza strictions and without them. Whether the rest
in Love (Koi Gokudo, 1 997) and Mobster 's Confes­ of the world will ever sit up and take proper no­
sions (Gokudo Zangeroku, 1 998). On occasion he tice is something we can only guess. And hope.
 Raigyo . 303

-¥ Raigyo terminding, amongst other works, Rain of Light

� 1t )l' ¥f<7)3(-m� (Hikari no Ame, 2 00 1 ) , a filmic recreation of the
Kuroi Shitagi no Onna: Raigyo United Red Army Incident in 1 97 2 , in which
two revolutionary groups, the Revolutionary
1997. DIRECTOR: Takahisa Zeze, l!m ,q l9$( � . CAST: Front and the Red Color Partisans, holed them­
Moe Sakura, Takeshi Ito, Takuji Suzuki, Sumiko selves up in a remote mountain camp in Nagano
Nogi. 75 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Salvation ( U . K. , in order to conduct training in preparation for
English subtitles), Kokuei (Japan, n o subtitles). an armed insurgency, resulting in the unex­
plained deaths of fourteen of their members.
A bleak tale of m u rder and revenge, Zeze 's at-. If Nikkatsu had led the way with their long­
mospheric erotic thriller balances beauty and running Roman Porno series during the '70s
brutality, playing more l i ke an a rthouse pic than and '80s, then the true inheritor of the tradition
a gri nd house fl ick. has to be the prolific Kokuei, founded in the '60s
and one of the first pink production companies.
Erotic cinema is alive and well in Japan. A dis­ This company produced many of the works of
tinct entity from the ever-burgeoning cheaply the four directors who came to dominate the
produced hard core Adult Video (AV) market, a sex film during the '90s: Hisayasu Sata, Toshiki
large number of softcore pinku eiga (pink films) Sata, Kazuhiro Sano, and Takahisa Zeze. Often
are still made for the big screen every year. gracing their films with outrageous titles, which
Shot on film, they enjoy theatrical runs in the considerably up-played the sleaze quotient for
small number of specialist cinemas that cater to obvious marketing reasons, Kokuei provided an
them, before circulating more widely on video arena for their directors to experiment within
and cable Tv. With most countries' domestic the feature format. Unlike AV productions,
industries almost entirely eschewing celluloid which often consist of endless sequences of un­
in favor of videotape, the niche market of the simulated sexual activity, the simple specifica­
Japanese sex film represents an almost unique tions were to deliver a set number of nude or
phenomenon in contemporary cinema. softcore sex scenes (with both male and female
Not only does pinku eiga embody a signifi­ genitalia buried beneath digital mosaics) within
cant sector of independent film production, but a running time of little over an hour: the rest
during the '80s and early '90s, it also represent­ was almost entirely up to the director's discre­
ed a major training ground for new directors tion.
to hone their craft before moving on to more
ambitious mainstream productions. To name " I do feel that i n my case, it was a kind of
but two directors not mentioned elsewhere in training ground, a space for experimentatio n .
this book, Yajira Takita went from steering Maybe other d i rectors feel differently, b u t for
such titles as Renzoku Bokan [trans: Serial rape, me that was certainly true. But even though
1 98 3 ] and a number of films in the long-run­ we ' re talking about tra i ning or experimenting,
ning Chikan Densha [trans: Train pervert] series it's not l i ke going to school where you learn
during the '80s, to the sumptuous period stu­ and prepare for the real thing that fol l ows
dio spectacles of The Yin Yang Master (OnmyOji, after. I made independent films that were
2 00 1 ) and When the Last S word Is Drawn (Mibu­ shown in ci nemas, so it was not j ust tra i n i ng
gishiden, 2003). Banmei Takashi cut his teeth on and learning. The fact that I was actually al·
the l ikes of Nihon no Comon [trans: Japanese tor­ ready making fi lms was a lways on my m i nd . "­
ture, 1 978] and Kinbaku Nawa no Seifuku [trans: Takahisa Zeze
Tightly bound rope uniform, 1 98 2 ] , before mas-
304 • THE OTHER PLAYERS

Using this medium to slip in their own philo­ come to Japan from countries such as the Phil­
sophical, political, or dramatic ideas, each of ippines or Taiwan to work as prostitutes.
the four directors brought his own individual
approach, going far beyond the simple require­ " H isayasu Sato h a d been working i n p i n k for

ments of the skin-flick. Hisayasu Sata's films, a while, but we other three started working
typified by The Bedroom (Shisenjo no Aria, 1 992) later, and a l l made our debuts a round 1989.
and the straight-to-video production of Naked This year was not a particularly good time fo r
Blood (Megyaku: Naked Blood, 1 996), used an ex­ the pink fi l m , because AV had so m u c h power,
perimental array of visual media, from 8mm, and were using lots of cutesy " idol "-style ac­
videotape, and computer graphics to a hallu­ tresses, so for the fi lms we made from '86 to
cinatory and often very violent effect. Toshiki '89 we had lots of requests to use these type
Sata invoked the hollowness and lack of real of actresses. This year we felt that the pink
connection at the heart of modern living, shoe­ fi lm was very much i n danger of extinction , so
horning social critique into the format of the sex that was what made me think, if they ' re disap­

film potboiler in films such as Abnormal Ecstasy pearing anyway, then we can do what we want
(Abunomaru Ekusutashi, 1 99 1 ) and Atashi wa Jiisu with them . "
[trans: Me Juice, 1 996] , along the way directing
two mainstream films, Lunatic ( 1 996) and a live­ Sharing a similar theoretical perspective to
action version of the novel that formed the basis cinema as film critic Shigehiko Hasumi and the
of the animation Peifect Blue. Kazuhiro Sano's directors Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Shinji Aoyama
primary profession was as an actor who, when he (who scripted his The Dream of Garuda, 1 994),
wasn't appearing in both pink or non-pink films Zeze's subsequent pink films became even more
(he played in Sago Ishii's Burst City), made films bold and experimental. No Man s Land ( Waisetsu
such as Shiidan Chikan Hitozuma Nozoki [trans: Boso Shiidan Kedamono, 1 99 1 ) dwelt on mod­
Mass pervert peeping at married woman, 1 99 1 ] , ern-day loneliness and urban alienation, all set
Furin Haha Musume [trans: Mother daughter against the backdrop of the Gulf War. The four
adultery, 1 99 3 ] , and Don't Let it Bring you Down main characters never form more than super­
(Hentai Terefon Onanie, 1 99 3 ) . ficial acquaintances. Despite living together or
A graduate of the respected Kyoto Univer­ sleeping together, they are never able to estab­
sity, Takahisa Zeze's initial motivation for em­ lish a bond, either amongst each other or with
barking on a career within this declasse industry the world that passes around them. Meanwhile,
was simple: the path from assistant to director in every room we see television sets tuned to
was that much quicker. He began as an assistant pictures of smart bombings and allied press
director to Hisayasu Sata, who had already been conferences. The war functions as the ultimate
making films since the late '70s, before making symbol of alienation from reality: a conflict over
his debut in 1 989 with Good Luck Japan. Re­ oil resulting in the deaths of 2 00,000 people,
leased originally under the title of Kagai Jugyo served up as easy-to-digest infotainment, com­
Boko [trans: Extracurricular lesson assault] but plete with its own logos, its own faces, its own
also known under the director's title of Haneda vocabulary and commercial breaks. Zeze's in­
ni Ittemiro Soko ni wa Kaizoku ni Natta Gakidomo fluences in this piece of guerrilla filmmaking,
ga Imaya to Shuppatsu 0 Matteiru [trans: Go to Godard and Jim Jarmusch, are spelt out by the
Haneda and you will see kids who have become bogus director credit at the end titles of the film:
pirates waiting to depart] , the film centered Jean-Luc Zezemusch !
around a gang of Taiwanese mafia living around The fore grounding of political and social
Haneda Airport, and the Japa-yuki girls who concerns by Zeze and his three associates failed
 Raigyo . 305

to amuse the owners of the sex cinemas that over; and the low-budget sci-fi comedy SF Whip
screened their works, as well as their regular pa­ Cream (SF Huippu Kurimu, 2 002), which like
trons. But it did attract the interest of the critics, his first film, Good Luck Japan, deals with the
who in the early '90s labeled them the Shi- Tenno subject of discrimination against illegal aliens
(Four Devils) of pink cinema. These four angry in Japan, though this time they all had pointy
young men soon became an established part ears. His most successful production to date has
of the independent filmmaking scene, push­ been Shochiku's box office bonanza Moon Child
ing their work to be screened alongside other (2 003), a camp futuristic action movie featuring
arthouse productions at venues such as the rock stars HYDE and Gackt set in the fictional
Athenee Fran�ais in Tokyo. They also became pan-Asian melting pot of the city of Maleppa.
the focus of two retrospectives in Europe: one Zeze's transition from erotic cinema has not
in Rotterdam in 1 997 , the other at the Far East been total, and during this period he continued
Film Festival in Udine in 2 002 , with a number to make the occasional erotic film, including
of their films receiving video releases. Anarchy in Japan (Aniiki in Nippon Japansuke:
Mirarete Iku Onna, 1 999) and Tokyo X Erotica
" It's true that i n the early ' 90s I and other di­ (Tokyo X Erotika: Shibireru Kairaku, 2 0 0 1 ) , which
rectors making pink fi lms tried to sell our films was the first ever pink film in Japan to be shot
as art films, because the gen re in itself was and projected digitally. But the two films of his
something nobody cared a bout. So we tried to that most successfully transcended the genre are
have our fi lms shown in small theaters at spe­ Raigyo and Dirty Maria (Kegarete Maria: Hiatoku
cial screen i ngs , to bring them to people as a no Nibi, 1 998), a tale of adultery and murder set
new type of art house fil m . against a snowy backdrop.
"We didn't i ntend t o make ' a rt fi lms , ' but
we were talking about heading i n that d i rec­ " It's n o t really one p a rt i c u l a r t y p e of fil m I ' m

tion. One thing for s u re was that we were a making. What I l i ke t o d o is somet h i ng I
group of people, so we were creating a move­ haven't done before , both inside and outside of

ment. It's s i m i l a r to Jean-Luc Godard and the the pink genre, mainstream or whatever. Some

di rectors of the French New Wave, or Masao of my mainstream fi lms look l i ke my pink fi lms

Adachi and Koji Wakamatsu with Wakamatsu and some of my p i n k fi lms seem more m a i n­

Productions. We knew that we needed a few of stream than others. I tend to shoot p i n k and
us to make a movement . " mainstream alternately, so when they a re l i ned
up together, my body of work seems to have a
Zeze bears the distinction of being the only slightly confused look, or a strange alignment
director out of the Shi-Tenno who has managed with one another . "

to use pink film as a springboard to launch a

successful career in mainstream filmmaking. Despite being produced by Kokuei, Raigyo
His first non-erotic work was Kokkuri ( 1 997), is not a conventional pink film. Not only does
a supernatural horror produced by Nikkatsu it feature fewer sex scenes than the typical
about a group of high school girls and a kokkuri­ product, but it is also marked out by stunning
san, or Ouija board. This was followed by such cinematography and a tone that takes the film
films as the criminal lovers-on-the lam saga into arthouse territory. A bleak portrayal of the
Hysteric (2000); the action comedy Rush (2 00 1 ) , dark side of human nature in the vein of Roman
starring Sh6 Aikawa; the romantic fantasy Dog Polanski's Repulsion ( 1 965), the film centers
Star (2 002), in which a Seeing Eye dog finds around a disturbed woman seen initially creep­
himself in human form after his master is run ing out of a hospital where she is being treated
306 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

for a chronic pancreatic condition. After a se­ with its position now firmly established on video,
ries of phone calls she eventually hooks up in a pinku eiga currently represents an aspect of con­
Love Hotel with a man she has contacted via a temporary Japanese cinema that is here to stay.
tel-club dating service, and in a brutally shocking
sequence, murders him.
Raig;yo takes its title from a swamp-dwelling
fish imported from Taiwan known as the snake­ -.v Perfect Blue
head mullet, which not only can exist for three
days out of water, but is famed for its peculiar 1 99 8 . DIRECTOR: Satoshi Kon , 4-fiij:. VOICE CAST:

flesh-eating habits during the spawning season, Junko Iwao , Rika Matsumoto , Shinpachi Tsuji,
when the male stays to protect the eggs, savagely Masaaki O kura. 82 minutes. RELEASES: DVD,
attacking anything that comes near. This fish is Manga Entertainment (U.S' ; U . K. , English sub­
a recurrent motif throughout the film, first seen titles, Japanese/English dialogue).
hauled from a canal in the polluted marshland
surrounding an industrial plant, writhing as it is Unforgettable animated psycho-horror thriller
doused in petrol and set on fire. detai l i ng a teen singing idol 's spiraling descent
An immensely powerful work, Raig;yo will dis­ into insanity.
appoint those drawn to it for the sexual content,
and its cold, detached air punctuated with mo­ When Mirna Kirigoe announces her ambi­
ments of unflinching savagery will undoubtedly tion to leave the pre-fabricated all-girl pop trio
turn off most viewers. But the film is filled with Cham to embark on an acting career, she has
hauntingly beautiful passages, such as the mes­ little inkling of the effect it might have on some
meric, sepia-toned shots of the deserted waste­ of her fans. "The idol image is suffocating me ,"
land in which the story unfolds, interpolated she later coos over the phone t o he r mother,
with the vicious reds of the scenes in the motel. slipping back into her natural country hick girl
Raig;yo's leading lady, Moe Sakura, also accent with one of the few people in front of
moved into erotic film direction, with films that whom she doesn't need to act.
include Ijimeru Jukujo-tachi Inran Chokyo [trans: But Mirna's new career is not moving with
Bullying mature women debauchery training, quite the speed she'd hoped. Her initial role of a
2 002] . As the legions of pink directors become one-line part in a psychological TV drama called
swelled with an increasing number of female di­ Double Bind is unpromising-that is, until she is
rectors and women in Japanese society become pressured by the ambitious manager of her tal­
more open about sex, pink film appears to be ent agency, Tadokoro, alongside the show's pro­
moving away from more male-oriented fantasies ducer Tejima and scriptwriter Shibuya, to move
and also retreating further from politics into the further away from her original squeaky-clean
realm of the interpersonal, where women are image by agreeing to play a salacious rape scene.
often seen as the stronger partner. In 1 999, male It's a decision she's not entirely happy with, and
director Yiiji Tajiri's Rustling in Bed (OL no Rabu following the shoot she destroys her room and
Jiisu a.k.a. OL's Love Juice) depicted the rela­ collapses into tears.
tionship between a career woman, just dumped Nevertheless, as the remaining two mem­
by her long-term boyfriend, and a young man bers of Cham move on to greater things without
she meets one night after he falls asleep on her her, Mirna is egged on by Tadokoro to main­
shoulder on the train, missing his stop. tain her media profile and is soon modeling in
Whether viewed artistically, commercially, steamy nude photo shoots . What's more, some­
or as a mirror to the society in which it is made, one is charting her inner thoughts in diary form
 Perfect Blue • 307

on the Mima 's Room Internet fan site with an If it's a dream, wake up] . The author himself
unerring degree of accuracy. Initially concerned describes both these books as source material
with documenting such obsessive details as her for the film, with the earlier publication con­
favorite brand of milk and which foot she puts taining a lot more "splatter. " Neither has been
down first after alighting from the subway train, translated into English. However, though the
this first-person written account soon begins to film project, intended originally as live action,
stray from Mima's own take on daily events. was initiated by Takeuchi and the first book was
Shadowed by the lank-haired, pock-marked later re-issued to coincide with the release of
presence of an obsessive fan who calls himself the animation, many of the film's more memo­
Mi-Maniac, and with only her chaperone Rumi rable elements-the innovative plotting, the
to turn to as she feels her grip on reality begin­ Mima 's Room internet site, the Double Bind film­
ning to slip through her fingers, Mima is soon within-film sequences, even the actual murder
questioning just to what extent she is the master scenes-are not present in the book, which Kon
of her own self-image or merely an extension of claims he never read.
her otaku fan-base's fantasies. As the divisions
between her personal, public, and imaginary " I never read the nove l , but I didn't find his

identity become ever more blurred, she begins script very i nteresting at a l l . 50 I said: ' I f you

to find herself repeatedly subjected to the taunts want to stick with this screenplay, I don't
of the delusionary manifestation of her former want to d i rect this fil m . But if you accept my
pop persona, a hallucinatory sprite kitted out in making changes to it, I will do it . ' They were
the full mini-skirted Cham regalia. And that's okay with that, so I accepted . They wanted
when the murders start. to keep three elements of the story: 'idol , '
An absolutely dazzling debut from former 'horror, ' and 'stalker. ' Aside from that I could

manga artist Satoshi Kon, Peifect Blue isn't quite make any changes I wanted , so we cha nged

what you would expect from an animated fea­ many thi ngs, even the plot . " -5atoshi Kon
ture. Firstly, it features some comparatively
strong adult content, with scenes of titillatory Takeuchi was later the driving force behind
nudity running hand in hand with a string of a more faithful live-action adaptation of the sec­
gruesome murders set up with a verve to match ond novel, Peifect Blue: Yume Nara Samete re­
the gorier work of Dario Argento or Brian De­ leased in 2 002 and directed by Toshiki Sata, a
Palma. Secondly, its complex narrative struc­ major practitioner of erotic "pink" cinema dur­
ture, a labyrinthine series of flashbacks, dreams, ing the late '80s and '90s with such films as Dan­
and film-within-film sequences, will leave the chi Tsuma Hakuchu no Furin [trans: Apartment
viewer as disoriented and in the dark as our be­ complex wife midday adultery, 1 997] . Sata's
leaguered protagonist until the final reel. version is sufficiently different from the ani­
This latter aspect is perhaps what marks out mation to highlight the radical deviations from
Peifect Blue, and more specifically its director the source material made by Murai with Kon 's
Kon and scriptwriter Sadayuki Murai, for more (uncredited) input. Whilst retaining Takeuchi's
singular attention, as although based on a novel, basic premise, the finished animation is actually
by all accounts the finished work bears only the far closer in theme-the subjectivity of memo­
scantest of similarities to its original source. Yo­ ry and the blurred divisions between memory,
shikazu Takeuchi's first published work, Piifeku­ fantasy, and reality-to Kon's first major work,
to Burn: Kanzen Hentai [trans: Perfect blue: total scripting the Magnetic Rose segment of the 1 99 5
pervert] came out in 1 99 1 and was rewritten and animated omnibus feature, Memories.
republished in 1 995 as Yume Nara Samete [trans : A savvy dissection of media manipulation or
308 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

a stunning technical tour de force, by the very most a thriller, a shock vehicle and a damn effec­
nature of its "idol" subject matter-and one tive one at that. More than that, it is also a very
which it shares with Hiroaki Sat6's 1 994 ani­ canny exercise in storytelling, and prepares the
mated video series, Key: The Metal Idol, to which ground for Kon's next work Millennium Actress
Mirna's voice actress Junko Iwao also lent her (Sennen Joyft), with the director elevated along­
vocal chords Petfoct Blue certainly raises many
- side Sadayuki Murai to the status of co-scripter
questions regarding the peddling of female this time. A romantic mystery drama detailing
youth fantasies and the psychological effect the life of a retired actress against the backdrop
on the "product" in question, with Mirna very of 50 years of Japan's cinematic history, Mil­
much the young victim at the mercy of the ma­ lennium Actress uses its elliptical approach to a
chiavellian media executives steering her career lighter yet nonetheless involving effect this time
path. With such fresh-faced youths as a school around, whilst toying with the same concepts of
uniform-clad Britney Spears and lollipop-suck­ subjectivity and spectatorship as its precursor.
ing Spice Girl Emma Bunton permeating the
global pop-consciousness over the past years, " Perfect Blue and Millennium Actress are two
obviously this is not a phenomenon exclusively sides of the same coin, I think. When I was

reserved to Japan, but still, a cursory glance over making Perfect Blue I thought it would be
the past decade of tarento culture would suggest a positive fi l m , but l ittle by l ittle it became
that the Japanese do generally like their idols negative, darker. That exhausted me i n a way.

both younger and cuter. When I started working on Millennium Actress

with the producer, based on the premise I men­

" N o , the fi l m is not based on any criticism. If tioned before, I had the intention of making the

the audience get the impression from watching two films l i ke sisters, through the depiction of

the fi l m that the idol system i n Japan is like the relationshi p between admirer and idol. So

that, I ' m embarrassed. Of course I did research in adapting that relationsh i p I wanted to make
before making the fi lm and I visited a number Millennium Actress in completely opposite,
of these idol events, but I didn't see the kind more positive images . I n this way, these two
of example that is used i n the fil m . Also, to films are very i m portant for me, because they

reveal beh i nd-the-scenes secrets about the show the dark side and the l ight side of the

entertai nment world was never my i ntention . I same relations h i p . "

simply wanted to show the process of a young

girl maturi ng, becom i ng confused because her Kon was to take yet another abrupt thematic
old set of values gets shattered, but who is about-turn with the 2 003 release of Tokyo God­
reborn as a mature being as a result of that. fathers (Tokyo Goddojazas), in which three home­
That's what I wanted to describe. But because less people living in the streets of Shinjuku
I had to stick with the idea of an idol, the film discover an abandoned baby lying in the trash
came to talk about that particular worl d . " over Christmas. With his first three features,
Kon has pushed anime in some fascinating new
One's enjoyment of the film may hinge on directions, and it remains to be seen just where
this acceptance of whether a film can raise ques­ he can take it next.
tions without providing tidy answers to all of
them, or whether it is possible to just take Mirna's
predicament at face value. Ultimately, attempts
to read too much into the film detract from what -v Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris
Kon has achieved. Perfect Blue is first and fore- 7J:I-"7 3 $W ( 1 1) .A ) jtM
 Gamera 3: Revenge of Iris . 309

Camera 3: Jashin (Irisu) Kakusei known in the West for co-directing the H. P.
a.k.a. Gamera 3: Awakening ofIris Lovecraft anthology Necronomicon with Brian
1999. DIRECTOR: Shusuke Kaneko, �-=ff�1I'. CAST: Yuzna and Brotherhood of the Wolfs Christophe
Shinobu Nakayama, Ai Maeda, Ayako Fujitani, Gans, started out as an anime scriptwriter and
Senri Yamasaki. 108 minutes. RELEASES: DVD. Nikkatsu Roman Porno director in the mid-'80s.
ADV Films (U.S., English subtitles). Daiei Video He directed films like Princess Eve (Ibu-Chan no
(Japan, no subtitles). Hime, 1 984) and I'm All Yours (Minna Agechau,
1 985) before moving on to comedies and the
The third episode in the resu rrection of giant occasional horror film (My Soul Is SlashedlKa­
monster Gamera is a h ugely dynamic, enormous­ mitsukitai, 1 99 1 , starring Ken Ogata).
ly enjoyable piece of monster mayhem. Never Despite their millions of adoring fans, the
were those city stomp i ng monster movies as ef­ appreciation for the classic kaijit eiga is strongly
fective as they are here. colored by oceans of nostalgia. Watching the
Godzilla movies of the '60s and '70s, for example,
When Toho studios launched the Godzilla IGoji­ is on the whole a rather dull experience. Destroy
ra series in the 1 960s (the first two installments All Monsters! (Kaijit Soshingeki, 1 969), a film so
were made in the mid ' 5 0s, but the series didn't fondly remembered for featuring all the Toho
kick off until 1 962 's King Kong Vs. Godzillal monsters in a big end battle, is a film that plods
Kingu Kongu Tai Gojira) and hit box office pay along at a leaden pace before finally arriving at
dirt as a result, rival Daiei was quick to cash in the last fifteen minutes of mayhem. In a nutshell,
by introducing its own monster: Gamera the the kaijit movies left a fair bit to be desired.
giant turtle, who made his debut in 1 96 5 . This was exactly the feeling that motivated
A villainous city stomper in his first (black and Shusuke Kaneko when he went about revamp­
white) outing, Gamera quickly developed into a ing Gamera: to make a monster movie the way
good guy and "friend of all children" (resulting in monster movies should have been made in the
more and more kids runnin g around to get in the first place. This resulted in a series that put To­
flying turtle's way as the series progressed). Seven ho's neverending efforts to keep Godzilla alive
episodes were made in as many years, until Daiei with much-hyped rehashes of the same old thing
went bankrupt in 1 97 1 . An impoverished attempt to shame (until they invited Kaneko to direct
at reviving both the studio and the series with the Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters
extremely belated Gamera: Super Monster ( Uchit All-Out Attack in 2 00 1 , that is). No kaijit movie
Kaijit Gamera) in 1 980 failed miserably, due in no had ever been as dynamic, action-packed, and
small part to all the Gamera action being stock alive as Kaneko's reborn Gamera.
footage from earlier films. Because a rebirth it is. This, the best of the
Fourteen years later, D aiei was resurrected new Gameras and after the original Godzilla the
as part of the Tokuma publishing empire and best kaijit film ever made, delivers everything a
the series, too, was dusted off. Thankfully, the movie about huge, fighting, city-stomping mon­
studio was serious about making a fresh start sters should have : excitement, slam-bang action
this time, and invited versatile director Shu­ sequences, beautifully designed creatures, and,
suke Kaneko to breathe life into the flying turtle yes, even stunning special effects. The days of
with what would become a trilogy of brand-new the noticeable man-in-a-rubber-suit stomping
Gamera films: Gamera: Guardian of the Universe on lifeless cardboard houses are definitely over.
(Gamera: Daikaijit Kitchit Kessen, 1 995), Gamera Suit work and computer graphics are seamlessly
2: Advent of Legion (Gamera 2: Legion Shitrai, blended to mutual benefi t, cinematographer J un­
1 996), and this one. Kaneko, previously best ichi Tozawa makes the giant monsters look truly
310 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

giant, and Kazunori Ito's script actually gives us Isami Kondo (Sai) and his vice captain Toshiza
some genuine human beings to care about. Hijikata (Takeshi), the fresh-faced Sazabura
Gamera 3's dynamics rival the best anime Kana (Matsuda) and Hyaza Tashiro (Asano) are
out there and beat anything Hollywood high­ drafted into the ranks. Kana's arrival causes quite
concept sci-fi has thrown at us in a long time, a stir in the testosterone-heavy atmosphere of
including the American version of Godzilla. Of the troop house, and when his boyish good looks
course, in the end it's still a film about a big find favor with Kondo and he is chosen as the
turtle stomping on Tokyo and your apprecia­ captain's page, Tashiro finds himself beset by the
tion depends on your willingness to accept that flames of jealousy, none the least because he him­
premise, but if there has ever been the slightest self also has his eyes set on Kana. But military
fondness in your heart for giant monsters, this life within the Shinsengumi is heavily codified,
dynamic piece of high-class pulp will knock you and any violation of these rules results in nothing
out of your seat. short of decapitation. However, there seems to
be no shortage of contenders ready to lose their
heads over this bishonen (pretty young boy).
The name of Nagisa O shima should need
-.v Gohatto little introduction to those with more than a
tflP1*1l passing interest in Japanese cinema. He is the
a.k.a. Taboo foremost independent director of his genera­
tion, beginning his career at Shochiku studios
1999. DIRECTOR: Nagisa O shima, * §h'tlli . CAST: as an assistant director, before the company de­
' Beat' Takeshi Kitano, Ryuhei Matsuda, Shinji cided to capitalize on the "Sun Tribe" (taiyozo­
Takeda, Tadanobu Asano, Yaichi Sai, Tomorowo ku) youth films popular at the time by affording
Taguchi, Susumu Terajima. 100 minutes. RE­ several of their younger employees the opportu­
LEASES: New Yorker (U.S. , English subtitles), Mo­ nity to make their debuts whilst still under the
mentum (U. K. , English subtitles), Ocean Shores age of thirty. O shima was the first of three di­
(Hong Kong, English jChinese subtitles), Shochi­ rectors, which included Masahiro Shinoda and
ku (Japan, English subtitles). Yoshishige Yoshida, to get a film released. His A
To wn ofLove and Hope (Ai to KiM no Machi, 1 95 9)
Homosexual lust, infighti ng, m u rder and betrayal came out in 1 9 5 9, swiftly followed by The Sun 's
with i n the barracks of the Shinsengumi, in Oshi­ Burial (Taiyo no Hakaba, 1 959), and Cruel Story of
m a ' s take on events leading up to the fal l of the Youth (Seishun Zankoku Monogatari, 1 960).
shogunate. Paralleling both developments in the French
Nouvelle Vague led by Jean-Luc Godard and
In 1 86 5 , during the last turbulent years leading the British Free Cinema movement of the late
up to the end of Tokugawa period, the imperial ' 5 0s, Oshima and his contemporaries came to
capital of Kyoto is under the fearsome reign of spearhead what is known as the Japanese New
terror of the Shinsengumi. An extremist "peace­ Wave. Their stories centered around disaffected
keeping" force of around 3 00 strong, loyal to the youths from working class backgrounds, with
Bakufu shogunate, their aim is to maintain the more than a hint of political dimension and a
status quo and quash any insurrectionary activ­ strong focus on the individual, echoing the pro­
ity in the area, especially that of the breakaway tagonists of popular American films like Elia
forces of the Tosa, Satsuma, and Chashu clans. Kazan's On the Waterfront ( 1 954) and Nicholas
After a demonstration of their kendo sword­ Ray's Rebel Without a Cause ( 1 9 5 5) and fore­
fighting talents in front of Shinsengumi captain grounding their dramas by such cinematic di-
 Gohatto • 311

gressions from the in-house style as the use of ing is seen as a complete voluntary removal not
handheld cameras and on-location shooting. only from the social constraints that would keep
When his most overtly political film, Night them apart, but also from the political domain,
and Fog in Japan (Nihon no Yoru to Kiri, 1 960), into "the realm of the senses, " in which in this
was pulled from Japanese cinemas after a tiny case the woman is the empowered member-a
four-day run for its explicit critique of the re­ parallel reaction to the blinkered fanaticism of
newal of the Security Pact that allowed the U. S . the military right-wingers who would later lead
military t o retain its presence o n Japanese soil, the country into war.
O shima left Shochiku to form his own inde­ The film's co-production with Anatole
pendent production company. Throughout the Dauman's Argos Pictures in France also circum­
'60s, he kept up a steady output of politically vented the strict rules imposed by the Japanese
motivated works that included Pleasures of the censorship board Eirin, which ensured that the
Flesh (Etsuraku, 1 965), Violence at Noon (Hakuchu "decency" of the Japanese film industry was
no Torima, 1 966), the animation Manual of the maintained by the banning of any onscreen por­
Ninja Arts (Ninja BugeichO, 1 967), Death by trayal of male or female genitalia. In this way,
Hanging (Koshikei, 1 968), and Diary of a Shin­ O shima's extremely sexually explicit film is a cri­
juku Thief(Shinjuku Dorobo Nikki, 1 969). tique of Nikkatsu's version, which whilst crafted
In the West, however, he is probably best artfully enough in its own right, carried its own
known for a film that, despite for many years cultural conservatism by adhering to these cen­
playing prominently on the arthouse circuit sorship norms, whilst at the same pandering to
in Europe, wasn't even released in Japan until the standard pornographic cliche of the woman
twenty-five years after it was made: In the Realm as submissive but sexually voracious. O shima
of the Senses (Ai no KarMa, 1 97 5 ) . The film was would end up in court a few years later when
based on the famous Sada Abe incident of a book containing pictures from the production
1 9 3 6, in which a courtesan was found wander­ was prosecuted for obscenity.
ing around the streets of Kyoto with a knife, a In many ways, Gohatto shares commonalities
rope, and a severed penis in her hands. The lat­ with In the Realm ofthe Senses, in that it analyzes
ter turned out to belong to her rich patron and the events of a crucial historical point in time
lover, Kichi. The two had just spent a month to­ within the director's favored intellectual frame­
gether locked in a violent and passionate amour work of the connection between fervid sexual
fou, barely emerging from their room. As Sada's desire, politics, and death, recurrent themes
love became more obsessive, she began to take throughout his work. Its mise-en-scene is a mi­
to throttling him to maintain his passion, even­ crocosm of society, its characters too absorbed
tually seeking to possess him entirely. with their immediate passions to fully notice
The same story had already been recounted that they are being overtaken by sweeping his­
within the format of a Nikkatsu Roman Porno torical forces beyond their control.
film the previous year as A Woman Called Abe Unlike the underlying homoerotic tensions
Sada (Jitsuroku Abe Sada, Noboru Tanaka, 1 97 5), of one of O shima's finest films, the Anglo-Japa­
starring Junko Miyashita. O shima's version, nese production of Merry Christmas, Mr. La w­
however, adds a political element, contextual­ rence (Senjo no Meri Kurisumasu, 1 98 3 ), based on
izing it within the same year in which the at­ a story by Laurens Van Der Post and set within
tempted military coup known as the Ni Ni Roku a Japanese POW camp where women are for­
incident took place (cf. Seijun Suzuki's Elegy To bidden, in Gohatto Kana's desires are allowed
Violence). As soldiers patrol the surrounding to go unchecked. In this respect, the title has a
streets, Sada and Kichi's exhaustive lovemak- slightly ironic air to it. Though its meaning is
312 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

closer to "Prohibited" than the film's foreign re­ Japanese culture with Max, Mon A mour ( 1 986),
lease title of "Taboo," contrary to expectations, made in France, in which Charlotte Rampling
Kano's flagrant homosexuality is not discour­ falls in love with a large ape. Since this, aside
aged within the Shinsengurni, but used tactically from two documentaries for British television­
by both Kondo and Hijikata (along with Take­ Kyoto: My Mother 's Place ( 1 99 1 ) and 1 00 Years of
da's character of the handsome young captain, Japanese Cinema ( 1 995)-O shima spent much of
Soji Okita, real-life historical figures within the the '90s struggling to get further projects off the
Shinsengumi) to control their ranks. ground, until a stroke in 1 99 5 looked set to put
Whilst as a modern social phenomenon the an end to his directorial career.
subject is only rarely alluded to seriously by con­ Returning to Shochiku for the first time
temporary media (a "taboo" in its own right), since Night and Fog in Japan, and directed at their
historically homosexuality in Japan has never studios from a wheelchair, the then 68-year-old
been considered a crime, a sin against religion director's first Tokugawa period jidai-geki cer­
or, by extension, the State. It is tacitly acknowl­ tainly looks magnificent. The lavish costumes
edged that same-sex love was fairly widespread were provided by Emi Wada, who previously
within the ranks of the Shogun's army, though worked on Peter Greenaway's Prospero 's Books
this is an aspect that sits at odds with the cruelly ( 1 99 1 ) and Akira Kurosawa's Ran ( 1 985) and
detached and bloodily efficient warrior image of Dreams (Yume, 1 990) . The dark, brooding un­
the samurai and unsurprisingly, has not found dercurrent of decaying sexuality and imminent
its way into other takes on the subject. death is heightened by a haunting score from
Other films based on the Shinsengumi in­ Ryliichi Sakamoto, whose most famous collabo­
clude animation, such as Hiromi Noda and ration with the director was with Merry Christ­
Takenori Kawata's irreverent Shinsengumi Farce mas, Mr. La wrence, in which he also acted. The
(Shogeki Shinsengumi, 1 989) or veteran director actors are some of the finest in Japan: " Beat"
Kon Ichikawa's puppet animation Shinsengumi Takeshi Kitano, who played his first major act­
(2 000), and live action films such as Cruel Story ing role alongside D avid Bowie and Tom Conti
of the Shogunate 's Downfall (Bakumatsu Zankoku in Merry Christmas, Mr. La wrence; the pivotal
Monogatari, Tai Kato, 1 964) or Shinsengumi Kep­ presence of the androgynous Matsuda (Blue
puroku Kondo Isami (Shigehiro Ozawa, 1 963). Spring) in his first film role; arthouse stalwart
This latter film by Ozawa was based on a story Asano; and director Sai (MARKS), stepping be­
within a series of books known as Shinsengumi fore the camera as the authoritarian Kondo.
Keppuroku [trans: Shinsengurni bloody chroni­ Certainly an amount of background knowl­
cles] by the celebrated writer of factually based edge will be required to understand the context
Tokugawa-period fiction, Ryotaro Shiba ( 1 92 3- of the era, but still, dramatically the over-talky
96). Gohatto was based on two novellas from Gohatto, despite an invitation to the Palme d'Or
Shiba's series-Maegami no Sozaburo [trans: Soz­ competition at Cannes in 2 000, remains one of
aburo's forelock] and Sanjoga wara Ranjin [trans: the least successful of O shima's works. Like the
The Sanjo riverbank rebels] . chanbara films which it references, the film is filled
Expectations for an adaptation of Japan's with a highly stylized non-naturalistic beauty-the
foremost historical writer from one of Japan's set-bound final showdown on the wooden bridge,
most important directors of his generation swirling with dry ice, swords flashing in the moon­
were therefore very high, especially as it re­ light; the spectral presence of the courtesan to
mains O shima's only major work of the '90s. whom Kano is led in order to introduce him to the
After Merry Christmas, Mr. La wrence, he had de­ joys of women. But if such deliberately theatrical
cided to divorce himself one step further from sequences fit within the genre, they perhaps act as
 The New God • 313

a cosmetic smokescreen to what the film is actu­ i ng that Japan's becoming more right·wing.

