Films that depict the occupation of Japan, made afterwards

[Kristoffer Noheden]

Dear all,

Two films that spring to mind immediately: Suzuki 
Seijun's Gate of Flesh/Nikutai no mon (1964) and Hasebe Yasuharu's Stray
 Cat Rock: Sex Hunter/Nora-neko rokku: Sekkusu hanta (1970). I also seem
 to recall that Takechi Tetsuji's Black Snow/Kuroi yuki (1965) deals 
with the same subject, but have not had the chance to see it myself.

Best,

Kristoffer Noheden

Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2010 18:22:16 +0100
From: macyroger at yahoo.co.uk
To: KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
Subject: Films that depict the occupation of Japan, made afterwards











Dear 
Kinejapaners,
I'm afraid I've got a new bone to 
pick.
I caught 'Stray Dog' last night at the 
NFT, having missed it during the recent Kurosawa retrospective.   The film was introduced by Mamoun 
Hassan, who made several interesting points, most of which I agree with.  He asked rhetorically if anyone had ever 
seen Allied soldiers in Japanese occupation-era films and, of course, no one had 
- fair point.  But he then went onto 
claim that films about the occupation were also absent from post-1952 Japanese 
cinema since the Japanese didn't want to be reminded of this 
era.
This did surprise me as I've banging 
on for years on to anyone that might listen that someone should do a season of 
cross-national films around occupation.  
No Japanese ones?  That 
started me on a list of films made after the occupation that depicted the era 
and situation..
Leaving aside films  mainly on re-patriation, or the 
hibakusha, themes to themselves; leaving aside ?shima, who rarely set a scene in 
the occupation period, but for whom in most of his career the American 
occupation had not really ended; and leaving aside films like Ozu's Early Spring, where the prior death of 
the child, seemingly in the occupation period, weighs so 
heavily; I can still think of more than enough for a Japanese share in a season 
(below).  And my list is culled just 
from those few films shown in the west.  
I seem to recall mention of many more that I haven't seen, and that's 
where I'd appreciate some help.  I'd 
be surprised if directors like Imai, Kamei or Ieki didn't do retrospective films 
on the occupation, but they haven't been shown here.
Now, few of these films have companies 
of American, or other Allied soldiers marching past outside the window.  Actors convincing as westerners were 
unaffordable to Japanese studios in the 50s and 60s at least.  But films about life in an occupied 
country don't need sharply drawn occupiers.  And isn't this the point - almost the 
opposite of Mamoun Hassan's thesis - that there are films about the occupation; 
but that 'we' don't want to see them, or at least that they are not much shown 
at the BFI, because they sideline westerners as unimportant or faceless 
characters, and/or they are politically uncomfortable for us 
?
Anyway, here's my initial list, if 
anyone could add to it, or dispute it, please :-
Films that depict the 
occupation of Japan, made afterwards.

  
  
    
      Floating 
      Clouds
    
      Ukigumo
    
      NARUSE 
      Mikio
    
      1955
  
    
      Madadayo
    
      Madadayo
    
      KUROSAWA 
      Akira
    
      1993
  
    
      Many 
      of the 'Battles without Humanity' series
    
      Jingi 
      naka takakai etc.
    
      FUKASAKU 
      Kinji
    
      1973-
  
    
      Conflagration
    
      Enj?
    
      ICHIKAWA 
      Kon
    
      1958
  
    
      Pigs 
      and Battleships
    
      Buta 
      to gunkan
    
      IMAMURA 
      Sh?hei
    
      1961
  
    
      History of Postwar Japan as Told By a Bar 
      Hostess
    
      Nippon sengo shi Madamu onboro no seikatsu
    
      IMAMURA 
      Sh?hei
    
      1970
  
    
      Grave 
      of the Fireflies
    
      Hotaru no haka
    
      TAKAHATA 
      Isao
    
      1988
  
    
      Zero 
      Focus
    
      Zero 
      no sh?ten
    
      NOMURA 
      Yoshitar?
    
      1961
  
    
      Zero 
      Focus
    
      Zero 
      no sh?ten
    
      INUDO 
      Ishin
    
      2010
  
    
      Yokohama 
      Mary
    
      Yokohama 
      Mary
    
      NAKAMURA 
      Takayuki
    
      2006
  
    
      Many 
      of the 'Brutal Tales of Chivalry' series
    
      Sh?wa 
      Zanky?den, etc.
    
      SAEKI 
      Kiyoshi
    
      1965-
  
    
      A 
      Hole of My Own Making
    
      Jibun 
      no ana no naka de
    
      UCHIDA 
      Tomu
    
      1955
 
Roger 		 	   		  
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