Black Lizard ban

[Ono Seiko and Aaron Gerow]

I know of no such ban in Japan.  In fact, they showed the film on 
satellite TV here the other month. I think you might be mixing it up with 
Schrader's Mishima film, which definitely is banned in Japan, or with 
Mishima's own film Aikoku, which the family has tried to destroy all 
prints of. Shochiku has the rights to Fukusaku's Black Lizard, and I 
don't think the family can contractually do anything about it. True, the 
film is not on video in Japan, but I have seen it in the theater, so it 
is definitely around.

Aaron Gerow
Associate Professor
Yokohama National University