Conference at the opening of the exhibition: Through the surface
Collaborating textile artists from Britain and Japan
The Surrey Institute of Art and Design
6th February 2004

As Professor Jeffrey Richards the author of Films and British National Identity says, “Cinema has played a vital role in defining, mystifying, and disseminating national identity”.

We all typically have multiple identities. For example we have an ethnic identity, a sexual identity, a national identity as well as many other identities. Among these, however, national identity has been the strongest one for us in an age of modern nation-states.

In this age of globalization, people, capital, goods and information easily cross national borders. As a result, a kind of hybridity of many aspects of national character is taking place in countries all over the world.

In reaction to this, the concept of nationhood has been reexamined in many countries during the 1990s. This is also true of Japan where, as a result of a feeling of loss of national identity, hatred against immigrant workers and the movement of neo-nationalism have become stronger in recent years.

For this reason, I feel it is more important than ever for us to attempt to more clearly understand our present situation by examining the link between Japanese cinema and the use of national imagery.

First of all, I must emphasize that there has not been any consistent substance or essential nature in “Japaneseness”. “Japaneseness” is a historical category that has been constructed in social and cultural contexts of each period.

In order to explain this in more concrete terms, today I’m going to discuss films from three different moments in Japanese cinema and explain how each of them uniquely portrays “Japaneseness”.

First, I’m going to examine the wartime film titled New Earth A.K.A. The Daughter of Samurai produced in 1937. Second, I will talk about films released in the early 1960s, a period of rapid economic growth in Japan. Finally, I will examine the “Japaneseness” of recent films directed by Takeshi Kitano.

In terms of the relationship between nationalism and racism, Etienne Balibar says that nationalism reproduces racial discrimination and at the same time disavows it. That is, nationalism conceals the ethnic and racial differences to integrate them as a nation. One of the themes in this symposium is cultural difference. If there is ”racism without races” which means the insurmountability of cultural differences, we have to reconsider nationalism as an actual issue that oppresses the existence of cultural differences.

It’s very interesting that in each moment I chose, the representation of “Japaneseness” conceals the ethnic and cultural diversities in Japan. At the same time, it emphasizes the historical consistency of “the Japanese race” or Japanese traditional essence.

Before we embark on our investigation of the historical foundations of “Japaneseness” however, I would like to summarize the history of Japan as a multicultural nation state.

As I’m sure many of you know, after 300 years of an official national policy of isolation during the Edo period, Japan started to construct a modern nation state in 1868, this process is known as the Meiji restoration.

This “restoration” or reconstruction of Japan was undertaken in an attempt to catch up with Western countries which were viewed as technologically advanced.

In the same year that the Meiji restoration began, the Japanese Government opened up the Hokkaido area, the northern big island of Japan which is the ancestral home of the Ainu people.

The Ainu people are a group of people whose cultural and racial background is different from that of “ethnic Japanese”.

In 1879, the government incorporated the Ryukyu Islands into the boundaries of Japan and Ryukyu has since become known as Okinawa prefecture.

Historically, Ryukyu has had a unique cultural and traditional heritage that more closely resembles that of China and Taiwan than that of Japan.

From the beginning of the Meiji restoration, the government systematically suppressed both Ainu and Okinawan heritage in order to integrate them into mainstream Japanese society.

During the colonial period as well, Japan attempted to suppress indigenous tradition and culture in neighboring countries. In 1895, after the Sino-Japanese war, Taiwan was colonized by Japan until 1945. Also, as a result of the Russo-Japanese war in 1905, Japan colonized Korea in 1910.

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1. “JAPANESENESS” DURING THE WAR PERIOD The Daughter of Samurai (1937)

Next I’d like to explore the portrayal of “Japaneseness” during the war period.

In 1936, the Anti-Comintern Pact between Japan and Germany was signed affirming cooperation between these two nations.

In the following year, a film co-produced by Japanese and German filmmaker was released in both countries to foster an atmosphere of friendly relations between the two countries.

