[KineJapan] Tamura Masaki, RIP

[Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum via KineJapan]

Suo--->Suwa  —M

---

*Markus Nornes*
*Professor of Asian Cinema*
Department of Screen Arts and Cultures, Department of Asian Languages and
Cultures, Penny Stamps School of Art & Design

*Department of Screen Arts and Cultures*
*6348 North Quad*
*105 S. State Street*
*Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285*


On Mon, May 28, 2018 at 1:02 AM, Japanese Cinema Discussion Forum via
KineJapan <kinejapan at lists.osu.edu> wrote:

> I just learned of Tamura Masaki's passing. I met Tamura-san through Ogawa
> Pro, but I already knew him—in a sense—from my intense encounters with his
> cinematography in *Farewell to the Land, Himatsuri, *and *Tanpopo. *These
> are stunningly photographed, especially the first two. I remember telling
> Tamura-san that I still had the spacey, writhing rice fields of *Farewell
> to the Land* imprinted indelibly in my mind. He was so pleased and
> revealed that, although Ogawa Pro had moved to Yamagata and produced little
> of note, it was all his experiments with rice photography in Magino that
> enabled him to shoot that film.
>
> Although he shot an astounding array of films throughout his career, from *Lady
> Snowblood* to *Eureka*, he'll undoubtedly be remembered especially for
> his partnership with Ogawa Shinsuke. He and Ogawa were clearly, incredibly
> close. Looking at the *Heta Village* making-of film, *Filmmaking and the
> Way to the Village, *you can see that he's the only one that can keep up
> with Ogawa. In the end, they had something of a falling out and Tamura-san
> basically avoided public talk about his experiences with Ogawa Pro. I was
> grateful that he talked to me. I vividly recall some bitter stories over
> cheap maguro and beer at some Nakano dive.
>
> But more than anything, I remember Ogawa's wake. As they do, lively
> *tsuya* slowly calm down as people peel away, going home or going asleep.
> Before I, too, succumbed to sleep, I was struck that Tamura-san quietly
> chatted in the darkness. The next morning, I heard he didn't sleep.
>
> In the last part of his career, Tamura-san made a very unusual
> contribution to Japanese cinema. At the top of his game, he quite
> self-consciously devoted himself to shooting films for young, up-and-coming
> directors—Aoyama, Kurosawa, Suo, Kawase, and others. Impressive. An
> impressive life.
>
> Markus
>
>
> ---
>
> *Markus Nornes*
> *Professor of Asian Cinema*
> Department of Screen Arts and Cultures, Department of Asian Languages and
> Cultures, Penny Stamps School of Art & Design
>
> *Department of Screen Arts and Cultures*
> *6348 North Quad*
> *105 S. State Street*
> *Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285*
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> KineJapan mailing list
> KineJapan at lists.osu.edu
> https://lists.osu.edu/mailman/listinfo/kinejapan
>
>
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