ally about. When I was right·wing I really thought so, but

In his work in the '60s, O shima often made after I got away from that I realized it's not

use of Brechtian distancing devices of laying the true at a l l . There's a h uge difference between

bare bones of filmmaking visible to the viewer in what we hear and what happens i n people's

order to mediate between story and storyteller, day·to-day l ives . But when The New God was

message and medium. Here, however, the recur­ released , a rightist told us that there's no way

rent use of text intertitles, the omnipresent voice this fi l m would have been accepted 10 years

of the narrator and the use of other cinematic de­ ago. Maybe the right wing is more accepted

vices such as screen wipes come across more like than it was 10 years ago; maybe it's gained

manifestations of post-production salvage work. regular 'civil rights. ' I think that's because

Gohatto is an undeniably beautiful-looking there a re more right-leaning figures i n the cUl­

film, well-crafted, rich in content, and atmo­ tural arena now . " -Karin Amamiya

spheric, but it only touches on themes better

explored elsewhere in the director's oeuvre . As "Tora, Tora, Tora ! Pearl Harbor was our only
a self-contained work in its own right, its lack choice. Our race was corrupted from the day we
of focus denies the dramatic flair that made his lost the war . . . " Karin Amamiya, lead singer of
early work so acerbic and so essential to its day. ultra-nationalist hard core punk band Ishinseki­
seijuku (a.k.a. The Revolutionary Truth), looms
large center stage, barking out aggressively
heartfelt anti-American sentiments to a notably
-.It The New God sparse and dwindling audience.
:m U l l�rf:* Troubled music for troubled times, one might
Atarashii KDmisama think, though on the surface at least, there seems
to be little of immediate worry for the citizens
2000. DIRECTOR: Yutaka Tsuchiya, ±�:!! . CAST: of modem-day Japan, currently one of the safest
Yutaka Tsuchiya, Karin Amamiya, Hidehito Ito, and most stable places on the planet. However,
Umitaro Tanaka, Takaya Shiomi. 99 minutes. RE­ many visitors have found it difficult to ignore the
LEASES: DVD, Uplink (Japan, English subtitles). worm in the apple, manifesting itself in the form
of the black trucks named gaisensha, emblazoned
"We l l , for example someone m ight hear about with the hinrmutru Gapanese flag) motif on their
those right-wing trucks blasting through the sides and blaring out militant anthems. In recent
city and think that everybody j ust passively times, and especially since the death of Emperor
sits by and watches it happen, but I think The Hirohito marked the end of the Sh6wa period in
New God shows that there ' s more going on 1 989, the Heisei period has seen a notable revival
than j ust that. There ' s a lot happening behind in the nationalist movement, small, but vocal
the scenes. Actually I think Japan needs to enough to prove difficult to ignore.
stand up and tell other countries that there's Nationalism, with its indelible associations
more happening here , that it's not nearly such of racism and the military right wing, is a fairly
a cut and d ried issue. Japan doesn't seem to, dirty word to most people, and a subject which
how should I say it, analyze its own situation most would prefer to waft aside without giving
as much as it shou l d . The Japanese mass a second thought. But for documentary maker
media do a lot of stereotypi ng too . " -Yutaka Tsuchiya, who stands amongst the cowed ob­
Tsuchiya servers at the gig with which the film opens,
" It's been a long time since I started hear· viewing the proceedings firmly from the other
314 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

The Ne w God

side of the political fence, there's something ideas distinct from the unilateral voice of a more
more heartfelt about Amamiya's plea. "I shiv­ dominant mass media.
ered. I don't know why. I felt her pain, somehow, In his first feature-length film, Tsuchiya at­
like a reflected light beam stabbing the heart. " tempts to delve beyond the political rhetoric and
B esides working actively in film criticism in intimidating fa<;:ade of the fascinatingly complex
Japan, Yutaka Tsuchiya is also one of the lead­ figures of Amamiya and guitaristlbandlead­
ing lights of the underground video documen­ er Hidehito Ito of the Revolutionary Truth.
tary group Video Act. The group meets every Tsuchiya initially met the two musicians in 1 998
couple of months to screen a selection of politi­ whilst interviewing a number of young people
cally motivated video shorts covering a multi­ about a controversial manga entitled Sensoron
tude of contemporary issues. Maintaining close [trans: On war] written by a man named Yo­
connections with similarly minded video activ­ shinori Kobayashi. The manga, which proved
ist groups around the world, such as the Am­ immensely popular at the time, selling 5 00,000
sterdam-based Next Five Minutes and Paper copies shortly after its release, was a revision­
Tiger Television in the United States, Tsuchiya ist look at Japanese war history, which amongst
is positive that organizations such as Video Act, other things denied events such as the Nanking
by distributing its work either on videotape or Massacre or the existence of comfort women. It
via the Internet, still have the ability to democ­ sold very well among young people.
ratize the filmmaking and distribution process
and share a plurality of political viewpoints and "Some people protested against the book, tell-
 The New God . 315

ing people not to read it and so on. At the time common value system: "Words such as solidarity
I understood how they felt, but I also thought touched my heart as a nationalist." In contrast,
that they wouldn't be able to change the feel­ she sees the only shared values the Japanese pos­
ings of the young readers j ust by protesting sess is via consumerism and value systems im­
l i ke that. Why were they reading It? Why did posed from outside. "The Japanese can't make
they think Kobayash i ' s comic was so cool? friends. Only cut their wrists and call sex lines. "
As long as they were n ' t asking questions l i ke I t is statements such a s these that throw
that I was sure the book would keep sel l i ng. light on where Amamiya is coming from in her
I wanted to think about that, and I wanted to politics. At numerous points in the film she con­
hear what younger people had to say about the fesses that a troubled upbringing left her feeling
comic, so that's when I met Amamiya and Ito an outsider. Nationalism provided a channel for
from the band the Revolutionary Truth. "-Yu­ her feelings of ostracism and self-loathing. Sim­
taka Tsuchiya ilarly, in an unguarded moment, Ito confesses
he embraced nationalism to stop being a nerd.
The focus of The New God is quite clearly "When did you force these two ideas, 'to stop
singer Amamiya. Handing her a video camera being a nerd,' and ' anti-America' together? "
with which to film herself in a series of talking asks Tsuchiya. "Well, after joining the Nation­
head shots over the course of little over a month, alists, actually, " Ito admits.
and through the course of numerous drunken
political discussions with her and bandleader Ito, " Many people j u st act l i ke they ' re thinking

Tsuchiya soon manages to get a whole lot more about those issues, but some are j ust doing
than he initially bargained for, in the process dis­ it because they ' re bore d . They feel a sense of
covering that all three of them have a lot more in solidarity by creating enemies, talking crap

common than their seemingly diametrically op­ about America, C h i n a , or Korea. I n one sense
posed standpoints first led him to believe. those groups a re l i ke c l u bs for strange people

At the beginning of the film, Amamiya is be­ who just have nothing better to do. People do

ginning to question her own nationalistic beliefs it just to kill time. "-Karln Amamiya

after a trip to North Korea to see the effect of

Communism on the daily lives of its citizens. At With such moments of honesty, both Ama­
the invitation of a radical left-winger and former miya and Ito cease to become threatening politi­
head of the Japanese Red Army, Takaya Shiomi, cal extremists and start really developing as fully
Amamiya first arrives in Pyongyang, where she rounded and sympathetic characters, plagued by
is welcomed with open arms by her compatri­ self-doubt and fully aware of their irreconcilable
ots, Red Army exiles from Japan in the wake of idealism. It's an angle which Tsuchiya pursues
a famous hijacking incident, who are seemingly admirably as he becomes closer to the two band
unconcerned by their opposing political beliefs. members, turning the film into a three-way dia­
As someone points out: "Left or right is just a logue between the filmmaker and his subj ects.
label for someone caring about their race. Anti­ "I know what she means. Something has created
imperial America is what we agree on." How­ an emptiness covering Japan. To her it's Amer­
ever, once the drinking stops and the politicizing ica, to me it's the Emperor system," he muses
begins, she confides to the camera in the privacy between scenes.
01: her hotel room that her own views might be Both Ito's and Amamiya's viewpoint is that
causing some problems with the older activ­ the modern Japanese, dulled by the "suffocat­
ists. Nevertheless, she is markedly struck by the ing peace" of the Heisei period (literally mean­
way the North Koreans are bound together by a ing "attainment of peace") have forgotten their
316 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

The New God

roots and are content to remain as "America's fat it excludes minorities, a factor which Amamiya
dog, " and that as a result, without even its own admits had always bothered her about the right­
self-written constitution, the nation has lost any wing Nationalist Party of which the two musi­
significance in global affairs. They argue that cians are active members.
the deaths of Japanese soldiers during the Pa­ It is after her return from North Korea
cific War should not be forgotten, as they were that Amamiya's disillusionment with hard-line
acting in the interests of the Emperor at a time politics really begins to grow, sparked by the
when every man and woman gave his or her life lackluster reception of her talk on her pilgrim­
for the country, and that to deny one's nation's age at a meeting of Red Army members, who'd
history is to deny one's national identity. rather revel in drunken rhetoric to feel their ca­
Whilst Ito and Amimaya's desire for a re­ maraderie than reach out to the broader general
turn to the "Nation as Family" as opposed to public. Ito's street-level activism, yelling, "You
American-styled "individualism" might merely fuckers are all just livestock! " down a mega­
be seen as nostalgia, the underlying desire for phone to indifferent passers-by, doesn't seem to
a shared value system and common identity is be much more effective, either.
perhaps not so outrageous: "The Emperor is In true Spinal Tap form, the presence of the
the ideal, not the system, " as Ito says. Translat­ Svengali-like Tsuchiya is soon acting as a catalyst
ing their wishes into a political agenda, however, for problems already latent within the band, and
is slightly more problematic. As Tsuchiya points so a new "liberal" guitarist is drafted in to ease
out, his problem with nationalist politics is that the tension. Umitaro Tanaka plays the "Luke-
 Scoutman . 317

warm Water" role between Amamiya's "Fire" the old political arguments are ceasing to have
and Ito's "Ice . " "Singing the national anthem any relevance, Tsuchiya introduces us to two ab­
before the gig just isn't my thing, " he mumbles solutely remarkable characters whom we might
during a band practice session. After they meet otherwise dismiss completely out of hand, as he
with hostile receptions from audiences and are reminds us that, whether left or right, at the end
kicked out of a series of venues, one begins to of the day politics is about people.
wonder whether it is perhaps the medium rath­
er than the message that is the problem.
Of course, it is Amamiya that fuels the
whole endeavor, invoking a fair degree of sexual � Scoutman
tension between the two males as we see her ""1 �
being drawn away from Ito's radical polemic to a.k.a. Pain
the filmmaker's more liberal suave. We see Ito
yawning and nodding off when excluded from 2000. DIRECTOR: Masato Ishioka, E lfflI iE A . CAST:

a heated drunken political discussion between Miku Matsumoto, Hideo Nakaizumi, Yuka Fuji­
Amamiya and her new hero figure in a bar. moto, Akihito Yoshiie, Yuri Komuro, Shiro Shimo­
Later Amamiya bounces up and down gushing mota. 114 minutes. RELEASES: VCD, Winson (Hong
appreciatively as Tsuchiya nonchalantly sums Kong, English Subtitles).
up his political stance: "All I know is that my
work says it all . " When Ito tries to get in on the G ritty documentary-styled drama set in the
act shouting, "Yes, it's great to be creative, isn't seamy streets of I ke b u k u ro, a rich recruiting
it! " he is silenced by a condescending "Go and ground for the sleazy scoutmen of the Adult
bake a cake, then ! " from Amamiya. Video ind ustry.

"The band 's break-up d i d n ' t have anyth ing to do Walk around the streets of any large city in
with the movie, but the fi l m did have an influ­ Japan and you will soon come across the sight
ence on us i n ways. It made me real ize how of young girls darting for cover after being ap­
dependent I was on right-wi ng ideology, and proached by solitary men in cheap suits. It's the
as I started to real ize that I had become un­ method of choice used by these chinpira, run­
able to continue that sort of activity. "-Karin ners for illicit sex industry operations, in order
Amamiya to recruit new fresh meat for pornographic live
shows, magazines, or videos, and oddly enough,
Both entertaining and thought-provoking, it seems to work. In other countries such behav­
not to mention often very funny, the transfor­ ior would immediately lead to arrest on sexual
mation of The Revolutionary Truth's stance via harassment charges, but in Japan it's a common
its rejection of both hard-line right-wing and enough sight.
left-wing politics to a more comfortable form of Whatever else you might have to say about it,
nationalism is absolutely riveting from start to the sex industry in Japan is certainly not a small
finish. Painting a complex yet colorful picture of one. At its peak at the tail end of the '70s, it ac­
the current state of the question of national iden­ counted for over a third of the nation's cinematic
tity in Japan, it is a work which never feels the output. With the introduction of the VCR, from
need to resort to shock tactics or heavy-handed the early '80s onward the production of what is
proselytizing to get its point across, throwing out euphemistically termed "Adult Entertainment"
an open challenge to the viewer to go away and really snowballed, as an increasing number of
think about the issues it raises. At a time when viewers opted to take their viewing pleasures
318 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

Scoutman

solitarily in the privacy of their own bedrooms place to stay, it's not long before young ideal­
rather than share their appreciation in a crowded ism gives way to empty stomachs, and unbe­
theater. The AV video market in Japan is second knownst to his partner, Atsushi is soon taking
only to that of the United States. cash scouring the streets for suitable actresses in
Against this background comes Scoutman, a the employment of an AV production company
grimy portrayal of the pony-tailed hustlers, per­ managed by the weasely Sugishita (Shimomoto),
oxide-headed pimps, and sleazy moustachioed learning the tricks of the trade from veteran tal­
casting directors who ferret the streets of Tokyo's ent scout Yoshiya (Yoshiie) : "What are you talk­
Ikebukuro district in search of the latest tantai ing to them about music for? You're not trying
(star quality) AV actresses with which to provoke to pick them up ! "-All of this, at the same time
frenetic bouts of one-handed adulation from their as recklessly dabbling with fading tantai Miki,
cloistered male admirers. Any single young girl is whose own onscreen career has so far evaded
fair game, as prospective starlets are harangued the notice of her husband.
on the street with such blunt catcalls as: "You've Meanwhile Mari's own job-hunting pros­
passed ! I'll get you the nicest job you've ever had. pects take a different turn after she is offered a
You can earn extra money with your tits." stick of chewing gum by a leggy, mini-skirted
Into this urban jungle wanders 20-year-old bottle-blonde introducing herself as Kana (Fu­
Atsushi (Nakaizumi), with his lame girlfriend jimoto), who only five minutes later asks for the
Mari (Matsumoto) hobbling in tow, both freshly semi-chewed lump back before selling it on to
arrived from the provinces in search of a bright a lecherous creep hiding in a nearby phone box.
golden future in the big city. However, with no Initially disgusted, Mari is soon lured away by
 Tokyo Trash Baby • 319

her new friend for a makeover and drafted into the new girl immediately breaks down into tears
selling tickets for swingers parties. as the camera starts to roll.
Scoutman was one of several films released Scoutman's view is that pornography is neither
at the turn of the millennium centered around glamorous nor seductively dangerous, but ulti­
the Japanese sex industry, though after doing mately nothing less than trite and debasing for
the rounds on the international festival circuit both practitioners and consumers alike. A num­
it received only a limited release back in Japan ber of the girls lured into tllis false paradise by
under the title of Pain. Unlike Harada's more the smooth-talking scouts are soon making rapid
commercially pitched Bounce KoGals, Ishioka's beelines for the exit after their first "interview"
shockingly frank take on the AV world doesn't on the rancid Sugishita's casting couch, whereas
see Japanese society's rampant preoccupation the demand from the shop front suppliers to go
with sex so much as a problem as another facet further than the last time eventually leads to his
of modern urban existence. being busted for child pornography. The best
With its predominance of handheld loca­ Ishioka's starlets can hope for after being pushed
tion shots, a cast including a number of industry to greater excesses by the increasing demands of
professionals, and a sparing use of background a jaded market is being farmed out to a jUzoku
music, Ishioka's raw-edged approach is more "soapland" where they can make more intimate
concerned with documentation than attribu­ acquaintance with their desperate clients while
tion. Whereas Harada wags his finger censori­ being pawed over in private booths, rather than
ously, Ishioka shoots strictly from street level, go the whole hog down the SM video route.
counterpointing the banality behind the allur­ With its twin narratives diverging from the
ing far,:ade of hard core video production with opening moments as it charts the lives of its two
Mari's spiraling descent from handing out fly­ young protagonists (both played by first-time
ers for organized orgies into pimping out high actors), Scoutman cracks off at quite a pace, leav­
school girls to desperate salarymen for a quick ing no stone unturned as it exhaustively charts
fondle in a quiet, secluded alleyway. its sordid milieu. Whilst it's definitely not a
Like the world they inhabit, Ishioka's charac­ place you'll want to linger too long, it is the
ters aren't particularly likable, but they are rec­ most honest and realistic of all of the films about
ognizable in their warts-and-all portrayal and it's the sex industry that came out around the same
obvious that the director knows his subject well. time. Simultaneously grueling and compelling,
After all, it's where he came from, cutting his di­ rather than begging for more, Scoutman instead
rectorial teeth in the sleazy world of Adult Enter­ leaves you feeling in need of a good hose-down.
tainment with a string of porno quickies such as
Chikanhakusho 1: The Statement ofPervert ( 1 995).
It's a perspective that lends Scoutman some
of its most convincing scenes. As Atsushi is pro­ -.v Tokyo Trash Baby
moted to the role of Miki's personal manager, *� :j' 2. i;(
we are invited behind the scenes to a video shoot Tokyo Gomi Onna
taking place in a house in the suburbs. Here, Toky o Garbage Girl
a.k.a.
whilst preparing for her first onscreen appear­
ance, one of Atsushi's recent recruits receives 2000. DIRECTOR: Ryuichi Hiroki, 11t*��-. CAST:

a phone call from an anxious boyfriend, whose Mami Nakamura, Kazuma Suzuki, Tomorowo Ta­
mind is seemingly put at rest after confirmation guchi, K6 Shibasaki. 88 minutes. RELEASES: DVD.
from the makeup artist that her first shoot is Pony Canyon (Japan, no subtitles).
girl-on-girl. All smiles and forced playfulness,
320 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

Breezy, digitally shot romantic drama pointing a Tokyo cafe who develops an obsessive crush
out the pitfalls of modern life in a consumer cul­ on grimy aspiring young rock musician Yoshi­
ture whose foundations a re set in polystyrene. nori (Suzuki) living in the upstairs apartment in
A change of pace for former pink film director her block. She takes to bringing in his garbage
Ryiiichi H i roki. bags and rifling through his refuse. Collecting
his empty cigarette packets and hoarding the
Empty plastic drinks bottles, crushed styrofoam smoked cigarette ends in a jar, cutting out pic­
cups, used bento lunch boxes and splintered tures from discarded magazines, and wearing
wooden chopsticks, newspapers, magazines, his shredded denim jacket, the ultimate trophy,
polyethylene bags, soiled tissues, and paper in the privacy of her own room, she begins to
towels: discarded ornaments of an obsessive identify with him through the by-products of
consumer culture, all bagged, bundled, and his day-to-day existence.
sorted into the relevant categories of burnable, When she unravels a screwed-up tissue
non-burnable, recyclable, and hazardous waste paper to discover a soiled condom wrapped in­
to be left for the garbage men daily. If such a side, she realizes that she has competition for
rapid turnaround in production, consumption, his affections. Regardless, she approaches Yoshi­
and excretion is considered the benchmark of nori as he practices his guitar in a deserted club,
modern economic development, then it's no and after humming along a melody found on a
small wonder that Japan, a country which has torn up pencil-sketched score she had pieced to­
dragged itself up from post-war ruin to being gether to his accompaniment, she allows herself
the world's second-largest economy within the to become the next in a string of his sexual con­
space of just fifty years, has created such a hell quests. The following morning he confesses that
of a mess along the way. he knew she had been sifting through his trash,
In the Kanta area, which has had to bear the and she flees from his apartment, another one of
main brunt of the nation's unwavering pursuit of his castaways. She then makes the long journey
a high GNP, the continuing mass influx of citi­ across Tokyo to finally lay his memory to rest by
zens to the capital and its environs that has ac­ burying his rubbish on a large island of refuse.
companied this modernization has been equally Tokyo Trash Baby is a sympathetic look at
matched by a concurrent reduction in the num­ the dilemma faced by a generation who have
ber of places to dispose of their daily by-prod­ opted out of college and the stifled ranks of the
ucts. The ingenious solution to the problem has office workplace in favor of minimum wage,
been to dump it all into giant landfill sites that furitii (part-time "free arbeiter") employment.
pockmark Tokyo Bay, and which have subse­ Eschewing the rigid social structures and domi­
quently been remolded as the glitzy new indus­ nant work ethic of their parents' generation,
trial zone of Odaiba. In a nutshell, Tokyo is not they are desperately seeking to replace it with
only an environmental mess, a large part of it is something else. What, who knows, but as Mi­
quite literally built upon garbage. yuki soon finds out, it takes more than using the
A gentle critique of this consumer culture, same shampoo, eating the same breakfast cereal,
Ryiichi Hiroki's cannily conceived, DV-shot and smoking the same strength Marlboros as
slice-of-life drama equates this rapid develop­ Yoshinori to find anything more than the most
ment with the gaping emotional voids that fill transient emotional fulfillment with him.
the lives of its modern-day citizens, as the first Tightly scripted and acted with a touching
generation to be weaned on the spoils of such humarusm throughout, Hiroki's film is nicely
rampant consumerism come of age. Embodying carried along by a strong central performance
this is Miyuki (Nakamura), a teenage waitress in from Mami Nakamura, an actress best known
 Tokyo Trash Baby • 321

Tokyo Trash Baby

for her leading role in the adaptation of Junji symbolizes modern Japan, whilst the new gen­
Ito's horror manga Tomie (Ataru Oikawa, 1 998). eration seems content to drip around and do
She later went on to play in Yoshinari Nishiko­ nothing. Miyuki rebuffs the continuing advanc­
ri's A White Ship (Shiroi Fune, 2 00 1 ) and Masaru es oflonely young salaryman Kawashima, whose
Konuma's Mizue (Onna wa Basutei de Fuku 0 Tori­ blind obedience and lack of imagination seem
kaeta, 2 002). both bland and pathetic. Apparently the best he
Miyuki's role is underscored by the host of has to offer her against Yoshinori's seductively
subsidiary characters that inhabit the cafe where dangerous rock 'n' roll ambivalence is a night in
she works. Her fellow waitress and confidante, the batting cage practicing baseball swings.
Kyoko, keeps her up to date with her own fre­ Tokyo Trash Baby was the first, and one of the
quent and fleeting sexual liaisons. An older cus­ strongest, of the six films comprising the Love
tomer exaggerates wildly how it was he who Cinema series produced by CineRocket, all fo­
worked on the construction of the Shinkansen cusing on young, contemporary female protag­
Bullet Train and Tokyo Tower and oversaw the onists and shot on digital video. The films in the
first landfills that gave rise to the futuristic de­ series were originally intended as straight-to­
velopment of Tokyo Bay. "Being a coffee shop video releases, though all enjoyed a limited run
owner is all right, " he tells Miyuki's employer, in the Cinema Shimokitazawa in Tokyo. The
"but a man is judged by what he has done. " It rest of the series consists of Mitsuhiro Miura's
was, after all, his generation, he boasts with Amen, Somen and Rugger Men.' (Eri ni Kubittake),
pride, that was responsible for everything that Isao Yukisada's Enclosed Pain (Tojiru Hz), Tetsuo
322 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

Shinohara's Stake Out (Harikomt), Akihiko Shio­ Ishikawa, a former collaborator of Hiroki's with
ta's Gips and Takashi Miike's Visitor Q. whom, alongside Genji Nakamura, he had hid
Hiroki's addition to the series was released behind the collective pseudonym Go Ijuin for a
in Tokyo on the same weekend as his higher­ series of SM-heavy productions in the mid-'80s.
budgeted I Am an SM Writer (Futei no Kisetsu), a After a brief spell working in television dur­
tongue-in-cheek sex drama based on a book by ing the early '90s, Hiroki's first real stab at a
Japan's most notorious purveyor of rope-and­ non-sex film came with the V-cinema produc­
flesh erotic fantasies, Oniroku Dan. Ren O sugi tion, Sadistic City (Maogai, 1 99 3 ) and the athletic
plays the eponymous narrator in this piece, a youth movie, 800 Two Lap Runners (Happyaku
successful SM novelist who recounts the details Two Lap Runners, 1 994), which was voted sev­
of why his wife left him some 20 years before enth-best film in the year of its release by the
due to his preoccupation with the more intel­ Kinema Jumpo critics. In 1 996 he directed the
lectual side of the sexual act as opposed to the steamy coming-of-age drama Midori. After mak­
physical. Immersed in his own fantasies, he ing Barber 's Sorrow (Rihatsuten Aruji no Knnashi­
feverishly documents staged sexual scenarios mi, 2 002), a film about shoe fetishism, the boldly
acted out in his living room by his assistant, and experimental drama Vibrator (2 003) saw Hiroki
fails to notice the inevitable consequences of his not only returning to the digital video format,
wife's increasingly frequent dalliances with her but also continuing his look at the problems fac­
English teacher, a brash young American hunk ing contemporary Japanese women in this tale
played by Brian William Churchill. His reac­ based on a popular novel by Mari Akasaka. Rei
tion, after the initial rage, is to scribble down Hayakawa (Shinobu Terashima) is a freelance
the details of their imagined liaison. journalist whose basic desires have been cowed
Though it is difficult to imagine two more into submission by a deafening interior mono­
diverse pieces of filmmaking, like so many of his logue culled from the voices of her friends and
contemporaries, director Hiroki is no stranger family, advertisements, gossip columns, and the
to such extremes of eroticism, having begun front cover headlines of women's magazines­
his career as an assistant director to the prolific "be thin, be beautiful, the perfect man is just
director Genji Nakamura, one of the foremost around the corner. " Unable to express her true
practitioners of pink cinema in the '70s. His own emotions, she retreats into a world of insecurity,
debut came in 1 982 with Seigyaku! Onna 0 Abaku insomnia, alcohol abuse, and eating disorders,
[trans: Sexual abuse ! exposed woman] , before the only external sensation being the surro­
turning to a triptych of Barazoku (or Rose Tribe gate heartbeat of her vibrating mobile phone
films, a variant on the pink film aimed at gay au­ in her breast pocket-the vibrator of the film's
diences) beginning with Bokura no Jidai [trans: title. Then one night, as she browses aimlessly
Our generation, 1 98 3 ] and continuing with around the all-night convenience store suppos­
Bokura no Kisetsu [trans: Our season, 1 98 3 ] and edly in search of a bottle of wine, she makes eye
Bokura no Shunkan [trans: Our moment, 1 984] . contact with another customer, a truck driver
In 1 984 both he and Nakamura made several named Okabe (Ichi the Killer's Nao O mori). On
works for Nikkatsu, whose Roman Porno line the spur of the moment, she decides to follow
of sex films were increasing their sadistic com­ him from the store and into his truck cab. With
ponent, creating such memorable titles as Sen­ seemingly nothing better to do, she persuades
sei, W'iltashi no Knrada ni Hi 0 Tsukenaide [trans: him to let her accompany him on his long haul
Teacher, don't turn me on, 1 984] and Chikan to along the highways ofJapan, escaping far away
Sukiito [trans: Pervert and skirt, 1 984] along the from the societal pressures of home.
way. I Am an SM Writer was scripted by Hitoshi Vibrator unfolds as a serious two person
 Uzumaki • 323

chamber piece set for the most part within the colored pink and white with a spiral motif run­
warmly lit, womb-like confines of the truck cab, ning through it), frantically creating whirlpools
the rhythms and cadences of the dialogue taking in his miso soup whilst proclaiming that a vortex
place against the muffled throb of the engine. As is the highest form of art. He eventually comes
well as utilizing all the advantages of the light­ a cropper when he crawls in for a point-of-view
weight digital format to the full, it sees Hiroki's shot from the inside of a spin drier.
oeuvre continuing to evolve in ever more tanta­ It's not long before the whole town is beset
lizing and provocative directions. by all manner of otherworldly whirly weirdery.
Kirie's high school is populated by a host of gro­
tesques-twitching teachers, preening pretty
girls, and slimy student Katayama, who walks
...v Uzumaki at a snail's pace and only comes to school when
-j 'f * � it rains. Soon a number of her schoolmates are
a.k.a. Spiral, Vortex sprouting shells and crawling up the school
walls. It's a game of spot the spiral as digital vor­
2000. DIRECTOR: Higuchinsky (a.k.a. Akihiro Higu­ texes crawl across the floor and materialize in
chi), l:: 7"T Y A :f- - . CAST: Eriko Hatsune, Fhi Fan, cloudy skies. ShUichi's mother, hospitalized after
Hinako Saeki, Shin Eun Kyung, Keiko Takahashi, the death of her husband, cuts off her fingertips
Ren O sugi. 91 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Eastern to remove the whorl-like patterns on them and
Cult Cinema ( U . K., English subtitles), Elite En­ eventually succumbs to the power of the vortex
tertainment ( U. S. , English subtitles), Universe after a millipede crawls into her ear and takes
(Hong Kong, English/Chinese subtitles), Toei up residence in her cochlea. And just what is
Video (Japan, no subtitles). the secret behind arch-bitch Sekino's unfeasibly
curly locks?
Left stone cold by the deadpan minimalism of The debut feature of Ukrainian-born direc­
Hideo Nakata 's ghostly Ring? Baffled by the tor Higuchinsky (who previously helmed epi­
cold metaphysics of Kiyos h i Kurosawa 's Cure? sodes of the Eko Eko AzaraklMisa the Dark Angel
Turned off by romie? Were you perhaps amongst TV series in 1 997) deals with the helical hor­
the d roves stam peding from the auditorium dur­ rors that occur when a small town is besieged by
ing the grisly resolution of Audition? Wel l , why spirals. Not to be confused with Joji's !ida's The
don't you give Uzumaki a whirl, by fa r one of the Spiral (Rasen), which supported Nakata's The
most deliriously entertaining horrors to emerge Ring during its initial theatrical run, Uzumaki,
from Japan at the tail end of the millennium. meaning "Vortex" or "Whirlpool, " was origi­
nally paired on a double bill with Tomie Replay
High school student Kirie's first glimpse that (Fujiro Mitsuishi, 2 000). Like the Tomie series,
something is awry in Kurouzu comes when she it is based on a manga series by the cult artist
discovers the father of her nerdy best friend Junji Ito, whose work (some of which has been
Shuichi filming a snail, or more precisely the published in English translations) also formed
corkscrew pattern of its shell. He is in the pro­ the basis of Kakashi (2 00 1 ), a perfunctory but
cess of making a video scrapbook composed of lackluster tale of ghostly scarecrows directed by
images of vortexes and spiral-like phenomena, Norio Tsuruta.
and his bizarre obsession is soon threatening to Combining the Lynchian concerns of the
spin dangerously out of control. One evening at unseen horrors that lurk behind the superficial
the dinner table he flies off the handle when he normality of small town existence with the same
runs out of naruto roll (a Japanese fish sausage intense psychotropic visuals that glossed the
324 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

surface of Darren Aronofsky's 1 998 stunner Pi, placing the Crown of Oblivion on their heads
Uzumaki is not a case of style over substance. that enables them to forget their homeland. It is
Here, the style is the substance. The camera also the name of the illegal computer game that
twists and spins, as bodies are twisted and char­ forms the stage for Mamoru Oshii's stunning
acters are menaced by hallucinatory swirls and peeling back of the layers of illusion, an addictive
pop promo director Higuchinsky, who later virtual reality battlefield simulation in which the
gave us Tokyo 1 0 + 01 (2 002), empties out his en­ disenchanted inhabitants of a decaying futuris­
tire technical bag of tricks, making full use of a tic society seek escape from reality, and in which
whole gamut of split-screens, subliminal vortex the most adept players are able to win enough
animations, playful shot transitions, and razor­ money to further fuel their addiction.
sharp editing to deliciously skittish effect. Ash (Foremniak), a single thirty-something,
Couple this with a parade of quirkily ex­ is one such player. A previous member of the
aggerated performances and you have a par­ notorious Wizard team, she is legendary in the
ticularly loony film, irrational, totally without world of Avalon, though with her old team dis­
cinematic precedent, and wholly in keeping banded due to her maverick approach to team
with its manga origins. A dazzling plunge into play, she has built up a bit of a reputation as a
the abstract in which the threat is illusory, not lone wolf and is now operating solo as a charac­
physical. A spiral isn't a material thing, it is a ter of Warrior class.
state of mind, and Higuchinsky takes us there. Rumors abound of a secret level to the game,
Class Special A. The gateway into this higher
domain can only be accessed through a strange
glitch in the program, with the appearance of a
� Avalon silent, sad-eyed young girl, said to be a bug placed
yr;'y o/' by the Nine Sisters, the game's original program­
Avalon mers. Class Special A is the Holy Grail of Ava­
lon, a level in which the player cannot be "reset"
2001. DIRECTOR: Mamoru Oshii, :fIfl#"T. CAST: Mal­ (i.e. killed) and returned to the real world.
gorzata Foremniak, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Jerzy When Ash learns from former teammate
Gudejko, Dariusz Biskupski, Bartek Swiderski, Stunner (Swiderski) that the last person to at­
Michal Breitenwald. 106 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, tempt to reach this higher level was the Wiz­
Buena Vista Home Video ( U.S. , English subtitles), ard's former leader Murphy (Gudejko), whose
Emotion (Japan, Japanese/English subtitles), current status as "unreturned" has left him co­
C2 Communications (Korea, English/Japanese/ matose in a hospital bed in the real world, her
Korean subtitles), Studio Canal ( France, French desire to seek out the truth behind Avalon be­
subtitles). comes overwhelming, but to do so she must re­
assemble a new team to assist her.
Disil lusioned members of a crumbling futuris­ In recent years, the word anime has become
tic society seek escapism from their existence increasingly divorced from its original mean­
by means of an i l legal i nteractive war game, in ing in the minds of most people, that of the
this bleak fusion of l ive action and CGI technol­ straightforward Japanese word for " animation,"
ogy, shot in Poland by acclaimed ani me director to represent a distinct self-contained genre all
Osh i i . of its own. With its associated elements of re­
alistic character designs, rich background de­
Avalon is the legendary island of Arthurian my­ tail, and furious action sequences, it provides
thology where departed heroes come to rest, the perfect arena to pose probing philosophi-
 Avalon • 325