The original title was The New Earth but when this film was screened in Germany, the title was changed to The Daughter of Samurai. The film was set in Japan and the main character, named Teruo, had just returned from Germany after many years studying abroad.

Upon his return to Japan, Teruo, a Westernized Japanese man, refuses to accept an arranged marriage with a young Japanese girl. Gradually however, he comes to realize his “true” identity, and embraces his Japanese roots. In the final scene of this film, Teruo emigrates to Manchuria to “open up” the “new earth”. The storyline of this film basically justifies the invasion of China.

The scene we are about to watch is a scene where Teruo realizes his Japanese national identity while attending a sporting and entertainment event. This scene contains a lot of stereotypical images of “Japaneseness”. (Video 1).

The symbols of “Japaneseness” contained within this scene are: Sumo, Cherry Dance, and Noh performance.

These images have important functions, which not only satisfied the exoticism of German audiences but also made Teruo realize his unbroken ties with his Japanese ancestry.

While watching the Noh play, Teruo says to his sister, “I don’t understand what the Noh performer are saying at all, but I feel like my ancestor’s blood flowing through my body intuitively understands it. When I listen to that voice, I feel I can remember the past”.

As you can see, these images of “Japaneseness” were used to produce and intensify the idea of historical consistency of “the Japanese race” as well as the consistency of the overall history of Japan in an almost mystifying way.

However, as the film tried to express, this “Japaneseness” does not prove the consistency of “the Japanese race” because this “Japaneseness” was invented in the process of modernizing Japan after the Meiji restoration. In other words, it is a classic representation of “the Invention of tradition”.

Although Sumo has existed since at least the feudal ages of Japan, it was not until the early 20th century that Sumo was regarded by the Japanese people as a national sport.

Also, the Cherry dance was invented in 1872 when the first national exposition in Japan took place in Kyoto. This flamboyant style of entertainment, performed by Geisha, was choreographed specifically to entertain Western people.

Noh is a highly conceptualized performance that was appreciated mainly among the Samurai class which composed only a small segment of society during the Edo period. Noh was not a popular art-form among common Japanese citizens before the Meiji period. Noh has only gained its status after the Meiji restoration as a national performing art because it was subsidized by the Japanese government.

In other scenes from The Daughter of Samurai, as well, we can see symbols of “Japaneseness” which have been constructed during the modern age of Japan.

In one scene, Teruo is cultivating his land in front of Mt. Fuji, the most celebrated mountain in Japan, which has come to be known as “the symbol of Japan”. In 1894, one of the most famous Japanese geographers Shigetaka Shiga, a nationalist, wrote Nihonhuukeiron known (A book on Japanese Scenery). In this book, he praises Mt. Fuji for its beauty declaring it to be more beautiful than any other mountain in the world.

In another scene, cherry blossoms were falling when Teruo’s fiancé went out of her house in despair to commit suicide.

Cherry blossoms became recognized as the national flower of Japan during the process of Japanese nationalism. Also, during the Pacific war, this flower was thought to be a reincarnation of dead Japanese soldiers.

In this way, cultural nationalism during the 1890’s has created many symbols of “Japaneseness”. This cultural nationalism not only constructed and confirmed the consistency of the Japanese nation but also concealed the origins of these symbols of “Japaneseness” at the same time.

It’s important to point out that The Daughter of Samurai completely neglects the ethnic and cultural diversities in Japan.

Even when ethnic diversity in Japan was depicted in other wartime films, it was only when these minorities were supposed to be integrated into the patriotic nation or to be sacrifice for the glory of imperial Japan.

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2. “JAPANESENESS” IN THE 1960’S: A PERIOD OF RAPID ECONOMIC GROWTH

In 1945, Japan was defeated by the allied forces and was occupied and governed by the American forces until 1952. At the end of the war, Korea and Taiwan, which had been colonized by Japan, were liberated. Even after this liberation however, many of the Korean laborers who had been brought to Japan during this time, opted to remain in Japan rather than return to their home country. As a result, Koreans currently make up the largest ethnic community in Japan with a population of more than 600,000 permanent residents.

