September 14 - December 9
Film Series: Japanese Society in
Film
Altschul Auditorium,
4th floor, International Affairs Building, Columbia
University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
The opening night of Japanese Society in Film,
a free fourteen-film series presented as part of two
university courses on Japan: "Social Change
Reflected in the Literature and Film of Modern
Japan" (East Asian - History V3610; Prof. Carol
Gluck) and "Tokyo: History, Form, and Spirit"
(History - Japanese W4850; Prof. Henry Smith).
§ All are welcome.
§ Films will be shown in Altschul Auditorium
(International Affairs Building, 4th Floor) |
|
Japanese Society in Film
|
9/14 |
Night Drum (Yoru no
tsuzumi) [Imai,
1958] |
| 9/16 |
Eijanaika [Imamura,
1981] |
| 9/23 |
The Mistress (Gan)
[Toyoda, 1953] |
| 9/30 |
Sorekara [Morita,
1986] |
| 10/7 |
I was born but.... (
Umarete wa mita keredomo)
[Ozu, 1932] |
|
10/14 |
Twenty Four Eyes (Nijushi
no hitomi)
[Kinoshita, 1954] |
| 10/21 |
Human Bullet (Nikudan)
[Okamoto, 1968] |
| 10/28 |
Stray Dog (Nora-inu)
[Kurosawa, 1949] |
| 11/4 |
Tokyo Story (Tokyo
monogatari)
[Ozu,1953] |
| 11/11 |
Street of Shame (Akasen
chitai)
[Mizoguchi,1956] |
| 11/18 |
The Ceremony (Gishiki)
[Oshima,1971] |
| 11/23 |
When A Woman Ascends The
Stairs (Onna ga kaidan o
agaru toki) [Naruse,
1960] |
| 12/2 |
Family Game (Kazoku gemu)
[Morita, 1983] |
| 12/9 |
A Taxing Woman (Marusa no
onna) [Itami,
1988] |
|
|
|
Film: Night Drum (Yoru no tsuzumi)
Directed by IMAI Tadashi
Starring Mikuni Rentaro, Arima Ineko, and Mori Masayuki
(Shochiku, 1958, 95 min.)
Altschul Auditorium, 4th floor, International Affairs
Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
| Night
Drum is a powerful film adaptation of
Chikamatsu's Bunraku play Horikawa nami
no tsuzumi (The Drums of the Waves of
Horikawa), portraying the despair of a
samurai wife, left at home while her husband
serves his feudal lord in Edo. When she is
caught in an adulterous affair, the strict
samurai code requires her death. Though her
husband loves and forgives her, he must
exact a penalty he does not believe in.
|
|
Part of
"Japanese Society in Film" Series
September 16 (Wednesday)
Brownbag Lecture: Film and the
Teaching of Japanese History
Thomas Keirstead(Professor of
Japanese History, University of Buffalo)
East Asian Institute Common Room, 9th floor,
International Affairs Building, Columbia University (118th
St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
12:30 - 2:00 PM
Film: Eijanaika
Directed by IMAMURA Shohei (Imamura
Productions, 1981, 151 min.)
Starring Izumi Shigeru, Ogata Ken, Momoi Kaori and Baisho
Mitsuko
Altschul Auditorium, 4th floor, International Affairs
Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
Imamura's
exuberant account of the Tokugawa shogunate
in collapse and the birth struggle of a
post-feudal consciousness. Through the eyes
of lowlife entertainers and cunning
entrepreneurs on the fringes of Edo society,
he depicts the oppresiveness of a
tradition-bound government and the vigor of
the uprisings that contributed to its
eventual overthrow.
The film will be introduced by Thomas
Keirstead, Professor of Japanese history at
the State University of New York at Buffalo |
|
Part of
"Japanese Society in Film" Series
September 21 (Monday)
Brownbag Lecture: The Japanese
Film Today
Donald Richie (Film historian,
critic, essayist and novelist)
East Asian Institute Common Room, 9th floor, International
Affairs Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam
Ave.)
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Donald Richie, one of the world's leading authorities on
Japanese film, is well known for his many books chronicling
contemporary Japanese culture. A series of films by the
director Hani Susumu, organized by Mr. Richie, is
currently running at the
Museum of
Modern Art.
September 22 (Tuesday)
Demonstration: Incense
Demonstration
Professor Seiji Lippit (Assistant
Professor of Modern Japanese Literature, Department of East
Asian Languages & Cultures, UCLA)
403 Kent Hall, Columbia University (116th St. & Amsterdam
Ave.)
