LATE SPRING (1949) – YASUJIRO OZU

The term “master” can be interrogated. Ozu is the most popular director of classical Japanese
cinema in Japan whereas Kurosawa is much more well known internationally. It is a noticeable
focus, canonizing individuals and elevating them as “Masters”

There is an idea of learning by watching. The master is identified with individual style. Ozu’s
films are frequently identified as character studies. Saying there is not plot implies a certain,
western definition of what constitutes a story.

Ozu’s technical achievements are associated with edits and his transgression of the 180-degree
rule. He also uses match-cuts, matching elements of one scene in transition to the next. He is
viewed as representing the first golden age of Japanese cinema.

Ozu gravitates towards family stories. He had five sisters and brothers. He was single his entire
life and lived with his mother until her death. Ozu did not replicate his experience in Noriko,
who does leave home to get married.

Ozu was influenced by Italian and American cinema. His status as a master is thus tied to
western influence. The film that inspired him to become a director was Civilization (1916). He
began working In film at Shochiku studios (1923)

Ozu was placed in the department of historical films (Jidaigeki). He was averse to the genre in
general.

Meiji Period (1868 – 1912)

Theater imitated western art and started to integrated realism because of western influence.
Kabuki theater was heavily stylized. Scholars thought the focus on realism was due to western
art. In theater this translated to reversing the ban on female actresses.

Shin-Kabuki was a westernization of the genre. It rejected traditional Japanese aesthetics. They
would do Kabuki productions of western plays. Shingeki theater was purely western.

Taisho (1912 – 1926)

The idea of adopting western ideals was intensified. Japan adopted the ideals of the “Taisho
Democracy” as they adopted ideas of universal suffrage. Women became increasingly resistant
to the values of traditional Japanese society.

We see the rise of the Moga (analogous to the development of the flapper). They were modern
girls, had short, bobbed haircuts, and wore pants. They worked and made their own money.
This conflicted with traditional ideas the government sought to provoke.
Women’s suffrage would come after the war, with the US occupation of Japan. These ideas
were vocalized in the prewar period. We see the rise of the actress and the female lead. For
example, Setsuko Hara.

Japanese cinema sought to imitate “pure film.” Silent film had a narrator. There were
movements to subtracting theatrical elements for film. In 1920 Shochiku abandoned Kabuki
productions to exclusively produce film.

There is a geographical divide with Tokyo becoming the home for contemporary films and
Kyoto for historical films. Hollywood began operating in Tokyo after the Great War, adding to
this geographical divide. German Expressionism and French Avant-Garde would arrive.

Showa (1926 – 1989)

In 1931 Toho Studio emerge. Studio rivalries become common in Japanese cinema. There was
an increased focus on the actor. Kinuyo Tanaka debuted in 1924, she was also the second
Japanese woman to work as a film director 1953. Setsuko Hara debuted at Nikkatsu in 1935.

Nationalism and Militarism arise in the prewar Showa period. Ending “Taisho Democracy.”
Ozu uses tight frames, hems her through the mise-en-scene. The act of biking and being on
trains is very emphasized. (transportation).

Late Spring

Wedding scene: The shot is looking at her reflection, implying the father is talking to her
reflection, to her likeness. Ozu plays on the nuances of optics, how do we see the other?

Pillow shots: the shot of the vase, the shot of the tree. The function of interrupting a dialogue
with people may be conveying something. The camera is abstracting itself from human conflict,
withdrawing in some sense.

When the film came out there was a focus on its promotion of western ideals. There is a thread
that interprets Noriko’s relationship with her father as unhealthy. Noriko as romantically
infatuated with her father.

“Romantically involved” with what her father represents. Safety, comfort, home. She is
upholding the standard of care upheld by the mother. Negotiating a future.

Personal growth, progression associated with marriage?

Rashomon

Akira Kurosawa (1910 – 1998): was the first director to win an international film award (Venice),
for Rashomon in 1950. The film is influential in this regard, as Kurosawa’s introduction to an
international audience.

His older brother Heigo had strong views on fear and death. during the Great Kanto Earthquake
(1923) he took Kurosawa to see the death and destruction because he believed you confront
your fears by facing them.