cal questions within sweeping hi-tech environ­ rebellious consciousness that has evolved from a
ments. Its thematic concerns touch upon such rogue computer virus.
issues as conspiracy theories, the blurring of the Increases in CGI technology have meant
distinctions between different levels of reality, that the possibilities for complete artistic con­
and mankind's vulnerability within the world(s) trol over how the film looks need not be the
that it has created. reserve of the animator. Having already di­
This generic reframing of the label no doubt rected Akai Megane [trans: Crimson glasses,
rests on the limited sample of films from the 1987], Keruberosu, Jigoku no Banken [trans: Cer­
higher end of the market best known outside of berus, watchdog of hell, 1991] and Talking Head
Japan-films such as Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira (Tjjkingu Heddo, 1992), Avalon is not Oshii's
(1988) and Rintaro's Metropolis (2001)-rather first live-action movie, but it does represent the
than the broader world of Japanese animation first time that the director has had the ability to
inhabited by the likes of Pikachu, Doraemon, and provide an adequately scaled stage on which to
giggling schoolgirl Chibi Maruko-chan. Oshii's present his ideas within this format.
previous work in animation-from his first the­ On a basic level, The Matrix and Avalon appear
atrical film Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer to explore similar concerns readily identifiable
(1984), through Angel's Egg (Tenshi no Tamago, from Oshii's previous body of work. The Matrix
1985), the Patlaborvideo series (Kidjj Keisatsu Pa­ does so within the tightly crafted framework of
torebii, 1988-90) and its theatrical spin-off Patla­ the Hollywood action movie, as Keanu Reeves'
bor: The Movie (1990), to his script for Hiroyuki character awakens to the fact that the world he
Okiura's The Wolf Brigade (lin-Roh, 1999)-cer­ took for granted is in the hands of a higher power.
tainly fits snugly within this preconceived niche. With Avalon's central axis Ash drawn voluntarily
He was, after all, one of the key figures in el­ into this pixelated simulacrum of reality, Oshii's
evating the worldwide status of Japanese anima­ vision is less apocalyptic, but nonetheless whole­
tion to the level it enjoys today. heartedly pessimistic, almost disdainfully so, a
Around the turn of the millennium it be­ highly feasible extrapolation based on modern
came increasingly common for Hollywood di­ trends in technology and its application.
rectors to checklist the "anime style" as a source Embellishing the live-action footage with
of inspiration. Upon the release of The Matrix computer-generated imagery to create the epic
Reloaded (Larry and Andy Wachowski, 2003 ), as self-contained universe in which the film unfolds
an acknowledgement of this influence, a com­ and in which the elaborate, high-precision, video
pendium of nine short films was produced in game-inspired action sequences are staged, The
conjunction with a number of Japan's top ani­ Matrix celebrates the power of technology in a
mation houses and computer game developers, liberating, explosive fashion. Avalon laments it,
and released onto video under the title The adopting techniques of digital manipulation to
Animatrix, explaining various facets of the back investigate Ash's various levels of reality by selec­
story of The Matrix (1999). tively stripping away the colors from the image.
Furthermore, the Wachowski brothers ex­ Shot in Poland, Avalon plays like an Eastern Eu­
plicitly cited director Oshii's Ghost in the Shell ropean art movie, its look often reminiscent of
(Kjjkaku Kidjjtai, 1995), made prior to the live­ Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker (1979) . The majority
action Avalon, as a film which helped shape their of the "reality" scenes are shot in sepia-toned
vision for The Matrix Reloaded. A touchstone monochrome, with more color filtering through
of techno-animation, it posits a future society to the image the further Ash is from the coldly
reliant upon computer networks for all its eco­ inhuman shades of Avalon's false paradise: for
nomic transactions, enslaved by the caprices of a example, the warm tungsten glow coming from
326 • THE OTHER PLAYERS

the windows of the tram that Ash rides home assailed by helicopters and heavy duty artillery
in through the austere urban landscape, its sky fire. When hit, bodies flatten into two-dimen­
scoured with telephone cables. sional planar projections before shattering into
After a violent "reset," our heroine returns a myriad of triangular shards. One of the rea­
to her bare apartment to prepare herself a meal, sons given for basing the film in Poland was that
the cabbage a lush field of green against a mono­ the cost of utilizing the Polish army made these
chrome background as she slices into it to serve large-scale battle scenes an affordable option.
alongside a luridly bloody hunk of red meat. But it also serves a double purpose, that of the
In another scene, Stunner wolfs down a plate distancing effect that the impenetrably alien­
of eggs and bacon, his chin becoming smeared sounding language of Polish has. Avalon's char­
with vibrant hues of the egg yolk. Compare this acters are addicts, and as such barely in control
to the colorless, tasteless slop that gets served of their own destiny. They are not conventional
up at the end of the food queue in the Avalon dramatic hooks.
canteen. Ash's later emergence into Class Real With Oshii keeping his characters at a de­
is almost overwhelming. liberate arm's length, the stylishly austere visu­
Given this use of Polish locations, oppres­ als and rousing operatic score (courtesy of Kenji
sive and nightmarishly shot by local cinematog­ Kawai, composer for Ghost in the Shell and the
rapher Grzegorz Kedzierski, it's no surprise that first two Ring films) impress rather than involve.
Oshii has declared his admiration for post-war However, the sophisticated Russian doll-like
Eastern bloc cinema, particularly the work of plotting of scriptwriter Kazunori Ito, who along
Andrzej Wajda, director of such films as Gen­ with Oshii's previous film also put his name to
eration (Pokolenie, 1954), Kanal (1957), and Ashes Gamera 3 and Pistol Opera, reveals a plethora
and Diamonds (Popiol I Diament, 1958), from of new levels on subsequent viewings. A testa­
whose title Ash takes her name. Rather than a ment to Oshii's pioneering vision, Avalon is a
gleaming mirage of utopia, the future face of the technically stunning achievement, offering a
city in Avalon is a purely functional one, bleak myriad of new avenues to be explored for both
and rundown, where those constructions that viewers and future filmmakers alike.
have served their purpose are left to decay and
those who have fallen through the gaps in the
social fabric seek escapism from their humdrum
everyday existence through ultra-violent inter­ -J., Bad Com pany
active computer gaming, their behavior goal-di­ *�t':t;,
rected toward the entirely abstract-winning is Mabudachi
all that matters. If this is reality, then one can
understand the desire to transcend it, but the 2001. Tomoyuki Furumaya, tiJR��. CAST: Yama­
virtual world of Avalon hardly seems more pal­ to Okitsu, Ryosuke Takahashi, Yuta Nakajima,
atable: a terrifying war zone in which death lies Ken Mitsuishi. 98 minutes. RELEASES: VHS, Tiger
around every corner. Releases (Holland, Dutch subtitles).
The sequences within the game of Avalon
itself are almost intentionally non-dramatic, like A junior high school student rebels against the
fragments of a forgotten dream that break up stifling school climate, where discipline is all and
Ash's waking life. Nevertheless, Oshii's onscreen the individual means nothing. An unsentimental
rendition of the advanced gameworld is nothing look back at growing up in the '80s, sometimes
short of stunning. Tanks roll across open plains disturbing, but often poignant.
as the players hide out in towering fortresses,
 Bad Company . 327

Largely autobiographical, Bad Company is the trayed as an authoritarian and patriarchal figure,
tale of junior high school rebel Sadatomo and but also a human one. He is a man who believes
his clashes with teachers, authorities, and par­ he is doing the right thing and he is capable
ents. A layabout, Sadatomo takes his two clos­ of giving his pupils genuine encouragement,
est friends (both impressionable lads, as boys in even if those moments are few and far between.
their early teens tend to be) on extended ses­ Likewise, the children themselves are three-di­
sions of school-skipping, shoplifting, and van­ mensional characters, whose often conflicting
dalism. Their transgressions usually amount to actions show the confusion they must be feeling
little more than mischief and none of them truly in their situations. Furumaya's view of growing
has the making of a criminal, but for Sadatomo up is the point of view of an adult who realizes
this mischief is a method of rebellion against that if he wishes to come to terms with his past,
the heavily regimented school climate-a cli­ he can't escape the need for honesty.
mate which not so much exists to teach children
knowledge, but rather to program them for "I like Stephen King's Stand By Me a lot, the
their inevitable role in adult society. novel rather than the film. The ending is similar

In fact, throughout the film the children are to that of Bad Company, except that all the

taught virtually nothing in the way of factual characters die, aside from the protagonist.

knowledge. Their teacher, Mr. Kobayashi, gives They went on an adventure to search for a
lessons in discipline and obedience instead of dead body, and by going through that adven­
math or literature. Though he often raises valid ture they became adults. But once they were
points, his methods are Spartan, even abusive. adults, they died. To me, it seems that the
Since the children are obliged to go to school, author says that it isn't so easy to become an
there is no escaping his often humiliating and adult-to become an adult simply by passing
sometimes downright degrading psychological an initiation no longer holds true. To think so

approach, which includes categorizing his young is fruitless. If you manage to escape from that
pupils in a "humanity index" with the levels "de­ way of thinking, then you are free to tell your
linquents," "scum," and "people." The end result own stories."
may make them obedient citizens ready to do
their part for the greater good of society, but it As with Akihiko Shiota's Don't Look Back,
comes at the price of their individual free wills. which it in some ways resembles, Bad Company
is a universal story transposed to the world of
"My junior high school years were probably the children. Story-wise it is modeled on a pair of
hardest time I've had. Even if I had a time ma­ Stanley Kubrick films; the teacher's relentless
chine, I would never want to go back to that hammering on discipline, obedience, and rules
period. What's shown in the film is pretty much echoes R. Lee Ermey's memorable performance
what I've lived through. Bad Company was the as the drill sergeant in Full Metal Jacket, while
result of reflections about my junior high period the behavior of Sadatomo and his two friends
and how I could have lived a more joyful high and the development they go through in the
school life. What was lacking? The film came course of the film is remarkably similar to that
out of those reflections."-Tomoyuki Furumaya of Alex DeLarge and his droogs in A Clockwork
Orange. In fact, the story structure of Bad Com­
Refreshingly free of sentimentality and rose­ pany and Kubrick's 1971 masterpiece are virtu­
tinted nostalgia, Bad Company's autobiographical ally identical, with the main character going
look at childhood is one of nuance and truthful­ through a process that takes him from delin­
ness. The character of Mr. Kobayashi is por- quency to punishment to submission and back
328 • THE OTHER PLAYERS

to delinquency again. And like Kubrick's film, than being in my previous situation. Before,
Bad Company contrasts conformity with free in­ I was constantly dealing with wishing that
dividual thought in a manner that is challenging I could do what I wanted to do, which is to
and thought provoking. By having delinquency make films, and with not being able to do it be­

represent free thought, Furumaya makes the cause I was afraid of the hard work that comes

moral choice more difficult for the audience, along with it. Maybe I'm just a sissy."

testing their tolerance and forcing them to

question their own value system. How much of Sissy or not, Bad Company showed that the
our individual freedom are we willing to give hard work paid off. The film had its world pre­
up to stamp out those we label delinquents (or miere at the 2001 Rotterdam Film Festival in
criminals, or terrorists)? It's an effect similar to Holland, long a hotbed for emerging young
that achieved by Kinji Fukasaku's Battle Royale, Japanese filmmakers, where it scooped both the
to which this is an excellent companion piece. jury prize and the international critics' prize.
Although the film and its festival success went
"I haven't seen Sattle Royale. There's only one largely unnoticed by Japanese audiences, the
death in Sad Company. If It's true that fifty industry certainly sat up to take notice. Furu­
people die in Sattle Royale, and I managed to maya's next film would be the major studio pro­
say the same things with only one character duction Robocon (2003).
dying, then I think I did pretty well."

Bad Company was only director Furumaya's

second film. It was made after a six-year hiatus .,v Final Fantasy: The Spi rits With i n
from directing that followed his debut film This 771-rJv77';/YY-
Window Is Yours (Kono Mado wa Kimi no Mono, Fainaru F antafi
1996). Despite the good reception for his first
film, Furumaya disappeared from the filmmak­ 2001. DIRECTOR: Hironobu Sakaguchi, ;JRoiWf1§.
ing scene, only re-emerging five years later to VOICE CAST: Ming-Na, Alec Baldwin, Ving Rhames,
work as an assistant director on Shinji Aoyama's Steve Buscemi, Peri Gilpin, Donald Sutherland.
Eureka. That film's producer, Takenori Sent6, 106 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Columbia Tri-Star
was also the man who had produced Furumaya's (U. S. , English/French subtitles), Columbia Tri­
debut film, and the one responsible for dragging Star (U. K. , English subtitles), Amuse (Japan,
the young director back into filmmaking. English/Japanese subtitles).

"Making a movie Is a lot of hard work and gen· Landmark piece of CGI a nimati on is unfortu­
erally a big bother. So I think I was escaping nately flawed by a leaden script about an alien
from that burden during those seven years. invasion of Earth, in this costly U . S .-J ap anese
I just spent my time doing a part-time job In co-p roduction .
construction. If I would escape from making
films, I would escape from life. I wanted to The year 2001 was notable for the film industry.
make films, but I didn't do It because I was In a summer which counted Tomb Raider (Simon
afraid of the effort it requires. In that situation West), The Mummy Returns (Stephen Som­
you develop real self-loathing. But the producer mers), and Cats and Dogs (Lawrence Guterman)
Mr. Senti) pushed me to make another film, so among its list of blockbusters, throughout the
finally I started again. Then once I'd started big screens of the world the usual established
I noticed that it was much more comfortable Hollywood stars were conspicuous by their ab-
 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within • 329

sence. Instead, the real box office draws were mation director Andy Jones and produced by
for the most part artificially rendered, touched Square Pictures, a new production company
up or embellished, as advances in Computer based in Honolulu overseen by Jun Aida and for­
Generated Imagery (CGI) were pushed to the mer head of ColumbiafTri-Star Chris Lee, and a
fore, pointing to new possible directions that subsidiary of one of Japan's largest games devel­
the leaps in this still relatively new technology opers, Square, Final Fantasy might not be a Japa­
provided. nese film in the strictest sense of the word. But
By the end of the summer audiences must based on a series of computer games of the same
have become rather blase about all this new hi­ name created by Hironobu Sakamoto that began
tech razzle-dazzle, if the disappointing box of­ in 1987, its pedigree lies firmly in the East.
fice performance of Final Fantasy: The Spirits Whilst its crossover appeal was undoubt­
Within is anything to go by. Different in the edly hampered by the low expectations raised by
scope of its ambitions from the other films of previous cinematic tie-ins with the game world,
the year, rather than use CGr as a cosmetic ad­ which include the Super Mario Brothers (Annabel
dition to the real-life action, the goals of this Jankel, Rocky Morton, 1993), the Jean-Claude
U.S.-Japanese co-production based on the long Van Damme vehicle Street Fighter (Steven E. de
running video game franchise were nothing Souza, 1994), and Mortal Kombat (Paul Ander­
less than the complete rendering of an artificial son, 1995), its title notwithstanding, The Spirits
world so convincing that it was indistinguishable Within is only tenuously linked to the original
from the real thing. Rather than the cartoonish Final Fantasy video game series. The first of
creations of such other wholly computer-mod­ these, Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest (1987), was a
eled worlds as the same year's Shrek, with every two-dimensional scrolling fantasy adventure for
skin blemish and strand of hair modeled to per­ the Nintendo Famicom with the action viewed
fection, at times Final Fantasy's avatars seemed from above, though as the series progressed
more human than human. through to the first for the Playstation 2 con­
But even as pundits within the industry were sole, Final Fantasy X, released in the same year
busy predicting a more or less total convergence as the movie, the action moved toward a more
of interactive gaming and large-screen enter­ three-dimensional realism.
tainment, audiences were voting with their feet. Interestingly, there had already been an ani­
Four years and an estimated $140 million in the mated spin-off from the game series in 1993,
making, Final Fantasy sank like a stone at the box Final Fantasy: Legend of the Crystals, directed by
office, a virtually forgotten memory to be con­ Rintaro, an original video series of four episodes
signed to the bottom of bargain DVD racks. more firmly grounded in the original material.
The costly flop of Final Fantasy, which led Sakaguchi's story for The Spirits Within, how­
to the demise of its production company Square ever, divorces itself from the mystical fantasy
Pictures, rather belittles the achievements of world created in the games, into thematic and
what represented, and to some extent still does, stylistic territory bearing more semblance to
the state of the art of 3 D computer animation. Japanese anime such as Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in
The virtues of this groundbreaking technical the Shell (1995), though unfortunately without
exercise are so self-evident that they draw at­ quite the same level of intellectual rigor.
tention to what the film lacks. Final Fantasy re­ Scripted by AI Reinart and Jeff Vintar from
mains a fascinating case study in that, although Sakaguchi's original idea, straightaway it be­
visually nothing short of stunning, in many ways comes evident that the greatest weakness lies in
it perhaps represents an evolutionary dead end. a leaden script that takes itself far too seriously, a
With an international staff overseen by ani- half-baked mishmash of sci-fi cliches, hackneyed
330 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

dialogue, and some potentially interesting but animation or live-action. On a frame-by-frame

ultimately undeveloped core ideas. It is almost basis, they certainly achieve this, making full use
ironic that, given the huge number of man-hours of the ability to capture the minutiae that the
invested in the project, the end results should be camera might miss: the veins throbbing on the
hampered by something so fundamental. backs of the characters' hands, the tears form­
Set on Earth in the year 2065, for the past ing in their eyes, every piece of grit lying on the
3 4 years mankind has been waging a losing war floor, the action reflected in every sleek metallic
against the Phantoms, pulsating translucent be­ contour of this future world.
ings transported to the planet on the back of a In the opening moments of Final Fantasy we
giant meteor. As the team of assorted militarists, see our heroine, Aki, gazing over the surface of a
technicians, and scientists convene for a meet­ gnarled rocky planet, hair billowing in the wind
ing to discuss the future of their planet, with and the moon mirrored in her eye, eclipsing the
conventional weapons proving useless, Dr. Aki iris. It is the first of many such overwhelmingly
Ross and her mentor, Dr. Sid, stress the belief lucid images that permeate this work. But inter­
that the threat can be overcome by creating an estingly, such a strict adherence to reality is by
opposing anti-energy wave to cancel out the life point of reference to a familiar cinematic ren­
force of the invaders. Their research is based on dering, via such artificially introduced flaws such
James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis, which views as focus pulls, lens flares, and camera wobbles.
the Earth as a global ecosystem that sustains and Using sophisticated motion capture tech­
regulates itself like a living organism and whose niques, when seen in long shot, the charac­
inhabitants all possess a "spirit" that endures ters move with such kinesthetic precision that,
after death. Their plan is violently dismissed out throughout, the eye is often fooled into believ­
of hand by General Hein as New Age phooey. ing that we are indeed watching real-life actors
Hein himself wishes to unleash the devastating performing within the confines of an epic-bud­
fury of the Zeus Cannon and nothing is going get science fiction action movie. Only when
to stop him. seen close up do the characters reveal their
In 1995, Disney's and Pixar's Toy Story (di­ shortcomings. Final Fantasy's synthespians look
rected by John Lasseter) had become the first like humans, and move like humans, but are
feature film fully animated by computer to be they convincing as characters?
released into theaters worldwide. There was a Aki makes for an undeniably stunning cre­
brief delay before Disney's main rival in the field, ation of supermodel perfection, and in terms of
DreamWorks SKG, got in on the act with Antz the Hollywood action hero archetype her lover
(1998), its release coming almost hand in hand Captain Gray Edwards is no less charismatic
with the first company's A Bug's Life the same than Ben Affleck, with whom he bears a cer­
year, but arguably the DreamWorks film suf­ tain physical resemblance. With his eyebrows
fered for the very reason Disney's one worked. arched over a broad, flattened forehead, Hein is
With notably more detail to the images, it was little more than a one-dimensional caricature of
too busy trying to showcase the technical ad­ militarism in the vein of Steven Seagal. But the
vances its makers had made in the medium than best of Hollywood's character actors owe more
tell a good and simple story, which was one of than looks to their success. Tics such as the
Toy Story's greatest assets. downward twitch of the mouth of Hugh Grant,
Square's stated goal with Final Fantasy was the doe-eyed pout of Meg Ryan, the much em­
to lend its world the illusion of complete photo­ ulated seditious smirk of Jack Nicholson; love
realism, achieving a level of detail and control them or hate them, it is these little human de­
that would be impossible in either conventional tails that make their characters so resonant with
 Firefly Dreams . 331

audiences around the world. Their artificiality undoubtedly raises the stakes in the field, ulti­
exacerbated by the crude dialogue, Final Fanta­ mately it lacks a heart beating beneath its sur­
ry's characters never advance beyond the level of face. Mainstream audiences require more than
automatons. It will be interesting to see whether mere technical innovation, and without their
future creations within the medium will ever be support, at present such projects represent a
able to invoke as much in the way of pathos or huge commercial risk. For the field to develop
anxiety as their human counterparts. further beyond the mere slavish emulation of
Somehow, though, such lacunae in the char­ live-action cinema into an art form in its own
acters lend the end results a rather dreamlike right, however, the risk-taking must come at
quality. In all other details, this could so easily a more conceptual level. Until then, it's clear
be the real world. There are other giveaways that the medium is far better served by Disney's
too: A kinetic jeep ride through a desolate city more humanistic approach of simplification and
lacks the inertia of a live-action chase, the ve­ anthropomorphism.
hicle looking for all the world like a scaled
down toy. But these are just isolated factors,
the distancing device of spectacle for the sake
of spectacle drawing attention to the hallucino­ � Fi refly Dreams
genic usage of lighting, color, and form. What "lijl;t'lv�l"l2l
the film lacks in dramatic tension it more than Ichiban Utsukushii Natsu
makes up for in such extraordinary sequences as
Aki's recurrent dreams of an arid planet swarm­ 2001. DIRECTOR: John Williams, :/3/'.>/11)710.
ing with scuttling armored killers. ;7::. CAST: Maho Ukai, Yoshie Minami, Tsutomu
Final Fantasy is undoubtedly the apogee of Niwa, Etsuko Kimata, Chie Miyajima, Atsushi
realistic 3 D animation, and it has yet to be su­ Ono, Sadayasu Yamakawa, Kyoko Kanemoto.
perseded within the full-length feature format, 104 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Groove Pictures
though prior to the plug being pulled on Square (Japan, English subtitles).
Pictures, animation director Andy Jones took
the helm for Final Flight of the Osiris, the first Touching tale of cross-generational friendship be­
and only CGI section of The Animatrix, the tween a tearaway seventeen-year-old girl and a
animated video compendium to the Wachowski carefree octogenarian is one of the most pictur­
brothers' The Matrix series. Using techniques esque and refreshing films made in Japan in re­
developed for the Final Fantasy project, it was, cent years, and the director isn't even Japanese.
if anything, an even more remarkable techni­
cal accomplishment. In Japan, there had already Kitano might have headed West to make Broth­
been several attempts at pursuing the cinematic er, and the influence of John Woo and the Hong
hyper-realistic ends pioneered by Final Fantary, Kong style on mainstream Hollywood cinema
albeit of a more modest nature, including the in the late ' 90s is incontestable, but there's been
straight-to-video releases of Malice@Doll (Keit­ precious little traffic in the opposite direction.
ar6 Motonaga, 2000) and Blue Remains (To­ British director John Williams is an exception.
shifumi Takizawa, 2000), though both lack the Growing up in Wales, he made his first film
same sense of scale and detail. at the age of fourteen on a secondhand 16mm
Whilst CGI technology is endless in its Bolex camera. After studying at Cambridge Uni­
possibilities to control every dimension of its versity, he spent two years working as a French
onscreen world, it is also a time-consuming teacher in North London before the travel bug
and expensive business. Whilst Final Fantary bit and he relocated to Nagoya in 1988.
 "I planned to stay for a couple of years, travel
in Asia, make some cash, and finish a script I
was working on, which a producer in London
had shown a slight interest in. I never imag­
ined that I would settle down here in Japan."­
John Williams

Williams' first feature, the slow but assured

Firefly Dreams, a touching story of a cross-gen­
erational friendship between a teenage tearaway
and a carefree octogenarian, is the first fruit of
this unique cultural background, yet you' d be
hard pressed to tell it wasn't made by a local.
Aside from a couple of English names on the
credits list (including the composer of the boun­
cy musical score, Paul Rowe), Firefly Dreams is
to all intents and purposes a Japanese film, using
an all-Japanese cast and targeted at a Japanese
audience. It admirably avoids projecting a for­
eigner's perspective on the proceedings and digs
deep beneath the surface superficialities to touch
on something far more universally resonant.

"Many of the reactions to the film have cen­

tered around the apparent strangeness of a

'Japanese' film made by a non-Japanese direc­
tor. In some ways this is very flattering and
in other senses it is somewhat disappointing.
I didn't set out consciously to make a 'Japa­
nese' film. I'm not sure what one of those is."

Seventeen-year-old Naomi could be any one

of a million aimless youths in Japan: a Shibuya
girl wannabe, bottle blonde and face plastered in
orange foundation, mobile phone permanently
grafted to her head, and her pink lipsticked pout
puffing petulantly at a cigarette as her mother
gives her a dressing down for skipping school
and staying out all night. Problems at home
could be to blame for her moody and uncoop­
erative behavior, with Naomi making no secret
of her distaste for her mother's new boyfriend.
T he most obvious immediate solution seems to
be to ship the bolshie city brat off away from the
bad influence of her friends in Nagoya to spend
Firefly Dreams
 GO • 333

the summer in the country working at a rural fly Dreams' implicit message here is that Naomi
inn owned by her father's sister and her family. and Koide-san are essentially the same character,
At first the change of environment seems just at completely different stages in their lives
to be doing little for the restless young girl, her having lived through different circumstances. In
brow knitted in a barely disguised scowl as she fact, Naomi's life is actually incredibly boring in
waits on tables of drunken old men at the hotel comparison to that lived by the older woman.
and gripes at the incessant nattering of her re­
tarded cousin, Yumi. Seeing that things are not "Although the members of the younger genera­

working out, her aunt instead suggests that she tion have so many choices in terms of what

look after an aging relative, Koide-san, who they can buy, I really wonder how many choic­

lives alone on a small farm where Naomi used es they actually have in terms of how they can

to play as a small child. Koide-san, however, is live. Of course, the women of Koide's genera­

slowly losing her faculties to Alzheimer's and at tion were much less free, but the women who

first, much to Naomi's chagrin, doesn't even re­ did challenge the status quo in the pre- and

member her as a small girl. post-war years were very inspiring."

Initially the two respectfully keep their dis­

tance from one another, with Naomi being of Naomi and Koide-san's cross-generational
little assistance in the farmyard chores as, rather friendship is embellished by the touching in­
than chipping her nail varnish, she leaves the re­ terplay between newcomer Maho Ukai and 85-
silient but dignified older woman to get on with year-old Yoshie Minami, a veteran of the stage
such day-to-day duties as beheading chickens for who started acting in the all-female Takarazuka
the local inn. However, as she spends more time revue troupe prior to the war. With the majority
at the farm the ice begins to melt, and she soon of her work spent in theater, she had a small part
comes to realize that the "daft old cow" once had in Akira Kurosawa's Ikiru (1952), and is now a
a pretty adventurous life of her own, working in familiar face thanks to her lovable grandmother
a munitions factory in Tokyo during the war and roles on television.
even appearing in a film called "Among the Fire­ Similarly noteworthy is Yoshinobu Hayano's
flies." As the summer progresses, the two women beautiful photography of the Horaicho region
find that beyond the age gap, they have consider­ in Aichi prefecture in central Japan, bringing
ably more in common than they first thought. a seductive calmness to the screen as it evokes
Japanese cinema at the turn of the millen­ its rural idyll against the soporific throb of cica­
nium saw quite a run of dramas featuring rebel­ das. Shots such as one in which the two women
lious, directionless teenage girls. These ran from walk across a grassy meadow in their kimonos
Masato Harada's Bounce KoGals, to Ryliichi Hi­ beneath the shade of a parasol invoke memories
roki's Tokyo Trash Baby and Kaze Shindo's Lovel of painters such as Monet or Renoir, bringing
Juice (2000). Though Firefly Dreams, (whose an Impressionist's attention to light and color.
Japanese title translates as "A Most Beautiful Curiously it remains his only film credit, for he
Summer") is more obviously situated within the contributes an atmosphere to the film that will
rite of passage genre, it makes an ideal compan­ linger long past its running time.
ion piece to Makoto Shinozaki's Not Forgotten.
Both films are subtle reminders of just how far
the offspring of Japan's bubble years, one which ..v GO
has had more or less everything handed to them
on a plate, have grown away from the one that DIRECTOR: Isao Yukisada, 1TIEl\lJ.L CAST: YO­
200 1 .
lived through war, defeat, and occupation. Fire- suke Kubozuka, K6 Shibasaki, Shinobu Otake,
334 • THE OTHER PLAYERS

blance to the country it was a hundred years ago.

Within the cultural, political, and economic do­
mains Japan has certainly absorbed much more
from abroad than it has given in return. The only
level in which pure "Japanese-ness" remains un­
sullied is ethnicity. You may speak Japanese, you
may look Japanese, you may have been born in
Japan, but unless you can trace your lineage back
to the Tokugawa period, to the indigenous in­
habitants you'll always be an outsider.
Hair trendily spiked, and a defiant swagger
in his walk, Sugihara could be any other rebel­
without-a-clue Japanese high school student,
were it not for the fact that he's not just the kid
from the wrong side of the tracks; he's from the
wrong side of the Japan Sea, a second-generation
North Korean permanent resident, or zainichi.
However, such definitions sit badly with him.
"If I' m a Japanese resident Korean, that means
I' m going back." Fat chance, having already
been thrown out of the austere cloistered cor­
ridors of his North Korean school for swearing
at the teacher in Japanese. His decision to move
GO to a Japanese school wins him a certain degree of
respect from his former zainichi fellow students,
Tsutomu Yamazaki, Takahito Hosoyamada, Hi­ but it opens him up to a stream of violence from
rofumi Arai. 122 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Toei his new classmates. Fortunately, his greatest
Video (Japan, no subtitles), IVL (Hong Kong, Eng­ form of defense comes from the boxing lessons
lish/Chinese subtitles). he has received from his father (Yamazaki) since
childhood. His second is that, like most Kore­
Yukisada's adaptation of Kazuki Kaneshiro's ans, to the outside eye he is indistinguishable to
novel detailing the trials of a high school the Japanese, a factor that seems the most likely
"zainichi," or North Korean foreign resident, may passport into full integration with his adopted
seem occasionally overstated, but makes for homeland in the pristine form of high school
powerful, touching viewing. princess Sakurai (Shibasaki). However, for all
their shared love of non-Japanese rap music and
Remember that old philosophical brain-teaser Bruce Lee movies, the question lingers as to
that states that if you have a boat, and over a pe­ whether Sakurai is still prepared to accept Sugi­
riod of time you replace each piece of wood bit hara once she learns about his true origins.
by bit as it begins to rot, once you have replaced Foreign critics have been quick to point out
every last plank is it the same boat as when you Japan's strained relationship with its neighbor­
started? A similar conundrum can be read­ ing Asian countries and the prejudice faced by
ily applied to the question of national identity. ethnic Asians living in Japan. Some have stated
Perhaps more than most countries, on a purely that the issue is completely brushed under the
superficial level modern Japan bears little resem- carpet, but the truth is GO, which received a
 GO • 335

simultaneous theatrical release in Japan and laid down to a compulsive pounding soundtrack
South Korea, is not the first film treatment of and a continuous voiceover from its sage-like
Japanese discrimination directly against Kore­ hero, it is deeply reminiscent of Danny Boyle's
ans. It is, however, one of the first major films to Trainspotting (1996) in its raw energy. This fac­
challenge existing preconceptions about Japa­ tor combined with its focus on Asian ethnics
nese identity within such a commercial format. living in Japan is likely to draw attention away
That it does so in such a moving and high-spir­ from director Yukisada's previous work-which
ited fashion makes it even more worthy of note. includes Sunflower (Himawari, 2000) and Luxu­
It's not just the issue of prejudice, reflected rious Bone (Zeitaku na Hone, 2001)-to his role
in the unconscious racism of Sakurai, that is as assistant director on Shunji Iwai's Swallowtail
tackled, but that of racial identity in general. In Butterfly (1996), another slick tale of Asians liv­
the early scenes Sugihara's father cashes in his ing in Japan.
North Korean passport for a South Korean one, Yukisada worked on a number of films by
ostensibly so that he can take his wife (Otake) Iwai aside from Swallowtail Butterfly, including
on holiday to Hawaii, much to the disgust of his Love Letter (1995) and April Story (Shigatsu Mo­
son. One of Sugihara's former classmates from nogatari, 1998), and has certainly absorbed some
his North Korean junior high school berates of his mentor's style. His next work after GO,
him for such capitalistic acts of betrayal as wear­ the following year's Rock 'n' Roll Mishin (Rokkun­
ing jeans and listening to Mariah Carey (ad­ roru Mishin), was centered around a group of
mittedly, a heinous crime whatever part of the young friends setting up a new designer cloth­
globe you stem from). ing brand. This was followed by a video-only
Sugihara's desire to break through the release of the glossy forty-minute long promo
boundaries is shared by his best friend, nerdy Tsuki ni Shizumu [trans: Sinking into the moon]
brainbox Jong-II (Hosoyamada), who sees the for top pop idol Ayumi Hamasaki's single Voy­
insularity imposed upon them through the ex­ age, released at the tail end of 2002.
clusively Korean-speaking minzoku schools, The year 2003 saw the long-belated release
in which they are drilled with the communist of Yukisada's debut film, Open House, the story
spirit, as equally unhealthy. He is instrumen­ of a young woman coping with loneliness in
tal in pointing to a broader world outside of the aftermath of a divorce. An adaptation of the
both Japan and Korea when he lends Sugihara novel of the same name by Jinsei Tsuji, Open
a translated copy of Shakespeare's Romeo and House was made in 1998 but shelved for six years
Juliet, from which the film's opening quote, due to the internal coup within its distributor
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose, Shochiku that saw the dismissal of company
by any other name would smell so sweet?" is president Toru Okuyama and his son, execu­
taken, a reminder that, as our hero tells us on tive director Kazuyoshi Okuyama. The year
several occasions, this is after all a love story. 2003 also saw the premiere at the 16th Tokyo
Adapted from the novel of the same name by International Film Festival of A Day on the
Kazuki Kaneshiro, himself a zainichi, from the Planet (Kyo no Dekigoto), a tale of seven college
opening scenes where our beleaguered protago­ students meeting for a drunken house party in
nist receives a pasting on the basketball court Kyoto whilst news breaks over the TV about a
(from his own team no less), GO sets forth its man stuck between two buildings and a whale
agenda in a vital, spirited fashion. Along with its stranded on a local beach. Yukisada intended
semi-comedic asides, surrealistic touches, and the film to celebrate the fleeting, inconsequen­
a style marked out by a use of such modernist tial moments of our lives that go on as major
techniques as freeze frames and jump cuts, all climactic events rock the worlds of those around
336 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