Okinawa prefecture was governed by the US until 1972 at which time it was returned to the Japanese government. The US occupation authorities censored all Japanese films until that time, and they prohibited Japanese filmmakers to depict any themes which infused elements of nationalism, revenge, militarism, feudal loyalty, suicide and so on. Also sword fights in historical films were strictly banned during the early period of the occupation. This censorship policy was based on an extensive study of the Japanese national character during the Second World War. The most famous book on Japanese national character entitled Chrysanthemum and the Sword by Ruth Benedict was written during this period.

So there was little in terms of an aggressive expression of “Japaneseness” in this period but as a result of the censorship, there appeared a form of “Japaneseness” which confirms the homogeneity of Japanese society.

There were two main reasons for this phenomenon. First of which was the restriction placed on the representation of racial discrimination, especially towards Koreans. This can be seen by examining the film Akatsukino dassou (a deserter at dawn) released in 1950. This film is set in China just before the end of the Second World War. In the original novel that this film is based on, one of the main characters was a so-called “comfort woman” or in other words a Korean sex slave for the Japanese soldiers. When this book was adapted to film however, the role of the Korean sex slave was altered to be, instead, a Japanese singer. This alternation concealed the history of racial discrimination by the Japanese military during wartime.

The second reason is that most Japanese films produced after the Second world War have represented Japanese people as victims of the war, not as assailants. Part of the reason for this is likely due to the suffering incurred by Japan in terms of the atomic bombing at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

For these reasons, no films during this period included representations of Japanese as assailant and this lends to the confirmation of the homogeneity of Japanese society all the more.

Japan experienced rapid economic growth after the late 1950s under the political conditions of the cold war. The Tokyo Olympics took place in 1964 and it was the first time for such a large-scale national event to be held in the post war era. This event made many Japanese people consider what their country’s place was in the world.

Here we can observe another characteristic of “Japaneseness” from this period. In comparison with “Japaneseness” focusing on historical consistency during wartime, this “Japaneseness” is based on a relational identity, which is constructed in a dichotomy between Japan and the West. In this sense, a musical film titled Kimi mo syusse ga dekiru (You can succeed too, 1964) shows this relational identity.

This film was produced mainly for the domestic audience and emphasizes how we Japanese are different from the Western people, to be more specific, from the Americans. In the scene we are about to watch, the daughter of travel agency’s president comes back to Japan after studying in the US.

Upon her return, she tells the staff members at her father’s company how Americans have a practical way of thinking and how they respect efficiency in business. She goes on to say how Americans say things in precise terms saying either yes or no, without leaving uncertainty.

She contrasts this with the situation in Japan by saying that Japanese often take an uncertain attitude when they have to decide yes or no. She also says Japanese people smile without any good reason and that they are not able to go against their boss. Also, they work too hard without taking holidays on Sunday.

(Video 2) It’s interesting that these stereotyped images of “Japaneseness” are very similar to portrayals by books on Japanese national character (called Nihonjinron) written during the post-war period. Again, the myth of the homogeneity of Japanese society remains unquestioned.

Unlike the negative contrasting of the idea of “Japaneseness” presented to the Japanese public in Kimi mo syusse ga dekiru, the portrayal of the historical consistency of “the Japanese race” was always stressed when “Japaneseness” was presented to the Western audiences.

In 1963, Bushido zankoku monogatari (Cruel tales of Bushido) was awarded the first prize at the Berlin international film festival. This film tells seven different stories of different ages from the Edo period to the present in order to essentialize the continuous existence of Bushido, an ethic of the Samurai class, within the heart of Japanese people.

Basically, the director of this film, Tadashi Imai, criticizes the Bushido ethos and insists that it has caused many tragedies throughout the history of Japan.

