1.Prologue: Movie Theaters in Japan
In recent years, it seems like the output of the American film industry has increasingly become dominated by comic book movies and film franchises—much of which is intended for younger audiences. At the same time, when you look back over the films of the past year, you realize that while it may not have seemed that way on a week-to-week basis, there is no shortage of Oscar-worthy films worth visiting and revisiting for any discerning fan of cinema.
In Japan, however, the landscape is littered with anime films for children, love stories for teenagers, and cheap action flicks. Most, if not all of these are not worth the high price of admission at Japanese movie theaters. (There are no matinee prices.)
And it doesn’t help that the price of soda and popcorn at the concession stand is surprisingly expensive, even by cinema standards.
The first time I ever went to a Japanese movie theater, what shocked me the most was how silent and well-behaved the audiences are—and I don’t mean that as a compliment. At movie theaters in America, audiences experience films together. Depending on the film or the occasion, it can get so rowdy that if you close your eyes you could swear you were at a baseball stadium. People shout together, they laugh together, they groan together. People literally leap out of their seats.
I’m usually a reserved guy, but when I went to see the latest Star Wars films at the cinema here in Tokyo, I couldn’t help myself—I found myself cheering out loud. It seems your movie-going experiences as a child really do stick with you.
In this article I’d like to provide an overview of noteworthy 20th century Japanese film directors and their best work. I’ve mostly stuck with filmmakers and films that feel very Japanese to me—in the very best way.
2.Mizoguchi Kenji(1898-1956)
After Ozu Yasujiro and Kurosawa Akira, Mizoguchi Kenji is perhaps the most highly regarded Japanese filmmaker of the 20th century in terms of international reputation. He is known for being a perfectionist, unwilling to compromise on anything, from set design to staging to direction. His visual style made heavy use of individual scenes presented in long, single shots, and he used such techniques to bring a sharp realism to his storytelling. Thematically, many of Mizoguchi’s works depict the oppression of women. His interest in such experiences is said to have stemmed from a traumatic childhood experience: his family came upon difficult times during the Russo-Japanese War, and his parents were forced by circumstances to give his older sister up for adoption. Mizoguchi is often referred to of a master of josei eiga (the woman’s film).
●Sisters of the Gion（1936）
This masterpiece depicts the lives of two sisters who work in Gion, the traditional pleasure district of Kyoto. The main themes are the social positioning and dynamics of men and women, and the clash of tradition and modernity. The sisters, who have contrasting personalities, each live life according to their convictions, which makes it all the more disconcerting when they are both toyed around with by the men in their lives. For contemporary Japanese, who continue to live sandwiched between tradition and Western culture, the message should come as all too relevant. The film was ranked number one in Kinema Junpo’s best 10 films of 1936.
●The 47 Ronin (1941/1942)
Based on a new kabuki play written by playwright Mayama Seika, The 47 Ronin was essentially a propaganda film commissioned by the Japanese government. Despite its purpose, what’s fascinating is that the director’s signature style shines through: plenty of long takes, and the perfectionism on display in the to-scale pine corridor that was constructed for the film. Nevertheless the film was a massive dud, and Mizoguchi subsequently slipped into a slump for many years.
●The Life of Oharu (1952)
Based on various stories from the Edo period writer Ihara Saikaku’s The Life of an Amorous Woman, The Life of Oharu is considered one of Mizoguchi’s greatest masterpieces. Still in the midst of a slump when production began, he was inspired by the international success of Kurosawa Akira’s Rashomon, and threw himself into the project with renewed dedication. The film won the International Prize at the 1952 Venice International Film Festival, and the success lifted Mizoguchi out of his slump. The film is also credited for facilitating the use of long, continuous takes in European cinema.
●Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)
Based on a collection of supernatural tales by writer Ueda Akinari, Ugetsu Monogatari is a ghost story set in Japan’s Azuchi-Momoyama period that depicts human desires and obsessions through relationships with the spirit world. The film won the Silver Lion Award at the 13th Venice Film Festival, and is not only one of Mizoguchi’s best-known works but a towering achievement in the pantheon of world cinema.
●Sansho the Bailiff（1954）
While Ugetsu Monogatari made Mizoguchi an international name, Sansho the Bailiff cemented his reputation as a filmmaker. Based on the novel of the same name by writer Mori Ogai, the story is set in the Heian Period, and depicts a sister and brother who are separated from their mother and sold into slavery. The film won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and influenced directors around the world, including French New Wave filmmakers like Jean-Luc Godard.
3.Naruse Mikio(1905-1969)
Naruse Mikio is renowned as a master of josei eiga (the woman’s film) for his many adaptations of Japanese novelist Hayashi Fumiko. After spending many years apprenticing at Shochiku’s Kamata Studios (where Ozu Yasujiro was also based), he began producing short films in the 1930s and quickly became a young director to watch. Many of his films take a matter-of-fact approach to depicting the lives of the common people, and for that reason he is stylistically often compared to Ozu. However, while Ozu was adept at conveying a broad message, Naruse, who came from a poor family, was more interested in portraying the small details of everyday life—the financial circumstances of the masses and their fixation with the “three sacred treasures” of postwar Japan: a refrigerator, a washing machine, and a television. His roots were also reflected in his very economical filmmaking style, in which he filmed each actor saying their lines individually, and then stitched it all together chronologically in the editing room. Also, while Ozu is known for his distinct sense of humor, Naruse’s works often look at the darker aspects of human existence, and evoke mono no aware—an awareness of the transience of existence.