us, but with overly "cute" performances from The year 1993 saw Konzen Jisatsu Manyuaru
the principal cast and a distinct lack of focus, the [trans: The complete manual of suicide] riding
results are rather slight. high in the best-seller book charts in Japan, giv­
Whilst GO has far stronger source material ing guidelines as to a number of the most effi­
to work with, through the in-your-face violence cient ways to kill yourself. Apparently the most
and dazzling virtuosity of its approach it often painless and foolproof method is to down a bot­
comes dangerously close to overstating its case tle of sake, fall asleep in a big pile of snow, and
in a manner that is more cinematic flourish than freeze to death. This seems to be the favored ap­
verisimilitude. In this respect it is easy to criticize proach of the two self-destructive characters of
GO's exaggerated focus on the individual racism Koza-Hana, as they blaze a one-way trail across
that its protagonist suffers over the deeply in­ the frozen expanses of Hokkaido, the north­
grained institutionalized racism, which ensures ernmost of the four main islands that make up
that even after several generations, many resident Japan. A barren, snowy wilderness settled only
Koreans are still refused Japanese passports. 120 years ago, it has long been seen as the wild
Nevertheless, Kubozuka, a top teen heart­ frontier of the Japanese popular imagination.
throb in Japanese cinema in the early 2000s after Privileged Ministry of Education employee
his roles in Fujira Mitsuishi's Tomie Replay (2000), Renji's life is in a shambles. Since his mother
Junichi Mori's Laundry (Randori, 2002), Furni­ died the previous year, his drinking habits have
hiko "Sori" Masuri's Ping Pong (Pin Pon, 2002), sent him on a downward spiral culminating in
and Kenji Sonoda's Madness in Bloom (Kyoki no the humiliating spectacle of hitting the news­
Sakura, 2002), fills his role as Sugihara with an paper headlines after being caught pilfering a
affable punkish charm that is hard to resist, and fish sausage from a convenience store. When
the film picked up a number of awards at the the bitter aftermath of a fling with an office
2001 Japan Academy Awards, including one for lady associate sees her pressing charges of sex­
Best Director. GO's dramatic trajectory may be a ual misconduct against him, he decides to put
fairly well-traveled one, but in its stronger mo­ as much distance between himself and Tokyo
ments, such as the romantic interplay between as possible until things cool down. Waking
Kubozuka and Shibasaki, it's undeniably affect­ up drunk in Hokkaido Airport, he bumps into
ing, and as such it is one of the most compelling Yuriko, a single young woman who tries to wave
and thought-provoking films of its year. him aside. There's a vague glimmer of recollec­
tion in his eyes, but as Yuriko counters, "You'll
forget me again when you're sober." Neverthe­
less, she agrees to let Renji tag along with her
-v Kaza-Hana on her own particular mission. The longer the
1!fd.7E two spend in each other's company, the more he
remembers of their initial meeting in a hostess
2001. DIRECTOR: Shinji Somai, ffi*'�=. CAST: bar back in the big city.
Tadanobu Asano, Kyoko Koizumi, Kumiko Aso. Yuriko has a rather stronger sense of pur­
116 minutes. RELEASES: DVD, Taki (Japan, English pose for being in Hokkaido as she returns to her
subtitles). home town to retrieve her abandoned daughter
Kaori, after the five years since her husband's
This tragicomedy road movie of two lost souls death in a car crash forced her down to Tokyo
drifting across Hokkaido is the final offering from where she has since been working as a sex club
one of the most respected directors in Japan of hostess. During her absence her mother has
the past two decades. been looking after the child, but when Yuriko
 A Tender Place • 337

returns expecting to be reintegrated into the Knza-Hana was the final film of Shinji
family unit, mother seems unwilling to allow Somai, who died of lung cancer on September
her daughter a second chance. Just as Yuriko is 9, 2001, at the tragically young age of 53 , after
dismissed from the house where she was raised, a long and fruitful career in which the distin­
Renji is dispatched from his office by a curt guished film magazine Kinema Jumpo voted him
mobile phone call from his superior. Both now the top Japanese director of the ' 80s. Starting off
freed from any sense of responsibility, the two as an assistant director for Nikkatsu studios in
drift on through the expansive beauty of Hok­ the 1970s, shortly after going freelance in 1975
kaido towards an uncertain future, and one in Somai became established as one of the fore­
which love seems to be the last thing on either most directors of strong mainstream dramas, his
of their minds. one-take, character-oriented approach wring­
The title of Shinji Somai's film is a Japanese ing out exacting performances from his actors,
word used to describe soft flurries of snow car­ especially children, in films such as his debut
ried in the wind. It is composed of the two kanji Dreamy Fifteen (Tonda Knppuru, 1980), The Catch
characters for "wind" and "flower," which cap­ (Gyoei no Mure, 1983 ), Typhoon Club (Taifo Kura­
ture the complementary natures of Asano's sullen bu, 1986), Moving (Ohikkoshi, 1993 ), The Friends
salaryman, an obnoxious bore when he's sober (Natsu no Niwa, 1994), and Wait and See (Aa,
but a nice guy, albeit a little wayward, when he's Haru, 1999). That none of these ever made it
drunk, and Koizurni's emotionally overwrought far from Japanese shores and that Somai's work
bar hostess with the heart of gold. Pitched half­ remains virtually unknown outside of his own
way between road movie and romantic tragicom­ country remains one of the greatest oversights
edy, Knza-Hana plays like a cross between Rob in the West's appreciation of Asian cinema.
Reiner's The Sure Thing (1985) and Mike Figgis's
Leaving Las Vegas (1995), downplaying the slap­
stick of the former and the relentless somberness
of the latter to focus squarely on the burgeoning � A Tender Place
relationship between its two central characters * � ;6'�9iJi
in their mutual search for redemption. Yawaraka na Hoo
To this end, it benefits from two outstand­
ingly mature central performances. Asano, as 200 1 . DIRECTOR: Shunichi N agasaki. :R llfijt{�-.
the guarded yet erratic Renji, all incoherently CAST: Yuki Amami. Shunsuke Matsuoka. Tomoka­
mumbled apologies, unable to articulate that zu Miura. Kumi Nakamura. Minori Terada. Hideo
his life is falling apart around him, is leagues Murata. Taro Suwa. 201 minutes. RELEASES: DVD.
away from his regular roles as brooding tough Pioneer LDC (Japan. no subtitles).
guy loners. He is ably supported by Koizumi
(former real-life spouse of actor Masatoshi Na­ Epically realized, richly detailed and absorbing
gase) as Yuriko, an apparent failure in her duty character study centered around a terminally ill
as both mother and daughter and frustrated by police detective and a young mother in search of
her inability to keep Renji on track. In the pure her missing daughter across the barren wilder­
terms of its drama, Knza-Hana is near faultless, a ness of Hokkaido.
sturdy, emotive slow-burner equally matched by
its technical virtues and high production values. Released into the world clinging onto the coat­
It's a film whose subdued humanism insinuates tails of Hideo Nakata's The Ring, Nagasaki's
slowly rather than bowls over in its individual chilling ghost story Shikoku (1999) took us way
moments. off the beaten track by setting its horrors on the
338 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

A Tender Place

wooded rural province of the film's name. For to their respective spouses, Kasumi and Ishiyami
A Tender Place, the director transports us to the have been conducting an affair for the past two
remote barren wilderness of Hokkaido, the most years, and under the cover of night the pair creep
northerly of the four main islands that make up down to one of the house's unused storerooms to
Japan, in a powerful and compelling tale shot be together. T he following morning, Kasumi's
using Hi-Vision DV equipment, and based on husband leaves early to take the children on a
an original novel by Natsuo Kirino that ostensi­ walk, but when he returns to the house, their
bly deals with the search of a young mother for older daughter, Yuka, is not with him.
her missing five-year-old daughter. Yuka's disappearance leaves its devastating
Kasumi originally left her isolated Hokkaido mark on both the local Hokkaido community
village home of Kirai at the age of fourteen, sev­ and all those immediately involved. Four years
ering all ties with her parents as she moved to after the fact, with the case firmly closed as far
Tokyo to realize her dream of becoming a de­ as the local police are concerned, Kasumi still
signer. Eighteen years on she is married to her clings on to the hope that her daughter is alive,
employer, with whom she has two young chil­ the couple making an annual visit to Hokkaido
dren, Lisa and Yuka. When the couple decide to to continue the search every year on October 9,
return to the region of her birth, vacationing in the anniversary of the disappearance. With their
a holiday house rented by her husband, they are marriage strained to the breaking point, her hus­
joined by a client of his, Ishiyama (Miura), his band refuses to return for another year, urging
wife Noriko, and their children. Unbeknownst Kasumi to let go of the past and accept what has
 A Tender Place • 339

happened, if not for him then for the sake of their about a psychotherapist who falls in love with a
younger daughter, Lisa. Noriko, meanwhile, potentially murderous patient he is treating for
refuses to return Kasumi's monthly calls and, multiple personality disorder. In the ' 90s he in­
having suspected the affair with her husband, has terspersed more commercial undertakings like
long since divorced Ishiyama, who, after being the hospital drama Nurse Call (Niisu Koru, 1993)
sent into bankruptcy by his latest business ven­ with films that showcase more personal concerns
ture, has also disappeared without a trace. like Some Kinda Love (Romansu, 1 996), a tale of
After the couple make one last desperate ap­ a love triangle amongst thirty-somethings, and
peal on national television, they are contacted Dogs (Doggusu, 1 998), a monochrome drama
by a woman who claims to have seen a scruffy shot on video about a policewoman who, lying
homeless-looking man with a young girl wan­ about a murder she has witnessed, finds herself
dering around the streets of Otaru in Hokkaido. emotionally implicated with the perpetrator.
With Kasumi's husband unwilling to spend any If there is one thing that unites these films,
more time or money on their fruitless search, it's Nagasaki's deft portrayal of female protago­
Kasumi returns to the area alone, where she is nists, also much in evidence in A Tender Place
approached by a retired thirty-one-year-old po­ and in the director's most widely known work
lice detective, Utsumi (Matsuoka). His offer of outside of film buff circles, Shikoku. A contract
help is initially rebuffed by Kasumi, suspicious of job capitalizing on the success of the late-'90s
further police involvement. Terminally ill with boom in supernatural horror co-written with
stomach cancer, his own motivations of helping Takenori Sento, one of the original producers
with the case as a "hobby" seem obscure, but of Nakata's T he Rin g, the film circulated on the
having been involved in the initial investigation, lower half of a double bill with Ring 2. Taking its
he refuses to be waved aside. Unlike Kasumi, name from the fourth and smallest of the main
Utsumi has nothing to gain in finding out what islands that make up Japan, a mountainous rural
happened to Yuka, but with only months to live province famed for its 1 ,400 km long pilgrim­
he might still have a lot to learn about himself. age along the eighty-eight temples established
Born in 1 956, Shunichi Nagasaki first began by the Buddhist saint Kobo Daishi (7 74-83 5),
make 8mm films whilst at art school. One of and a hotbed for the country's indigenous Shinto
the pioneers of the underground 8mm scene of religion, the title means quite literally, Four (shz)
the late ' 70s, Nagasaki quickly found a kindred Kingdoms (koku), after the four original prov­
soul in Sago Ishii and the two directors resolved inces of which it is made up. Four is considered
to collectively exhibit their work outside of the an unlucky number throughout much of East
traditional theatrical circuit. He steadily earned and Southeast Asia for the very reason that shi
himself an impressive reputation on the inde­ is also the pronunciation of the Chinese charac­
pendent filmmaking circuit thanks to such films ter meaning "death." This alternate rendering of
as The Summer Yuki Threw Away Rock Music the first kanji of the film's title is the central con­
(Yuki ga Rokku 0 Suteta Natsu, 1 978), The Back ceit of Nagasaki's film, whose starting point is a
Side of Happy Street (Happi Sutorito Ura, 1 979), children's story by Masako Banda, a writer who
The Lonely Hearts Club Band in September (Ku­ grew up in the island's Kochi Prefecture. Anoth­
gatstl no Jodan Kurabubando, 1 982), and his entry er one of her works, Inugami, was also adapted
into Takenori Sento's TV anthology series J­ for the screen the following year by the same
Movie Wars, entitled Wild Side. production group, directed by Masato Harada.
Nagasaki's reputation was consolidated with Shikoku is a fairly pedestrian addition to the
a prize at the 1 989 Tokyo International Film Fes­ genre, owing much to its predecessors in both
tival for The Enchantment (Yuwakusha), a thriller style and formula. At the core there's the same
340 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

A Tender Place

male-female investigative pairing pitting their Kenki Saegusa's glossy Rashomon remake MISTY
wits against a central ghostly figure of a young in 1997, Takashi Ishii's Black Angel 2 in 1998,
girl in a white dress (introducing the young and Masato Harada's Inugamt) returning to the
Chiaki Kuriyama as the ghostly Sayori, later to provincial region of her childhood only to be
appear in Battle Royale and Quentin Tarantino's confronted by the ghosts of her past. The main
Kill Bill), and an approach to the material that difference is that Kasumi's estrangement from
favors sedate and somber scares over breakneck the bleak environment where she was brought
pacing and buckets of blood and grue. Nagasa­ up was her own choice, rather than Hinako's
ki's greatest asset is perhaps the locale of Shi­ sudden uprooting from Shikoku's childhood
koku itself, shot in bleached, hazy hues and long idyll by her parents' move to the big city, and
twilight shadows in the external scenes, and that the ensuing barriers that greet the heroine
drenched out in the interiors by shafts of natu­ upon the return journey are manifested as psy­
ral sunlight that stream through the windows of chological rather than supernatural ones.
the deserted property where much of the more Nagasaki adopts a similar approach in A Ten­
spine-tingling events occur. der Place to that of Dutch director George Slu­
Similar to Nagasaki's earlier film Shikoku, A izer in The Vanishing (Spoorloos, 1988) in which
Tender Place focuses on a modern Tokyo career a young teacher searches for his missing girl­
woman (here superbly played by Yuki Amami, a friend abducted whilst on a holiday in France,
former star of the Takarazuka revue troupe, per­ using the compulsive drive of the classic detec­
haps best known in the movies for her roles in tive story, as leads are followed desperately to
 Blue Spring • 341

their logical end points and the narrative is lib­ Originally intended as a feature length ad­
erally scattered with red herrings and investiga­ aptation for the satellite TV channel BS-i by its
tive dead ends: the mysterious disappearance of producers Office Shirous, Nagasaki found his
Ishiyama; the subsequent shotgun suicide of the ambitiously detailed script, which uses Kirino's
owner of the vacation house, Izumi, apparently novel only as a starting point, soon growing
in the face of accumulated debt; and the alleged rapidly in both scope and length. It was eventu­
pedophilic activities of its caretaker, Mizushima ally screened in two parts on Tv, and later the­
(Suwa), now shacked up with Izumi's widow. atrically in the Higashi Nakano Box cinema in
The absence of any concrete evidence and the Tokyo as part of a program to showcase a num­
faltering subjective memory of all those who ber of films shot in the Hi-Vision DV format.
may or may not hold the key to the mystery lead It also played at a number of international fes­
the two investigators, and the viewer, to a multi­ tivals which included Vancouver, London, and
tude of differing conclusions. Rotterdam. Arguably, the story would have ben­
efited from being shot on film to capture more
"The author originally set out with a particular fully the uncompromising savage beauty of his
culprit in mind, but I learned later that while chosen locale. Nagasaki nevertheless handles
she was writing the novel she gave up on that the medium in a mature and assured manner
Idea. When I heard about that, I thought that that seldom draws attention to itself without
maybe it would be better to keep this kind of resorting to showy technique or the standard
ambiguity In the film as well. As I was shooting practice of a musical accompaniment on the
the film, I myself definitely had a guilty party soundtrack to build both mood and character.
In mind. But what I was interested In showing That he manages to keep us riveted throughout
was the dark part In everybody, not just In the the lengthy three-hours-plus running time is a
heroine, but also in the other characters. They testimony to his actors and his own skills as a
all have their dark side, within the scope of filmmaker. A substantial and absorbing mood
this crime as well. That's what really appealed piece, rich in detail, raw in emotional charge,
to me In the story."-Shunichl Nagasaki thought provoking, gripping, and poignant, A
Tender Place is nothing short of a masterpiece.
Both Kasumi and Utsumi conduct their in­
vestigation less in the hope of finding out what
exactly happened, or why it happened, but as
an end in itself, a continuing search for their -¥ Blue Spring
own individual senses of identity and purpose. Wltlt'f
Deep in her heart, Kasumi knows her quest is a Aoi Haru
hopeless one, yet seems destined to remain in a
permanent state of limbo until she can come to 2002. DIRECTOR: Toshiaki Toyoda, :!! E8 flj � . CAST:

terms with her own feelings of guilt, hopeless­ Ryuhei Matsuda, Hirofumi Arai, Sosuke Takaoka,
ness, and recrimination. Perhaps only then can Yuta Yamazaki, Kee, Onimaru. 83 minutes. RE­

she hope to fill the void left by Yuka and find LEASES: DVD, Artsmagic (USA, English subtitles),
her own tender place, whether in the almost fu­ Winson (Hong Kong, English and Chinese sub­
tile hope of being reunited with her daughter, titles).
back amongst the familiar day-to-day normality
of her Tokyo life, or by reconciliation with her Often violent antics at a high school where anar­
own family, whom she left without warning so chy reigns. Teachers are dangled from the win­
many years ago. dows while the students have installed their own
342 . THE OTHER PLAYERS

Blue Spring

hierarchy. But beneath the sometimes blood-red to ceiling in black graffiti, which acquires a new
exterior lies a thought-provoking look at a pos­ coat each time another student comes to power.
sible future for our own society. The hierarchy, the violent power games and the
general lazing about seem to be these kids' only
Based on a manga by Taiya Matsumoto, the artist raisons d' etre. Family life is never seen; education
also responsible for Ping Pong, Toshiaki Toyoda's and career prospects are non-existent.
Blue Spring is a story about high school anarchy The only option in the world outside seems
in the long, bruised-and-battered tradition that to be joining the yakuza. Gangsters regularly
stretches back at least as far as Seijun Suzuki's patrol the streets around the school grounds in
Elegy to Violence. In a school surrounded by mis­ their white limos, looking for new recruits to
leadingly picturesque cherry trees in full bloom, adopt into a system of hierarchy the kids know
it's the students who set the rules while uncoop­ all too well. Just when we think the school seems
erative teachers are dangled trom windows. like a training ground for organized crime and
In this power structure, the leader is decided the film has little to say beyond its fights, we
by a peculiar game of dare: Several boys hang trom realize how many similarities there are between
the rooftop fence, and he who can clap his hands gang life, school life, and corporate life. With
the highest number of times without plummet­ that, it becomes clear that Toyoda aims less to
ing to his death is king. Assaults on the throne are comment on a failed educational system or law­
punished with a severe bruising or, in worse cases, less youth than to show the universal nature of
with a kitchen knife in the gut. The desolate con­ our need to rule and regulate. By using children
crete hallways of the building are covered floor as his subjects, it becomes poignantly clear that
 Blue Spring • 343

Blue Spring

hierarchies, violence, and a craving for power are moved from Osaka to Tokyo with two guitars
intrinsically human traits that are not specific to and 20,000 yen he had borrowed from his par­
any single isolated part of society. Toyoda's story ents. In 1991 he made his debut as a scriptwriter
takes a step beyond the depictions of violent, dis­ and assistant director with Checkmate ( Ote) for
affected youth seen in so many Japanese films of that same Junji Sakamoto, an event that oc­
the late ' 90s and early 2000s (Fukasaku's Battle curred after Toyoda sent the director a letter
Royale, Shiota's Harmful Insect, Takahisa Zeze's asking if he could work on Sakamoto's films.
Hysteric and Toyoda's own Pornostar to name but Toyoda made his directorial debut with 1998's
a few), and shows that if the young were to in­ Pornostar, a portrait of youth on a rampage in
deed seize power, the result may look like anar­ Tokyo'S Shibuya district that took less after real
chy but in fact would be a society with the same life than after Sergio Leone westerns, with the
structures as the one they have just overthrown. poncho-wearing Man With No Name, whose
Born in Osaka, director Toshiaki Toyoda is guns speak louder than his words, replaced by
a former shogi Gapanese chess) prodigy, a sport a catatonic, knife-wielding, disaffected kid in an
that commanded most of his childhood years. In anorak. Toyoda followed it up with the feature­
his late teens, realizing he lacked the determi­ length documentary Unchain, about a boxer who
nation to make it as a professional, he turned has never won a bout in his entire career.
his back on the sport entirely and went though As noted, Blue Spring is in some ways a fol­
a period of adolescent rebellion. After seeing low-up to his debut film. Whereas Pornostar was
Junji Sakamoto's film Knock Out (Dotsuitarunen, criticized for relying too much on posture and
1989), he realized cinema was his calling and coolness, Blue Spring adds more dimension to
344 • THE OTHER PLAYERS

its portrayal of a generation of don't-fuck-with­ subtly but resolutely off-screen, proving quite
me kids, both in terms of surface style and char­ succinctly that less is more. If the film feels like
acterization. There is posturing here, certainly, a barrage of blood-drenched confrontations,
but this film has real attitude. Toyoda uses fa­ it's because the director does such a good job at
miliar methods like slow motion and a blazing implying them. Blue Spring is not a violent film
rock score to reinforce the nature of his charac­ for the sake of being a violent film; its characters
ters, yet Blue Spring's style is not the artificially are too well rounded, its touches of dreamlike
imposed wannabe toughness of a hip-hop video, beauty too poetic for it to be dismissed as such.
nor does it depend on the manga excess of a film And its director is far too good a filmmaker to be
like Fudoh: The New Generation (Takashi Miike, suckered into making a pretentious bloodbath.
1996). Toyoda understands that he is using Toyoda certainly made good on this promise
tools, means to get to an end. In Blue Spring's when he followed up Blue Spring with the subtle,
guitar-driven slow motion sequences, stories are multi-vignetted character piece 9 Souls in 2003 .
told, characters are established, and relation­
ships are made clear. This certainly isn't a case
of style over substance, it's a case of a filmmaker
knowing his craft. � Bokunch i : My House
Whether or not those methods will be suc­ It< Iv't
cessful in the final results does, however, depend Bokunchi
on one crucial thing: the cast. In a film like Blue
Spring, if the actors lack the ability and the pres­ 2002. DIRECTOR: Junji Sakamoto, 1lOC*llllU� . CAST:

ence to portray the no-holds-barred roughness Alisa Mizuki, Yuki Tanaka, Yuma Yamoto, Claude
of the characters (plus their humanity, to make it Maki, Ran Otori, Masaru Shiga, I ttoku Kishibe.
just that little bit more difficult), all the director's 116 mi nutes.
trickeries won't save it from coming across as a
film that tries too hard to be tough. But despite Peculiarly stylized drama of small-town eccen­
their young age, these kids are completely con­ trics based on a manga, featuring utterly winning
vincing, with RyUhei Matsuda's magnetic central performances. The confirmation of the versatility
performance in front. The son of the late great of director J unji Sakamoto, a former specialist in
Yusaku Matsuda shows a tremendous growth more macho subjects.
from his eye-catching breakthrough role in Nag­
isa Oshima's Gohatto, both as an actor and as a Set in a rundown little harbor town on an un­
man. In the two years that separate both films, named island, Bokunchi is the story of seven­
he has become less the androgynous curiosity year-old Nita (Tanaka), who lives with his
piece and has instead gained a boyish masculin­ older brother Itta (Yamoto) and their mother.
ity, as well as a seeming boost of confidence. By Mom has been away on a trip for the past six
sheer charisma and presence, and without show­ months, leaving the two boys to fend for them­
ing the slightest effort, he commands every shot selves. Since the entire population of the is­
he's in. Even with the excellent Hirofumi Arai land is chronically short of cash, the boys' own
as his sidekick and would-be rival, Matsuda is lack of funds is hardly an obstacle in their daily
the undisputed star of this show, and his perfor­ lives. Nita spends much of his time with Scrap
mance in Blue Spring was the start of a very pros­ Gramps (Shiga), a middle-aged man who lives
perous career as a leading man. a sheltered life in a shack on the edge of town.
Although Blue Spring is filled with fights, Despite his hermit status, Scrap Gramps's ec­
deaths, and murder, Toyoda keeps the violence centricities are hardly exceptional compared
 Bokunchi: My House · 345

to those of the townsfolk, which include an old In the end, it all serves to show how pov­
lady tending to dozens of cats, a noodle restau­ erty causes two little boys to mature before their
rant run by the world's worst cook, and a young age, which points exactly to how much director
delinquent named Koichi (Maki) who fancies Junji Sakamoto has developed as a filmmaker.
himself a yakuza, but whose misdeeds remain Once known as the director of boxing movies
limited to an occasional act of solitary vandal­ like his debut feature KYtock Out (Dotsuitarunen,
ism and a big mouth. 1989), Metallic Boxer (Tekken, 1990), and Boxer
The two little boys are so used to taking care Joe (1995), and macho fare like the kidnapping
of themselves that when their mother finally re­ drama Tokarev (Tokareju, 1 994) and the two
turns home, they simply ignore her presence and Battered Angels (Kizudarake no Tenshi, 1997/98)
continue about their business. However, one buddy movies, Sakamoto's career underwent
thing certainly arouses their curiosity: the young a major change in 1999 when he directed Face
woman accompanying their mother. Introduced (Kao), a tragicomedy about the friendship be­
to the boys as their half-sister Kanoko, she soon tween two women on the run, which snapped
takes over the household and becomes more of up most of Japan's film prizes.
a mother to them than their actual mother ever Osaka-born Sakamoto started out as an edi­
was, particularly when the latter leaves on anoth­ tor and assistant director to Sogo Ishii (he is one
er of her mysterious trips, taking the deed to the of the three editors credited for the astonishing
house with her. But where Nita warms to Kano­ Burst City), and also worked under Kazuyuki
ko, Itta rejects her and starts spending more and Izutsu and Toru Kawashima in the first half
more time with Koichi, the solitary delinquent. of the ' 80s. He shot a twenty-five-minute film
Though essentially a coming-of-age tale, entitled Kiss in 1986 before debuting properly
Bokunchi is refreshingly short on sentimental­ with Knock Out, the story of a boxer making his
ity. Adapting Rieko Saibara's manga, Sakamoto comeback even though he knows that stepping
shows life in the rundown town with the neces­ back into the ring could kill him.
sary rough and tumble, and doesn't spare his two Long unknown outside Japan, Face turned
young leads from receiving their dose of knocks. Sakamoto's fortunes around in this respect too,
His portrayal of growing up in the sticks is com­ turning him into a regular at the Berlin film
parable to Takashi Miike's Youn g T hu gs: Nos­ festival, which invited both Bokunchi and the
talgia, not flinching from showing the rougher highly charged true-life political drama KT
aspects but at the same time with a good deal of (2 001). With these films, as well as with Out of
stylization. There is quirkiness and humor, but This World (Kono Yo no Soto e: Kurabu Shinchu­
the characters use these as a means of survival, a gun, 2 004), which deals with the friendships
way to deal with their deprived existence. between American GIs and young jazz musi­
With the film having no real-life social or cians in post-war Japan, Sakamoto increasingly
historical context, Sakamoto is free to apply found a purpose and a context for his male-cen­
stylization. There is no need to remain true to tered universe, as well as showing an increasing
fact, which gives the director a lot of leeway, socio-political awareness. His recent films have
which he in turn uses sensibly. The undertone explored some touchy subjects, particularly the
to the comedy remains consistently tragic. The relationship between Japan and Korea. With
lesson Scrap Gramps teaches Nita, to always Out of This World starring Scottish actor/direc­
grin in the face of adversity, results in affection­ tor Peter Mullan (Trainspotting, My Name Is Joe,
ate mugging from the little boy (endearingly and The Magdalene Sisters), we can only hope
played by the young Tanaka), but always points that Sakamoto's work will finally break through
to the presence of that same adversity. to wider international audiences.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Recom mended Readi ng

Bornoff, Nicholas. Pink Samurai: The Pursuit Van Haute, Luk. Revival van de Japanse Film.
and Politics of Sex in Japan. London: Grafton Amsterdam: Salome/Amsterdam University
Books, 1991. Press, 2002.
ISBN: 024613 453 4 ISBN: 9053565922

Clements, Jonathan and McCarthy, Helen. The

Anime Encyclopedia. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Chapter 1: Seij u n Suzuki
Press, 200 l . Style To Kill Visual Directory
ISBN: 1880656647 � f..., oy�m VISUAL DIRECTORY
Desser, David. Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduc­ Tokyo: Petit Grand Publishing, Inc, 2000.
tion to the Japanese New Wave Cinema. Indi­ ISBN: 493 9102211
anapolis: Indiana University Press, 1988. Suzuki Seijun: De Woestijn Onder De Kerse­
ISBN: 0253 3 19617 bloesemfThe Desert Under the Cherry Blossoms,
Novielli, Maria Roberta. Storia del cinema giap­ De Tijgerreeks 5. Rotterdam: Intermational
ponese. Venice: Marsilio, 200 l . Film Festival Rotterdam, 1991.
ISBN: 8831777548 ISBN: 9068250906

Richie, Donald. Japanese Cinema: An Introduc­ Ueno, Koshi (ed.). Suzuki Seijun, Zen Eiga
tion. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. �*mlll � �iilii
ISBN: 0195849507 Tokyo: Rippu Shobo, 1986.
ISBN: 4651780202
Richie, Donald. A Hundred Years ofJapanese
Film. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2002.
Chapter 2 : Shohei I m a m u ra
ISBN: 47 7002682X
MacDonald, Kevin and Cousins, Mark (eds.).
Schilling, Mark. Contemporary Japanese Film.
Imagining Reality: The Faber Book ofDocu­
New York: Weatherhill, 1999.
mentary, London: Faber & Faber, 1996.
ISBN: 083 4804158
ISBN: 0571192025
Schilling, Mark. The Yakuza Movie Book: A Guide
Kawashima Yuzii and Mori Issei: Japanse Meesters
to Japanese Gangster Films. Berkeley: Stone
Van De B-FilmlJapanese Kings of the Bs, De
Bridge Press, 2003 .
Tijgerreeks 5. Rotterdam: International Film
ISBN: 1880656760
346
 Bibliography • 347

Festival Rotterdam, 199 1 . Okubo, Ken. "Aan de conventies ontstegen. "

ISBN: 9068250892 Skrien, Vol. 240 (Amsterdam), January 2000.
Quandt, James (ed.). Shohei Imamura. Ontario: Mes, Tom. "Kiyoshi Kurosawa."
Cinematheque Ontario, 1997 . http://www.projecta.netlkurosawa.html
ISBN: 0968296904
Chapter 7 : Studio G h i b l i
Chapter 3 : Kinj i Fukasaku
McCarthy, Helen. Hayao Miyazaki: Master of
Moller, Olaf. Industrielandschaft mit Wiilfen : Japanese Animation. Berkeley: Stone Bridge
Fukasaku Kinji eine Retrospektive. Cologne: Press, 1 999.
Japanisches Kulturinstitut (The Japan Foun­ ISBN: 1880656418
dation), 2000.
Drazen, Patrick. Anime Explosion: The What?
Gerow, Aaron. "Fukasaku Kinji, Underworld His­ Why? and Wow.' ofJapanese Animation. Ber­
toriographer. " New Cinema From Japan News, keley: Stone Bridge Press, 2003 .
Vol. 2 (Tokyo), January 2000. ISBN: 1880656728
Also available at: http://www.asianfilms.
Anime-Land: Le Premier Magazine De
org/japan/gerow4.html
l'Animation Et Du Manga, Hors-serie #3
Yamane, Sadao. " The Struggle against Postwar (Paris), January 2000.
Japan: Fukasaku Kinji. " International Film ISSN: 1283 63 3 8
Festival Rotterdam Catalogue 2000. Rotter­
http://www .nausicaa.net
dam: International Film Festival Rotterdam,
2000.
Yamane, Sadao. "Fukasaku Kinji: radicale anti­ Chapter 9: S h i nya Tsu kamoto
estheet. " Skrien, Vol. 240 (Amsterdam), Janu­ HK: Extreme Orient Cinema, Vol. 13 (Paris),
ary 2000. January 2000.