All of the stories depict people who cannot resist the order of their masters or bosses because of the ethical code of Bushido. This inevitably brought about tragedy.

Historically speaking however, it was not until in the 1900’s when the famous politician Inazo Nitobe wrote a book titled Bushido: the Soul of Japan in English that the concept of Bushido spread to the Japanese people and also to Western intellectuals.

He renders the word Bushido into “Chivalry” for the better understanding of Western readers. The book starts with the words: Chivalry is a flower no less indigenous to the soil of Japan than its emblem, the cherry blossoms.

Since the popularization of this book, the concept of Bushido has become an essential ethic which Japanese people feel they must have and should attempt to maintain.

Considering the historical background of this concept, I think the representation of Bushido in Imai’s film is problematic because he essentialized Bushido when in reality, it’s just a historical category.

What’s even more problematic is that the director inserts a short sequence featuring Kamikaze pilots (members the Japanese air force who committed suicide by plunging their planes into the enemies ship during the Pacific war). Historically, there were almost 4,000 Kamikaze pilots.

(Video 3) In this scene, five pilots are standing in front of their commanding officers. The commanding officers pass a cup of sake that is given by the emperor to each of the pilots. This ceremony confirms the sacred unity between the emperor and the pilots.

This short sequence implies that Kamikaze pilots committed suicides for their master, the emperor, just as samurais were willing to die for their masters during the feudal period of Japan. In other words, it implies that the kamikaze pilots were not assailants but victims of Japanese militarism.

In this way, the war crimes of Japanese soldiers are concealed in such a way as to once again confirm the homogeneity of the Japanese people as a nation of sufferers.

So as we can see once again, ethnic and cultural diversity is completely overlooked.

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3. “JAPANESENESS” OF CONTEMPORARY FILMS IN AN AGE OF GLOBALIZATION

Since the late 1980s, a large number of immigrant workers from Southeast Asian and Middle Eastern countries have come to Japan, creating a new social issue among Japanese politicians.

As the number of immigrant workers steadily increased, so did the strength of the neo-nationalist movement against them. At the same time however, a few filmmakers began to depict ethnic communities and general society with cultural hybridity.

In 1993, Director Yoichi Sai, a second-generation Korean residents in Japan, directed a brilliant comedy entitled Tsuki ha docchi ni deteiru (All Under the Moon), in which he depicted Korean residents and Philippine immigrant workers in Tokyo. Also, from 1985, director Go Takamine, who was born in Okinawa prefecture, directed feature films in which the characters speak native Okinawan dialect with subtitles in “standard” Japanese dialect.

In terms of representation of “Japaneseness” however, the most interesting films are those by Takeshi Kitano. He started his career as a comedian but later in 1989, he directed the film Sono otoko, kyobo ni tsuki (Violent Cop) and since that time has gone on to direct eleven other films. In his early works, especially before HANA-BI (1998), there were almost no elements of “Japaneseness” like we have been discussing now.

However, his thematic style changed slightly in HANA-BI (1998). This film was awarded the first prize in the Venice international film festival in the same year and since that time, Kitano has gained international attention. Reading what Kitano said about HANA-BI, we can see that he became conscious of the attention he was receiving from foreign audiences, especially Western audiences.

(Video4) The first scenery that the main characters saw during their journey was that of Mt. Fuji. Also a painter in a wheelchair is shown sitting under the cherry blossoms. And another shot presents a picture he drew in which there is a man who are sitting under the cherry blossoms with a dagger, which means he is going to commit suicide. Please remember that cherry blossoms represented the death and reincarnation of the dead in pre-war Japan.