Heigo worked as a Benshi (the narrators provided for silent films) Kurosawa became
enamoured by slient film. He committed suicide at 1933, kurosawa was deeply affected by this.
Kurosawa didn’t take pride in his “Japaneseness” he was a self-proclaimed “global citizen”

In his opinion film is an international medium, there is no such thing as a national cinema. He
has adapted many western works (throne of blood). This has contributed to critiques of
“unjapaneseness.”

During the war and postwar eras there was significant censorship. Filmmakers and studios
struggled to create. The “Film Law” (1939) was the main mechanism for prewar censorship. The
medium of film was appropriated for military use.

Many studios adhered to these standards and became propaganda studios. Toho studios
partnered with the military for survival. This approach ended in 1945 with the US Occupation of
Japan which began another era of censorship (1945 – 1952)

SCAD: censorship was arguably worse than during the war era. The presence of this censorship
is still tangible in films of 1949 and 1950. Ugetsu was made immediately after the occupation
ended. Relevant points of censorship:

A strong focus on making as many “idea” films as possible. Films that portrayed liberated
Japanese women. To represent a democratized New Japan. Setsuko Hara was the emblem of
this. Human struggle (violence) could only be portrayed if it was thoughtful.

Ultranationalism or incitements of violence were prohibited. Destructive criticism of the allied

forces was similarly prohibited. The idea of “thoughtful treatments” of human struggle are
interesting in the context of Rashomon.

Some interpret Rashomon as a tongue-in cheek analogy of the American occupation without
making connections to foreign presence. Most people didn’t agree with this reading. Rashomon
has pop-cultural significance as it introduced the Rashomon effect.
The film maintains its ambiguity as to the “true” chain of events. Rashomon destroys the
possibility of a singular truth. The bandit’s construction of the wife was surreal, we get
lingering, long takes.

The film circulates around an event, and not around a relation.

Ugetsu

Narrative structure in Japanese cinema is often modeled after Noh Theater. Two important
narrative or pacing structures are the following:

Kishotenketsu: originally referred to the structure of Chinese poetry. This approach to

composition was taken by some Japanese scholars such as Terada Torahiko “A crucial structure
to be used not only in poetry but also in plays and novels.” This was so prevalent in plays and
novels, that it inevitably got integrated into film.

It is a four-part structure that is devoid of conflict. Ki = introduction (the opening establishing

part of the narrative, sho = things develop, ten = twist/turn or change. Something happens
unrelated to a character, things escalate, there is a reversal, etc. ketsu = things close,
conclusion, things come back to the beginning, tied together.

Jo-ha-kyu: A concept found in No theater. It applies to plot, pacing and movement in

performing arts. Jo = is an uncomfortably prolonged opening, ha = signifies a split-second
change and kyu = is the rapid close.

As a principle of movement, it means holding the movement and stopping at the final part,
exhibiting restraint until the very last moment. This pacing applied to story means there is more
emphasis in the beginning and the exposition.

Kenji Mizoguchi

Focused very heavily on women in his films. His father’s business failed during the Russo-
Japanese war (1904-1905). His older sister was sold into the geisha profession (performers not
prostitutes) this loss of distinction was a western misunderstanding.

This gave her sister an opportunity to make a living. They would learn how to read and write.
Mizoguchi enrolled in art school for western painting and developed an interest in the opera.
He began his film career later in 1923 at Kyoto’s Nikkatsu’s studios.

Here he became exposed to Kabuki and No theater. Ugetsu is a preexistent story, it was
adapted to highlight the mother role if Miyagi.
The second golden age of Japanese cinema was after the occupation ended. In 1951 Japan
regained independence from the United States. With the elimination of censorship there was a
revival of jidaigeki and a host of other genres.

“Golden Age” also refers to increased demand in films, increased viewership, which exceeded 1
billion. There was a fully established studio system that facilitated the mass production of films
and programs: Toho, Shochiku, Nikkatsu.

No: classical theater form, oldest theater form, emphasis on Buddhism, limited in staging and
set. Reliant on script that is being narrated. Reduced mise en scene.

