JAPANESE FILMS

What are they eating ?

In “Tokyo no korasu (1931)”, the little daughter gets sick from eating “Mizumanju”. This is Mizumanju/Kuzumanju. Recipe is here. As you can see, its soothing appearance and chilled preparation are very inviting in a hot summer day. And the girl must have begged for it. In “Late Autumn (1960)”, Mamiya (Shin Saburi) takes Akiko (Setsuko Hara) and, later Ayako (Yoko Tsukasa), to lunch. They go to the place with the sign “う”. What are they eating ? This is what they are eating. This is Unagi (Japanese eel). This was one of the Ozu’s favorite Japanese cuisine. Here is the …

 
JAPANESE FILMS

Then and Now, and In Between (Part 4)

This is the conclusion of 4-part series. How to Delete the Past The war devastation made people realize that Japan had not been as modernized as they had thought. It became embarrassingly clear that Japan had had no chance of winning the war. Compared to their sorry state of material shortage, food shortage and poor industrialization, United States had everything they wanted and more (at least they thought so). Japan had a lot to catch up. Accelerate industrialization and modernization. Forget about anything old. In July 1945, most of Japanese seriously believed they should fight against incoming Americans with bamboo …

 
JAPANESE FILMS

Then and Now, and In Between (Part 3)

(This is part 3 of 4-parts series. Part 1, Part 2) Bombing of Tokyo Through 1944 to 1945, Tokyo was bombed more than 100 times. Especially, the bombing on March 10, 1945 was the most devastating. Incendiary bombs burned the whole city to the ground. Fukagawa, Ozu’s birthplace has been bombed most heavily and destroyed completely. After the war, shabby looking shacks gave immediate shelters to those who survived the bombing or came back from the war zones. These shacks became the symbols of Tokyo rebuilding.