So I think it’s not a coincidence that Kitano appropriated these stereotyped images of “Japaneseness” when he became conscious of the Western audiences. In fact, he lavishly uses symbols of “Japaneseness” in his works after HANA-BI. One of the typical examples is Brother (2000). This film is co-produced by a Japanese and a British production company and this story is about a Japanese Gang (we call them Yakuza) in Los Angeles that challenges an American gang. The Japanese gang is portrayed in a stereotypical “Japanese” way with scenes including Hara-kiri and also a scene where a member cuts off his own finger to take responsibility for a mistake he made. Kitano says in one interview that he wanted to depict “cool Japanese” in the movie Brother. In the last scene, one old Asian American says to the protagonist “You Japanese are so inscrutable”. Kitano paradoxically uses this line to emphasize “otherness” of Japanese for Western viewers and at the same time, to make viewers feel a sense of mystification.

Kitano directed Dolls in 2002 in which he intentionally presents typical “Japaneseness” from the beginning with images of Bunraku puppets and cherry blossoms. Moreover, this story is based on a famous classical drama called Meido no hikyaku (The Courier of Hell) and partly based on a novel of well-known writer Jyunichiro Tanizaki. Kitano’s latest film is a historical film titled Zato-ichi (2003). He doesn’t forget to insert hara-kiri scenes in this film either.

In my personal opinion, appropriating one’s own national images is not unusual when one considers the current wave of globalization. However, Kitano’s use of “Japaneseness” is not new but rather a mere repetition of past Japanese film makers. As film scholar Aaron Gerow puts it , the problem is not in appropriating national images, but rather that he doesn’t present any alternative choice to identify with when he encounters “otherness”.

To close this theme, I’d like to touch on one Hollywood film; The Last Samurai. This film was screened in many countries last year. The story is set in the early period of modern Japan in the late 19th century. A Civil War veteran named Alglen comes to Japan to train the Emperor's troops. Algren's passion is swayed when he is captured by the samurai and learns their traditions and Bushido, ethics of samurai.

This story is very identifiable for most Japanese audiences because Japanese audiences are given the impression that Bushido is fully understood by the Americans just as we Japanese understand it. I guess this film gives Japanese a sense of pride for their tradition and its history. I imagine the producers of this film have studied Japanese history and society very well. In one scene of this film, protagonists commit suicide by Hara-kiri on the battlefield where petals of cherry blossoms are falling. What they are not likely to understand however is that the images of “Japaneseness” used in this film were invented just one hundred years ago, and were based on cultural nationalism. They are not likely to understand the ideology of this “Japaneseness”.

Ironically, this film is very suited for improving recent relations between Japan and the US. About ten years ago, a Hollywood film titled The Rising Sun (1993) was released. If The Rising Sun was the product of the age when the “economic animal” image of Japan stimulated hatred against Japan, The Last Samurai is a product of an age when Japan and the US need to cooperate after the Iraq war.

Fumiaki ITAKURA
Research Fellow of the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (Kyoto University),

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Jeffery Richards, Films and British National Identity, Manchester & New York: Manchester University Press, 1997, xii.
Etienne Baribar, “Racism and Nationalism” in Etienne Balibar and Immanuel Wallerstein, Race, Nation, Class: Ambiguous Identities. New York: Verso, 1991, p37.
Onuki Emiko, Nejimagerareta sakura: Biishiki to gunkokusyugi. Tokyo: Iwanami Syoten, 2003.
Yomota Inuhiko, “Stranger Than Tokyo: Space and Race in Postnational Japanese Cinema”. In Jenny Kwok Wah Lau (ed.) Multiple Modernities: Cinemas and Popular Media in Transcultural East Asia. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2003, p76-89, Aaron Gerow, “From the National Gaze to Multiple Gazes: Representations of Okinawa in Recent Japanese Cinema”. In Laura Hein & Mark Selden (ed.) Islands of Discontent: Okinawan Responses to Japanese and American Power. Meryland: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2002.p273-307.
Aaron Gerow, “<Nihonjin> Kitano Takeshi: HANA-BI to Nasyonaru sinema no keisei. Eureka, Vo. 30-3, No.400, p50.

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