[KineJapan] Shirai Yoshio

[Aaron Gerow]

Sorry to hear of the passing of the great film critic Shirai Yoshio, who passed away on October 5 at the age of 92. 

Shirai-san penned many books, often focusing on the classical era of Japanese cinema, but he was also editor of Kinema Junpo for a while, until he was famously fired by the then-owner, who was a right-wing racketeer, for his left-leaning stance. His books include Nihon Eiga no honto no omoshirosa o gozonji desu ka? and Nihon Eiga ogon densetsu. He was a critic with a thorough understanding of the studio system and its cinema.

When I came to Japan in 1992, a core part of my life was the Asagaya Eigamura, a monthly film screening run by Shirai-san. I lived in Ogikubo and Asagaya was not too far to walk. The screenings were held in a shogekijo near Minami Asagaya station. It was there I got to see many masterworks, including my first introduction to Kawashima Yuzo. I also got to meet and drink with wonderful guests such as Yoshimura Kozaburo and Saito Koichi, as well as make some friends, a few of whom I still communicate with today. For a while, Shirai-san would show Kinoshita Keisuke films and then have a post-screening phone conversation with Kinoshita, who was not well-enough to attend, but still talked quite lively for about an hour each time. 

After the screenings, tables were brought out and we could sit and drink with the guests. We young ones would always head out afterwards to eat and drink around Asagaya until dawn, with the Chinese restaurant Champion (run by a former boxer) always being on the list. 

One of Shirai-san’s projects was “restoring” Inagaki Hiroshi’s wartime Muhomatsu no issho, a film that was cut by both wartime and Occupation era censors. He'd show the film and stop it whenever there was a scene that was cut and then actors would come out to read (not perform) the scene that was cut. His daughter Maki was an actor and often participated in this project.

I showed Imamura Shohei's documentary Ore no Shimokita yesterday in class, which brought back memories of Asagaya. Now it's on DVD, but back then it wasn't available. Someone snuck it out of some company office and secretly showed it to us at Asagaya Eigamura because it is Imamura's homage to Kawashima. It’s one of my cherished memories of the place.

I learned much and met so many people at Asagaya. R.I.P. Shirai-san.

Aaron Gerow
Alfred W. Griswold Professor of East Asian Languages and Literatures and Film and Media Studies
Chair, East Asian Languages and Literatures
Yale University
320 York Street, Room 108
PO Box 208201
New Haven, CT 06520-8201
USA
Phone: 1-203-432-7082
Fax: 1-203-432-6729
e-mail: aaron.gerow at yale.edu
website: www.aarongerow.com






















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