Films that depict the occupation of Japan, made afterwards

[desser at illinois.edu]

Gate of Flesh (1964) by Suzuki Seijun makes the Occupation central to its story and soldiers are visualized.

David Desser

---- Original message ----
>Date: Tue, 7 Sep 2010 18:22:16 +0100
>From: "Roger Macy" <macyroger at yahoo.co.uk>  
>Subject: Films that depict the occupation of Japan, made afterwards  
>To: "KineJapan" <KineJapan at lists.acs.ohio-state.edu>
>
>   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
>   Oshima, 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    |1993 |
>   |                 |             |Akira       |     |
>   |-----------------+-------------+------------+-----|
>   |Many of the      |Jingi naka   |FUKASAKU    |1973-|
>   |'Battles without |takakai etc. |Kinji       |     |
>   |Humanity' series |             |            |     |
>   |-----------------+-------------+------------+-----|
>   |Conflagration    |Enjo         |ICHIKAWA Kon|1958 |
>   |-----------------+-------------+------------+-----|
>   |Pigs and         |Buta to      |IMAMURA     |1961 |
>   |Battleships      |gunkan       |Shohei      |     |
>   |-----------------+-------------+------------+-----|
>   |History of       |Nippon sengo |IMAMURA     |1970 |
>   |Postwar Japan as |shi Madamu   |Shohei      |     |
>   |Told By a Bar    |onboro no    |            |     |
>   |Hostess          |seikatsu     |            |     |
>   |-----------------+-------------+------------+-----|
>   |Grave of the     |Hotaru no    |TAKAHATA    |1988 |
>   |Fireflies        |haka         |Isao        |     |
>   |-----------------+-------------+------------+-----|
>   |Zero Focus       |Zero no      |NOMURA      |1961 |
>   |                 |shoten       |Yoshitaro   |     |
>   |-----------------+-------------+------------+-----|
>   |Zero Focus       |Zero no      |INUDO Ishin |2010 |
>   |                 |shoten       |            |     |
>   |-----------------+-------------+------------+-----|
>   |Yokohama Mary    |Yokohama Mary|NAKAMURA    |2006 |
>   |                 |             |Takayuki    |     |
>   |-----------------+-------------+------------+-----|
>   |Many of the      |Showa        |SAEKI       |1965-|
>   |'Brutal Tales of |Zankyoden,   |Kiyoshi     |     |
>   |Chivalry' series |etc.         |            |     |
>   |-----------------+-------------+------------+-----|
>   |A Hole of My Own |Jibun no ana |UCHIDA Tomu |1955 |
>   |Making           |no naka de   |            |     |
>   +--------------------------------------------------+
>
>    
>
>   Roger