Chapter 5: Masato Harada Chapter 10 : Takes h i Kitano

Gatto, Robin. "Masato Harada." Jacobs, Brian (ed.). 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano.
hrrp://www. midnighteye.comlinterviews/ Edgware: Tadao Press/RM Europe, 1999.
masato_harada.shtml ISBN: 0952795116

Chapter 6 : Kiyosh i Ku rosawa Chapter 12 : Takash i M i i ke

Moller, Olaf. Der Ort, der uns verheissen ward. Mes, Tom. Agitator: The Cinema of Takashi Miike.
Cologne: Japanisches Kulturinstitut (The Godalming: FAB Press, 2003 .
Japan Foundation), 2000. ISBN: 1 903 254213
Stephens, Chuck. "Another Green World. " Film Gerow, Aaron. " The Sadness of the Impossible
Comment (New York), September/October Dream: Lack and Excess in the Transnational
2001. Cinema ofMiike Takashi. " Noir In Festival,
Marina Fabri (ed.). Rome: Edizione Fahren­
Pieri, Jean-Etienne. "L'etrange inquietude, Ie
heit 45 1 , 1999.
cinema de Kiyoshi Kurosawa." L'art d'aimer 1
Also available at: http://www.asianfilms.
(Paris), January 2000.
org/japan/gerow 3 .html
348 . BIBLIOGRAPHY

Rayns, Tony. " This Gun for Hire." Sight and Chapter 16 : Naomi Kawase
Sound 5 (London), May 2000.
Novielli, Maria Roberta (ed.). Knwase Naomi i
film il cinema. Turin: Effata Editrice, 2002.
Chapter 14 : H i rokazu Kore-eda ISBN: 8874020120
Gerow, Aaron and Tanaka, Junko. "Documenta­ Gerow, Aaron. "Documentarists ofJapan,
rists ofJapan, #1 2: Koreeda Hirokazu." Docu­ #1 4: Knwase Naomi." Documentary Box 16
mentary Box 13 (Yamagata), August 1999. (Yamagata), December 2000.
Also available at: http://www.city. Also available at: http://www.city.
yamagata.yamagata.jp/yidff/docboxl I3/ yamagata.yamagata.jp/yidff/docboxl16/
box13 - 1 -e.html box I 6-1-1-e.html
 I N DEX

Alphabetization is by the "word-by-word" 1 3 , 1 1 5 , 1 24-2 5 Akira, 1 5 8 , 2 4 3 , 2 92-94,

method, so that "Kyo, Machiko" appears Affleck, Ben, 3 3 0 325
After Life, 207, 2 09- 1 3 , Akuma n o Machi, 4
before Kyo no Dekigoto. Films with titles be­ 231 Akutaro, 4, 6, 8, 1 6
ginning with numerals are listed twice in this Age ofNudity, 4 Akutaroden: Warlti Hoshi
index, at the beginning in numerical order Ageman, 282 no Shita Demo, S
and within the alphabetical entries accord­ Agitator, 1 8 3 , 1 86-87 Aldrich, Robert, 2 3 , 9 3
Agresti, Alejandro, 1 3 2 , Ali Baba and the 40
ing to spelling based on their pronuncia­ 1 36 Thieves, 1 2 5
tion: e.g., the film 1 12 Mench appears at the Ai no Korida, 1 3 2 , 3 1 1 Alice in Wonde1"!and, 1 1 2
beginning of the listings as well as under the Aibore Tokoton Doshi, 2 7 Alien, 1 00, 1 5 1
Aida, Jun, 3 2 9 All About Lily Chou-Chou,
reasonably assumed pronunciation/spelling
Aikawa, Shii, 40, 7 1 , 9 7 , 2 90
HalfMench. 1 02 , 1 8 1 , 1 9 1 , 2 70, All under the Moon, 2 3 6,
3 00, 305 2 40, 2 9 2
112 Mench, 68, 7 1 A Bout de Souffle, 97 Aim at the Police Van, 4 Almost Transparent Blue,
1 00 Years ofJapanese A Cop, a Bitch and a Killer, Airport, 60, 2 1 7 , 3 04, 3 3 6 1 94
Cinema, 3 1 2 2 1 5, 2 18 Ajia n o Gyakushzl, 68 Amami, Yulci, 3 3 7 , 3 40
1 9 Year Old's Map, A, 2 80 A Hrmlansu, 2 7 8 Ajimaa no Uta: Uehara Amamiya, Karin, 3 1 3 ,
A fa recherche du temps Tomoko Tenjo no Utagoe, 3 1 5, 3 1 7
1 984, 8, 29, 45, 68-69, 8 2 , perdu, 290 22 1 Amamoto, Hideyo, 7 8
1 1 0, 1 1 3- 1 4, 1 1 7 , 1 3 8, A Production, 1 1 5- 1 6, AkadO Suzunosuke, 1 1 2 Ampo Treaty, 1 3 2
1 60, 2 2 1 , 2 6 7 , 2 79, 125 Akage no Anne, 1 1 2 , 1 1 6 Ana no Kiba, 5
2 8 2 , 2 9 7 , 3 09, 3 1 4, A 1 01 2K, 2 4 1 , 245 Akai Hashi no Shita no Aniiki in Nippon Japansuke:
3 1 6, 3 2 2 , 3 2 5 Aa, Hartt, 33 7 Nurlti Mizu, 2 6 Mirarete Iku anna, 3 0 5
2/Duo, 2 1 7 Abe, Yumiko, 1 02 Akai Heya, 2 84 Anarchy, 6 9
2001 Eiga no Tabi, 95 Abnormal Ecstasy, 3 04 Akai Kami no anna, 2 80 Anarchy 80 Ishin, 68, 6 9
3, 000 Miles in Search of Abnormal Family, 2 9 7 Akai Megane, 3 2 5 Anm'chy in Japan, 3 0 5
Mother, 1 1 2 Abunai Hanashi, 94 Akai Satsui, 2 6 , 3 3 And Then, 2 7 9
3-4 XJitgatsu, 1 5 9 Abunomartt Ekusutashi, Akai Tenshi, 54 Anderson, Lindsay, 2 5 5
400 Blows, The, 1 9 1 3 04 Akarlti Mirai, 95 Anderson, Paul, 3 2 9
400 coups, Les. See 400 Acacia Walk, 2 6 8 Akasaka, Mari, 3 2 2 AndeSlt n o Hanayome, 2 8
Blows, The Accident, The, 2 5 5 Akasen Chitai, 64 Andii, Masanobu, 6 2 , 247
55 Days at Peking, 2 8 2 Adachi, Masao, 305 Akashia no Michi, 2 6 8 Andromedia, 1 82
7 Blades, 1 3 5 Adlon, Percy, 8 3 Akatsuki no Dasso, 8 Angel Dust, 68, 7 2 , 7 8 , 1 42
800 Two Lap Runners, 24 3, Adrenalin Drive, 65 Akaza, Emiko, 2 9 Angelopoulos, Theo, 2 1 1
322 Adventltre of Denchu Kozo, Akechi Kogoro Tai Kaijin Animal Treasure Island,
893 Takushii, 94 The, 1 44-45 NijZl Menso, 2 8 3 125
9 Souls, 344 Adventures ofHols, Prince AJci, Yiiko, 1 76-7 7 , 2 7 7 Animatrix, The, 3 2 5 , 3 3 1
of the Sun, The, 1 1 2- AJcino, Yiiko, 1 76-7 7 Ankoku no Ryoken, 4
349
350 . INDEX

Ankokugai no Bijo, 4 Asian Beat, 1 3 5-3 6 Battle Royale II: Requiem, Black Rose Mansion, 44, 47,
Anne of Green Gables, 1 1 2 , Ma, Kumiko, 1 09, 3 3 6 64, 66 52-53
1 16 Assassin Town. See Town Battles without Honor and Black Sunday, 2 76
Anno, Hidealci, 89 without Pity, A Humanity, 42 , 44-47, Blackmail Is My Life. S e e
Ano Natsu, Ichiban Astro Boy, 1 1 4, 264 5 2 , 5 5-58, 6 1 , 67, 1 80 Call Me Blackmail!
Shizukana Umi, 1 5 9, Atama Yama, 1 1 2 Battles without Honor and Blade Runner, 1 44
1 68 Atarashii Kmnisama, 3 1 3 Humanity: A Change of Blair Witch Project, The,
Another Battle, 52 Atashi wa Jiisu, 304 the Underworld Supreme 2 1 0, 262
Another Battle: Conspiracy, AllC;, 1 90, 2 7 7 , 2 79 Ruler, 45 Blessing Bell, The, 1 1 , 2 4 1 -
52 Athenee Franr;ais, 1 97, 268 Battles without Honor and 42 , 245, 248-50
Another Heaven, 2 5 7 , 290 Atlanta Boogie, 1 3 8 Humanity: Operation Blind Beast, 1 5 0, 2 8 3
Another Lonely Hitman, Audition, 4 1 , 1 80, 1 8 3 , Summit, 44 Blind Beast vs. Dwa1f, 1 5 °
2 2 1 , 3 0 1 -2 1 8 5-86, 1 93-95 , 2 3 7, Battles without HonOl· and Blood Feast, 2 1 9
Anrakki Monki, 2 4 1 278, 323 Humanity: Ta17lished Blood Red Wate1' in the
Antenna, 300 August in the Water, 68, 72, Loyalty in Hiroshima, 44 Channel, 4
Antz, 3 3 0 78-79 Battles without Honor and Bloody Channel. See Blood
Aoi Chibusa, 4 August without Him, 207, Humanity: Wa1· without Red Wate1' in the
Aoi Haru, 3 4 1 2 12 Honor, 44 Channel
Aolci, Shinsuke, 7 8 August, Bille, 2 5 Battoru Rowaiarll, 4 5 Blue Remains, 3 3 1
Aolci, llomio, 2 3 , 1 99-2 00, Aum Shinrikyo, 72, 1 8 7 Battoru Rowaiaru II: Blue Spring, 2 78, 3 1 2 ,
202, 2 04-5 Autumn Afte17loon, An, 297 Chinkonka, 45 3 4 1 -44
Aoyama, Shinji, 3 , 1 1 , 49, Autumn Moon, 1 3 5 Beach, The, 1 3 7 Blues Harp, 1 76, 1 82 , 2 2 1
94, 1 3 7, 1 62-63 , 2 00, Avalon, 3 2 4-2 6 Beardsley, Aubrey, 5 3 Bock, Audie, 3 9
2 02 , 2 06, 208, 2 1 4-2 7 , Awata, Urara, 2 2 4 Beat Kiyoshi. See Kaneko, Bodigado Kiba, 1 82
2 3 1 , 2 3 3 , 2 3 5 , 2 40, Kiyoshi Bodyguard Kiba, 1 82
2 66, 2 70, 2 80, 3 0 2 , Bacillus Army, The, 7 0 Beat llakeshi. See Kitano, Bodygtta1'd Kiba 2, 1 82
3 04, 3 2 8 Back Side ofHappy Street, llakeshi Bodygttard Kiba 3, 1 82
Apatchi Yakyllgun, 1 1 2 The, 3 3 9 Beauty of the Underworld, Boiling Point, 1 59, 1 62-6 3 ,
Apocalypse Now, 2 1 6 Bad Boys, 2 8 4, 5 1 69-70, 1 90, 1 98
April Story, 2 90, 3 3 5 Bad Company, 326-2 8 Be-Bop High School, 74 Bokuda, Shigeru, 298
Apron Stage, 302 Bad Timing, 2 1 9 Bedroom, The, 3 04 Bokunchi: My House, 3 44
Araburu Tamashii Tachi, Bagdad Caji, 83 Begin, 1 5 9 Bokura no Jidai, 3 2 2
183 Baka n o Hakobune, 3 00 Benedict, Ruth, 1 65 Bokura no Kisetsll, 3 2 2
Arai, Hirofumi, 3 3 3 , 3 4 1 , Bakuhatsu! 7 5 Berlin, 2 1 7 Bokura no Shunkan, 3 2 2
3 44 Bakumatszt TaiyOden, 2 7 Bertolucci, Bernardo, 2 5 5 Bokura w a Minna Ikiteiru,
Arashi, Kanjiira, 3 7 Bakumatszt Zankoku Best Intentions, 2 5 1 90
Arata, 2 1 0- 1 3 , 2 2 4 Monogatari, 3 1 2 Best Years of Our Lives, The, Bond, James, 1 1 5
Arato, C;enjira, 1 0 Bakuretszt Toshi, 68, 76 141 Boorman, John, 2 5 8
Arawashiyo, 2 0 7 , 2 3 0 Bakushu, 2 5 Big Boss Wh o Needs No B017l Fighter, The. See
Argento, Dario, 2 5 2 , 307 Bakuto Gaijin Butai, 44 Gun, The. See Reckless Elegy to Violence
Aribaba to Yonjuppiki no Bakuto Knisanshiki, 44 Boss B017l to Be Baby Chinnane e,
Tozoku, 1 2 5 Baldwin, Alec, 3 2 8 Billy Liar, 2 5 5 132, 138
Arimoto, Shinya, 2 3 3 Ballad ofNarayama, The, Bird People in China, The, Boryoku Kyoshi: Hakuchii
Arita, 2 90 xii, 26, 3 1 , 147 1 82-84, 1 88-90 Daisatsuriku, 94
Aronofsky, Darren, 3 2 4 Band ofAssassins, 1 3 5 Binmla no Tategoto, 8 Boryoku Sagashi ni Machi e
Antpusu no ShOjo Haiji, Banda, Masako, 3 3 9 Biskupslci, Dariusz, 3 2 4 Dent, 1 0
1 12, 1 16 Barefoot Gen, 1 2 7 Bitte17less of Youth, 2 76 Boso Panikku: Daigekitotsu,
Asakusa Kid (book), 1 60 Baron: Neko no Danshaku, Black Angel Vol. 1 , 2 8 7 45
Asakusa Kid (film), 1 98, 123 Black Angel Vol. 2 , 2 8 7 Bounce KoGals, 62, 8 2 , 85,
201 Barren Illusion, 9 2 , 9 5 , 98, Black House, The, 2 7 9 88, 90-9 1 , 1 7 2 , 1 88,
Makusa Kid. See 1 04, 1 1 0, 240, 268 Black Jack (film), 2 86 2 1 5 , 3 1 9, 3 3 3 , 3 3 7
Suidobashi, Hakase Bastard, 4, 1 3 3 , 292 Black jack (manga), 2 64, Bowie, David, 3 1 2
Mano, Junko, 1 7 Bastard on the Border, 1 3 3 , 286 Boxer Joe, 345
Mano, lladanobu, 73-74, 292 Black Lizard, 44, 47, Boy With Green Hair, The,
79, 1 54, 1 66, 1 9 5 , 2 1 0, Batman, 5 3 52-54, 2 8 3 255
2 1 8, 2 89, 3 1 0, 3 3 6 Batman Returns, 1 3 8 Black Magic Wars, 6 1 Boyle, Danny, 1 3 7, 3 3 5
Ashes and Diamonds, 3 2 6 Battered Angels, 1 74, 345 Black Rain (Imamura), 26, Boys Be AmbitioZls, 1 8 3
Ashita ga Arusa THE Battle Royale, 45, 50-5 2 , 3 1 , 1 80 Branded to Kill, 5 , 7 , 9,
MO VIE, 2 1 60, 62-66, 1 6 5 , 248, Black Rain (Scott), 1 6 1 , 1 1 - 1 2 , 1 4, 2 0-24, 2 66
Asia Strikes Back, 68, 70 3 2 8, 340, 343 278 Breakfast Club, The, 1 7 7
 Index . 351

Breakup, The, 43 , 44 Carroll, Lewis, 1 1 2 1 65 1 0 1 , 1 03 , 1 05-7, 1 1 0,

Breath, The, 1 3 2 , 1 3 7-3 8 Castle in the Sky, 1 1 3 , Ch!tgoku n o Chiijin, 1 82 , 2 0 3 , 2 1 6, 2 43 , 2 96, 3 2 3
Breathless, 97 1 1 5- 1 6, 1 1 9, 1 2 1 1 88 Curtis, Mickey, 8 7
Breitenwald, Michal, 3 2 4 Castle ofCagliostro, 9, 1 1 3 , Ch!tshingzwa, 5 0 Cutler, Chris, 2 1 9
Bride of the Andes, The, 2 8 1 1 6- 1 7 , 1 2 8 Cinema de notre temps: cyberpunk, 69, 1 43--44,
Brigand, Alan, 3 2 Cat Returns, The, 1 1 1 , Takeshi Kitano, 1 5 1 , 228, 292
Briggs, Raymond, 1 2 7 1 2 3 -24 l'lmprivisible, 1 65
Bright Future, 9 3 , 9 5 , 1 0 1 , Catch, The, 3 3 7 Circus Boys, 1 3 2-34, 1 3 9 Daibyonin, 2 8 2
103, 1 10 Caterpillar, The, 2 84 City ofLost Souls, The, 8 8 , Daiei, xi, 49, 5 3 -5 5 , 6 1 ,
Brooks, Louise, 1 3 5 Cats and Dogs, 3 2 8 1 8 1 , 1 8 3 , 1 94 97, 1 3 2 , 3 09
Brooks, FUchard, 2 8 2 CentTal do Brasil. See Clandestine Zero Line, 4 Daisan no Gokudo, 1 80, 1 82
Brother, 1 5 9, 1 62-66, 3 3 1 Central Station Clocktower 3 , 5 0 Daishi, Kobo, 3 3 9
Brotherhood of the Wolf, 3 09 Central Station, 1 64 Clockwork Orange, A, 3 2 7 Daitoryo n o Kurisumasu
Bruckheimer, Jerry, 6 1 Chakllshin Ari, 1 8 3 Clueless, 209 Tsu ri, 2 86
Brute, The. See Youth of the Chaos, 2 3 7 , 2 5 2 , 2 5 9, Coin Locker Babies, 1 94 Dan, Oniroku, 2 88, 3 2 2
Beast 2 63-65 Cold Fever, 1 1 , 1 4 1 , 2 1 7 Dancer in the Dark, 2 7 3
Bubuan n o Kaizoku, 2 6 Chaplin, Charlie, 1 3 3 , 1 40 Comaneci, Nadia, 1 5 9 Danchi Tsuma Hakuchu no
Budbringeren. See Junk Chara, 74, 2 89-90 Concretization of These Furin, 307
Mail Charisma, 7 2 , 92-93 , 9 5 , Things Flying Around Dangan Runner, 1 04,
BujJj the Vampire Slayer, 97-99, 1 03-5 , 1 07-1 0 Me, The, 2 2 9 240-4 1 , 243-48
1 85 Checkmate, 343 Confessions ofa Mask, 5 3 Dangerous Stories, 94; 96
Bug's Life, A, 3 3 0 Chee1:; a t the Harbor: Conflagration, 54 Dankan, 1 62 , 1 7 1 , 2 0 1 ,
Bullet Ballet, 1 44, 1 46, Triumph in Our Hands, Connors, Chuck, 5 9 , 6 1 2 2 1-22
1 48-5 0 4 Conti, Tom, 1 6 1 , 3 1 2 Dante, Joe, 82
Bullet Runner. See Dangan Chelsom, Peter, 2 98 Cool Runnings, 2 9 8 Dare Mo Shiranai, 2 0 7
Runner Chen Wuchen 's The Nail of Cop Festival, 9 5 , 1 0 1 , 1 0 3 , Dark U'ater, 2 5 2 , 2 59, 262
Bullet Train, 5 9 , 3 2 1 the Holy Beast, 5 1 98, 2 0 2 , 2 1 5 , 2 2 1 , 3 00 Dauman, Anatole, 1 3 2 ,
Bunton, Emma, 308 Chi 0 Suu Me, 262 Cops vs. Thugs, 45 , 48, 311
Buraddi Mari no Yiiwaku, Chiba, Shigeru, 292 5 7-59 Dawn ofthe Dead, 59
1 98 Chiba, Shinichi, 42 , 59, 6 1 Copycat Killer, 2 7 9 Day for Night, 2 5 6
Burst City, 68-69, 7 1 , Chiba, Sonny. See Chiba, Costello, Elvis, 76 Day of Resurrection. See
76-7 8, 1 5 2 , 3 04, 345 Shinichi Couple Very Much in Love, Virus
Burton, Tim, 1 3 8 Chihara, Yasushi, 1 9 1 A, 27 Day o n the Planet, A , 3 3 5
Buscemi, Steve, 3 2 8 Chiisana Okisa, 2 3 0 Courierfo r Hell, The, 1 6 5 De Bont, Jan, 1 02
Buta no Mukui, 292 Chikamatsu, Monzaemon, Coward, 3 02 Dead End Run, 68, 74
Buta to Gunkan, 2 6 165 Cox, Alex, 7 6 , 1 3 6, 1 98 Dead or Alive, 1 49, 1 80,
Butch Cassidy and the Chikan Densha, 3 0 3 Crash, 2 8 6 1 8 3 -8 5 , 1 8 7-88, 1 9 1 ,
Sundance Kid, 1 0 5 Chikan to Sukiito, 3 2 2 Craven, Wes, 1 00, 2 6 1 1 93
Bwana Toshi, 2 8 Chikanhakusho 1 : The Crazed Fruit, 6 Dead or Alive 2, 1 49,
Bwana Toshi no Uta. See Statement ofPervert, Crazy Family, 68, 7 0-7 2 , 1 8 3 -84, 1 9 1
Bwana Toshi 3 19 2 79 Dead or Alive: Final, 1 8 3 ,
Chin Shunshin n o Shin}!t no Crazy Thunder Road, 68- 1 87
Cabaret, 6 1 Tsume, 5 69, 7 2 , 74-76, 1 5 2 Deadly Outlaw: Rekka, 1 8 3
Cackling Kitaro. See Gegege China Doll. See Fruits of Crest of Betrayal, 45 , 5 0 Death by Hanging, 3 1 1
no Kitaro Passion Crichton, Michael, 1 6 5 Debeso, 3 02
Caesar, Takeshi, 1 90 Chinpira (Aoyama), 2 1 5 , Criminal, The, 2 5 5 Deep Seijun, 1 2
Cahiers du Cinema Japan, 2 2 1 , 3 02 Crimson Pig, The. See Porco Deka Matsuri, 9 5 , 1 0 1 ,
1 98, 2 1 7 Chinpira (Mochizuki), 302 Rosso 1 98, 2 1 5
Call Me Blackmail! 43--44 , Chinzei, Shoichi, 267 Cronenberg, David, 1 44, Deliria, 2 5 6
52 Chitei no Uta, 5 253, 258 Demme, Jonathan, 1 06
Cameron, James, 82-83 Chizome no Daimon, 44 Cross ofIron, 54 De1lton, 1 6 1
Cannon Fodder, 2 9 2 , 2 94 Chloe, 1 5 0, 2 3 8, 240 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Demon Seed, 1 1 0
Capcom, 50, 2 7 8 Choice ofa Family: I'll Kill Dragon, 8 7 Denchu Kozo no Boken, 1 44
Cape, The, 2 2 0 Your Husbandfo r You, Cruel Story of the Denen ni Shisu, 1 3 2
Capone Cries Hard, S , 1 1 The, S Shogzmate 's Downfall, Denis, Claire, 1 3 2 , 1 3 6
Capone, AI , 1 1 Choice ofHercules, The, 8 2 , 3 12 DePalma, Brian, 3 0 7
Capra, Frank, 2 1 2 8 5-86, 90, 2 7 7 Cruel Story of Youth, 3 1 0 Desert Moon, 2 1 5 , 2 2 0-2 1
Carmen from Kawachi, 5 , Chrysanthemum and the Cruise, Tom, 8 7 Destroy All Monsters! 309
1 6, 24 Sword: Patterns of Cul-de-Sac, 2 5 5 Detective Bureau 2-3: Go to
Carpenter, John, 93 Japanese Culture, The, Cure, 72, 85, 92 , 95, 97- Hell Bastardsl 6
352 . INDEX

Detective Doberman, The, Eastwood, Clint, 2 2 Everett, Rupert, 1 78 Fireworks, Should We See
45 Edogawa Rampo Ryokikan Everything Goes Wrong, 4 It From the Side or the
Detonation! 7 5 Yaneura n o Sanposha, Evil Dead, 7 5 Bottom? 2 8 9
Dezaki, Osamu, 2 86 280 Evil Dead Trap, 2 5 2 , 2 6 2 , Fisbes in August, 79
Diary ofa Shinjuku Thief, Eel, The, 2 5-2 6, 2 8 , 287 Flavor of Green Tea over
1 3 7, 3 1 1 3 1 -3 2 , 40--4 1 , 2 86 Excitrmzent ofthe Do- Rice, The, 2 5
Dick, Philip K., 72 Eiga Bigakko. See Film Re-Mi-Fa Gil'l, The, Fleischer, Richard, 44, 47,
Die Hard, 2 76 School of Tokyo 93-94, 1 00, 266 60, 93
Dirty Blue, 267 Eight Hours of Terror, 4 Exorcist, Tbe, 94 Flower and Snake (Ishii),
Dirty Harry, 1 6 1 , 1 66 800 Two Lap Runners, 243 , Exorcist 2, 2 5 8 288
Distance, 1 4 2 , 207-1 1 , 2 1 8 322 Eyecatch Junction, 1 80, 1 82 Flower and Snake
Doberuman Deka, 45 893 Takushii, 94 Eyes of the Spider, 95 (Konuma), 2 5 1
Dobutsu Takarajima, 1 2 5 Eijanaika, 26, 3 1 , 3 3 , Flower and the Angry
Documentary Box, 2 06 3 9--40 Face, 345 waves, Tbe, 2 0 , 2 4
Dog ofFlanders, A, 1 1 6 Eiko to Kyoki, 82 Fainaru Fantaji, 3 2 8 Flying Ghost Sbip, Tbe, 1 2 5
Dog Race, 292 Einstiirzende Neubauten, Falata, 2 66-67, 2 69 Flying TetSltO, 1 5 1
Dog Star, 3 0 5 71 Fall Guy, 45, 49, 6 1 Ford, Glenn, 47, 5 9
Dogs, 1 49, 3 3 9 Eirin, 6 3 , 296, 3 1 1 Fall ofAko Castle, The, 45 Ford, John, 2 1 9
Doguchi, Yuriko, 9 3 , 1 0 2 , Eisenstein, Sergei, 1 40 Falling Down, 2 7 6 Foremniak, Malgorzata,
1 0 5 , 1 07 Eizo no Karisuma, 95 Family, 128, 1 8 3 , 2 3 8, 324
Doing Time, 292 Eko Eko Azarak. See Misa 2 4 3 , 2 7 7-79, 2 8 2 , 2 9 7 , Forest with No Name, A ,
Dokomadrmw Iko, 2 6 7 the Dark Angel 3 00, 3 1 6, 3 42 1 3 7, 2 1 5, 2 2 1
Doll HOZlse, The, 2 5 5 Eko Eko Azaraku, 2 2 8 Family Game, 243 , 2 7 7- 400 Blows, The, 1 9 1
Dolls, 1 5 9, 1 6 5-66, 1 69, Electric Dragon 80, 000 V, 79, 2 8 2 , 300 4 0 0 coups, Les. See 400
2 00 68, 7 3 -74 Fancy Dance, 2 8 3 , 2 9 7 Blows, The
Domu: A Child's Dream, Elegy to Violence, S , 8, Fang in the Hole, The, S Frakes, Randy, 8 3
293 1 7- 1 9, 54, 342 Fankii Hatto no Kaidanji, Franco, Jess, 5 3
Donten, 1 44, 3 00 Embalming, 1 1 , 2 1 4- 1 5 , 44 Frankenheimer, John, 2 7 6
Donten Seikatsu, 3 00 2 1 7 , 2 1 9, 240 Fankii Hatto no Kaidanji: Freeze Me, 2 8 7 , 2 8 8
Doomed Megalopolis. Embracing, 74, 2 2 8-30, Nisenman En no Ude, Frencb Connection, The, 46
See Tokyo, The Last 234 44 Friction, 72
Megalopolis Emmanuelle, 1 3 2 Farewell to tbe Land, 2 8 0 Friction: Dumb Numb
Door III, 9 5 , 97-98, 1 02 Emoto, Akira, 40 Fast Times at Ridgemont Live, 68
Doppelganger, 9 5 , 1 0 1 , 1 03 Emperor Tomato Ketchup, High, 2 09 Friday the 1 3th, 63
Dora Heita, 2 86 132 Fhi Fan, 3 2 3 Fridriksson, Fridrik Thor,
Doraemon, 1 1 1 , 3 2 5 Empire Strikes Back, The, 55 Days at Peking, 2 8 2 141, 2 1 7
Doremifa Musume no Chi 82 Figaro Story, 1 3 2 , 1 3 5 Fried Dragon Fish: Thol'l'las
wa Sawagu, 94 Enchantment, The, 3 3 9 Figgis, Mike, 3 3 7 Earwing's Arowana,
Dotonborigawa, 45 Enclosed Pain, 269, 3 2 1 Figbting Delinquents, 4, 6 2 89
Dotsuitarunen, 3 4 3 , 345 Endless Desire, 26, 27 Figbting Elegy. See Elegy to Friedkin, William, 46
Double Cross. See Triple Endo, Masashi, 2 04 Violence Friends of Silent Films
Cross, The Endo, Michiro, 76-7 7 Filles et Gangsters. See Pigs Association, 1 40
Douglas, Kirk, 82 Enjeru Dasuto, 68 and Battleships Friends, The, 3 3 7
Douglas, Michael, 2 76, Enjo, 54 Film School of Tokyo, From the Apennines to the
2 78 enjo kosai, 8 5 , 89-90 2 00, 2 1 1 , 268 Andes, 1 1 6
Doulos, Le, 1 0 5 Enomoto, Komei, 2 6 3 Final Fantasy: Legend of tbe Frontline for the Liberation
Doyle, Arthur Conan, 2 8 3 Epps, Omar, 1 62 , 1 65 Crystals, 3 2 9 ofJapan, The, 2 1 7
Dream ofGaruda, The, Eri ni Kubittake, 3 2 1 Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest, Fruits of Passion, 1 3 2
2 1 7, 3 04 Ermey, R. Lee, 3 2 7 329 Fubuki, Jun, 1 07 , 1 09
Dreams, xiii, 3 1 2 , 3 3 2-3 3 Erotic Liaisons, 1 60 Final Fantasy: The Spirits Fudoh: The New
Dreamy Fifteen, 3 3 7 Erotikku na Kankei, 1 60 Within, 3 2 8-2 9 Generation, 1 82-8 3 ,
Drifting Detective, The, 44 E-Staff Union, 3 02 Final Fantasy X, 3 2 9 2 2 1 , 3 44
Drifting Detective II, The, Esumi, Makiko, 2 3 , 24, Fincher, David, 1 0 5 Fujii, Kaori, 1 5 3
44 208 Fire Festival, 2 7 9-8 1 Fujimoto, Yuka, 3 1 7
Drive, 2 4 1 , 245, 248 Etsuraku, 3 1 1 Fireball, 2 9 3 , 3 0 1 Fujita, Toshiya, 2 76, 2 82
Drowning Man, A, 240 Eureka, 1 3 5 , 1 6 3 , 1 94, Firefly Dreams, 3 3 1-3 3 Fujitani, Ayako, 308
Dry Lake, 1 3 1 2 1 4-1 5 , 2 1 7, 2 1 9-2 1 , Fi1'es on the Plain, S 5 Fujitani, Miki, 1 02
2 2 5-2 7 , 2 3 1 , 2 3 3 , 240, Fireworks, 2 5 , 1 5 8-60, Fujiwara, Kei, 1 5 2 , 2 2 8 ,
Early Summer, 2 5 2 70, 3 2 8 1 63-64, 1 68, 1 70, 1 90, 295
Earthquake, 5 9 Eurospace, 2 6 8 1 98, 200, 2 89 Fuj iwara, Shinji, 3 3
 Index . 353

Fujiwara, Tatsuya, 62 2 63 -64 Gohatto, 39, 1 6 5 , 2 1 8, 2 40, 2 64, 2 9 1

Fukakutei Ryokoki, 94 Garibii no Ucbft Ryoko, 1 1 5 2 78, 2 9 2 , 3 1 0- 1 3 , 3 44 Haha 0 Tazunete Sanzemi,
Fukamizu, Fujiko, 1 3 9 Gate of Flesh, 5-6, 8, Gojim, 1 5 2 , 3 09 1 1 2, 1 16
Fukasaku, Kenta, 45 1 4- 1 6, 1 9-2 0, 24, 1 3 3 , Gojo Reisenki, 68, 7 9 Haitiin Yakuza, 4
Fukasaku, Kinji, 42-66, 238 Gojoe, 68, 7 3 , 76, 79, 80, Hako no Naka no Onna:
67, 68, 1 48, 1 6 1 , 1 6 5 , Gate of Youth, 45 233, 237 ShOjo ikenie, 2 5 1
1 87 , 2 0 1 , 2 7 8 , 2 8 3 , Gate of Hell, 5 3 Gokudo Kisha, 3 0 2 Hakuchii no Buraikan, 44
285, 328 Gatto, Robin, 8 2 Gokudo Zangeroku, 3 02 Hakuchft no T01-ima, 3 1 1
Fukazawa, Shichiro, 3 1 Gauche the Cello Player, Gonin, 1 60, 2 8 3 , 2 86, 2 8 7 , Hakujaden, 1 1 4
Fukkatsu no Hi, 45 , 5 9 , 60 1 1 4, 1 1 7 288 Hakuryii, 1 66
Fukztshlt no Tenshi, 8 2 , 87 Gauguin, Paul, 2 9 Gonin 2, 2 8 7 Ha/fHuman_ S e e 112
Fukltshzt Sum wa Ware ni Gegege no Kitaro, 1 1 2 , 1 2 5 Good Luck Japan, 3 04, 3 0 5 Mensch
Ari, 2 6 Geisha HOItse, The, 45, Good M017ling Vietnam, 82 1 12 Mench, 68, 71
Fukztshzt: Unmei no 5 0-5 1 , 64 Goodbye Flickmania, 82 Hama, Mie, 2 7 9
Homonsha, 9 5 Gekitotsu! Satsujin Ken, 60 Gosha, flideo, 1 6, 1 88 Hamano, Sachi, 2 2 8
Full Metal Jacket, 8 2 , 3 2 7 Gekko n o Sasayaki, 2 6 7 , Goto, Risa, 2 6 3 Hamasaki , Ayumi, 1 74,
Full Metal Yakuza, 1 82 270 GOZZt, 1 8 3 , 1 8 5 , 1 88 1 7 6, 3 3 5
Fuller, Sam, 46 Gemini, 1 44, 1 48-5 0, 1 54, Grande illltsion, 98 Hammer, Mike, 1 3 6, 1 4 1
Fumihazushita Ham, 4 1 56, 2 8 3 Grant, Hugh, 3 3 0 Han, Bunjaku, 2 8 8
Funeral, The, 2 8 2 Gendai Yakuza: Hitokiri Grave of the Fireflies, 1 1 3 , Hana n o Ran, 45
Furaibo Tantei: Misaki 0 Yota, 44 1 2 0, 1 2 4-2 7 , 2 3 8 Hana to Doto, 5
Wataru Kuroi Kaze, 44 gendai-geki, 2 5 Graveym-d of Honor Hana to Hebi (Ishii), 2 8 8
Furandiisu n o inu, 1 1 6 Generation, 3 2 6 (Fukasaku), 45-46, Hana to Hebi (Konuma),
Furin Haha Mltsume, 3 04 Genma Taisen, 2 9 3 48-49, 5 2 , 5 8 251
furitii , 3 2 0 Genshi-san, 143-44 Graveyard of Honor Hana-Bi, 1 5 9, 1 6 3
Furuhata, Yasuo, 1 6 1 , 2 3 8 Genzai ga Suki Desu, 68, (Miike), 1 8 3 , 1 87 Hanae, Kan, 2 3 , 2 4
Furukawa, Takurrll , 6 70 Great Adventure ofLittle Hana-Jigoku, 1 0
Furumaya, Tomoyuki, Gere, Richard, 298 Norse Prince valiant_ Hanbun Ningen, 68
3 2 6-2 7 Gerow, Aaron, xiii, 206 See Adventures of Hols, Haneda ni ittemil-o Soko ni
Furuoya, Masato, 2 9 1 Getting Any? 1 5 9-60, 1 62 , Prince of the Sun, The wa Kaizoku ni Natta
Furyo Shonen, 2 8 1 68-7 1 , 2 5 0 Great Rock 'n ' Roll Swindle, Gakidomo ga [maya to
Fztshigi no Umi no Nadia, Ghiblies: Episode 2, The, The, 76 Shuppatsu 0 Matteiru,
89 III Greed in Broad Daylight, 3 04
Futei no Kisetsu, 3 2 2 Ghost Actress, 2 5 2 , 2 5 6-58 43-44 Hani, Susumu, 2 6 , 2 8 , 1 3 1
Futszt Saizu no Kaijin, 1 44 Ghost Dog: Way of the Green Slime, The, 47 Hanks, Tom, 2 9 8
Future Boy Conan, 1 1 3 , Samumi, 2 1 Greenaway, Peter, 60, 3 1 2 Happ! Sutorito Ura, 3 3 9
1 1 6, 1 24 Ghost in the Shell, 3 2 5-2 6, Grudge, The, xii, 2 5 7 , 2 6 1 Happiness of the Katakuris,
Fuyuko no Omokage, 94 329 Guardfro m Underground, The, 1 8 3 , 1 87
Ghost of the Hunchback, The, 94-95 , 1 02 , Happyaku Two Lap
Gackt, 3 0 5 The, 2 6 2 1 98-99, 2 1 7 , 262 Runnel-s, 243 , 3 2 2
Gaichzt, 2 6 7 , 2 72 Ghost Soup, 2 8 9-90 Gubijinso, 2 1 8 Hara, Kazuo, 3 0
Gaira, 2 5 2 Giger, H.R., 1 3 3 Gudejko, Jerzy, 3 2 4 Harada, Masato, 8 1 -9 1 ,
Gakko n o Kaidan, 94-95 , Gilliam, Terry, 1 3 5 Gun Report, 2 9 3 2 7 7 , 2 86, 3 3 3 , 3 3 9-40
252 Gilpin, Peri, 3 2 8 Gundogs, The, 1 8 3 Harada, Yoshio, 2 1 , 6 1 ,
Gakko no Kaidan: Ham no Gips, 2 6 7-69, 2 72 , 3 2 1 Gunhed, 82, 8 3 1 3 8, 2 8 2 , 3 00-3 0 1
Mononoke Special, 9 5 giri, 1 2 , 1 69 Guterman, Lawrence, 3 2 8 Harbor Toast: Vict01Y is in
Gallo, Vincent, 1 3 6 Gid' Gid' Girl! 94 Guys from Paradise, The, Our Grasp, 5
Gamera, 3 0 8-9, 3 2 6 GO, 6 5 , 1 3 6, 2 90, 3 3 3-36 1 8 3 , 1 90 Hm-d Luck Hero, 1 88, 2 4 1 ,
Gamera: Guardian of the Go! Go! Fztshimi Jet, 1 83 Gyaku Funsha Kazoku, 68 2 44, 2 46
Universe, 309 Go-Between, The, 2 5 5 Gyangu Domei, 44 Harikomi, 3 2 1
Gamem: Super Monster, Godard, Jean-Luc, 3 , 26, Gyangu Tai G Men, 44 Hamzagedon, 2 9 3
3 09 9 3 , 97, 1 5 9, 2 1 6 , 3 0 5 , Gyoei n o MUI-e, 3 3 7 Ha1711fol lnsect, 1 94, 22 7 ,
Gamera 3: Awakening of 3 10 2 67-70, 2 7 2-74, 343
iris_ See Gamera 3: Godspeed You! Black Hachijikan no Kyofu, 4 Harp of BU171la, 8
Revenge ofiris Empel-or, 2 80 Hachiju-Hachi-Man Bun no Ham Sakura: Seijun
Gamera 3: Revenge oflris, Godzilla, 1 5 2 , 1 7 3 , 309- 1 0 ichi n o Kodoku, 6 8 Sakura Henso, 5 , 8
3 08 Godzilla, Mothra, King Hada, Michiko, 2 8 2 , 2 84 Haruka na Jidai no Kaidan
Gang Alliance, 44 Ghidomh: Giant Hadashi no Gen, 1 2 7 0, 1 3 2
Gans, Christophe, 3 09 Monsters All-Om Hagiwara, Kenichi, 6 1 Hasegawa, Kazuhiko,
Garasu no No, 2 5 2 , 2 5 8 , Attack, 3 09 Hagiwara, Masato, 1 05 , 67-68, 93 , 2 7 5-76
354 . INDEX

