Soldiers Alive – A Novel of the Japanese in China, 1937
For century upon century, from the time of the stories of Gilgamesh (18th BCE), stories of war have been told …
Category Archives: Japan
Zone of Emptiness – A Japanese Novel of WWII
Zone of Emptiness by the Japanese novelist Hiroshi Noma, when it was published in 1952 after years of military censorship, …
Japan, After the War, Two Widows, Two Movies
In nineteen forty-seven, a year and a half after the end of WWII, Japanese film makers were still facing war-time shortages, …
More Post-War Movies: Three from Japan
It is of continuing interest to me how people in all their cultural wrappings respond to portrayals of themselves as …
Japan’s WW II Cinema: Bucking Up the Home Front
Watching Japanese films from the 1940s and 50s is difficult for many. No big sword fights,no clothing shed in intimate love affairs. …
Clouds Above the Hill — Japan’s Good Wars
Shiba Ryōtarō is said to be one of Japan’s favorite authors. Prolific in multiple genres, he’s credited with over 500 …
The Human Condition: What Is A Man to Do? Japan in Defeat
Masaki Kobayashi’s war time epic, The Human Condition, at 9 hours and 45 minutes, in black and white, with subtitles …
Hula Girls: Coal Miners’ Daughters in Japan — a Movie
Around our house there are two streams of movie selections: dark, meaningful films, preferably by “auteurs,” about people overcoming terrible …