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.

 
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Then and Now, and In Between (Part 2)

Earthquake and Transformation On September 1, 1923, one of the largest earthquake in modern history of Japan hit the Kanto area. The death toll was more than 100,000, and the city was devastated by collapse, landslide and most of all, fire. The whole city was destroyed. Ozu has just started as a camera stuff in Shochiku, when the earthquake devastated the area. During the studio shutdown, he and his family had to rebuild their life again from scratch. This devastation initiated change in the city. Even before the earthquake, there were scholars and policy makers who insisted Tokyo need the …

 
JAPANESE FILMS

There Was A Father, Gosfilmofond Print

September 1, 2010 Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Film Center 1. News Reel; Yomiuri News, No. 164 (1940) 2. News Reel; Japan News, No. 177 (1943) 3. Fighting Tuberculosis (1951) 4. There Was A Father (1942), Gosfilmofond Print, Directed by Yasujiro Ozu Apart from 3, this screening was very disorienting. In 2, there is a footage of aircraft carrier Hornet attacked by Japanese, followed by send-off rally of young soldiers. And “There was a Father”. It was like sitting in the movie theater in 1943 Japan. “There Was A Father” The history of this particular print is here. Finally I …