Hasegawa, Kimihiko, 295 H i l l , Benny, 247 House on Fire, 45 Itami, JUza

Hashiguchi, Ryasuke, Hill, George Roy, 1 05 However , 207-8. . . Ikeuchi, Yoshitoyo. See
1 72-79, 2 7 2 Hi-Matsuri, 2 7 9 Hozuna wa Utau: Umi n o Itami, Mansaku
Hashimoto, Hajime, 52 Himawari, 3 3 5 Junja, 4 Ikinai, 1 62
Hashiru, 68 Himeda, Shinsaku, 27 H-Story, 2 3 3 Ima, 2 3 0
Hassuru Panchi, 1 1 2 Hira, Mikijira, 2 3 , 1 24, Hughes, John, 1 77 , 2 74 Image Forum, 2 3 0, 3 0 1
Has'll n o Hana Tobe, 1 44 282 Human Murder Weapon, Imai, Miki, 1 2 8
Hasumi, Shigehiko, 92, Hiraizumi, S e i , 1 66 A, 1 82 Imamura Productions,
1 00, 1 6 5 , 1 97, 2 1 6, Hirata, Daizabura, 1 2 Hurricane, 5 9 28, 277
2 66, 3 04 Hirayama, Hideyuki, 49 Hush! 1 7 3 , 1 7 5-79, 2 3 5 , Imamura, Shahei, xii, 4,
Hatachi no Binetszt, 1 7 3 Hiraki, Ryfuchi, 202, 243 , 272 6, 2 5--4 1 , 5 7 , 1 3 5 , 147,
Hatsztkoi Jigoku-Hen, 2 8 , 2 69, 3 1 9-2 0, 3 3 3 Hussey, Olivia, 59, 6 1 1 80, 1 94, 2 3 5 , 2 76, 2 86
131 Hiroshima, Mon Amour, Hustle Punch, 1 1 2 , 1 1 5 , 1 2 5 Imomushi, 2 84
Hatsune, Eriko, 3 2 3 1 42 Hyakzmzan Doru 0 In Search of Unreturned
Haunted School, 94--9 5 , Hirota, Reona, 2 9 5 Tatakidase, 4 Soldiers, 26, 3 0
2 5 2 , 2 5 7-5 8 Hiruko the Goblin, 1 44, HYDE, 305 In the Mood for Love, 1 1
Haunting, The, 94, 1 02 1 47, 296 Hyaryiigai, 88, 1 8 3 In the Realm of the Senses,
Hauru no Ugoku Shiro, 1 1 3 Hiruko: Yakai Hantii, 1 44 Hysteric, 305, 343 1 0, 1 3 2 , 292, 3 1 1
Hawks, Howard, 8 1 -82 Hisaishi, Joe, 1 3 0, 1 69, Inago, 1 6
Hayakawa, Sayoko, 3 5 1 70 I Am a Cat, 2 1 8, 2 82 Indecent Exposure, 82
Hayakawa, Yoshie, 3 5 Hishii. Monogatari, 5 , 2 1 I Am an SM Writer, 3 2 2 Inferno ofFirst Love, 2 8,
Hayano, Yoshinobu, 3 3 3 Hissatszt 4 : Urami I Can Hear the Sea, 1 2 1 - 131
Hayashi, Isamu, 2 92 Harashimasu, 45 22, 128 Inn of the Floating Weeds, 4
Hayashi, Kaiza, 74, Histoire d'O, 13 2 I Love Nippon, 1 3 5 Innerspace, 82
1 3 1 --43 , 1 49-5 0, 2 2 1 , History ofPost- War Japan I Spit on Your Grave, 2 8 8 Inomoto, Masami, 2 3 8
2 40, 2 5 7 as Told by a Bar Hostess, I Was Born, But , 1 99
. . . Inoue, Harumi, 2 70
Hayashi, Tomoka, 263 A, 26, 29, 276 Ian, Janis, 47 Inoue, Umetsugu, 5 3
Hazy Life, 300 Hitokiri, 44, 1 88 Ibsen, Henrik, 2 5 5 Insect Woman, The, 6 , 26,
He and She, 28 Hitokiri Yota: Kyaken Ibu-Chan no Hime, 309 28, 32, 3 5
Hearn, Lafcadio, 262 Sankyadai, 44 Ibuse, Masuji, 3 1 Insignificance, 2 1 9
Heart ofStone, 72 Hoero Tekken, 2 60 Ichi the Killer, 1 49, 1 80, Instinct, 298
Heartbreak Yakuza, The, 82 Haja, Tsukasa, 1 3 8 1 8 3 , 1 86-88, 1 93 , 1 95- Intentions ofMurder,
Heat Shimmer Theater. See Hokkai no Abare RYlt, 44 96, 202, 2 1 8, 240, 3 2 2 2 6-2 8, 3 3-3 5
Mirage Theater Hokkaido, 2 86, 288, 2 90, Ichiban Utsukushii Natszl, Inu, 69
Heaton, Louis, 1 6 5 3 00, 3 3 6-39 331 Inu Hashiru, 2 92
Heaven and Earth, 6 1 Hokori Takaki Chasen, 44 Ichihara, Etsuko, 1 2 4 Inugami, 82, 8 6 , 3 3 9--40
Heaven Can Wait, 2 1 3 Hokuriku Dairi Sensa, 45 Ichikawa, Kon, 8, 54-- 5 5 , Inugamike n o Ichizoku, 5 9
Hebi n o Michi, 95 Hokuriku Proxy War, 45 59, 282, 2 86, 3 1 2 Inugamis, The, 5 9
Heckerling, Amy, 2 09 Hole in the Sky, 299 Ichikawa, Raiza, 13 5 Inuyasha, 1 1 1
Heidi, 1 1 2 , 1 1 6 Holmes, Sherlock, 5 3 Ichikawa, Shanosuke, 5 4 Irezumi Ichidai, 5
Heisei Musekinin Ikka Tokyo Honda, Ishira, 1 52 Ichio, Naoki, 2 40 Iseya, Yusuke, 74, 2 1 0- 1 1 ,
Derakkusu, 292 Honda, Ryfuchi, 3 00 Ichise, Takashige, 2 5 7, 2 5 9 2 1 3 , 2 70, 2 72
Heisei Tanuki Gassen Hong Kong Noctltrne, 5 3 Ida, Motomu, 5 Ishibashi, Renji, 6 1 , 1 52 ,
Ponpoko, 1 1 3 Honma, Yahei, 278 IDEA , 1 3 2-3 3 1 54, 1 88, 1 93
Heitai Yakuza, 54 Honogurai Mizu no Soko Iesu no Hakobune, 1 6 1 Ishihara, Shintara, 5 , 1 7 ,
Helpless, 2 1 4-- 1 5 , 2 1 7-20, kara, 2 5 2 , 2 59 If You Were Young: Rage, 54
222, 238 Hoodlum Soldier, 54 44--4 5, 5 1 Ishii, Hisaichi, 1 1 4
Hentai Kazoku Aniki no Hooper, Tobe, 93-94, 1 0 1 , If , 2 5 5
. . . Ishii, Sago, 49, 62, 67-80,
Yome-San, 297 258 Iga NinpOcha, 6 1 1 3 6, 1 52 , 2 1 6, 2 3 3 ,
Here Is Greenwood, 1 2 2 Hori, Hideyuki, 292 Iida, Jaji, 1 74, 2 5 7-58, 2 7 7, 2 79, 3 04, 3 3 9, 3 45
Hi wa Katabuki, 2 3 0 Hori, Kyiis aku, 9 , 1 0, 20 2 6 1 , 290 Ishii, Takashi, 49, 62, 1 60,
Hidari, Sachiko, 54 Horror of the Malformed Iijima, Ai, 89 2 3 8, 2 43 , 2 8 3 , 2 86-87,
High Noon for Gangsters. Men, 2 8 3 Iizuka, Shaza, 2 92 3 40
See Greed in Broad Hosoyamada, Takahito, Ijuin, Ga, 3 2 2 Ishii, Tamiko, 1 4
Daylight 333 Ikeda, Toshiharu, 2 5 2 , Ishii, Teruo, 1 50, 2 8 3
High-Teen Yakuza, 4 Hotaru, 1 1 3 , 1 2 5 , 1 2 9-30, 262, 287 Ishii, Toshihiro. See Ishii,
Higuchi, Akihiro. See 2 3 3-3 5 , 2 3 7-3 9 Ikegami, Kimiko, 2 7 5 Sago
Higuchinsky Hotam no Haka, 1 1 3 , 1 2 5 Ikenie Fujin, 2 5 1 Ishikawa, Chu, 1 4 5 , 1 50,
Higuchinsky, 3 2 3 , 3 2 4 Hou Hsiao-Hsien, 207, Ikeuchi, Hiroyuki, 1 07 1 52
Hikari no Ame, 2 7 7 , 303 211 Ikeuchi, Yoshihiro. See Ishikawa, Hitoshi, 3 2 2
 Index . 355

Ishinsekiseijuku. See Jingi naki Tatakai: Dairi Kaidan Botandara, 262 Kataoka, Mitsuo, 1 7
Revolutionary Truth, Sensa, 44 Kaidan Senl1lshi Otoko, 2 6 2 Kataoka, Reiko, 87, 1 7 7 ,
The Jingi naki Tatakai: Kaijii Sashingeki, 309 2 2 1 , 2 3 5 , 3 00
Ishioka, Masato, 3 1 7 Hiroshima Shito Hen, 44 Kaikyo, Chi ni Somete, 4 Katatsumori, 2 2 8 , 2 3 0-3 1
Isobe, Tsutomu, 2 92 Jingi naki Tatakai: Kanketsu Kairo, 9 5 , 1 09 Kato, Haruhiko, 1 09
Isola, 2 6 1 Hen, 4 5 Kaisamhiki, 44 Kato, Kazuhiko, 1 1 5
Isseifubi Sepia, 68, 70-7 1 Jingi naki YabO, 1 80, 1 82 Kaji, Meiko, 2 82 Kato, Tai, 3 1 2
Itami, Jiizo, 94, 1 0 1 , 1 5 8, Jingi no Hakaba, 45 Kajiwara, Satoshi, 1 02 Kato, Tokiko, 1 2 7
277, 2 8 1 Jinnai, Takanori, 76-77 Kakashi, 2 6 1 , 3 2 3 Kato, Yoshi, 3 3
Itami, Mansaku, 2 8 2 Jin-Roh, 3 2 5 Kakuto, 2 1 3 Katsu, Shintaro, 1 3 3 , 1 3 5 ,
Itao, Itsuji, 248 Jinrnigaku Nyzlmon, 26 Kaleidoscope, 2 3 0, 2 3 3 , 2 3 7 1 66, 1 88
Ito, Hidehito, 3 1 3- 1 4 Jinsei Gekijo, 4 5 Kamachi, 3 02 Katsumura, Masanobu,
Ito, Hiroko, 1 2 Jipangu, 1 3 2 Kamata Koshin Kyoku, 45 1 69
Ito, Junji, 2 6 1 , 3 2 0 , 3 2 3 Jissoji, Akio, 1 3 3 , 2 8 3 Kamigami n o Fukaki Katte ni Shiyagan 94-95 ,
Ito, Kazunori, 3 09, 3 2 6 Jitensha Dorobo, 2 0 Yokubo, 26, 3 7 97-98, 1 02
Ito, Takeshi, 3 0 3 Jitsuroku Abe Sada, 3 1 1 Kamikaze Taxi, 8 2 , 84, Kawabata, Yasunari, 1 6
Ito, Yiinosuke, 1 2 Jiyu 0 Warera ni, 2 9 3 86-88 Kawachi Karnmen, 5
Itoga, Haruo, 3 3 Jodorowsky, Alejandro, Kamikaze Yaro: Mahirn no Kawachi, Tamio, 24
Itsuka Gi1'a-Gira Sura H, 1 47 Ketto, 44 Kawahara, Sabu, 1 68
45, 6 1 Johnny Mnemonic, 1 60 Kamimura, Yasuyo, 2 3 5 Kawai, Kenji, 3 2 6
Iwamatsu, Mako, 1 88-89 Jokyoshi Nikki: Kinjirareta Kamitsukitai, 309 Kawai, Michiko, 2 6 3
Iwamoto, Hitoshi, 2 1 Sei, 2 5 2 , 2 5 5 Kamura, Moe, 1 3 9 Kawai, Shinya, 2 5 7
Iwao, Junko, 3 06, 3 0 8 Jones, Andy, 3 2 9, 3 3 1 Kanal, 3 2 6 Kawaita Mizu Umi, 1 3 1
Izo, 1 8 3 , 1 88 Joseph Losey: The Man with Kanaoka, Nobu, 1 5 2 Kawajiri, Yoshiaki, 2 9 3
Izuchi, Kishii, 2 2 0 Four Names, 2 5 2 , 2 5 5 , Kanashimi Johnny, 6 8 Kawanishi, Kumiko, 1 4
Izumi, Akiko, 2 2 2 257 Kanazawa, Katsuji, 2 6 7 Kawarazaki, Choichiro, 3 7
Izumi, Sachiko, 2 3 5 Joseph Losey: Yottsu n o Na 0 Kandagawa Inran Semo, 94 Kawase, Naomi, 2 5 , 89,
Izumiya, Shigeru, 3 9 Motsu Otoko, 2 5 2 Kandagawa Wars, 9 3 , 94, 2 0 7-8, 2 1 1 - 1 2 , 2 1 4,
Izutsu, Kazuyuki, 1 8 3 , 1 90 Joshi Daisei: Hazukashii 2 66 2 1 7 , 2 2 8-39, 2 4 3 , 2 8 0
Senzinar, 93 Kaneko, Kiyoshi, 1 5 9, Kawashima, Toru, 2 2 1 ,
J Movie Wars, 72 Joy Girls. See Story ofa 1 60-6 1 2 8 3 , 3 45
Jackson, Michael, 2 89 Prostitute Kaneko, Nobuo, 5 5 , 5 7 Kawashima, Yiizo, 2 7
Jaeckel, Richard, 47 Joyu no Yorn, 62 Kaneko, Shoji, 2 2 1 Kawata, Takenori, 3 1 2
Jaeckin, Just, 1 3 2 JOYllrei, 2 5 2 Kaneko, Shiisuke, 1 90, Kawatani, Takuzo, 57, 82
Jam Films, 2 90 Jltbaku: Spellbound, 8 2 , 3 08-9 Kawatsu, Yiisuke, 1 7
Jam Session: The Official 8 5-86 Kanemoto, Kyoko, 3 3 1 Kaza-Hana, 2 1 8, 3 3 6- 3 7
Bootleg ofKikujiro, 2 0 0 Jukkai no Mosukito, 2 92 Kaneshiro, Kazoo, 3 3 4-3 5 Kazan, Elia, 3 1 0
Jan: Otokotachi no Gekijo, JZlkyztsai no Chizu, 2 80 Kanojo no Omoide, 2 9 2 , 2 94 Kaze no Tani no Naushika,
94 June 1 2, 1 998: The Edge of Kanojo to Kare, 2 8 1 13
Janguru Taitei, 2 64 Chaos, 2 1 5 , 2 1 8 Kanto Mushuku, 4 , 1 2 Kazoku Gfmu, 2 7 7
Jankel, Annabel, 3 2 9 Junk Mail, 245 Kanto Wanderer, 4-6, Keaton, Buster, 2 5 3
Jannson, Tove, 1 1 5 Juon. See Grudge, The 1 2- 1 4 Kedzierski, Grzegorz, 3 2 6
Japan Academy o f Moving Jztsei, 293 Kanzen Jisatsu Manyuarn, Kee, 3 4 1
Images, 3 0 Jushiryo: Gaiten, 2 5 2 , 2 5 9 336 Kegareta Maria: Haitoku no
Japan Organized Crime Jushiryo: Gaiten 2, 2 5 2 Kanzen Narn Shiiku, 2 40 Hibi, 3 0 5
Boss, 44 Kanzo Sensei, 2 6 Keiho, 2 7 9
Japan Sinks, 5 9 Kadokawa, 49, 59, 6 1 , 86, Kao, 1 3 1 , 345 Keil'mzsho no Naka, 2 92
Japanese Tales ofMystery 2 5 8 , 2 7 8 , 2 92 Kaosu no Fuchi, 2 1 5 Kekkon, 5 , 1 1
and Imagination, 2 8 3 Kadokawa, Haruki, 49, Kara, Jiiro, 1 3 7 Kenzono n o Nemuri, 4
Jarinko Chie, 1 1 2 , 1 1 7 59, 279 Karakkaze Yaro, 5 4 Ken the Wolf Boy, 1 1 2 ,
Jarmusch, Jim, 2 1 , 1 4 1 , Kadono, Eiko, 1 1 5 , 1 2 1 Karasumaru, Setsuko, 1 90 1 1 4- 1 5 , 1 2 5
1 98, 3 00, 3 04 Kaette Kita Deka Matsuri, Karayuki-san, the Making of Kenka Erejii, 5 , 1 7
jidai-geki, 4 3 , 1 87 , 2 5 6, 207, 267 a Prostitute, 2 6 , 3 0 Kenkei Tai Soshiki Boryoku,
2 8 2 , 2 86, 3 1 2 Kaga, Mariko, 288 Karisuma, 1 07 45, 5 7
Jigoku n o Keibiin, 94 Kagai JUf!:lo Boko, 3 04 Kasai, Satoko, 1 4 Kenned� George, 59, 6 1
Jigokumon, 5 3 Kagawa, Kyoko, 2 1 1 Kashiwabara, Takashi, 2 8 8 Keruberosu, Jigoku no
Jingi naki Tatakai, 44-45, Kagawa, Teruyuki, 2 82 Kashiwaya, Michisuke, 1 9 1 Banken, 3 2 5
55 Kagenllzsh a, xii Kataku no Hito, 45 Key: The Metal Idol, 3 0 7
Jingi naki Tatakai: ChOjo Kagenaki Koe, 4 Katakurike no Kofuku, 1 8 3 Keystone Cops, The, 247
Sakusen, 44 Kageroza, 5 katana, 44, 46 Kiarostami, Abbas, 2 5 ,
356 • INDEX

1 97-98 J(jzudarake no Tenshi, 1 74, Kruger, Ehren, 2 6 1 Kyo, Machiko, 47, 5 3

J(jchiku, 2 98-300 345 IT, 345 Kyo no Dekigoto, 33 5
J(jchiku Dai Enkai, 298 Knock Out, 343, 345 Kubozuka, Yosuke, 33 3 Kyodai Gokiburi
J(jdo Keisatsu Patorebii, 3 2 5 Kobayashi, Akira, 5-7, 1 2 Kubrick, Stanley, 8 2 , 2 59, Monogatari, 1 43 , 1 44
J(jds Return, 1 5 9-60, 1 69, Kobayashi, Masaki, 262, 327 Kyoei-sha, 6 7
248 2 86 Kugatsu no Jodan Kyofu Kikai Ningen, 2 8 3
Kikoku, 1 8 3 Kobayashi, Nenji, 2 9 1 Kurabubando, 3 3 9 Kyokasho n i Nail 2 1 5 ,
J(jkujiro, 1 5 9, 1 6 1 , 1 63- Kobayashi, Shoji, 1 7 1 Kuichi, Akin, 1 02 2 1 7- 1 8, 2 40
64, 1 7 1 Kobayashi, Toshiji, 74 Kuiru, 292 Kyokatsu Koso ga Wtiga
J(jkujiro no Natsu, 1 5 9 Kofuku n o Kane, 241 , 248 Kumakiri, Kazuyoshi, 202, Jinsei, 44
Kikuni, Masahiko, 2 7 0 Kohara, YUki, 2 6 3 298-99 Kyoki no Sakum, 3 3 6
Kill Bill, 1 9 3 , 3 40 Koi Gokudo, 302 Kumashiro, Tatsurni, 2 76, Kyoto: My Mother's Place,
Killers, The, 8 3 Koi n o Jerrifisshu, 1 8 3 280 3 12
Kimata, Etsuko, 3 3 1 Koi, Shita, 1 99 Kumo no Hitomi, 95 Kyua, 9 5 , 105
J(jmba the White Lion, 2 64 Koibumi, 2 2 8 Kunimura, Jun, 79, 1 02 ,
J(jmi ga Wtikamono Nara, Koizurni, Kyoko, 3 3 6 1 95 , 2 3 5-3 6 Labyrinth ofDreams,
44 Kiiji Chiishi Meirei, 293 Kuragejima: Tales from a 68, 7 3
Kimura, Isao, 5 2 Kokaku J(jdotai, 3 2 5 Southern Island, 26, 3 7 Labyrinth St01Y, 293
Kimura, Kazuya, 6 1-62 , Kokkuri, 3 0 5 Kurahara, Koreyoshi, Lady Hunter, 1 80, 1 82
2 86 Koko Dai Panikku, 68 42 , 45 Lady Snowblood, 2 8 2
Kimura, Takeo, 1 3 2 , 1 42 Koko wa Gurinuddo, 1 2 2 Kurenai n o Buta, 1 1 3 , 1 2 7 Lake of Dracula, 262
Kinbaku Nawa no Seifuku, Kokoro, 95, 2 1 8 Kuri, Kosuke, 1 3 5 Lakeside MU1'der Case, 2 1 5
303 Kokoro, Odorlt, 9 5 Kurita, Rei, 2 2 4 Laprevotte, Gilles, 2 8
King, Stephen, 3 2 7 Kokuei, 1 3 3 , 297, 3 0 3 , Kuriyama, Chiaki, 62 , 3 40 Laputa: Castle in the Sky.
Kingu Kongu Tai Gojira, 305 Kuro n o Tenshi, 2 8 7 S e e Castle in the Sky
3 09 Kokuhatsu: Zainichi Kuroda, Fukumi, 1 0 1 Lasseter, John, 3 3 0
Kinoshita, Keisuke, 3 1 , Kankokujin Seijihan Kuroi Ame, 26, 3 1 Last Dance, The, 2 8 2
2 86 Repoto, 292 Kuroi Ie, 279 Last Days of Planet Earth,
Kinugasa, Teinosuke, 5 3 Kokumai, Aya, 1 69 Kuroi Shitagi no Onna: The, 5 9
J(jnyii Fushoku Retto: Kokyo Sopu Tekunikku 4 Raigyo, 303 Last Life in the Universe,
Jllbaku, 82 Monzetsuhigi, 2 1 7 Kuroki, Hitomi, 2 79 1 66
J(joku ga Ushinawareta Komatsu, Shoichi, 2 02 Kuroki, Kazuo, 1 80 Last Run, 1 82
Toki, 207 Komine, Rena, 78 Kurosawa, Akira, xii, 42, Last Samurai, The, 87, 260
Kirino, Natsuo, 3 3 8 Komizu, Kazuo. See Gaira 47, 5 3 , 79, 8 1 , 1 5 8 , Last Scene, 2 5 2 , 2 5 6, 2 5 9
Kishibe, 1ttoku, 7 9 , 1 66, Komuro, Yuri, 3 1 7 1 7 3 , 2 1 6, 2 2 3 , 2 86, Laundry, 3 3 6
2 9 1 , 3 44 Kon, Satoshi, 293-94, 3 1 2, 3 3 3 Law, Clara, 1 3 5
Kishitani, Goro, 1 8 7 3 06-7 Kurosawa, Asuka, 1 5 5 , Leaving. See Bounce KoGals
J(jshiwada ShOnen Kon, Toko, 8, 1 6 1 56 Leaving Las Vegas, 3 3 7
Gurentai, 1 82-8 3 , Konaka, Kazuya, 94 Kurosawa, Kiyoshi, 49, Leblanc, Maurice, 9, 2 8 3
1 90-9 1 Konami, 1 3 5 72, 92-1 1 0, 1 48, Ledoyen, Virginie, 1 3 7
J(jshiwada Shonen Kondo, Yoshifumi, 1 1 6, 1 80, 1 97-2 00, 2 02-3 , Lee, Chris, 3 2 9
Gurentai: Bokyo, 1 90 122, 127 207-8, 2 1 6- 1 7 , 2 1 9, Lee, Leow Beng, 1 3 5
J(jshiwada ShOnen Kono Mado wa J(jmi no 2 2 1 , 2 2 7 , 2 40, 2 5 2 , Legend ofEight Samumi,
Gurentai: Chikemuri Mono, 3 2 8 2 5 7 , 262, 2 66-68, 2 7 7 , 45, 49, 6 1
Junjo Hen, 1 8 3 Kono Yo n o Soto e: Kumbu 3 02 , 3 04, 3 2 3 Legend of Mother Sarah,
Kiss, 345 Shinchzlglln , 345 Kurotokage, 44, 52 The, 293
Kita, Ikki , 19 Konurna, Masaru, 2 5 1 , Kurllizaki Sanda Rodo, Legend of the White
Kitakubo, Hiroyuki, 294 288, 3 2 1 68, 74 Serpent, 1 1 4, 1 2 5
Kitami, Toshiyuki, 2 3 7 Kore-eda, Hirokazu, 24, Kurlttta Kajitsu, 6 Leigh, Mike, 2 5 0
Kitamura, Kazuki, 1 9 1 , 2 00, 202, 206- 1 3 , Kusakari, Masao, 3 9 , 59, Lessons From a Calf, 2 06
1 9 3 , 3 00 2 3 0-3 1 , 243 6 1 , 78 Levinson, Barry, 82
Kitamura, Kazuo, 37, 2 7 5 Korei, 95 Kusakari, Tarniyo, 2 96, Lewis, H.G., 2 1 9
Kitamura, Ryiihei, 290 Koroshi no Rakuin, 5 , 19 298 Ley Lines, 1 8 1 , 1 8 3-85,
Kitano, Takeshi, 25, 49, Koroshiya 1 , 1 8 3 , 1 9 5 Kusano, Kota, 1 76, 2 7 0 1 9 1 -93
62, 69, 92, 147, 1 5 8- Koshonin, 1 8 3 Kusturica, Emir, 2 5 Li, Dan, 1 9 1
7 1 , 1 88, 1 90, 1 97, 1 98, Kotabe, Yoichi, 1 2 5 Kusunoki, Yuko, 3 3 Library Love, 1 3 6
2 00- 1 , 240, 243 , 248, Kotari, Yuji, 1 5 5-56 Kutabare Gurentai, 4 License to Live, 92 , 9 5 , 98,
2 86, 3 1 0, 3 1 2 Kowalski, Wladyslaw, 324 Kwaidan, 262 1 0 5 , 240
Kita6ji, Kinya, 2 7 9 Koyuki, } 09-1 0 Kya Kara Ba A, 2 3 0, 2 3 4, Life ofa Tattooed Man, 5 ,
J(jtchen, 2 79 Kozure Okami, 1 3 5 235 9, 1 4, 1 7
 Index . 357

Like Grains ofSand, 1 7 3- Madness in Bloom, 3 3 6 Matsubara, Chieko, 1 2 2 04-5

77, 1 79, 1 99 Maeda, Ai, 3 0 8 Matsuda, Miyuki, 1 9 3 Miike, Takashi, 3 0 , 4 1 ,
Like Happiness, 2 3 0 Maeda, Aki, 62 Matsuda, Ryilhei, 3 1 0 , 49, 5 2 , 8 8 , 1 49-5 0,
Lilya 4-Ever, 2 7 3 Maeda, 1(oyo, 1 02 3 4 1 , 344 1 76, 1 80-96, 2 2 1 , 243 ,
Limosin, Jean-Pierre, Maeda, Tetsu, 95 Matsuda, Shunsui, 1 3 3 , 2 69, 2 7 8-79, 3 0 2 , 3 2 1 ,
1 60, 1 65 Maegami no Sozaburo, 3 1 2 1 3 9-40 3 44-45
Lindgren, Astrid, 1 1 5 Magdalene Sisters, The, 345 Matsuda, Yusaku, 2 7 7-79, Miira no Koi, 5
Little Buddha, 2 5 5 Magnetic Rose, 2 9 2 , 2 94, 3 44 Mikami, Sumiko, 2 9 8
Little Norse Prince Valiant. 307 Matsukata, Hiroki, 5 5 , 5 7 Miki, Norihei, 2 79
See Adventures of Hols, Mahjong, 1 3 7 Matsukoi, Sugie, 66 Mikko Zero Rain, 4
Prince of the Sun, The Main Theme, 2 7 9 Matsumoto, Miku, 3 1 7 Mikuni, Rentaro, 3 7
Loach, 1(en, 3 2 Majo n o Takkyftbin, 1 1 3 Matsumoto, R.ika, 3 06 Millennium Actress, 308
Lolita Complex. See Makhmalbaf, Samira, 3 2 Matsumoto, Taiyo, 3 42 Miller, George, 7 5
rori-kon Maki , Claude, 1 65 , 1 68, Matsuo, }(ayo, 14 Million Dollar Match, 4
Lone Wolfand Cub, 1 3 5 3 44 Matsuo, Reiko, 7 8 Million Dollar Smash and
Lonely Hearts Club Band in Making of Gemini, The, Matsuoka, Joji, 2 6 8 Grab. See Million
September, The, 3 3 9 183 Matsuoka, Kikko, 5 2 Dollar Match
Longest Day, The, 268 Makino, Masahiro, 16 Matsuoka, Shunsuke, 3 3 7 Minakata, Eiji, 1 69
Longo, Robert, 1 60 Mako. See Iwamatsu, Matsushima, Nanako, 2 60 Minami, Hiroshi, 1 9
Look Who 's Talking, 209 Mako Matsushita, Sachiko, 2 7 9 Minami, }(aho, 1 4 1 -42
Loop, 2 5 8 , 2 6 1 Miikusu n o Yama, 2 9 1 Matsuura, Masako, 8 9 Minami, Yoshie, 3 3 1 , 3 3 3
Lopez, J enru fer, 298 Malice@Doll, 3 3 1 Matsuyuki, Yasuko, 247 Minato, Yiiichi, 1 88
Lord Jim, 2 8 2 Man in White, The, 1 8 3 Max, Mon Amour, 3 1 2 Minbo, or the Gentle Art of
Lord of the Flies, 63 Man Vanishes, A , 26, 2 8- Mayuzumi, R.intaro, 2 8 2 , Japanese Extortion, 2 8 2
Losey, Joseph, 5 3 , 2 5 2 , 2 9 , 3 3 , 3 5-3 7 , 2 3 5 283 Ming-Na, 3 2 8
255, 257 Man Wh o Stole the Sun, McCoy, Sugie. See Minna Agechau, 3 09
Lost Angeles, 1 3 2 , 1 3 8-3 9 The, 67, 2 7 5-77 Matsukoi, Sugie Minna Yattemka! 1 5 9, 1 7 1
Lost Paradise, 8 5 , 2 79, 296 Man With a Shotgun, The. McQueen, Steve, 2 7 8 Mirage Theater, 5 , 2 0, 2 7 8
Love & Pop, 89-9 1 , 1 72 See Man With the McTiernan, John, 2 7 6 Mirai Shonen Konan, 1 1 3 ,
Love Cinema, 2 6 8 , 3 2 1 Hollow-Tip Bullets, The Megamitachi no Pan, 2 3 0 1 16
Love Letter (Iwai), 89, Man With the Hollow-Tip Megyaku: Naked Blood, 3 04 Mirrored Mind, 68
2 8 8-90, 3 3 5 Bullets, The, 4 Meido no Hikyaku, 1 6 5 Misa the Dark Angel, 2 2 8,
Love Letter (Suzuki), 4, 6 Manda, 1(unitoshi, 94, Meitantei Conan: Beikii 323
Love Letter (Tanaka), 2 2 8 2 0 2 , 2 1 6, 2 66 Sutor/to no Borei, 1 1 1 Misaki, 2 2 0
Love Streams, 1 97 , 1 98 Manie Manie Meikyu Meitantei Homuzu, 1 1 3 , Mishima, Yukio, 1 7, 1 9,
Love, Courtney, 76 Monogatari, 2 9 3 1 17 5 2 - 5 3 , 2 20, 2 8 3
Lubitsch, Ernst, 2 1 3 Manual of the Ninja Arts, Melville, Herman, 1 3 5 Mishima: A Life in Four
Lunatic, 3 04 311 Melville, Jean-Pierre, 1 0 5 Chapters, 54, 60
Lupin IlI, 1 1 2 - 1 3 , 1 1 5- 1 7 , Maogai, 3 2 2 Memories, 292-94, 3 0 7 MISTY, 3 40
2 66 Mari, Annu, 7 , 1 9, 2 0 Memory of the Wind: At Mitani, Noboru, 54
Lupin IlI: The Golden MARKS, 2 9 1 , 3 1 2 Shibuya on December Mitchum, Robert, 2 7 5
Legend of Babylon, S , 9 Marley, Bob, 2 7 6 2 6, 1 995, 2 3 0 Mitsuishi, Fujiro, 2 1 , 2 6 1 ,
Lupin IlI: The Mystery of Maro, Akaji, 1 4 1 Men of Rage, 94 323, 336
Mamo, 1 1 7 Mamhon Uwasa no Men Who Tread on the Mitsuishi, 1(en, 1 93 , 2 2 1 ,
Lupin, Arsene, 9 Sutorippii, 2 7 9 Tiger's Tail, The, 79, 8 0 2 2 4, 2 2 6-3 7 , 2 64, 2 88 ,
Luxurious Bone, 3 3 5 Marusa n o anna, 282 Merimee, Prosper, 2 9 3 326
Lynch, David, 1 40, 1 88 ManJSa no anna 2, 2 8 2 Merry Christmas, Mr. Miura, Mitsuhiro, 3 2 1
Mamtai no anna, 2 8 2 Lawrence, xii, 1 6 1 , 1 64, Miura, Tomokazu, 3 3 7
MIOther, 2 3 8 Maruyama, Akihiro, 47, 3 1 1-12 Miwa, Akihiro. See
Maboroshi no Hikari, 207 52-5 3 Message from Space, 4 5 , 47 Maruyama, Akihiro
Maboroshi no Konminzoku Master of Shiatsu, The, 68, Metallic Boxe,-, 345 Miyajima, Chie, 3 3 1
Kyiiwakoku, 1 3 3 , 292 72, 78 Meteor, 6 0 Miyakawa, Ichirota, 2 7 7
Maborosi, 2 4 , 1 99, 2 07-1 1 Masuda, Toshio, 44, 47, Metropolis, 2 9 3 -94, 3 2 5 Miyamoto, Nobuko, 94,
Mabudachi, 3 2 6 5 9 , 1 80 Mexican, The, 2 6 1 1 0 1 -2 , 2 8 1 -82
Mach 1 .67, 73 Masumura, Yasuzo, 54, Mibugishiden, 3 0 3 Miyashita, Junko, 1 6,
Machida, 1(0. See 283 Midori, 1 3 3 , 3 2 2 2 79-80, 3 1 1
Machida, Machizo Masuri, Fumihiko, 2 9 7 , Mifune, Mika, 2 3 3 Miyazaki, Aoi, 2 2 6-2 7 ,
Machida, Machizo, 6 9 , 76 336 Mifune, Toshiro, 2 24, 2 3 3 2 70, 2 72
Mad Max, 7 5-76 Mateo Falcone, 293 Mighty Atom, 2 64 Miyazaki, Hayao, 9, 5 3 ,
Made in Japan, 1 90 Matrix, The, 1 1 0, 3 2 5 , 3 3 1 Mihashi, Tatsuya, 2 00, 5 9 , 1 1 1 -2 8 , 1 5 9
358 . INDEX