Kabuki: is the popular theater form, bright colors, special effects, and plots for the masses.
Kabuki emphasizes music and dance.

Mizoguchi was using studio constructed sets. Very little scenes were shot on location in this
time frame. The lake picnic is one of the few real-life locations. When the wife is calling out to
Genjuro on the riverbank we are seeing a constructed set. The lady and Genjuro were the wife
and samurai from Rashomon.

Gojira

Genre: The Kaiju (Strange Beast)

There were conflicting feelings regarding national identity and war responsibility. We also see
the introduction of victim consciousness. the Japanese people as victims of circumstance rather
than active aggressors.

The hibakusha group pushed the government to improve victim support and lobby for the
abolition of nuclear weapons. The government recognizes over 650,000 hibakusha. About a
sixth are still alive and dealing with the physical side effects of the atomic bomb.

The vast urban destruction of Japan was mostly due to the fire bombings (Yaki Nohara = brunt
fields) was the term used to refer to the state of the country at large. This term is referenced in
the title of the film “fires on the plain.”

Kyoto was largely spared because of its historical significance. The theme of “burning” inspired
an entire generation, donned the yakeato (burnt) generation. They were raised in destroyed
cities, walked through dead bodies and through the rubble.

This generation is known for its expression of war-time destruction and trauma. Postwar works
were used as symbols of Japanese resilience (a literal and figurative rising from the ashes). Kaiju
is a subset of a broader genre called: tokusatsu. This genre specializes in pyrotechnics and
practical effects.
Gojira essentially introduced the Kaiju genre as a subset of the Tokusatsu. This term was
previously used in literature to refere to legendary monsters or creatures. The Kaiju film does
not necessarily represent the monster as an antagonist.

The “strange beasts” are almost always preternatural creatures of virtually divine power, not
just big animals. The father of Tokusatsu is Tsubaraya Eiji (special effects director and
cinematographer of Gojira).

Eiji developed the iron shooting crane. He was inspired by King Kong. He also developed the
kaiju animation technique (suitmation). Using the combination of miniature models and scaled
down sets. He stated his vision did not work with stop motion, was looking for a particular
effect.

Two other Kaiju that are associated with Gojira are Mothra and King Ghidorah. Mothra is never
portrayed as an antagonist and is either a protagonist or neutral figure. She is the only explicitly
female Kaiju. Ghidorah references a Japanese monstrous deity. Gojira is an original creature.

Harakiri

The showa period traverses the second world war. Some things remaint he same and some
things change. Historians make a distinction between prewar and post war showa. There was
strict censorship during SCAD. Under the US occupation films were classified by EIRIN. In 1959
physical violence was no longer subject to censorship.

Under censorship violence had to fall under the careful treatment of the human struggle.
During the 1960s and 1970s chanbara and yakuza films became popular. This was meant to
combat the decrease in film viewership by appealing to male audiences.

Originally women were the main part of cinema audiences. However, TV became synonymous
with the domestic domain and began pulling female viewers. Studios began promoting films
they thought would be appealing to main audiences.

At least a third of the movies made were part of the chanbara genre. Chanbara isn’t a word, it is
the sound effect of two swords clasihing. The genre as implied by the term is centered around
sword fights. This is a means of differentiating it from the Jidaigeki. Rashomon complicates this.

Many chanbara conventions where changed by Kurosawa. He brought a “realistic” approach to

the depiction of violence in his films. Sanjuro fight scene was highly influential. This was the first
blood spurt. It was an accident the spurt exploded into a geiser. This set new industry standards

This sets a new threshold for on screen violence. Conversely in sword of doom there is no
blood. Kihachi uses a long tracking shot. Harakiri is viewed as beign different from other
samurai films.
Kurosawa’s films are domestically not considered as quintessential samurai films. They are
thematically and structurally distinct. The difference between historical and cinematic samurai.
The characters are driven by fictional samurai ideals.

The samurai have been a part of Japanese history since the 10th century, hundreds of years
prior to the Edo period (1603 – 1967). The films are hyper focused on this period. They were
viewed as a model of Japanese society.

