Self-introduction/Yasukuni

[starsweeper Cathy]

John,

That was a very informative interview that you did with Li Ying for The
Japan Times & thank you for sharing his response to the American flag-waving
incident.  I think that there are so many wonderful scenes in the film, that
it is pretty amazing he was able to catch them all (hence the rumours).  I
guess as he's been preparing the film over so many years, he must have had a
lot of footage to choose from.

I felt a bit of trepidation before the Nippon Connection screening that the
film might be a disappointment after all the hype -- I mean most of the
people turning it into a furore haven't even seen the film yet, have they?
I'm pretty sure that the film will withstand the test of time.  It's a solid
film - Li Ying was savvy enough to allow the images to speak for themselves,
which leaves the door open to interpretation.

Will 'Japan's Peace Constituion'' be getting released outside of Japan?  I
know it showed at the Vancouver Film Festival in 2006.

Cathy

http://nishikataeiga.blogspot.com/



On Thu, Apr 10, 2008 at 6:55 PM, Junkerman John <jtj at rf7.so-net.ne.jp>
wrote:

> Hi folks:
>
> This is John Junkerman, documentary filmmaker/translator based in Tokyo
> and Falmouth, Massachusetts. Recent films include "Power and Terror: Noam
> Chomsky in Our Times" and "Eiga Nihon-koku Kempo" (Japan's Peace
> Constitution). I also did the English subtitles for "Yasukuni."
>
> Just got back from a press conference at the Diet to protest the political
> pressure on "Yasukuni" (organized by filmmaker Watai Takeharu ["Little
> Birds"], producer Yasuoka Takaharu, and video journalist Doi Toshikuni). It
> was quite the scene. Some 200 press there. Director Li Ying, just back from
> China, spoke, and some 15 journalists (the most prominent being Tahara
> Soichiro, and ailing Chikushi Tetsuya sent a hand-written letter of support)
> and several filmmakers (including Koreeda Hirokazu) spoke in support.
>
> Li Ying's remarks focused on his various visits to the sword smith
> featured in the film, Kariya Naoji, after the film was finished. He made
> several trips to Kochi  to show him the film and publicity material and get
> his approval/understanding, and said that, while his wife was initially put
> off by the film, he managed to alleviate her concerns and Kariya gave him
> his blessing. This is now becoming an issue, because LDP dietmember Arimura
> Haruko got in touch with Kariya and announced that he told her he wanted his
> scenes deleted from the film. Other media have done follow-up interviews and
> reported that Kariya feels he was deceived, that Li misrepresented the
> nature of his film. This looks like it might be the next point of attack on
> the film.
>
> It does seem rather remarkable that members of the Diet would pay this
> much attention to a film that hasn't been released yet, which was the thrust
> of many of the comments of the journalists who spoke in support. Some 20
> theaters have stepped forward to screen the film, which will undoubtedly get
> a much bigger audience now that such a fuss has been made over it. The
> controversy has sparked an examination of the methods of the Japanese media
> (while they simultaneously bandwagon and problematize Kariya's portrayal in
> the film) and issues of freedom of expression and government interference.
>
> After the press conference, I asked Li about the rumor at the Nippon
> Connection screening that the scene in the film with the American
> flag-waving supporter of Koizumi had been set up. He responded with a hearty
> laugh, and said all he had to do was turn on his camera and scenes like that
> appeared one after another. He had no pre-knowledge of any of the events
> documented during the 8/15 ceremonies at Yasukuni (including the protesters
> during the singing of Kimigayo or the man who worships at the shrine with
> his sword at night).
>
> All of those scenes suggest that Yasukuni itself is a provocative place,
> and not just because the Chinese and Koreans make an issue out of it.
> Certainly Li has a political perspective, but the point of the film is to
> explore why Yasukuni is so provocative, to get beyond the formulaic "Class-A
> war criminals/PM visits/foreign governments protest." As the film makes
> clear, Yasukuni is at the spiritual heart of the effort to deny Japan's war
> crimes, justify Japanese aggression, and glorify militarism. All you need to
> do to discover that is to go film there, as Li did. Since Inada is closely
> associated with all of these efforts, her challenge of the film as
> "politically biased" is deeply suspect.
>
> One last thing I learned at the press conference is that the Tokyo Lawyers
> Association is holding a public screening and symposium on the film later
> this month (I think it's the 23rd). The Yasukuni scholar Takahashi Tetsuya,
> who so far has remained silent on the film, is the featured speaker. There
> will also be a press conference organized by the nationalist group Issuikai,
> whose founder Suzuki Kunio appeared at today's press conference and
> apologized for right-wing attacks on the film).
>
> All this leaves me wondering if the film is going to be talked to death
> before anyone has a chance to see it.
>
>
>
>
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