The film looks at the history of Yasukuni Shrine in Chiyoda, Tokyo, where more than 2 million of Japan's war dead are enshrined. More than 1,000 of them are war criminals convicted at the 1946–1948 Tokyo Tribunal, including 14 Class A war criminals, Hideki Tōjō among them. The film not only shows the widely-reported political incidents associated with the shrine but also takes an in-depth look at the shrine's sword-making tradition, the Yasukuni sword being the film's underlying motif.[1] Interspersed with other scenes filmed at the shrine is serene footage of the last living Yasukuni swordsmith, the 90-year-old Naoji Kariya, working on his presumably-final creation.
Projectedit
Li Ying stated that the film was a joint Asian project—the editor was Japanese, as was the cameraman, who had a relative enshrined in Yasukuni.[1] The production received a ¥7.5 million subsidy from the Japan Arts Council in fiscal 2006.[3]
Reactionsedit
Despite the Japanese contribution, the film has generated strong responses in Japan. The first was from right-wing Japanese nationalists, who had the initial screenings in Tokyo Osaka to be dropped; one of the theatre operators, Humax Cinema Inc., cited safety concerns for its staff.[2] The second was at a special preview on March 12, 2008 for Japanese legislators, arranged by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and initiated by a group of conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party members, who questioned the film's objectivity, which is required to receive a public subsidy.[3] Those lawmakers, including Tomomi Inada, called for a boycott of the movie.[4] Third were claims by both Naoji Kariya[5][6][7] and Yasukuni Shrine,[8] that the film infringed their portrait rights. The Directors Guild of Japan expressed apprehension about possible infringement of freedom of expression, and as a result of the politicians' protests, only about ten theaters screened the movie—none in Tokyo.[9]
On April 3, 2008, a report from AFP indicated that some regional cinemas in Japan would go ahead with screening the film, defying pressure from nationalists. The Seventh Art Theatre in western Osaka planned to screen the film in May. The report did not identify the two cinema operators from Kyoto and Hiroshima which were mentioned as also planning to screen the same.[10]
The film finally debuted to the public in Japan on May 3, 2008, in Tokyo amidst tight police security. Yutada Okada, president of Argo Pictures, described the sold-out screening as safe and smooth. Movie-goers queued two hours before the first show. Feedback reported from the audience has been positive, describing the film as objective and anti-war, as well as enlightening Japanese citizens about the shrine itself.[11]
Referencesedit
^ abcdMayumi Saito (March 15, 2008). "Weekend Beat: Chinese filmmaker finds the swords of Yasukuni still sharp". Asahi Weekly. Retrieved April 2, 2008.
^ ab"Japan govt, media groups concerned as shrine film pulled". Agence France-Presse. April 1, 2008. Retrieved April 2, 2008.
. Mainichi Shimbun. May 3, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
April 14, 2024
yasukuni, film, yasukuni, 靖国, 2007, film, made, japan, resident, chinese, director, ying, simplified, chinese, 李缨, traditional, chinese, 李纓, pinyin, yīng, took, years, complete, been, screened, pusan, international, film, festival, 2007, world, cinema, competi. Yasukuni 靖国 is a 2007 film made by Japan resident 1 Chinese director Li Ying simplified Chinese 李缨 traditional Chinese 李纓 pinyin Lǐ Ying It took ten years to complete and had been screened at the Pusan International Film Festival 2007 World Cinema Competition Sundance Film Festival 2008 and Berlin Film Festival 2008 1 It also won the best documentary award at the Hong Kong International Film Festival 2 YasukuniMovie PosterDirected byLi YingProduced byLi YingRunning time120 minutesCountryJapanLanguageJapanese Contents 1 Plot 2 Project 3 Reactions 4 References 5 External linksPlot editThe film looks at the history of Yasukuni Shrine in Chiyoda Tokyo where more than 2 million of Japan s war dead are enshrined More than 1 000 of them are war criminals convicted at the 1946 1948 Tokyo Tribunal including 14 Class A war criminals Hideki Tōjō among them The film not only shows the widely reported political incidents associated with the shrine but also takes an in depth look at the shrine s sword making tradition the Yasukuni sword being the film s underlying motif 1 Interspersed with other scenes filmed at the shrine is serene footage of the last living Yasukuni swordsmith the 90 year old Naoji Kariya working on his presumably final creation Project editLi Ying stated that the film was a joint Asian project the editor was Japanese as was the cameraman who had a relative enshrined in Yasukuni 1 The production received a 7 5 million subsidy from the Japan Arts Council in fiscal 2006 3 Reactions editDespite the Japanese contribution the film has generated strong responses in Japan The first was from right wing Japanese nationalists who had the initial screenings in Tokyo Osaka to be dropped one of the theatre operators Humax Cinema Inc cited safety concerns for its staff 2 The second was at a special preview on March 12 2008 for Japanese legislators arranged by Japan s Agency for Cultural Affairs and initiated by a group of conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party members who questioned the film s objectivity which is required to receive a public subsidy 3 Those lawmakers including Tomomi Inada called for a boycott of the movie 4 Third were claims by both Naoji Kariya 5 6 7 and Yasukuni Shrine 8 that the film infringed their portrait rights The Directors Guild of Japan expressed apprehension about possible infringement of freedom of expression and as a result of the politicians protests only about ten theaters screened the movie none in Tokyo 9 On April 3 2008 a report from AFP indicated that some regional cinemas in Japan would go ahead with screening the film defying pressure from nationalists The Seventh Art Theatre in western Osaka planned to screen the film in May The report did not identify the two cinema operators from Kyoto and Hiroshima which were mentioned as also planning to screen the same 10 The film finally debuted to the public in Japan on May 3 2008 in Tokyo amidst tight police security Yutada Okada president of Argo Pictures described the sold out screening as safe and smooth Movie goers queued two hours before the first show Feedback reported from the audience has been positive describing the film as objective and anti war as well as enlightening Japanese citizens about the shrine itself 11 References edit a b c d Mayumi Saito March 15 2008 Weekend Beat Chinese filmmaker finds the swords of Yasukuni still sharp Asahi Weekly Retrieved April 2 2008 a b Japan govt media groups concerned as shrine film pulled Agence France Presse April 1 2008 Retrieved April 2 2008 a b Tomoya Ishikawa March 28 2008 Cover Story Picture this Asahi Shimbun Retrieved April 2 2008 Dancing with the Devil over Yasukuni Archived from the original on March 9 2018 Kouch Shinbun 2008 04 10 Mainichi Shinbun 2008 04 11 Sankei Shinbun 2008 04 11 Content certified mail of Yasukuni shrine to its film company PDF Yasukuni shrine HP Archived from the original PDF on December 17 2013 Retrieved June 11 2011 More than 10 cinemas will screen Yasukuni 5 April 2008 Archived from the original on April 10 2016 Some Japanese cinemas to show Yasukuni film Agence France Presse April 3 2008 Archived from the original on April 12 2008 Retrieved April 4 2008 War shrine film opens in Tokyo amid tight security Agence France Presse May 3 2008 Retrieved May 5 2008 External links editYasukuni at IMDb nbsp Controversial film reveals Yasukuni still taboo in Japan stirs debate on free speech Mainichi Shimbun May 3 2008 Archived from the original on 2008 05 06 Retrieved 2008 05 05 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Yasukuni film amp oldid 1151411139, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