The samurai had social rights and privileges: to kill (kirisute-gomen) permission to cut and
throw away. They had a license to kill, they had permission for one strike. The samurai had the
right to avenge (adauchi) you would file a claim and get a seal to kill a person. To clear one’s
name or dishonor using means of ritual disembowelment (seppuku) harakiri is the vulgar term.

Hanshiro’s revenge is unsanctioned. Sepukku was a release of then soul (the soul was thought
to be in the stomach). It was a demonstration of utter resolve. You would have a second to
decapitate you to avoid crying out in pain. The samurai were already mythicized during the edo
period.

Samurai’s significance: militarism and ultranationalism was preeminent in prewar showa.

During WWII most propaganda urged people to adopt samurai values. samurai films were used
as propaganda (The 47 Ronin) a film by Mizoguchi Kenji.

The 47 Ronin became an image of the Japanese spirit. The government repurposed it in its
favor. About 127 films were made of this story during WWII. The soldiers were beign inundated
with samurai values, particularly during the 1930s.

1930s Hagakure: a text written by a samurai. This text is responsible for many of the myths of
bushido “the way of the samurai lies in death” this myth was constructed by texts that
expounded romantic variations of the samurai.

1940: a special version of Hagakure was printed for soldiers to take to war. This text was carried
by many of the kamikaze pilots. Kamikaze references a historical event (divine wind). The only
tiem that Japan had suffered a foreign invasion was in 1300s under threat of the mongols. A
massive typhoon leveled the mongoled forces (they called this the kamikaze).

The military invoked this divine force. In Japanese they were called zero fighter planes. The
pilots adopted samurai customs. They carried military swords (not real katana) they were used
symbolically. The pilots were encouraged to fight till the end. They were prepared for their
death and often wrote death poems (was part of the seppuku rights).

The samurai was a nationalist symbol, but they also embodied the soldiers of WWII. Kobayashi
Masaki (1916 – 1996) was the quintessential chanbara director in Japan. He was thought of as
the founder of this genre despite having made only two films.
He sought to be sensitive in portraying social issues. He has an antiwar film called The Human
Condition he was concerned with resisting entrenched power. He began working as an AD but
was drafted in 1941 and sent to Manchuria.

He was openly critical of the war effort. He rejected all promotions and refused to ascend
beyond the rank of private. He himself says that his whole life has been about challenging
authority. He was taken captive by the US in Okinawa.

His vision of WWII is highly relevant. After being released from the POW camp in 1946 he went
back to work, having his directorial debut in 1952 at Shochiku. Many criticize Harakiri for being
over symbolic.

The empty Samurai armor, the tiger tapestry, the bamboo sword, the circles in blood. Every
samurai is “on the way out” Hanshiro is almost always hemmed in by the camera frame or by
the seal of the iyi clan. There is a leitmotif of his image being obstructed.

Miike takashi (harakiri remake).

PALE FLOWER

The 1950s and 1960s were considered the second golden age of Japanese Cinema. Japan was
able to recover from WWII, the Japanese Economic Miracle took place during this period. This
growth rate continued through the 1960s with a GDP of 91 billion in 1965.

The angle of the film industry shifted towards Yakuza and Samurai. The became the leading
action film genres. There was a five-company agreement (between the major studios) where
they agreed to director and actor exclusive contracts.

This was a means of protecting each other from television. Nikkatsu was excluded from this
agreement. Nikkatsu became highly associated with a style of Yakuzza film akin to the
Hollywood action movie. It was referred to as “borderless action.”

Toei was also making Yakuzza films, however they made ninkyo eiga films (chivalry films).
Although set within the trappings of the Yakuza world they were concerned with morality.They
were more often set during the Meiji and Taisho periods.

Typically a good gangster would be pitted against a bad one. Comparable to the Samurai’s
struggle between giri (debt/duty). The Valiant Peony (1968). Lady Snowblood (Kill Bill). Pale
Flower exists at the crossroads.

CRUEL STORY OF YOUTH

CONTEXT

What makes a film “New Wave”? In the 1960s film was competing with television for
audiences. It was a reference to the nouvelle vague, Japanese directors would reference the
French counterpart directly.