4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
The appreciation of incense was a favorite pastime of
Japanese courtiers and aristocrats, and incense contests
were frequently described in The Tale of Genji and
other literary works. Hata Masataka (Director of
Shoeido Incense Co., Kyoto), Ota Kiyoshi (Professor
of Buddhist Studies at Koka Women's College and Master of
the Shino School of Incense), and Morita Kiyoko
(author of The Book of Incense) will demonstrate
ancient Japanese incense rituals and speak on the
relationship of incense and classical Japanese poetry.
September 23 (Wednesday)
Film: The Mistress (Gan; also
known as The Wild Geese)
Directed by TOYODA Shiro (Daiei,
1953, 106 min.)
Starring Takamine Hideo and Akutagawa Hiroshi
Altschul Auditorium, 4th floor, International Affairs
Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
| An
adaptation of Ogai Mori's novella about a
woman who becomes the mistress of a selfish
pawnbroker in order to support her ailing
father, Toyoda's film captures beautifully
the atmosphere of downtown Tokyo during the
late Meiji period. Takamine's subtle
portrayal of the heroine O-Tama is one of
the finest performances by this celebrated
actress.
|
|
Part of
"Japanese Society in Film" Series
September 30 (Wednesday)
Film: Sorekara
Directed by MORITA Yoshimitsu (Toei,
1986, 105 min.)
Starring Matsuda Yusaku, Fujitani Miwako, Kobayashi Kaoru,
and Ryu Chishu
Altschul Auditorium, 4th floor, International Affairs
Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
A stately film
adaption of Natsume Soseki's novel of
the same name. A love triangle between
Daisuke, a young dilettante unable to find a
place for himself in the new society of
late-Meiji Japan, his opportunistic banker
friend, and the banker's unhappy wife who
had earlier been the hero's girlfriend. A
visually arresting depiction of Tokyo at the
turn of the century.
Part of
"Japanese Society in Film" Series |
 |
|
October 1 (Thursday)
Special Lecture:The Tale of Genji:
A Chinese Point of View
Professor Wen-Yueh Lin (Professor of
Chinese Literature, National Taiwan University)
403 Kent Hall, Columbia University (116th St. & Amsterdam
Ave.)
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Lecture to be given in Japanese
Professor Lin is an internationally renowned scholar and
translator of classical Chinese and Japanese literature.
Born in Shanghai, she has lived in Taiwan since 1946, and
has taught at National Taiwan University since 1959. She
has also taught as Visiting Professor at Oxford University,
Cambridge University, Kyoto University, Harvard, Yale, and
the University of Washington. Professor Lin has published
numerous books and articles, including Hsieh Ling-yun and
His Poems, Shan-Shei and the Classics, as well as
Chinese translations of Genji Monogatari and
Makura no Soshi. She is also an established creatvie
writer in the genre of the familiar essay.
October 7 (Wednesday)
Film: I Was Born But... (Umarete
wa mita keredomo)
Directed by OZU Yasujiro (Shochiku,
1934, 89 min.)
Starring Saito Tatsuo and Yoshikawa Mitsuko
Altschul Auditorium, 4th floor, International Affairs
Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
| One
of Ozu's most beloved silent films. Tokyo's
new suburbs of the 1920s are the setting of
this gentle satire, in which the foibles of
the middle class are seen (and seen through)
by children. In this film, Ozu reveals his
skill at eliciting fine performances from
child actors. |
|
Part of
"Japanese Society in Film" Series
October 14 (Wednesday)
Film: Twenty Four Eyes (Nijushi no
hitomi)
Directed by KINOSHITA Keisuke
(Shochiku, 1954, 155 min.)
Starring Takamine Hideko
Altschul Auditorium, 4th floor, International Affairs
Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
| Stories
of devoted schoolteachers are beloved
throughout world literature, and the theme
receives one of its finest interpretations
is this film. A young woman comes to teach
on a small island in the Inland Sea, and
though her life there at first seems
idyllic, it cannot be protected from the
winds of war. |
|
Part of
"Japanese Society in Film" Series
October 15 (Thursday)
Lecture: Allegories of Desire: The
Development of Esoteric Commentaries in Medieval Japan
Professor Susan Klein (Assistant
Professor of Japanese Literature, University of California
at Irvine)
403 Kent Hall, Columbia University (116th St. & Amsterdam
Ave.)
