JAPANESE FILMS

A Photograph, 1936

In 1936, Japan Film Directors Society was formed. This was a group photograph of the occasion. Front Row, from left; Teinosuke Kinugasa (1896-1982) (Wikipedia) A Page of Madness (狂った一頁[Kurutta Ichipeiji] 1926) The Gate of Hell (地獄門[Jigokumon] 1953) Yoshinobu Ikeda (1892-1973) (JMDB) Irohanihohedo (いろはにほへど 1933) Sadao Yamanaka (1909-1938) (Wikipedia) Kouchiyama Soushun (河内山宗俊1936) Humanity Paper Balloon (人情紙風船[Ninjo Kamifusen] 1937) Mansaku Itami (1900-1946) (Wikipedia) Akanishi Kakita (赤西蛎太1936) The New Earth (新しき土[Atarashiki Tuchi] 1937) Heinosuke Gosho (1902-1981) (Wikipedia) The Neighbor’s Wife and Mine (マダムと女房[Madamu to nyoubo] 1931) The Four Chimneys (煙突の見える場所[Entotsu no Mieru Basho] 1953) Minoru Murata (1894-1937) (Wikipedia) Souls on the Road (路上の霊魂[Rojo …

  / /
JAPANESE FILMS

The Empire of Fantasies

In 1923, the massive earthquake hit the Kanto area. Unprecedented in modern history of Japan, with more than 100,000 causalities, the large part of metropolitan area was burnt to ground. One of the horrifying events in this catastrophe was ethnic cleansing of Koreans by Japanese survivors. Vicious rumors were spread through the frightened people in the devastated area; Koreans were poisoning drinking water, torching houses and preparing for communist revolution. Vigilantes searched for suspected “Koreans” (whoever they considered Koreans) and lynched them to death. In reality, the vicious rumors were spread by Tokyo Police Department. It may sound incredible, but …

 
Uncategorized

Masumura, Ichikawa and Ozu

Speed of Growth In the age of global economy, a self-proclaimed expert announces “your bond is no longer as secure as it used to be” and then whole world goes berserk. A large part of transactions of securities, stocks, bonds, foreign currencies and other monetary entities is processed by computer algorithms without human intervention, in less than a microsecond over the continents. A myriad of security firms, banks, and other companies you never knew how to pronounce their names, destroy your retirement plan in two seconds. Most of us are jittery because off-shoring project in process in the floor below …

  / /