The new wave was characterized by a rejection of “tradition of quality” found in mainstream
cinema. It valued and emphasized experimentation. This was highly motivated by the struggle
against television. It became necessary to revitalize cinema. Shochiku was closely associated
with the New Wave. Shinoda Masahiro was allowed to direct under this era.

Oshima Nagisa was part of a generation of young filmmakers that were dissatisfied with
Japanese cinema’s status quo. His experience as an AD accentuated his dislike for studio
developed films.

Oshima was known for presenting a “radically new type of political film.” There was a rising
interest in films capturing a more violent, “harsher reality.” The representation of rebellious
was a dominant theme. This was due to the influence of taiyozoku (sun tribe) films.

Oshima though the sun tribe films marked a “permanent change through the introduction of
explicit sex & violence” which tested the limits of censorship. Nikkatsu chose to specialize in
youth films, although not necessarily New Wave.

1950s – 1960s: Period of social unrest in Japan. As new markets were emerging, and the
economy was growing, Japan entered an era of social unrest. There were many violent
demonstrations and protests. The most notable one was the United States – Japan Security
Treaty (Anpo) protest.

This treaty was a remnant of the US occupation, the treaty had to be lifted in order to end the
occupation. Under the treaty, Japan could be used as a military base. The US military was not
obligated to defend Japan if it was attacked.

The anti US Military Base movement, 1955 – 1957. An American soldier threw a grenade in the
direction of a Japanese woman in a field. She died. This incident detonated the movement. This
came to a head in 1959 – 1960 when the Anpo treaty was being revised for renewal.

Radical student activists stormed the National Diet. This is known as the June 15 th incident. In
June 19th the treaty was automatically ratified because of a clause in the treaty.

FILM

The characters that are affiliated with the student political movement are part of the film’s
older generation.
WOMAN IN THE DUNES

The new wave movement is arbitrary, relatively amorphous. There is a question as to how the
filmmakers viewed themselves. However, they were part of a collection of younger filmmakers
dissatisfied with the Japanese studio system.

The were dissatisfied with the model of in-house production. The new wave movement was
related to art house cinema. The Art Theater Guild (ATG) company was a distributor under Toho
that produced multiple art house films..

One of the films that were made possible by ATG was Funeral Parade of Roses. New Wave
directors became known for collaborating with other artists outside of cinema. Teshigahara
Hiroshi worked with Abe Kobo (author) & Takemitsu Toru (composer) outside of film.

Teshigahara was also a plastic artist, he was the son of the founder of the Sogetsu school of
ikebana (flower arrangement).

TAMPOPO

Tampopo isn’t a Showa film. The “golden sixties” carried over into the eighties. This was a time
of economic growth and prosperity for Japan. Food is frequently represented in Japanese
media.

The first domestically mass-produced and broadcasted tv shows began in the early 1950s. This
coincided with the creation of Nippon TV and NHK. Film was struggling against television and
production was changed accordingly.

Shifts in genre emerge as ways of re-popularizing film. The major studios immediately entered
into the “Five Company Agreement” in 1953. The number of moviegoers continued to decrease
despite this. From 1958 to 1964 the number of goers was halved.

During the 1980s the economy was booming and growing in industrial exports. America was
threatened by Japanese exports (banning Japanese cars). Japanese pop culture was also being
exported. Anime and manga began to gain a foothold outside of Japan.

TV is the biggest medium consumed in Japan (neither streaming or internet). Streaming

services have had a delayed effect in Japan. There is a strong emphasis on food related
programming with predominantly women viewers.

There are gurume shows (shows about celebrities trying food, reviewing food, etc). Food
programming constitutes 35% to 40% of domestic television. Promoting the consumption of
food is not unique to Japan, it is also pervasive in Korea (Mukbang).
Japanese cuisine was fully developed during the edo period. Tampopo’s portrayal of western
cuisine is sometimes taken as a representation of Japan’s americanization. However Japanese
cuisine was influenced by western cuisine as far as the edo period. (The omelette).

Itami Juzo: He is known for having a close relationship to the film (hands on approach). He was
also a screenwriter and an actor. He wrote most of his projects. His acting career began in the
1960s.