6:00 - 7:30 PM
Professor Susan Klein is a specialist in medieval Japanese
literature, modern Japanese theater and dance, and feminist
critical theory. Her earliest scholarly work was on the
political and social context for the emergence in the 1960s
of the postmodern dance form known as "Butoh," and resulted
in her book. Ankoku Butoh: The Premodern and Postmodern
Influences on the Dance of Utter Darkness (1989). She
has also translated Noh plays, and is currently researching
secret esoteric commentaries on Ise Monogatari and
the Kokinshu written during the Kamakura and
Muromachi periods.
October 21 (Wednesday)
Film: Human Bullet (NIkudan)
Directed by OKAMOTO Kihachi
(ATG/Okamoto Productions, 1968, 116min.)
Starring Terada Minoru and Otani Naoko
Altschul Auditorium, 4th floor, International Affairs
Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
A brilliant
war satire in a Catch 22 vein. The
harrowing life of a lowly Japanese
footsoldier, trained to be a human torpedo,
is contrasted with that of a young girl
whose view of the world is one of lyrical
beauty.
Part of
"Japanese Society in Film" Series |
Strapped to a torpedo, a recruit (Terada
Minoru) must prevent enemy ships from
reaching shore.
|
|
October 23 (Friday) & 24 (Saturday)
Workshop: Japanese Printmaking
Tetsuya Noda (Print Artist)
403 Kent Hall, Columbia University (116th St. & Amsterdam
Ave.)
One of Japan's most distinguished print artists, Noda
Tetsuya's works have been collected by many of the world's
leading museums. He will present three workshops on
traditional Japanese printing techniques at
The Neiman Center for Print Studies of the
School of the Arts, Columbia University. This is the
first workshop of the three.
October 28 (Wednesday)
Film: Stray Dog (Nora inu)
Directed by KUROSAWA Akira (Shintoho,
1949, 122 min.)
Starring Mifune Toshiro and Shimura Takashi
Altschul Auditorium, 4th floor, International Affairs
Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
| A
young police detective's pistol is stolen
and becomes the murder weapon in several
subsequent homicides. The detective's search
for his gun sends him foraging through the
Tokyo underworld and makes for one of
Kurosawa's most brilliant early films. Shot
entirely on location during the summer of
1949, the film reveals a city physically and
morally ravaged by war. |
|
Part of
"Japanese Society in Film" Series
October 29 (Thursday)
Lecture and Demonstration by Print
Artist Noda Tetsuya
Tetsuya Noda (Print Artist)
403 Kent Hall, Columbia University (116th St. & Amsterdam
Ave.)
October 30 (Friday) & 31 (Saturday)
Workshop: Japanese Printmaking
Tetsuya Noda (Print Artist)
403 Kent Hall, Columbia University (116th St. & Amsterdam
Ave.)
This is the second workshop in a series of three by the
well-known print artist Noda Tetsuya. For more
information, please contact
The Neiman Center for Print Studies of the
School
of the Arts, Columbia University.
November 4 (Wednesday)
Film: Tokyo Story (Tokyo
monogatari)
Directed by OZU Yasujiro (Shochiku,
1953, 134 min.)
Starring Ryu Chishu, Higashiyama Chieko, Hara Setsuko, and
Sugimura Haruko
Altschul Auditorium, 4th floor, International Affairs
Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
| An
elderly couple travels to Tokyo to visit
their grown children. Finding them
preoccupied with their own lives, the couple
returns home. On the journey home, the
mother falls ill and dies soon afterward.
Through this simple story, Ozu examines the
relationships of three generations and
weaves a drama that has been acclaimed for
its universality and gentle truthfulness. |
|
Part of
"Japanese Society in Film" Series
November 5
(Thursday) - 7 (Saturday)
Workshop: Japanese Printmaking
Tetsuya Noda (Print Artist)
403 Kent Hall, Columbia University (116th St. & Amsterdam
Ave.)
This is the third workshop in a series of three by the
well-known print artist Noda Tetsuya. For more
information, please contact
The Neiman Center for Print Studies of the
School
of the Arts, Columbia University.
November 11 (Wednesday)
Film: Street of Shame (Akasen
chitai)
Directed by MIZOGUCHI Kenji (Daiei,
1956, 85 min.)
Starring Kyo Machiko, Wakao Ayako, Kogure Michiyo, Mimasu
Aiko, and Machida Hiroko
Altschul Auditorium, 4th floor, International Affairs
Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
| A
sensitive series of vignettes about the
women who work in a brothel called
"Dreamland" in the Yoshiwara licensed
quarter of Tokyo at the time when a ban on
legal prostitution was being debated in the
Japanese Diet. The girls who work at
"Dreamland" are prostitutes for a variety of
reasons, but all of them find their
livelihood threatened with legal extinction.