Miyazaki, Masaru, 2 2 6 1 88, 2 82-83 , 2 86, 2 96, 1 7 5-76, 2 40, 2 5 2 , 2 9 2 , Neon Genesis Evangelion, 8 9
Miyazawa, Kenji, 1 1 4 297 3 1 0, 344 New God, The, 3 1 3- 1 6
Mizoguchi, Kenji, xii, 5 3 , Motonaga, Keitaro, 3 3 1 Nagisa no Shindobaddo, New Tales of the Taim Clan,
64, 2 2 8 Mottomo Kiken na Yztgi, 1 7 3 , 1 76 53
Mizu n o Naka no 278 Naito, Takashi, 87, 2 1 1 Nezu, ]inpachi, 2 8 6
Hachigatsu, 6 8 , 7 8 M01lSe Hunt, 2 6 1 Naito, Taketoshi, 2 1 1 Ni Tsutsumarete, 2 3 °
Mizue, 2 5 2 , 3 2 1 Moving, 1 08, 1 1 3 , 1 2 1 , Nakaba, Riichi, 1 90-9 1 Nianchan, 2 6
Mizuhashi, Kenji, 1 09, 1 2 3 , 2 5 9, 3 3 7 Nakagami, Kenji, 2 2 0 , 2 80 Nicholson, ]ack, 3 3 0
2 70, 2 72 MPD-Psycho, 1 8 3 , 1 8 5 Nakagawa, Anna, 1 05 Night and Fog in Japan,
Mizuki, Alisa, 3 44 Mr. Baseball, 1 6 1 Nakahara, Shun, 1 3 9, 2 6 1 3 12
Mizuki, Shigeru, 1 2 5 Mt. Head, 1 1 2 Nakahira, Ko, 6, 2 6 Night Head, 1 74, 2 90
Mizutani, Toshiyuki, 2 6 1 Muhiimatsu Kokyo n i Knem, Nakai, Kiichi, 2 9 1 Night in Nude, A, 2 8 7
Mizutani, Yutaka, 2 7 5 26 Nakaizumi, Hideo, 3 1 7 Nihon Boryokudan:
Moby Dick, 1 3 5 Mukohira, Kazufumi, 2 3 5 Nakajima, Sadao, 45 Kumicho, 44
Mochizuki, Rokuro, 49, mukokuseki ak1lShon, 6, 7 Nakajima, Yosuke, 74 Nihon Kniho Sensen, 2 1 7
1 3 9, 1 9 1 , 2 2 1 , 2 90, Mullan, Peter, 345 Nakajima, Yiita, 3 2 6 Nihon Kuroshakai: L ey
3 00-2 Mztmin, 1 1 5 Nakamoto, Ryota, 2 79 Lines, 1 9 1
Mochizuki, Tomomi, 1 2 1 , Mummy Returns, The, 3 2 8 Nakamura, Eiko, 5 5 Nihon n o Gomon, 3 0 3
128 Muno n o Hito, 2 8 3 Nakamura, Genji, 3 0 2 , Nihon n o Yom to Kiri, 3 1 1
Modae Kurushirmt Kntsuji Murai, Sadayuki, 3 0 7-8 322 Nijzt Seiki Shonen Dokuhon,
Chudokusha: Jigoku no Murakami, ]immy T. , l 2 7 Nakamura, Kumi, 3 3 7 132
Misogztra, 94 Murakami, ]un, 88 Nakamura, Mami, 2 0 2 , Nikkatsu, ix, x i , xiii, 3 ,
Modesty Blaise, 5 3 Murakami, Ryii, 89, 1 94 3 1 9-2 0 5-2 2 , 2 7 , 2 9 , 3 2-34,
Moe no Suzaku, 2 3 0, 2 3 5 Muraoka, Iheiji, 3 0 Nakamura, Yiiji, 7 8 3 8 , 49, 68, 93 , 9 5 ,
Mohohan, 2 7 9 Muroga, Atsushi, 2 86 Nakamura, Yiiko, 2 3 7 1 08, 1 3 2-3 3 , 1 3 6, 1 42 ,
M6jzt, 1 5 0, 2 8 3 Murota, Hideo, 3 3 7 Nakata, Hideo, ix, xii, xiii, 2 3 8, 2 42-43 , 246, 2 5 1 ,
Moju Tai Issun Boshi, 1 5 ° Musaka, Naomasa, 1 5 2-5 3 9 5 , 1 88, 2 2 8 , 2 5 1 -6 5 , 2 5 3-56, 2 6 3 , 2 7 1 , 2 7 3 ,
Momoi, Kaori, 3 9 , 8 8 Mushi Productions, 1 1 4, 267, 3 2 3 , 3 3 7 2 76, 2 79-80, 2 8 3 , 2 8 7 ,
Monday, 2 1 1 , 2 40-42 , 245 , 2 64 Nakatani, Miki, 2 5 8, 2 60, 292, 3 02-3 , 305, 3 09,
247-48 Muteppo Taisho, 4 2 64, 265 3 1 1 , 322, 337
Monkees, The, 2 0 My Face Red in the Sunset, Nakayama, Miho, 2 88-89 nikutai bungaku, 1 6
Monkey Punch, 9 , 1 1 5 131 Nakayama, Shinobu, 3 08 Nikutai no Mon, 5 , 1 4, 2 3 8
Mononokehime, 5 3 My J- W-F, 2 3 0 Naked, 4, 30, 2 5 0, 3 04 9 Souls, 3 44
Monty Python, 1 8 8, 298 My Name Is Joe, 345 Naked Blood, 3 04 1 9 Year Old's Map, A, 2 8 0
Moodysson, Lukas, 2 7 3 My Neighbor Totoro, 1 1 3 , Naked Woman and the Gun, 1 984, 8, 2 9 , 45, 68-69, 82,
Moomins, The, 1 1 5 1 1 9-2 0, 1 2 7-2 8 The, 4 1 1 0, 1 1 3- 1 4, 1 1 7 , 1 3 8,
Moon Child, 3 0 5 My Neighbors the Yamadas, Nambara, Kiyotaka, 1 4 1 1 60, 2 2 1 , 2 6 7 , 2 79,
Moonlight Boy, 1 42 1 13, 123 Nambara, Koji, 1 9 2 8 2 , 2 9 7 , 3 09, 3 1 4,
Moonlight Whispers, 267, My Second Brother, 26, 2 7 Namco, 2 5 6 3 1 6, 3 2 2 , 3 2 5
2 68, 2 70-7 2 , 2 74 My Solo Family, 2 2 9-30 Nandaro, 1 1 3 Ningen Gokaku, 95
Mor'etsu A taro, 1 1 2 My Way, 2 89 Naniwa Yztkyoden, 1 82 Ningen Johatsu, 26, 3 5
Mori, ]unichi, 3 3 6 My6jo, 1 2 9 Nanjo, Koj i, 74 Ningen no Sh6mei, 59, 2 7 8
Mori, Masayuki, 1 64 Myrick, Daniel, 262 Narasaki, Yanosuke, 78 Ningensei no Kejime, 94
Morimoto, Koji, 2 9 2 , 2 94 Mystery of Rampo, The, 2 3 , Namyama Bushiko, 26, 1 47 Ninja Bugeicho, 3 1 1
Morioka, Toshiyuki, 2 2 1 5 3 , 1 5 5 , 1 70, 2 8 2 , 2 8 5 Narusawa, Masashige, 5 3 Ninja Scroll, 2 9 3
Morita, Hiroyuki, 1 1 1 , Mystery Train, 1 4 1 Nasa, Kenjin, 2 9 5 ninjo, 1 2 , 1 69
123 Natori, Yiiko, 2 6 3 Nippon Chinbotsu, 5 9
Morita, Yoshimitsu, 8 5 , Nagai, Frank, 2 7 Natsu n o Niwa, 3 3 7 Nippon Konchl1ki, 2 6
2 7 7-79, 3 00 Nagao, Hiroshi, 5, 1 1 Natsutsuki Monogatari, 2 5 3 Nippon Sengoshi: Madamu
Moritani, Shiro, 5 9 Nagasaki, Shunichi, 49, Natsukawa, Yui, 1 42 , 2 1 0 Onboro no Seikatsu, 2 6
Morrow, Vic, 47 1 49, 2 5 8, 3 3 7 , 3 3 9, 3 4 1 Nausicad of the Valley of Nishi Ginza Eki-Mae, 2 6
Mortal Kombat, 3 2 9 Nagasawa, Toshiya, 2 3 7 the Winds, 1 1 3 , 1 1 4, Nishi Ginza Station, 26, 2 7
Morton, Rocky, 3 2 9 Nagase, Masatoshi, 2 3 , 1 1 7- 1 8 , 1 2 7 Nishida, Naomi, 2 47-48
Most Dangerous Game, 7 3 -74, 79, 1 3 5 , 1 4 1 , Neame, Ronald, 60 Nishii, Kazuo, 2 3 5
The, 63 22 1 , 337 Necronomicon, 3 09 Nishikawa, Miwa, 2 2 8
Most Terrible Time in My Nagashima, Eiko, 2 2 2 Negishi, Toshie, 1 9 3 Nishikori, Yoshinari, 2 3 8,
Life, The, 74, 1 3 2 , 1 3 4, Nagata, YUki, 1 90 Negotiator, The, 1 8 3 320
1 3 6-3 7 , 1 4 1 , 1 50, 240 Nagatsuka, Kazue, 7, 2 0 Neko n o Ongaeshi, I I I Nishimura, Ko, 3 3
Motohiro, Katsuyuki, 65 Nagisa, 4, 1 0, 26, 3 9, 1 3 2 , Neo Tokyo. See Labyrinth Nishimura, Shogoro, 1 6,
Motoki, Masahiro, 1 54, 1 44, 1 5 8, 1 6 1 , 1 7 3 , Story 20, 2 3 8
 Index • 359

Nito, Yiiko, 1 02 Oinaru Genei, 95, 98 Onna wa Basutei de Fuku 0 Pachinkii Nami, 267
Niwa, Tsutomu, 3 3 1 Okada, Eiji, 1 42 Torikaeta, 2 5 2 Piifekuto Burtl: Kanzen
No Man 's Land, 3 04 Okada, Masumi, 2 1 Ono, Atsushi, 3 3 1 Hentai, 307
No One 's Ark, 3 00 Okada, Yoshinori, 1 76 Ono, Machiko, 2 3 3 , 2 3 5 , paid companionship. See
Noa Noa, 29 Okaeri, 1 06, 1 98-2 05 237 enjo kosai
Nobi, 5 5 Okami Shonen Ken, 1 1 2 , Onyanko, 82 Pain. See Scoutman
Nobody Home, 1 98 1 14 Onyanko The Movie: Kiki Painted Dese17, 82-84
Nobody Kn07VS, 207 Okamoto, Hotaru, 1 2 9 Ippatsu! 82 Panda Kopanda, 1 1 2
Noda, Hiromi, 3 1 2 Okamoto, Yosniniko, 292 Open House, 33 5 Panda! Go Panda ' 1 1 2 , 1 1 6
Nogawa, Yumiko, 1 4, 1 6 Okamoto, Yukiko, 88 Ore ni Kaketa Yatsum, 4 Panda! Go Panda! Rainy
Nogi, Sumiko, 3 0 3 Okamura, Akemi, 1 2 7 Oretachi Hyokinzoku, 1 5 9 Day Circus, 1 1 6
Noguchi, Hiroshi, S Okamura, Tensai, 292 Oretachi no Chi ga Panic High School, 67, 68
Nokko, 1 0 1 Okasareta Hakui, 1 3 7 Yurusanai, 5 Papa no Sofuto Kurimu, 2 3 0
Non-Stop. See Dangan Okata, Hisako, 1 24 01'etachi wa Tenshi Ja Nai, Pamsite Eve, 6 1
Runner Oki, Minoru, 2 04-5 1 82 Paris-Dakmo 1 5000 Eiko e
Nora Inu, 22 3 Okinawa, 1 2 9, 1 62 , Oretachi wa Tenshi Ja Nai no Chosen, 82
Norikoto: Toriaezu no Taiwa 1 69-70 2, 1 82 Pan Time Tantei, 1 8 3
No. 1 , 68 Okiura, Hiroyuki, 3 2 5 Organ, 2 2 8, 2 9 5 , 296 Pan Time Tantei 2, 1 8 3
Noro, Keisuke, 1 2 Qkiyama, Hideko, 3 7 Organ 2 , 296 Pasolini, Pier Paolo, 2 7 8
Nor07Vareta Ning:;O, 2 5 3 Okubo Kiyoshi n o Hanzai, Original Sin, 2 8 7 Passpon t o Dmkness, 4
Nosaka, Akiyuki, 2 7 , 1 2 6 161 Oriume, 2 2 8 Patlabor, 3 2 5
Nosutoradamusu no Okubo, Ryli, 295 Qrwell, George, 2 9 Patlabor: The Movie, 3 2 5
Daiyogen, 59 Okuda, Eiji, 300 Osawa, Takao, 2 2 1 Peanuts, 1 82
Not Forgotten, 5 2 , 1 98-2 00, Okuda, Tomohiko, 1 88 Osei Tajo, 2 84 Peckinpah, Sam, 54, 77,
203-5 , 3 3 3 Okura, Masaaki, 3 06 Qshii, Mamoru, 3 24, 3 2 9 93, 163, 205
Notesfo r a Study o n Shohei Okuyama, Kazuyoshi, 1 6 1 , Oshima, Hiroko, 1 68 Pelle the Conqueror, 2 5
Imamura, 3 9 1 70, 2 82-83 , 3 3 5 Oshima, Nagisa, 4 , 1 0, 2 6 , Penn, Sean, 3 2
N07Vhere Man, 2 8 3 O L n o Rabu Jiisu, 3 06 39, 1 3 2 , 1 44, 1 5 8, 1 6 1 , Pelfeet Blue, 293-94, 3 04,
Nude Woman, The, 267 Olmos, Edward James, 5 9 1 7 5 , 240, 292, 3 1 0, 3 44 3 06-8
N!ldo no Yoru, 2 8 7 Qmeya, Shokichi, 1 40 Osman, Aziz M., 1 3 5 Pelfeet Blue: Yume Nara
NWlOkawa, Tetsuro, 1 3 3 , Omine, Mika, 1 4 1 Ososhiki, 2 8 2 Samete, 3 0 7
292 Omocha, 45 QSS 1 1 7, 5 3 Pnfect Education, The, 2 40
Nune Call, 3 3 9 Omori, Nao, 1 95 , 202, Osugi, Ren, 98, 1 02 , 1 05 , period drama. See jidai-
Nusumareta YokuM, 2 6 2 04, 3 2 2 1 07, 1 69, 1 9 3 , 2 4 1 , geki
On the Waterfront, 3 1 0 245, 247, 2 9 1 , 3 2 2-2 3 Perry, Matthew Calbraith,
o Dreamland, 2 5 5 O n Your Mark, 1 1 3 , 1 2 1 Qsumi, Masaaki, 1 1 5 39
Oboreru Hito, 240 Onanie Musume: Midarana Qtaka, Rikiya, 260 Petersen, Wolfgang, 54
Obsession, An, 2 1 4- 1 6, 2 1 8, Shiseikatslt, 3 02 Qtake, Koji , 1 3 9 Pfeiffer, Michelle, 1 3 8
2 2 1 -24 Onchi, Hideo, 5 , 1 1 , 1 80 Otake, Shinobu, 3 3 3 Phantom of Baker Street,
Ocean Waves. See 1 Can Onda, Seijiro, 1 7 O te, 343 The, I I I
Hear the Sea One Generation of Tattoos. Otoko no Naka ni wa Tori Phantom ofRegular Size,
Ochazuke no Aji, 2 5 See Life ofa Tattooed ga lru, 5 The, 1 44
Ochiai, Masayuki, 6 1 Man Otoko wa Tsumi yo, 2 7 5 Phenomenon, 2 9 8
Oda, Erika, 2 1 1 1 00 Years ofJapanese Otome no Inori, 1 3 2 , 1 3 8 Pi, 3 2 4
Odoshi, 44 Cinema, 3 1 2 Ot0I11 0 , Katsuhiro, 69, PIA Film Festival, xiii, 69,
Office Kitano, xiii, 1 5 9, One Missed Call, 1 8 3 , 1 88 1 5 8, 243 , 2 9 2 , 3 2 5 7 1 , 9 3 , 96, 1 00, 1 44,
1 62 , 1 64, 1 70, 2 00 One Piece (anime), 1 1 1 Otori, Ran, 3 44 1 72-7 3 , 1 7 5 , 2 66, 2 69
Ogata, Akira, 95 One Piece (short film Otsuka, Akio, 1 2 7 PiCll ic, 2 89
Ogata, Ken, 3 0-3 1 , 39, anthology), 201 Qtsuka, Eiji, 1 85 Pigs and Battleships, 26, 2 7
5 9-60, 3 09 Ongyoku no Ran, 1 3 2 , 1 3 6 Otsuka, Yasuo, 1 1 5 , 1 2 5 Pikachf, n o Natsuyaszmzi,
Ogawa, Mariko, 1 9 Onibi, 1 3 9, 2 2 1 , 2 90, Our Blood Won 't Allow It, 125
Ogawa, Shinsuke, 2 1 7 3 00-2 5, 7 Pikachu: The Movie, 1 2 5
Oginome, Keiko, 6 1 -62 Onibi: The Fire Within, Out of This World, 345 Pillow Book, The, 60
Ogiso, Kentaro, 298 3 00- 1 Quter Way, The, 302 Ping Pong, 2 1 3 , 297, 3 3 6,
Ogura, Satoru, 1 1 , 2 3 Onimaru, 3 4 1 Oyabu, Haruhiko, 6 3 42
Ohara, Koyli, 2 3 8 Onimusha 2 , 2 7 8 Ozawa, Hitoshi, 2 0 2 pink film, xii, 20, 1 3 3 , 1 3 7,
Ohe, Shinya, 76 Only Yesterday, 1 1 3 , 1 2 0, Ozawa, Shigehiro, 60, 3 1 2 2 5 6, 267, 2 89, 297,
Ohikkoshi, 3 3 7 1 2 7-30 Ow, Yasujiro, xii , 25, 3 4, 3 02-6, 3 2 0, 3 2 2
Oikawa, Ataru, 2 6 1 , 3 2 0 Onmyaji, 3 0 3 1 6 2 , 297 Pink Pineapple, 2 1 7
Oike, Masamitsu, 74 Onna Kunish!l lkki, 1 8 3 Pink Salon, 2 79
360 . INDEX

pinku eiga. See pink film Raiders of the Lost Ark, 135 Ring 2, 2 5 2 , 2 5 8, 2 6 1 , 2 6 5 , Ryo, 1 54-5 5 , 1 93 , 2 1 5 ,
Pinkzl Kntto: Futoku Aishite Raigyo, 3 0 3 , 3 0 5 , 3 06 339 2 2 1 -2 2 , 2 7 2
Fukaku Aishite, 2 7 9 Raimi, Sam, 7 5 Ring, The (Nakata), xii, Ryii , Chishu, 2 5 9
Pinter, Harold, 2 5 5 Rain of Light, 2 77 , 3 0 3 1 00, 1 5 5 , 1 88, 2 1 9, Ryii , Daisuke, 7 9
Pippi Longstocking, 1 1 5 Rainy Dog, 1 8 1 -84 2 2 8 , 243 , 2 5 1 -5 3 , Ryuko, in the Unfaithful
Pirates ofBubuan, The, 2 6 Rakujitsu n o Kettii, 5 2 5 6-6 3 , 2 6 5 , 2 6 7 , 3 2 3 , Evening, 3 00
Pistol Opera, 5 , 8, 1 1 - 1 2 , Ramblers, 3 00 3 3 7, 3 3 9 Ryiikyii , 2 9
2 1 , 2 3 -2 4, 1 3 3 , 2 0 0 , Rampling, Charlotte, 3 1 2 Ring, The (Verbinski), 2 5 9,
2 70, 3 2 6 Ranlpo, 5 3 , 1 5 5 , 2 8 2-86 261 Sahu, 1 1 , 69, 1 02 , 1 04,
Planet Srudyo + 1 , 3 0 0 Rampo, Edogawa, 52-5 3 , Ringu, 1 82 , 2 5 2 , 2 5 8 , 1 8 1 , 1 8 8 , 1 9 5 , 2 40-5 0 ,
Platonic Sex, 89 1 5 0, 1 54-5 5 , 2 8 0 2 60-6 1 2 5 6, 2 79 , 2 94
Play Misty for Me, 2 2 Ran, xii, 1 82 , 3 1 2 , 3 44 Ringu 0: Biisude, 2 6 1 Sabu, 1 8 3 , 1 8 7
Pleasures of the Flesh, 3 1 1 Randon, 3 3 6 Ringu: Knnzenban, 2 5 8 , Sadako, 2 7-2 8 , 3 3-3 5 ,
Poe, Edgar Allan, 2 8 3 Rasen, 2 5 7 , 2 6 1 , 3 2 3 261 2 5 1 , 2 5 6- 5 8 , 2 60-62
Pokimon, I l l , 1 2 5 Rasen: The Series, 2 6 1 Ringll: Saishii.shii, 2 6 1 Sadistic and Masochistic,
Pokimon: Mewtwo Strikes Rashomon, 5 3 , 2 09, 3 40 Rintaro, 2 82 -8 3 , 2 9 3 -94, 252
Back, 1 2 5 Ratanaruang, Pen-ek, 1 66 325, 329 Sadistic City, 322
Poketto Monsmii: Myittsli no Ray, Nicholas, 2 8 2 , 3 1 0 Ririi Shushu no Subete, 2 90 Saegusa, Kenki, 3 40
GyakzlShu, 1 2 5 Rebel Without a CallSe, 3 1 0 Rising Sun, 4 5 , 1 65 Sai, Yoichi, 1 3 3 , 2 3 6, 2 40,
Pokolenie, 3 2 6 Reckless Boss, 4 Ritual, 89 291, 3 10
Polanski, Roman, 2 5 5 , Red Angel, 54 Roaring Fire, 2 6 0 Saibara, Rieko, 3 4 5
305 Red Chamber, The, 2 84 Robocon, 3 2 8 Saishli Heiki, 2 9 2
Pollack, Sidney, 2 7 5 Redford, Robert, 9 5 Robot Carnival, 2 9 3 Saito, Hisashi, 2 6 5
Poltergeist, 94, 1 0 1 , 2 5 8 Reflection, 2 1 Robson, Mark, 5 9 Saito, Mitsumasa, 6 1
Pompoko, 1 1 3 , 1 2 2 , 1 3 0 Reflection Jllbaku no Rock 'n ' Roll Mishin, 3 3 5 Saito, Yoichiro, 2 1 7 , 2 2 1 ,
Popiol I Diament, 3 2 6 Kizzma, 2 1 Roeg, Nicholas, 2 1 9, 2 5 9 2 2 4, 2 2 6
Poppy, The, 2 1 8 Rei Bideo, 2 5 8 Rohmer, Eric, 9 3 Sakaguchi, Hironobu, 3 2 8
Porco Rosso, 1 1 2 - 1 3 , 1 2 1 , ReikllSaido Miidiikesu, 215 Rohmer, Sax, 1 3 8 Sakai, Miki, 2 8 8
1 2 7-2 8 Reinart, Al, 3 2 9 Roji e : Nakagami Kenji no Sakamoto, Hironobu, 3 2 9
Pornographers, The, 2 6-2 8 Reiner, Rob, 3 3 7 Nokoshita, 2 1 5 Sakamoto, ]unji, 5 2 , 1 74,
Pornostar, 343 Reisz, Karel, 2 5 5 Riijin Z, 2 94 3 4 3 -45
Postman Blues, 2 4 1 -42 , Remembrance of Things Rokkii, 94 Sakamoto, Ryiii chi, 2 2 0 ,
2 44-45 , 2 48 Past. See A La recherche Rokkzmriiru Mishin, 3 3 5 3 12
Powder Road, 1 3 5 du temps perdu Rokugatsll no Hebi, 1 44, Saki, Ryii z o, 3 1
Power Rangers, 1 3 8 Renoir, ]ean, 98 155 Sakura, Moe, 3 0 3 , 3 06
Presently, 2 3 0 Renzoku Biikan, 3 0 3 Rolling Stones, The, 2 76 Salles, Walter, 1 64
Princess Eve, 3 0 9 Repulsion, 2 5 5 , 3 0 5 Roman Porno, 1 0, 1 6, Samurai Reincarnation, 4 5 ,
Princess Knight, 2 64 Reservoir Dogs, 1 5 8 2 2 , 49, 6 8 , 9 3 , 2 3 8 , 49, 6 1
Private Fujita Comes Home, Resnais, Alain, 1 42 2 5 1 -5 2 , 2 76, 2 7 9-80, Sanada, Hiroyuki, 2 6 0
26, 3 0 Resurrection, 2 67 , 2 7 0 2 8 3 , 2 8 7-88, 3 02-3 , Sanada, Masumi, 2 04
Profound Desire of the Gods, Revenge: A Visit From Fate, 3 09, 3 1 1 , 3 2 2 Sanchez, Eduardo, 2 6 2
The, 2 6 , 2 9 , 3 7-3 8 , The, 95 Romance, 1 3 2 , 1 3 8 Sandanju n o Otoko, 4
276 Revenge: The Scar that Romanrn, 1 49, 3 3 9 Sanjiigawara Ranjin, 3 1 2
Proof of the Man, 5 9 , 60, Never Fades, The, 9 5 , Romero, George, 5 9 Sanma no Aji, 2 9 7
278 99 Ronde, La. See Rinbu Sano, Kazuhiro, 3 0 3 -4
Proud Challenge, The, 44 Revolutionary Truth, Roosters, The, 68-69, 7 1 Sano, Shiro, 1 3 3 , 1 3 9 ,
Proust, Marcel, 2 9 0 The, 3 1 3 - 1 5 , 3 1 7 rori-kon, 89 1 4 1 , 1 66
Pulse, 7 2 , 9 5 , 98-1 0 1 , 1 0 3 , Rex: A Dinosaur Story, 61 Routes du Sud, Les, 255 Saraba Eiga n o Tomoyo:
1 0 5 , 1 07 , 1 09- 1 0 Rhames, Vmg, 3 2 8 Rowe, Paul, 3 3 2 Indian Samii, 8 2
Pure Emotions of the Sea, Riarizumu no Jado, 3 00 Rowing Through, 82 , 2 8 6 Saraba Itoshiki Daichi, 2 80
4, 6 Ribon no Kishi, 264 Run, 69 Sarawaretai anna, 2 6 5
Richardson, Tony, 2 5 5 Rupan Sansei, 5 , 1 1 2 - 1 3 , Sasa, Atsuyuki, 90
Quandt, ]ames, 2 8 Richie, Donald, 3 9 , 1 74 1 15 Sasaki, Hirohisa, 2 2 1
Quartet, 1 69 Ride the High Country, 205 Rup�n Sansei: Babiron no Sasayaki. See Moonlight
Quiet Life, A, 2 82 Rihatsllten Aruji no Ogon Densetsll, 5 Whispe·rs
Quill, 2 92 Knnashimi, 3 2 2 Rupan Sansei: Knriosutoro Sato, Hajime, 2 6 2
Rijii, Go, 1 49, 2 1 7 , 2 2 6, no Shiro, 1 1 3 Sato, Hisayasu, 3 0 3 -4
Rage ofLove, The, 45, 2 3 8 , 2 40 RllSh, 3 0 5 Sato, Hitomi, 8 8 , 90, 2 60
278 Rinbu, 2 5 2 RllStling in Bed, 3 06 Sato, ]unya, 4 5 , 5 9
Raibu: Chigasaki, 279 Ring 0 : Birthday, 2 5 8, 261 Ryan, Meg, 3 3 0 Sato, Koichi, 2 86
 Index . 361

Sato, Sakichi, 1 96 Sennen JOYll, 3 08 Shimomoto, Shiro, 3 1 7 2 00, 202, 2 06, 2 2 7 ,

Sato, Shimako, 2 2 8 Sensei, Watashi n o Knrada Shin Daisan no Gokudo 2 40, 2 66-74, 3 2 1 , 3 2 7
Sato, Toshiki, 303-4, 3 07 ni Hi 0 Tsukenaide, 3 2 2 2, 1 82 Shiraishi, Ayano, 1 2 6
Sato, 'I'asue, 88, 90 Sensoron, 3 1 4 Shin Daisan no Gokudo: Shiraki, 'l'oko, 2 1
Sato, Zenboku, 94 Sento, Naomi. See Boppatsu Kansai Gokudo Shiritsu Tantei Hama
Satomi Hakkenden, 45 Kawase, Naomi Uozu!! 1 82 Maiku, 68, 74, 1 3 6,
Saturday Night and Sunday Sento, Takenori, ix, Shin Eun Kyung, 3 2 3 22 1
Morning, 2 5 5 72-7 3 , 80, 94, 2 1 4, Shin Gegege no Kitaro, 1 1 2 Shiroi Fune, 2 3 8, 3 2 1
Saved by the Bell, 2 1 7 2 1 9-2 1 , 2 3 1 , 2 3 8, Shin Heike Monogatari, 5 3 Shiroi Hada n i Kurttu
Saving Private Ryan, 66 2 5 6-57, 3 2 8 , 3 3 9 Shin Jingi naki Tatakai Kiba, 94
Sawada, Kenji, 1 1 , 2 3 -24, Serohiki no Goshu, 1 1 2 (Fukasaku), 45, 47 Shiroi Tsuki, 2 3 0
1 47, 2 7 5 Servant, The, 2 5 5 Shin Jingi naki Tatakai Shiryo no Taki, 2 5 3
Sawada, Shunsuke, 298 Setting Sun, The, 2 3 0 (Sakamoto), 5 2 Shiryo n o Wana, 2 5 2 , 2 8 7
Sawada, 'l'ukihiro, 6 8 Seven, 8 1 , 1 0 5 , 2 3 3 , 3 09 Shin Jingi naki Tatakai: Shisenjo no Alia, 3 04
Sawaki, Te�u, 1 93 , 2 7 2 7 Blades, 1 3 5 Bosatsu, 5 2 Shishido, Jo, 6-7 , 9, 1 4,
Sawato, Midori, 1 3 3 Seven Samurai, 8 1 , 2 3 3 Shin Jingi naki Tatakai: 1 9, 2 0-2 1 , 2 3-24, 1 4 1
Scene a t the Sea, A , 1 59- Sex Pistols, The, 69, 76 Kumicho no Kubi, 45 Shitsurakuen, 2 7 9
6 3 , 1 68-70, 1 98 SF Huippu Kurimu, 305 Shin Jingi naki Tatakai: Shizukana Seikatsu, 2 8 2
Scenes by the Sea: Takeshi SF Whip Cream, 305 Kumicho Saigo no Hi, Sho 0 Suteyo Machi e Deyo,
Kitano, 1 6 5 Shadow ofNoctttrne, 1 3 5 45 53
Schepisi, Fred, 1 6 1 Shady Grove, 2 1 4-2 1 , Shin Jingi no Hakaba, 5 2 , S hochiku, ix, xi, 4 , 1 0- 1 1 ,
Schiavelli, Vrncent, 8 3 2 2 4-2 6 183 2 3 , 2 5-2 7 , 3 1 , 40, 47,
Schlesinger, John, 2 5 5 Shall We Dance? 2 5 , 8 5 , Shin Knnashiki HittlJ1nan, 50, 52-5 3 , 1 47 , 1 5 5 ,
Schmid, Daniel, 203 2 8 3 , 2 96-98 22 1, 301 1 6 1 , 1 70, 1 90, 2 82-8 3 ,
School Days, 94 Shanghai 'Vance King, 45 Shin Seiki Evangelion, 89 2 8 5-86, 2 96, 3 0 5 ,
Schrader, Leonard, 2 7 5 Shanghai Bansukingu, 4 5 Shin Tsubasa, 1 44 3 1 0- 1 2 , 3 3 5
Schrader, Paul, 54, 60 Shangri-La, 1 8 3 Shindo, Kaneto, 8, 1 9, 5 5 , Sbocker, 2 6 1
Schumacher, Joel, 2 7 6 Shanhai Ijin Shokan, 1 3 2 64, 2 2 8 Shogun 's Samurai, 4 5
Score, 2 86 Shara, 2 3 0, 2 3 2 , 2 3 4-3 5 Shindo, Kaze, 2 2 8 , 2 3 8, Shobei Imamura, 2 8 , 3 9
Scorsese, Martin, 46 Sharasiiju, 2 3 0 333 Shohei Imamura: Human,
Scott Fitzgerald, F., 22 3 Shaw Brothers, 5 3 Shingo Chikachika, 94 All Too Human, 2 8
Scott, Ridley, 3 1 , 1 44, Sherlock Hound, 1 1 3 , 1 1 7 Shining, The, 2 5 9 Shrek, 1 1 2 , 3 2 9
1 5 1 , 161, 278 Shiatsu 6ja, 6 8 Shinjuku DorobO Nikki, Shlldan Chikan Hitozlt'fna
Scoutman, 89, 9 1 , 1 72 , Shiawase Modoki, 2 3 0 1 3 7, 3 1 1 Nozoki, 3 04
3 1 7- 1 9 Shiba, Ryotaro, 3 1 2 Shinjuku Outlaw, 1 80, 1 82 Shlldiijo Nurenawa Zange,
Scream, 1 00, 2 6 1 -62 Shibasaki, Ko, 62, 24 1 , Shinjuku Triad Society, 238
Scream 3 , 2 6 1 2 70, 3 1 9, 3 3 3 1 80-84, 243 Shuffle, 68, 69, 7 1 -72
Seagal, Steven, 3 3 0 Shibata, Kotaro, 2 3 5 Shinkansen Daibakuha, 5 9 Shunpuden, 5
Seance, 95 Shibugakitai, 283 Shinobi no Mono, 1 3 5 Shurayukihime: Urami
Searchers, The, 2 1 9 Shiga, Masaru, 3 44 Shinoda, Masahiro, 4, 26, Renka, 2 82
Season of the Sun, 6, 54 Shigarami Gakuen, 94 1 3 1 , 3 10 Siegel, Don, 46, 93 , 1 66
Secret Evening, A, 1 7 2-73 Shigatsu Monogatari, 290, Shinohara, Ka�uyuki, 2 8 8 Silence of the Lambs, Tbe,
Secret of Blue Water, The, 335 Shinohara, Te�uo, 3 2 1 1 06
89 Shiina, Eihi, 1 9 3 , 1 94, Shinozaki, Makoto, 5 2 , Silva, Henry, 4 7
Secret ofLast Night, The. 2 2 6, 2 7 2 94, 1 0 1 , 1 06, 1 60, Silver, 1 66, 1 8 3 , 2 8 0
S e e Secret Evening, A Shiina, Kippei, 2 86 1 97-2 05 , 2 06, 208, Simenon, Georges, 2 2 3
See the Heavens, 2 3 0 Shiina, Makoto, 1 88 2 1 6, 2 2 1 , 2 66, 3 00, Sinatra, Frank, 2 89
Seishun no Mon, 45 Shikasbi . . . Fukushi 333 Skinless Nigbt, 3 02
Seishun no Satetsu, 2 7 6 Kirisute n o Jidai ni, 2 0 7 Shinsengumi, 3 1 2 Skirt, 68
Seishun no Satsujinsha, 2 7 7 Shikijitsu, 89 Shinsengumi Farce, 3 1 2 Sleep of the Beast, 4
Seishun Zankoku Shikingen Godatsu, 45 Shinsengumi Keppzlroku, Sleeping Beauty, 2 5 8, 263
Monogatari, 3 1 0 Shiko Funjatta, 2 97 3 12 Sleeping Bride, The, 2 5 2 ,
Seiteki Hanzai, 292 Shikoku, 2 5 8, 3 3 7 , 3 3 9 Shinsengumi Keppllroku 2 5 8, 2 63-65
Sekai Meisaku Gekijo, 1 1 6 Shimizu, Hiroshi (actor), Kondo Isami, 3 1 2 Sletaune, Pill, 245
Seki, Takeshi, 54 1 02 Shintakarajima, 2 64 Sluizer, George, 3 40
Sekiguchi, Tomohiro, 224 Shimizu, Hiroshi Shintoho, xi, 8, 49, 1 3 3 , Small Largeness, A , 2 3 0
Sen to Chihiro no (director), 1 62 297 Smith, Dick, 94, 1 02
Knmikakushi, 1 1 3 Shimizu, Misa, 40 Shiomi, Takaya, 3 1 3 , 3 1 5 Snake ofJune, A , 1 44,
Senjo no Meri Kurisu11tasu, Shimizu, Takashi, xii, 95, Shionoya, Masayuki, 1 02 1 48-49, 1 54-5 7
161, 3 1 1 261 Shiota, Akihiko, 94, 1 04, Soavi , Michele, 2 56
362 • INDEX