He worked as an actor under Oshima Nagisa (Cruel Story of Our Youth). His work on the Family
Game probably inspired his comedic turn. He gained international exposure in 1985 with his
“ramen” western (play on the spaghetti western).

He is known for being one of the greatest Japanese film satirists. Some commentators believed
he originated this genre in Japanese cinema. Satire is often believed to be contextual. Some
believe this makes satire films unintelligible to some audiences over time.

He released Minbo (a yakuza satire). He was attacked by the gang he portrayed in the film.
There were many colorful reactions to Itami Juzo’s work.

DARK WATER

Nakata has a different conception of the ghost. The ghost in Dark Water has no anonymity, has
a past identity. There is a tendency towards a supernatural female, even prior to film in kabuki
theory. “dead wet girls” are horror archetypes coined by David kalat to refer to the ghosts of j-
horror.

Water as a motif for the supernatural: bodies of water where often sites of haunting.
Encounters with ghosts where portrayed in rain. In kabuki they would use “real water” effects
to signify the presence of a supernatural element (honmizu).

Still bodies of water, swamps or wells are normally the sights of haunting. This has spiritual or
religious significance. Water is recognized as a source of purification, or a fluid boundary,
something that is infirm.

Oceans and rivers are conceptualized as thresholds between the living and the dead. In
Buddhism sanzu no kawa (river of the three crossings) and in Shinto unasaka (slope of the sea).
However this transition between worlds are associated with moving towards the next realm.

Still bodies of water cannot access these points, cannot move on, they are charged with
supernatural energy. Mitsuko’s body has infected the water, it is contaminated by death. There
is a specific kind of “wetness” associated with the “dead wet girl.”

HANA-BI
From the 1970s there was a steady decline of interest in the ninkyo eiga (chivalry film). A factor
of this could be that people were more interested in violent films. Similarly there was an
interest in depictions of the harsh political reality that reflected a period of social unrest in
Japan.

A new genre of Yakuza film was jitsuroku eiga (actual record film). A realistic, documentary-like
portrayal of Yakuza. It featured narratives based on real crime stories. We see a complete loss
of interest in 1980s and 1990s in yakuza as theatrical films.

Itami Juzo’s assault resulted in a government crackdown on Yakuza activity. Yakuza film thus
became relegated to home video and was characterized by excessive sex and violence. It was
part of a new subgenre called gokudo (extreme/wicked path).

This term was used to describe low budget films (similar to pink film genres) that were strictly
for home video. During the 1980s and 1990s all yakuza films were realeased through this
medium. This created opportunities for young directors to break in outside of the studio system

This was the case for Kurosawa Kiyoshi and Miike Takashi got their start in gokudo. In 1991 we
have the collapse of the bubble and the beginning fo the
“lost decade” a period of economic duress.

This renewed interest in yakuza films, carrying over the gokudo aesthetic into mainstream film.
This translates into a new element of J-horror. The 80s and 90s was also a period of violent
incidents in Japan.

There was a real life yakuza conflict: yamaguchi-gumi vs ichiwa-kai (1985-1989). And the real
life serial killer Miyazaki Tsutomu donned the “Otaku murderer.” He was incorrectly identified
with the anime genre. His film collection was mainly horror.

After Tsutomu we see some slasher horror films, or films where humans are monsters. Audition
is recognized as this kind of film. Normally Japanese horror features the supernatural.

Kitano Takeshi (1947 -)

He is known as a comedian, actor and director. He is known for his films on the yakuza and
police. He was not a gokudo director. He is noted for a use of long takes and non-linear editing.

Almost all of the paintings in the film are painted by the characters. A number of the paintings
in the film were painted by Takeshi and repurposed for this film.

Linda! Linda! Linda!

Seishun translates into blue spring. This term recalls a romanticized age of beginning. It
described a romanticized look at one’s childhood. They are often adaptations of novels or
manga. The most notable films are live action adaptations of manga. They often feature school
life. Seishun films are often defined as “high school films.”

Activities connected to school life tend to be the focus. Festival, sports, or specific clubs. It
treats teen issues like depression, bullying and suicide. Films with female driven narratives are
almost romance dominated.

A large portion of seishun films are made in animation as opposed to live action. Anime is
regarded as a particular medium.