Mizoguchi's last film is distinguished by
excellent performances and superb
cinematography. |
|
Part of
"Japanese Society in Film" Series
November 18 (Wednesday)
Film:The Ceremony (Gishiki)
Directed by OSHIMA Nagisa
(ATG/Sozosha Productions, 1971, 122 min.)
Starring Kawarazaki Kenzo, Koyama Akiko, Sato Kei, and Otowa
Nobuko
Altschul Auditorium, 4th floor, International Affairs
Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
| Through
the complex relationships within a single
prestigious family, Oshima traces the entire
political and social history of Japan: the
collapse of ancient hierarchies, the
illusions of democracy and communism, and
the hypocrisies of modern values. Tyranny,
rape, murder, and incest within the Sakurada
family become metaphors for postwar social
values in this corrosive allegory.
Considered Oshima's masterpiece, this is one
of the most powerful Japanese films of the
1970s. |
|
Part of
"Japanese Society in Film" Series
November 20 (Friday) - 23 (Monday)
Symposium :
The Culture of Convents in Japanese History
Sponsored by the
Institute of Medieval Japanese Studies
Columbia University (116th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
Including a 700th anniversary memorial service in honor of
Abbess Mugai Nyodai (b.1223; died Nov. 28, 1298), the
symposium will coincide with exhibitions of Treasures
from the Imperial Buddhist Convents of Kyoto (C.V. Starr
East Asian Library, Kent Hall, November 6 - December 4) and
Columbia University Buddhist Sculpture (Low Library
Rotunda Gallery, November 13, 1998 - January 31, 1999).
November 23 (Monday)
Film: When a Woman Ascends the
Stairs (Onna ga kaidan wo agaru toki)
Directed by NARUSE Mikio (Toho, 1960,
86 min.)
Starring takamine Hideko, Nakadai Tatsuya, and Awaji Keiko
Altschul Auditorium, 4th floor, International Affairs
Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
| Amid
the seedy elegance of the Tokyo nighttown,
the proprietress of a bar in Ginza struggles
to preserve her business and her integrity.
Known chiefly for his films about Japanese
women, Naruse creates one of his finest
dramas, aided here by the powerful
performance of Takamine Hideko. |
|
Part of
"Japanese Society in Film" Series
December 2 (Wednesday)
Film: Family Game (Kazoku gemu)
Directed by MORITA Yoshimitsu
(Nikkatsu/ATG, 1983, 107 min.)
Starring Matsuda Yusaku, Itami Juzo, and Yuki Saori
Altschul Auditorium, 4th floor, International Affairs
Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
| Morita's
first film has been described as "....a
wickedly funny, stylishly deadpan comedy
about Japan's comparatively afflent, utterly
directionless, new middle class." With deft
irony, the film savages the Japanese
education system and all the social values
behind it. |
|
Part of
"Japanese Society in Film" Series
December 9 (Wednesday)
Film: A Taxing Woman (Marusa no
onna)
Directed by ITAMI Juzo (Itami
Productions, 1988, 127 min.)
Starring Miyamoto Nobuko, Yamazaki Tsutomu, and Tsugawa
Masahiko
Altschul Auditorium, 4th floor, International Affairs
Building, Columbia University (118th St. & Amsterdam Ave.)
6:30 PM
| Well-known
already as an actor, writer, and social
critic, Itami Juzo turned to
directing in the early 1980s and—until his
suicide last year—produced a stream of
superb satires including, The Funeral,
Tampopo, Supermarket Woman, and the
present film. In A Taxing Woman, he
exposes the perils and pleasures of tax
evasion Japanese style. |
|
Part of
"Japanese Society in Film" Series
December 10 (Thursday)
Talk: The Music of Light: The
Extraordinary Story of Hikari and Kenzaburo Oe
Linsley Cameron (Writer)
403 Kent Hall, Columbia University (116th St. & Amsterdam
Ave.)
Ms. Cameron, a writer for The New Yorker and the New York
Times, has closely followed the development of Hikari Oe as
a composer and the remarkable role he has played in the
fiction of his father Kenzaburo Oe, who won the Nobel Prize
for Literature in 1994. During eight years residence in
Japan she came to know the Oe family well, and in her new
book, The Music of Light: The Extraordinary Story of
Hikari and Kenzaburo Oe, she writes movingly about the
relationships linking the members of this uniquely creative
family.
Copies of The Music of Light
will be available for sale.
|