Solitude of One Divided by Stop Jap, 68-69 Sure Death, 4 5 , 48 Takahashi, Banmei, 9 3 ,
880, 000, The, 68 Storm of Falling Petals: Sure Death 4, 45 277
Solitude Point, 2 2 8 Banner ofa Fireman in Sure Thing, The, 3 3 7 Takahashi, Hideki, 1 7
Somai, Shinji, 9 3 , 2 7 7 , the Flames, S Sutherland, Donald, 3 2 8 Takahashi, Hiroshi, 2 5 7 ,
3 3 6- 3 7 Story ofa Prostitute, S , 8 , Suwa, Nobuhiro, 2 00, 262, 267
Somaudo Monogatari, 2 3 0 1 1 , 1 6, 2 0 , 24, 54 2 0 8 , 2 1 1 , 2 1 4, 2 1 7 , Takahashi, Kazuya, 8 7 ,
Some Kinda Love, 1 49, 3 3 9 Story of 0 , The, 1 3 2 2 3 3 , 2 3 8 , 243 1 7 6-77
Sommers, Stephen, 3 2 8 Story of Sorrow and Sadness, Suwa, Taro, 1 02 , 2 1 7 , 2 2 2 , Takahashi, Keiko, 3 2 3
Sonatine,1 5 8-59, 1 62 , 3 , 5 , 1 0- 1 1 , 2 1 -2 2 , 2 4 2 64, 3 3 7 Takahashi, Ryosuke, 3 2 6
1 68-70, 2 8 5 Story of Yanagawa Canal, SUZllk u, 2 5 , 89, 1 3 5 , 2 1 7 , Takahashi, Yoichiro, 7 9
Sono Gososha 0 Nerae, 4 The, 1 1 2 , 1 2 6 2 2 8 , 2 3 0-3 3 , 2 3 5- 3 8 , Takahata, 1sao, 1 1 1 -24,
Sono Otoko, Kyobo ni Tsuki, Straight to Hell, 76 2 80 1 2 6, 1 2 8
1 5 9, 1 66 Stray Dog, 2 1 6, 2 2 2-24 Suzuki Seijun, Zen Eiga, 3 Takakura, Ken, 6, 44, 1 6 1 ,
Sonoda, Kenji, 3 3 6 Street Fighter (de Souza), Suzuki, Kazuma, 2 2 2 , 3 1 9 2 3 8, 2 4 5 , 2 7 5
Sora Iro n o Tane, 1 1 3 329 Suzuki, Keiichi, 1 66, 2 8 8 Takamura, Kaoru, 2 9 1
Sora Tobu Yztreisen, 1 2 5 Street Mobster, 44-46, 5 0 Suzuki, Koji, 2 5 7 , 2 6 0 , Takano, Shoji, 9 4
Sorekara, 2 7 9 Street of Shame, 64 2 62 Takaoka, Saki, 1 90
Sorobanzuku, 2 4 3 , 2 7 9 Streetfighter (Ozawa), 60 Suzuki, Seijun, 3 -2 3 , 2 7 , Takaoka, Sosuke, 3 4 1
Soseiji, 1 44, 1 54 Stripper, The, 2 7 9 5 2 , 54, 9 3 , 1 1 6, 1 3 3 , Takarazuka, 1 2 9, 3 3 3 , 3 40
Sotsugyo Ryoko: Nihon Kora Strummer, Joe, 76 1 3 8, 1 42 , 2 0 0 , 2 1 7- 1 8 , Takashima, Gara, 2 92
Kimashita, 1 90 Studio Ghibli, xiii, 1 1 1 - 2 40, 248-49, 2 6 6 , 2 70, Takechanman, 1 59
Sound of Waves, The, 5 3 3 0 , 1 69, 2 3 8 2 7 7-7 8, 3 1 1 , 3 42 Takeda, Shinji, 3 1 0
Space Travelers, 6 5 Style to Kill, 1 2 Suzuki, Seitaro. See Takenaka, Naoto, 1 49,
Spears, Britney, 3 08 Subete ga Kurutteru, 4 Suzuki, Seijun 1 5 3 -54, 1 90-9 1 ,
Speed, 241 Submersion ofJapan, 5 9 Suzuki, Takashi, 1 9 2 82-8 3 , 2 86, 2 96
Spiders, The, 2 0 Sude n i Oita Konojo no Suzuki, Takuji, 2 0 1 , 3 0 3 Takeshi Gundan, 1 62
Spielberg, Steven, 1 0 1 Subete n i Tsuite wa Suzuki, Toshio, 1 1 9 Takeshi Kitano,
Spillane, Mickey, 1 3 6, 1 4 1 Kotaranu Tame ni, 2 1 5 , Suzuki, Yiisaku, 2 7 2 l'Imprivisible. See
Spinal Tap, 13 8 , 3 1 6 220 Suzuran ShOjo Moe no Cini1na de notre
Spiral, The, 2 5 7- 5 8 , 2 6 1 - Sugai, Kin, 2 7 9 Monogatari, 2 8 5 temps: Takeshi Kitano,
62, 265, 3 2 3 Sugata, Shun, 1 02 , 1 09, Svankmayer, Jan, 1 5 2 l'Imprevisible
Spiral. See Uzumaki 195, 295 Swallowtail Butterfly, 25, Takeshi-kun Hai, 1 60, 1 64
Spirited Away, 5 9 , 1 1 2 - 1 3 , Sugawara, Bunta, 46, 5 5 , 1 3 5 , 2 89, 3 3 5 Takeuchi, Riki, 66, 1 8 3 ,
121, 123 5 7 , 59, 2 7 5 Sweet Home, 94, 1 0 1 -2 191
Spooky Kitaro, 1 1 2 , 1 2 5 Sugihara, Toshiyuki, 298 Swiderski, Bartek, 3 2 4 Takeuchi, Yoshikazu, 3 0 7
Spoorloos, 3 40 Suidobashi, Hakase, 1 60, Swift, Jonathan, 1 1 5 , 1 1 9 Takeuchi, YUko, 2 60
Spriggan, 2 94 1 98, 2 0 1 Switch, 1 98 Takigawa, Chisui, 2 6 1
Spring That Didn 't Come, Suit Yourself or Shoot Sympathy for the Underdog, Takigawa, Yumi, 5 9
The, 4 Yourself 94-99, 1 02-3 , 44 Takita, Yojiro, 1 90, 3 0 3
Spyri, Johanna, 1 1 6 1 05 , 1 08, 2 1 7 , 2 6 7 Takizawa, Toshifumi, 3 3 1
Square, 3 2 9-3 1 SUlto Homu, 94, 1 0 1 Taboo. See Gohatto Tales of a Golden Geisha,
Stage Fright. See Deliria Summer Yitki Threw Away Taguchi, Masayuki, 6 5 282
Stairway to the Distant Rock Music, The, 3 3 9 Taguchi, Tomorowo, 40, Talking Head, 325
Past, 1 3 2 , 1 3 6, 1 42 Sumo Do, Sumo Don 't, 2 9 7 8 7 , 1 44, 1 4 5 , 1 5 2 , Tamagawa, 1sao, 1 9
Stake Out, 3 2 1 Sun Legend of the Tokugawa 1 54-5 5 , 1 9 1 , 2 46-47, Tampopo, 1 5 8 , 2 8 1 -82
Stalin For Never, The, 69 Era, The, 2 7 2 8 8 , 3 1 0, 3 1 9 Tamura, AJcira, 1 60
Stalin, The, 68-69, 7 7 Sun Tribe movies, 6, 3 1 O Taichi, Kiwako, 2 7 9 Tamura, Masakazu, 2 8 3
Stalker, 3 2 5 Sun, Alien, 1 95 Taifo Kurabu, 3 3 7 Tamura, Masaki, 1 3 5 , 2 1 7 ,
Stand By Me, 3 2 7 Suna n o anna, 1 42 Taiho no Machi, 2 9 2 2 2 5 , 2 3 1 , 2 3 6, 2 8 0
State Police vs. Organized Sun cent Cinema Works, Taiyo ni Hoero, 2 7 8 Tamura, Tajiro, 8
Crime. See Cops vs. 7 3 , 80, 2 1 4, 2 2 1 , 2 3 3 Taiyo n o Hakaba, 3 1 O Tanabe, Seiichi, 1 7 6-7 7 ,
Thugs Sunday Drive, 2 6 5 Taiyo no 19setsu, 5 , 5 4 272
Steam Boy, 2 9 5 Sunflower, 3 3 5 Taiyo no Oji Horusu no Tanaka, Hiroki. See Sabu
Stepford Wives, The, 2 3 Sunny Cruiser, 1 3 8 Daiboken, 1 1 2 , 1 2 4 Tanaka, Hiroyuki. See
Stevenson, Robert Louis, Sunrise in Kompon, 135 Taiyo 0 Nusunda Otoko, 2 7 5 Sabu
125 Suo, Masayuki, 2 5 , 94, taiyozoku, 6, 2 6 , 3 1 0 Tanaka, Kinuyo, 2 2 8
Stewart, James, 2 1 2 2 8 3 , 2 96-97 Tajiri, Yiiji, 3 06 Tanaka, Kunie, 5 5 , 2 7 0
Stink Bomb, 2 9 2 , 2 94 Sztpii no anna, 2 8 2 Tajzt Jinkaku ShOjo Isola, Tanaka, Noboru, 2 3 8 ,
Stolen Desire, 2 6-2 7 Super Mario Brothers, 3 2 9 261 2 80, 2 8 3 , 2 8 7 , 3 1 1
Stone, Oliver, 90 Supermarket Woman, 2 8 2 Takada, Kumi, 1 76 Tanaka, Umitaro, 3 1 3 ,
 Index . 363

316 Teshigahara, Hiroshi, 1 42 Tokyo Garbage Girl. See Town ofLove and Hope,
Tanaka, YUki, 3 44 Tessier, Max, 2 5 Tokyo Trash Baby A, 3 1 0
Tanba, Tetsuro, 5 4-5 5 Tetsuo II: Body Hammer, Tokyo Goddofoziis, 3 0 8 Town without Pity, A , 2 5 2 ,
Tani, Naomi, 2 5 1 1 44, 1 47 Tokyo Godfathers, 3 0 8 257
Taniguchi, SenJcichi, 8 Tetsuo: The Iron Man, TOkyo Gomi Onna, 3 1 9 Toy Story, 3 3 0
Tantei JimllSho 2-3: 143-44, 1 5 1 - 5 2 , 296 Tokyo GP, 288 Toyoda, Toshiaki, 3 4 1 -43
Kutabm'e Akutodomo, 4 Tetsuwan A tomu, 1 1 4, 2 64 TOkyo Harenchi Tengoku Toyokawa, Etsushi, 1 74,
Tantei Monogatari, 2 7 8 Tezuka, Osamu, 1 1 4, 2 5 8, Sayonara no Blues, 3 00 288
Tarantino, Quentin, 1 5 1 , 2 6 3 -64, 2 86 TOkyo Kishitai, 4 Trainspotting, 3 3 5 , 345
1 5 8, 193, 1 98, 3 40 Theater of Life, 45 Tokyo Knights, 4 Trap, The, 1 3 2 , 1 3 6- 3 7 ,
Tarkovsky, Andrei, 3 2 5 Theorem, 2 7 8 Tokyo Movie Shinsha 1 42
Tarnished Code of the Thirteen Ghosts, 1 02 (TMS), 1 1 5 Treastwe Island, 1 2 5
Yakuza. See Battles This Sporting Life, 2 5 5 Tokyo JVagaremono, 5 Trip to a Strange Kingdom,
Without Honor and This Window Is Yours, 3 2 8 Tokyo Shameless Paradise, 1 90
Humanity This World, 2 0 7-8, 2 3 0- 3 00 Triple Cross, The, 4 5 , 50,
Tasogare Seibei, 2 60 3 1 , 345 Tokyo Ska Paradise 5 2 , 6 1-62 , 64, 1 3 3
Taste of Cherry, The, 2 5 Thomas, Jeremy, 1 64 Orchestra, 1 3 6 Troell, Jan, 5 9
Taste of Honey, A , 2 5 5 3-4 XJUgatstt, 1 59 Tokyo Story, 2 5 , 2 5 9, 2 9 7 Trouble with JVango, 8 2
Tatsumi, Tsutomu, 1 2 6 3, 000 Miles in Search of Tokyo Trash Baby, 2 0 2 , 2 69, Troubleshooters, 82
Tatta Hitori no Kazoku, 2 3 0 Mother, 1 1 2 3 1 9-2 1 , 3 3 3 Trout, The. See Truite, La
Tattooed Life· See Life ofa Three . . . Extremes, 1 8 3 Tokyo X Erotica, 3 0 5 Truffaut, Fran�ois, 2 6 ,
Tattooed Man Thriller, 2 89 TOkyo X Erotika: Shibireru 191, 256
Taxing Woman, A, 2 8 2 Throw Away Your Books and Kairaku, 3 0 5 Truite, La, 2 5 5
Taxing Woman Returns, Go Out into the Streets, Tokyo, The Last Megalopolis, Tsigoineruwaizen, 5
A , 2 82 1 32 133 Tsubasa, 1 44
Tearful Thoughts, 1 1 3 , 1 2 8 Time without Pity, 2 5 5 Tomb Raider, 1 3 5 , 3 2 8 Tmge Yoshiharu n o Sekai,
Tekken, 345 Titanic, 1 1 2 Tombeau Des Lucioles, 1 74
Temple of the Golden To Die in the Country, 1 3 2 Le. See Grave of the Tsugumi, 1 7 7-7 8, 2 70,
Pavilion, The, 5 3 To Sleep So As to Dream, Fireflies 272
Temple, Julien, 7 6 1 3 2-3 3 , 1 3 9-4 1 , 2 5 7 Tombstone of the Fil'eflies. Tsuioku no Dansu, 2 3 0
Ten Mitake, 2 3 0 To the Alley, 2 1 5 , 2 2 0, 2 8 0 S e e Grave of the Tsuiseki: Futari no
Ten to Chi to, 6 1 Toda, Naho, 78 Fireflies Yoshinobu, 2 6
Tender Place, A , 3 3 7-4 1 Toei, xi, xiii, 6, 1 6, 3 0, Tomie, 2 1 , 2 6 1 , 3 2 0, 3 2 3 , Tsuji, Jinsei, 3 3 5
Tengan, Daisuke, 3 2 , 4 1 , 42-44, 46-50, 5 2 , 5 5- 336 Tsuji, Shinpachi, 3 06
1 3 5-3 6, 1 4 1 , 1 94 5 8 , 63-64, 68, 74-7 7 , Tomie Final Chapter Tsujita, Junichi, 2 7 7
Tenjosajiki, 1 3 1 - 3 2 1 1 4- 1 5 , 1 24-2 5 , 1 6 1 , Forbidden Fruit, 2 6 1 Tmkamoto Shinya ga
Tenkzl no Shiro Raputa, 1 1 3 1 80, 2 02 , 245 , 2 5 5 , Tomie Rebirth, 2 6 1 Rampo Suru, 1 8 3
Tennen ShOjo Mann, 1 82- 2 8 3 , 3 2 3 , 3 3 3-34 Tomie Replay, 2 1 , 2 6 1 , 3 2 3 , Tsukamoto, Koji, 1 5 3
83, 185 Toei Doga, 1 1 4, 1 2 4 336 Tsukamoto, Shinya, 49,
Tennen ShOjo Mann JVext, Toge 0 Wataru Wakai Tomie Saishztsho Kindan no 6 2 , 69, 1 4 1 -42 , 1 43-
1 83 Kaze, 4 Kajitsu, 2 6 1 5 7 , 1 5 8, 1 95-96, 2 40,
Tensai Takeshi no Genki ga Toho, xi, 20, 60, 86, 1 0 1 , Tominaga, Misako, 1 4 283, 295
Dent Terebi, 1 5 9 I l l , 1 7 3 , 2 70, 2 7 5 , Tomo yo, Shizuka ni Tstlki ni Shizumu, 3 3 5
Tenshi no Harawata, 2 3 8, 3 09 JVemure, 2 92 Tsuki no Hito, 1 3 6
287 Tojiru Hi, 3 2 1 Tonari no Totoro, 1 1 3 Tsuki no Sabaku, 2 1 5
Tenshi no Harawata: Akai Tokarev, 345 Tonda Kappuru, 3 3 7 Tstlki wa Dotchi n i Deteiru,
Memai, 2 8 7 Tokugawa, Iemitsu, 49 Topiizu, 89, 1 94 2 3 6, 2 92
Tenshi no Harawata: JVami, Tokuma Shoten, 1 1 4- 1 7 , Topiizu 2, 89 Tsumetai Chi, 2 1 5 , 2 2 2
238 1 1 9, 3 1 4, 3 1 6 Tora no 0 0 Fumu Tsuruta, Koji, 6
Tenshi no Tamago, 3 2 5 Tokyo 1 0 + 0 1 , 3 2 4 Otokotachi, 79 Tsuruta, Norio, 95, 2 6 1 ,
Teorema. See Theorem Tokyo Biyori, 2 8 3 Tora! Tora! Tora! 44, 4 7 , 6 0 323
Terada, Minori, 3 3 7 Tokyo Blood, 68, 7 2 , 78 Tora-san. See Otoko wa Tsutsui, Yasutaka, 1 54
Terajima, Susumu, 1 02 , Tokyo Decadence, 89, 1 94 Tmrai yo Tsutsumi, Shinichi, 2 4 1 ,
1 04, 1 5 5 , 1 62 , 1 68-69, Tokyo Deluxe, 292 Tosha: JVihyakugoju Bun no 2 45-49
1 7 1 , 1 9 5 , 1 99, 2 0 2 , Tokyo Drifter, 3 , 5 , 9, 1 1 , Ichi Byo, 82 Tsuyuguchi, Shigeru,
2 1 0- 1 1 , 2 2 1 , 245, 20, 1 3 3 Toso Zenya, 94, 266 3 5, 3 9
247-49, 2 9 1 , 3 00, 3 1 0 Tokyo Eyes, 1 60, 1 6 5 Totmgeki! Hakata TUFF, 8 2 , 8 3
Terashima, Shinobu, 3 2 2 Tokyo Fist, 1 44, 1 48-5 0, Gurentai, 67, 68 TUFF Part 1: Tanjo Hen,
Terayama, Shuji, 5 3 , 1 3 1 1 5 3 , 1 56-5 7 Touch of Fever, A, 1 72-74, 82
Terminator, The, 1 1 0 Tokyo Fisuto, 1 44, 1 5 3 1 76, 1 7 9 TUFF Part 4: Chi no
364 . INDEX

Shltkaku Hen, 82 Vaughn, Robert, 47, 5 9 1 14 Why Not? See Eijanaika

TUFF Pm1: 5: Koriforttnia V-cinema, 49, 5 7 , 70, 8 3 , Wtma, 1 3 2 Wiazemski, Anne, 9 3
Koroshi no Ansoroj!, 8 2 94-9 7 , 1 02-3 , 105, Wanda/ttnt RBifa, 2 0 7 , 2 1 1 Wicked Reporler, The, 3 0 2
Turteltaub, John, 2 9 8 1 80, 1 82 , 1 84, 1 8 8, Wandering at Home: Wife to Be Sacrificed, 2 5 1
TV Man Union, xiii, 1 9 1 , 1 99, 2 0 2 , 207, The Third Fall Since Wild Beast of Youth, The.
2 06-9, 2 1 2 2 1 8, 2 2 7 , 243 , 2 66-67, Starling to Live Alone, See Youth of the Beast
Twilight Samurai, 260 322 2 3 0, 2 3 3 Wild Berries, 2 2 8
Twins, The, 1 5 5 Vengeance Is Mine, 26, Wang, Li Li, 1 8 8-89 Wild Bunch, The, 7 7
Two Beats, The, 1 5 9 3 0-3 1 War Games, 1 1 0 Wild Life, 2 1 5 , 2 1 8
2/Duo, 2 1 7 Verbinski, Gore, 2 6 1 Warm Water Under a Red Wild Side, 3 3 9
Two Men Named Yoshinobu, Versus, 2 90 Bridge, 2 5 Wild Youth. See Youth of
26 Verzigo College, 93-94 Warriors of the Wind, 1 1 3 , the Beast
Two Punks, 1 62 , 2 1 5 , 2 1 8 , Vibrator, 3 2 2 1 18 Williams, John, xiv,
2 2 1 , 3 02 Video Act, xiii, 3 1 4 Wasurerarenu Hitobito, 3 3 1-32
2001 Eiga no Tabi, 9 5 Videodrome, 1 44, 2 5 8 1 98, 2 04 Williams, Robin, 2 9 7
Two Undercover Angels, 5 3 Vigilante in the Funky Watanabe, 1 70, 2 1 3 , 2 8 1 , Wind-Of Youth Group
Typhoon Club, 3 3 7 Hat, 44 2 88 Crosses the Mountain
Vigilante in the Funky Watanabe, Eriko, 2 9 6 Pass, The, 4
UA, 74 Hat: The 200, 000- Yen Watanabe, Ken, 2 8 1 Windy, 82
Uchiage Hana Bi. Shita Arm, 44 Watanabe, Tetsu, 1 69 Wise, Robert, 94, 1 02
Kora Mintka? Yoko Vintar, Jeff, 3 2 9 Watari, Tetsuya, 3 , 4 8 , 49 Without Memory, 207,
Kora Mirttka? 2 8 9 Violated Angels, 1 3 7 Wataridori, 6 2 1 0, 2 1 2
Uchida, Yiiya, 2 9 2 Violence at Noon, 3 1 1 Watase, Tsunehiko, 5 5 Wo lfBrigade, The, 3 2 5
Uchzt KnijZt Gamera,
3 09 Violent Cop, 49, 1 5 9, 161- Watashi ga Iki-Iki to Wolves, Pigs and Men,
Uehara, Tomoko, 2 2 1 6 3 , 1 66-6 7 , 1 98 Kokawatte Ikii to Sura 44, 5 1
Uemura, Miho, 1 99, 2 0 2 VirtlS, 45 , 47, 49, 5 9-6 1 , Jibutsu n o Gutaika, 2 3 0 Woman Called Abe Sada,
Ueno, Koshi, 3 261 Watashi ga Tsuyoku Ifyiimi A, 3 1 1
Uind!, 82 Visitor Q, 1 80, 1 8 3 , 1 86, o Motta Mono 0 Okiku Woman in a Box 2, 2 5 2
Uj ita, Takashi, 3 00 1 88 , 1 9 3 , 269, 2 79, Fix de Kiritont, 23 0 Woman in a Box: Virgin
Ukai, Maho, 3 3 1 , 3 3 3 321 Watchdog Bow Wow, 1 1 4 Sacrifice, 2 5 1
Ukigusa no Yado, 4 Vital, 1 44 Watcher in the Attic Woman in the Dunes, 1 42
Umemiya, Tatsuo, 5 5 , 5 7 Vitant, 1 44 Gissoji), 2 8 3 Woman with Red Hair,
Umi Hiizuki, 1 3 2 Von Trier, Lars, 2 0 1 , 2 7 3 Watcher in the Attic The, 2 8 0
Unagi, 2 6 , 40 Vorlex. See Uzumaki (Tanaka), 2 8 0 Wonder Years, The, 1 3 0
Under the Flag of the Rising Voyage, 3 3 5 Waterboys, 1 3 6, 2 9 7 Wonderful Life. See After
Sun, 44-4 5 , 5 2 , 5 4-5 5 Way to Fight, The, 1 82 Life
Under the Fluttering Wachowski, Andy, 3 2 5 We Are Not Alone. See Wong Kar-Wai, 1 1
Military Flag. See Wachowski, Larry, 3 2 5 Made in Japan Woo, John, 1 5 8 , 1 6 3 , 3 3 1
Under the Flag of the Wada, Ben, 240 Weald, The, 2 3 0, 2 3 2 Wordholic Prisoner, The, 94
Rising Sun Wada, Emi, 3 1 2 Wenders, Wim, 9 3 , 2 1 9 World Apartment Horror,
Underground, 2 5 Wada, Koji, 2 1 West Side Story, 185 2 43 , 2 9 3
Underworld Beauty, 4 Wada, Yoji, 1 4 West, Adam, 5 3 World Masterpiece
Undo, 2 89, 2 9 0 Waga Jinsei Saiaku no Toki, West, Simon, 3 2 8 Theater, 1 1 6
Unloved, 94 1 32, 141 We t Rope Confession, 2 3 8 Wowow, 2 5 6
Unlucky Monkey, 2 4 1 -42 , Wait and See, 3 3 7 What Ever Happened to Wyler, William, 1 4 1
245 Waga Mune ni Kyiiki Ari, Baby Jane? 2 3 Wyrme Jones, Diana, 1 2 3
UrtlSei Yatsura: Beautiful 2 15, 2 1 8 When Father Was Away on
Dreamer, 3 2 5 Wagahai wa Neko de Ant, BZlSiness, 2 5 Xiang Jiang Hua Yue
Urano, Shogo, 2 6 5 2 82 When I Close My Eyes. See Ye, 5 3
Utsumi, Keiko, 2 04 Waisetsu Biisii Shztdan Love Letter (Iwai)
Uzaki, Ryiido, 82 Kedamono, 304 When the Last Sword Is Yabushita, Taiji, 1 1 4
Uzzmtaki, 94, 2 5 8 , 2 6 1 , Waitingfor Godot, 1 69 Dz'awn, 3 03 Yaguchi, Shinobu, 6 5 , 9 5 ,
323 Wajda, Andrzej , 3 2 6 When the Wind Blows, 1 2 7 1 3 6, 2 0 1 , 2 9 7
Uzumasa Eigamura, 49 Wakamatsu, Koji, 1 3 7 , Whisper of the Hearl, 1 1 2 , Yagyu Conspiracy, The. See
1 60, 266, 2 8 5 , 3 0 5 1 1 6, 1 2 1 -2 2 Shogun � Samurai
Van Damme, Jean- Wakayama, Tomisaburo, White Moon, 2 3 0 YagyZt Ichizoku n o Inbii, 45
Claude, 3 2 9 135 White Sands, 8 3 Yajima, Kenichi , 8 7 , 1 69
Van Der Post, Laurens, Walking with the Dog, 1 98, White Ship, A, 2 3 8, 3 2 1 YajZt no Seishun, 4
311 2 02 White-Collar Worker YajZt Shisubeshi, 2 7 8
Vanishing, The, 3 40 Wan Wan ChztshinfJura, Kintaro, 1 8 3 Yakusho, Koji, 2 8 , 3 2 , 40,
 Index · 365

84-8 5 , 87-88, 97-99, Yamasaki, Senri, 3 09 Yoshimura, Akira, 4 1 Yzmze Mim Yo ni

1 05 , 1 07 , 1 09, 2 2 6 , 2 79, Yamashiro, Shingo, 1 0 1 Yoshise, Michiko, 1 88 Nemuritai, 1 3 2 , 1 3 9
2 8 1 , 2 96 Yamashita, Nobuhiro, Young Breasts, 4 I1l1ne Nam Samete, 3 0 7
Yakuza Graveyard, 4 5 , 48 2 0 2 , 3 00 Young Entertainment I1l1lle no Ginga, 68, 7 3
Yakuza in Love, A, 3 02 Yamatoya, Atsushi, 2 66 Square (YES), 1 7 3 Yzl1neji, 5 , 8, 1 1 , 24, 2 7 7
Yakuza no Hakaba: Yamazaki, Tsutomu, Young Rebel, The. See Yumeji, Takehisa, 1 1
Kuchinashi no Hana, 45 2 8 1 -82 , 3 3 3 Youth ofthe Beast YU1"ei no Sumu Ryokan,
Yakuza Taxi, 94, 96, 2 1 7 Yamazaki, Yiita, 3 4 1 Young Thugs: Innocent 253, 258
Yakuza, The, 44, 5 5 , 2 7 5 Yamoto, Yiima, 3 44 Blood, 1 82 Yuri, Toru, 2 1 1
Yamada, Tatsuo, 74 Yanagawa Horiwari Young Thugs: Nostalgia, I1lmsarezam Mono, 1 8 3
Yamada, Yoji, 2 60, 2 7 5 Monogatari, 1 1 2 1 82 , 1 84, 1 90-9 1 , 345 YZlwakllsha, 3 3 9
Yamadera, Koichi, 292 Yanagiba, Toshiro, 1 2 8 Youth of the Beast, 3 -4, Yuzna, Brian, 3 09
Yamagata International Yanagimachi, Mitsuo, 2 7 9 6-9, 1 2 , 1 4, 1 9, 2 0
Documentary Film Yang, Edward, 1 3 7 , 2 0 7 Yu Wei Yen, 1 3 5-3 7 , 1 42 Za Supaidiiz u no
Festival, xiv, 2 3 0 Yasha, 1 6 1 Yiibe no Himitsu, 1 7 3 Daishingeki, 2 0
Yamaguchi, Akemi, 1 2 6 Yasuoka, Rikiya, 2 79, 2 8 1 Yue Guang Shao Nian, 1 42 Zankokll anna Joshi, 2 0
Yamaguchi, Koji, 1 76 Yawaraka na Hoo, 3 3 7 Yiihi ni Akai are no KIlo, Zarchi, Meir, 2 8 8
Yamaguchi, Miyako, 2 3 7 Yim Ho, 2 7 9 131 Zatoichi, 1 3 3 , 1 3 5 , 1 66,
Yamaguchi, Sayaka, 2 3 5 Yin Yang Master, The, 3 0 3 Yukai, Diamond, 2 46 1 69, 1 7 1
Yamaguchi, Sayoko, Yohai Taicho, 3 1 I1lke Yuke Nidome no ShOjo, Zebraman, 1 8 3
2 3-24 Yoimachiffusa , 2 76 266 Zegen, 2 6 , 3 0 , 40, 1 80
Yamakawa, Sadayasu, 3 3 1 Yokohama Academy of I1lki ga Rokku 0 Suteta Zeitaku na Hone, 3 3 5
Yamamoto, Hideo Broadcasting and Natsu, 3 3 9 Zeze, Takahisa, 2 00, 2 0 2 ,
(cinematographer), Film, 3 0 I1lki I1lkite Shingun, 3 0 2 1 7 , 3 03 -4, 343
1 90 Yokomitsu, Riichi, 1 6 Yiiki, Masaharu, 5 5 Zezemusch, Jean-Luc. See
Yamamoto, Hideo Yomigaeri, 267 Yuki, Saori, 2 7 7 Zeze, Takahisa
(manga artist), 1 96 Yorokobi no Uzumaki, 94 Yiiki, Tetsuya, 1 7 1 Zigezmerweisen, 5, 8, 1 0,
Yamamoto, Masashi, 1 3 8 Yoshida, Shigetsugu, 5, 9 I1lkie, 2 2 8 20, 22
Yamamoto, Michio, 262 Yoshida, Yoshio, 1 3 9 Yukisada, Isao, 1 3 6, 2 69, Zipang, 1 3 2 , 1 3 4-3 5
Yamamoto, Satsuo, 2 62 Yoshida, Yoshishige, 26, 2 90, 3 2 1 , 3 3 3 Zushi, Tonbo, 1 69
Yamamoto, Seita, 2 8 3 3 10 Yii k oku, 1 9, 54 Zwick, Ed, 87
Yamamoto, Taro, 6 2 Yoshiie, Akihito, 3 1 7 Yukol, Chatri Chalem,
Yamamoto, Yoji, 1 66 Yoshikawa, Soji, 1 1 7 135
Yamamura, Koji, 1 1 2 Yoshimoto, Banana, 2 7 9 I1mze, 3 1 2
Other Tides of Interest from Stone Brid ge Press

The Yakuza Movie Book: A Guide to Japanese Gangster Films

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ISBN 1 -880656-76-0

Hayao Miyazaki: Master ofJapanese Animation

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ISBN 1 -880656-4 1 -8

Anime Explosion! The What? Why? and Wow! ofJapanese Animation

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Tokyo Story: The OzulNoda Screenplay

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ISBN 1 -880656-80-9

Watching Anime, Reading Manga: 25 Years of Essays and Reviews

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ISBN 1 -880656-92-2

The Dorama Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese TV Drama Since 1 9 53

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ISBN 1 -880656-8 1 -7

The Japan Journals: 1 94 7-2004

by D onald Richie; ed. Leza Lowitz
ISBN 1 -880656-9 1 -4

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