●Floating Clouds(1955)
Based on a novel of the same name by Fumiko Hayashi, Floating Clouds tells the story of a woman drifting through life in post-war Japan, struggling to find the place where she belongs. The film was ranked first in Kinema Junpo’s top ten films for 1955, winning the award for best director, best actress, and best actor. It has made the top five in numerous best Japanese film of all time lists in the time since. Nomads living in this tumultuous day and age will likely find much to relate to in the protagonist’s struggles.
●Flowing（1956）
Based on a novel by the writer Koda Aya, Flowing depicts the daily lives of a group of geisha and their living environment in Tokyo’s pleasure quarters against the backdrop of changing times. The high profile female cast delivers a tour-de-force performance.
●Late Chrysanthemums (1954)
A retired geisha-turned-moneylender and her fellow former geisha struggle to get through life in postwar Japan. The film is based on three short stories by Fumiko Hayashi, and deals with themes such as fading beauty, the feeling of isolation, and subservience, distrust, and resignation in postwar Japanese society.
●Untamed（1957）
Based on a novel by the writer Tokuda Shusei, Untamed is the story of a fiercely independent woman, who despite the best efforts of the witless men that come into her life, presses on by her own strength of will. The Motion Picture Code of Ethics Committee designated it an “adult film", requiring that audiences be at least 18 years of age.
●Older Brother, Younger Sister (1953)
The eldest daughter of a rural family becomes pregnant after having an affair with a college student, and returns home. Her older brother is beside himself with anger, and her younger sister finds her own relationship falling apart on account of her sister’s transgression. The film is a realistic portrayal of the social dynamics and family ties that define Japan’s rural societies. This story has been adapted for the screen a number of times, and when it was turned into a TV drama in 1972, the director Yamada Yoji wrote the teleplay (see part two for more on Yamada).
●Mother (1952)
In postwar Japan, a family finally manages to reopen their dry cleaning business when the father passes away, forcing the mother to balance running the family business while raising their young children. The story is told from the point of view of the daughter, and is a moving tale of the strength of the human spirit amidst the tumult of postwar Japan.
4.Teshigahara Hiroshi(1927-2001)
Teshigahara was the third-generation head of the Sogetsu school of ikebana, but he was also known as a multifaceted artist with notable works in film, sculpture, stage design, opera and more. He initially enrolled in the Nihonga department of the Tokyo Fine Arts School (currently known as Tokyo University of the Arts) but later switched to Western painting, and became enamored with avant-gardists such as Pablo Picasso and Okamoto Taro. He became involved with Seiki no Kai, an avant-garde literary group centered on the writer Abe Kobo. The pair would later work together on a number of film adaptations of Abe’s work, including Woman in the Dunes (1964), The Face of Another (1966), and The Man Without a Map (1968). When his younger sister, who was the second-generation head of the Sogetsu school, passed away in 1980, Teshigahara stepped up and became the third-generation head.
●Woman in the Dunes（1964）
Woman in the Dunes is Abe Kobo’s greatest work, and internationally regarded as one of the most significant works of modern Japanese literature. Abe himself wrote the screenplay for this adaptation, which received similar recognition for its avant-garde aesthetic—the sand is depicted almost as a living, breathing entity. The film won numerous accolades at home, and also won the Jury Prize at the 17th Cannes Film Festival. It was also nominated for the best foreign film category at the 37th Academy Awards, and the best director category the following year.
5.Suzuki Seijun(1923-2017)
Suzuki Seijun is best remembered as a director of B-movies (low-budget commercial films shot on a tight schedule) for the film production and distribution company Nikkatsu. His work is characterized by its idiosyncratic visual aesthetic and fantastical, dense storytelling. His three films Zigeunerweisen, (ツィゴイネルワイゼン) Kagero-za, and Yumeji are collectively known as his Taisho Roman Trilogy.
●Branded to Kill (1967)
This yakuza film is now regarded as Suzuki’s greatest masterpiece, but at the time it was the last straw for the president of Nikkatsu, who had grown tired of Suzuki’s incomprehensible work; Suzuki would be let go from the company the year after this film was released. Fans and industry people protested this and came together in support, and several years later Suzuki would come to a settlement with Nikkatsu, but nevertheless he would effectively be blacklisted and prevented from making another film for 10 years. Ironically, the incident would cement his reputation as a master of cult films.
●Zigeunerweisen (1980)
This is the surrealistic tale of the complicated relationships between a group of four, two men and two women. Featured prominently in the story is a vinyl recording of “Zigeunerweisen", composed by the violinist Pablo de Sarasate. The film won honorable mention in the Berlin International Film Festival, and won best picture, among other awards, at the 4th Japan Academy Film Prize.
●Kagero-za (1981)
This film is about a playwright who meets a beautiful, mysterious woman and gets drawn into a world of fantasy that lies somewhere between this world and the next. It was ranked number three in Kinema Junpo’s top ten for 1981, and won a number of awards at the Japanese Academy Film Awards, including best supporting actor.
●Yumeji (1991)
This film is a fictional drama based on the Taisho era painter and poet Takehisa Yumeji. The titular protagonist journeys to Kanazawa to meet a lover, and instead becomes involved with a widow. The stunning cinematography is Suzuki’s aesthetic at its best. The film was screened at the 44th Cannes Film Festival’s “Un Certain Regard" section.
