Japanese queer/gay cinema

[Eija Niskanen]

Even in Battle Royale, there is a schoolboy, who is secretly in love
with another boy.

Then there is Ishii Takashi's Gonin. It is actually interesting, how
often characters played by Beat Takeshi have some homosexual features.

And the very interesting Kaneko Shusuke's 1999 Summer vacation. And
did anybody mention Kudo Kankuro's Mayonaka no Yaji-san Kita-san?

Eija

On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 9:25 PM, matteo boscarol
<matteo.boscarol at gmail.com> wrote:
> Another Matsui`s movie , "Doko ni Iku no?" (Where are we Going?),
> depicts a love story between Akira, a gay man, and Anzu, a real "new
> half" (transsexual).
>
> Matteo
>
> 2010/4/15 shota ogawa <shota.ogawa at gmail.com>:
>> Oshima's Gohatto has been mentioned, but many other Oshima films depict gay
>> or queer characters; the Korean conscript who performs a harakiri after
>> sodomizing a dutch prisoner of war in Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence, the
>> Catholic priest in Death by Hanging, and the opening scene of In the Realm
>> of the Senses.
>>
>> Also, there is a lesbian couple in Jissouji's Typhoon Club.
>>
>> best.
>>
>> shota
>>
>> On Thu, Apr 15, 2010 at 6:30 AM, Claudia Anderson <204172 at soas.ac.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>> There is also "Watashi wa watashi de aru tame ni" which is a film about a
>>> young transsexual woman and the struggles she faces with her family and
>>> relationships - with three main characters played by transsexual women,
>>> including Nakamura Ataru. It is a film which is more true to life rather
>>> than with pornographic and violent themes, and has transgenderism as a
>>> central theme, so may be useful.
>>>
>>> Claudia
>>>
>>> On 15 April 2010 11:08, Valeria Soddu <v_soddu at yahoo.it> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Not to forget is also the beautiful movie "Kira kira hikaru" by Matsuoka
>>>> Joji about homosexuality.
>>>>
>>>> And of course "Gohatto" by Oshima Nagisa.
>>>>
>>>> In countless japanese movies homosexuality is not the major theme but it
>>>> is all the same very present like for instance in the horror sequels
>>>> "Eko Eko Azaraku" by Sato Shimano which deals also with lesbian love
>>>> (mainly platonic) at school.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Valeria Soddu
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> --------------------------------------------------
>>>> From: "Dick Stegewerns" <dick.stegewerns at xs4all.nl>
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, April 14, 2010 10:49 PM
>>>> To: <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
>>>> Subject: Japanese queer/gay cinema
>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> Dear colleagues,
>>>>>
>>>>> I have a graduate student who wants to write on Japanese films dealing
>>>>> with homo- or trans-sexuality but who is not terribly successful in finding
>>>>> films and sources. I am afraid my mind is blank and I cannot think of more
>>>>> than a handful of films (not pink or porn) in which homosexuality is a major
>>>>> theme and cannot recollect having read one book or article on the subject.
>>>>>
>>>>> Film titles and reading suggestions (both English and Japanese) most
>>>>> welcome.
>>>>>
>>>>> Regards,
>>>>>
>>>>> Dick Stegewerns
>>>>> Oslo University
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> On 13.04.2010 04:51, Alex Bates wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>> How was the film?  I'm looking forward to seeing it.
>>>>>> There is a great resource at the Japan Foundation for finding
>>>>>> translations:
>>>>>> http://www.jpf.go.jp/e/culture/media/exchange/translationsearch.html
>>>>>> A search there showed translations in German, Spanish, Polish, Italian,
>>>>>> Hungarian and Czech, as well as English.
>>>>>> Here is the citation for the English version:
>>>>>> "Villon's Wife" translated by Donald Keene, in New Directions 15, 1955.
>>>>>> pages: 176-195
>>>>>> best,
>>>>>> Alex
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Alex Bates
>>>>>> East Asian Studies
>>>>>> Dickinson College
>>>>>> Carlisle, PA 17013
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Apr 12, 2010, at 10:19 PM, Michael Kerpan wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> Just enjoyed seeing Negishi's new adaptation of Dazai's Villon's Wife
>>>>>>> --  and wonder if there is an English translation of the source story?
>>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> ----------------------------------------
>> Shota Ogawa
>> Ph.D. Student
>> Graduate Program in Visual and Cultural Studies
>> 424 Morey Hall
>> University of Rochester
>> Rochester, NY 14627
>>
>> http://www.wallsonfilm.com/the-place
>> ----------------------------------------
>>
>



-- 
Eija Niskanen
Kichijoji Honcho 4-12-6
Musashino-shi
Tokyo 180-0004