Kato Tai's comera

[Darrell Wm. Davis]

To Kinejapan:

In Sydney a program of features called "The Japanese Mind" is underway at the
Japan Cultural Centre (Japan Foundation). I watched a double feature of Toei
yakuza films from the 1960s:

Meiji kyokaku-den sandai-me shumei (Blood of Revenge, 1965) and
Hibotan bakuto: hanafuda shobu (Red Peony Gambler: Flower Cards Match, 1969)

both are very absorbing, emotional and are directed by Kato Tai.

In the first I noticed a shot that's among the loveliest I have ever seen in
any picture: an extreme low shot of a geisha's feet.  They belong to Hatsue
(Fuji Junko), who is slowly sauntering away from the camera along a studio
canal, with a willow curving over the water and footbridge in the distance.
Camera is placed directly on the ground, cutting her off at the hips and
emphasizing her languorous gait as she waits for the hero Asajiro (Tsuruta
Koji).

The extremely low camera heights recur often in this film either for
ceremonial occasions, like the formal succession of leadership when the gang
leader dies, or placement of the camera directly onto railroad tracks when a
blind child is narrowly saved from an onrushing train (in the second film),
or in frenetic melees where camera height cuts off heads and makes it hard to
follow the progress of the fight.

Those who know more about Kato Tai's style: is this height something Kato is
known for? or is it commonly seen in ninkyo eiga from this period by other
directors? It's really a highly noticeable, eccentric habit.
Cinematographers/camera operators must have needed chiropractice and massage.
I'm reminded of the critical tendency to anthropomorphize Ozu's low camera
height ("from the postition of a tatami seated person") and how Kato's setups
would work as a good rebuttal, as only a worm could possess the gaze from 3
inches off the floor.

Another surprise was to see a good print with Tsuruta Koji, whose eyes and
manner convey a truly Christlike (or Kwannon) kindness and humility. (Is he a
tiny bit cross-eyed?) He is many times warmer than the celebrated Takakura
Ken, which makes his revenge at the end of the film all the more terrible.
Any more details or recommendations of Tsuruta's films would be most welcome!

Darrell Davis
UNSW