Japan Society is pleased to present a slate of online film offerings on view through its virtual cinema this October and November. Titles include three new releases by documentary filmmakers from the U.S. and Japan—Linda Hoaglund's “Edo Avant Garde”, Tokachi Tsuchiya's “An Ant Strikes Back”, and Ema Ryan Yamazaki's “Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams”—and two partial retrospective film series—”Tomoyasu Murata: Stop Motion Master” and “Three by Ryusuke Hamaguchi”. Full details can be found below and at film.japansociety.org; additional programs will be announced as they are confirmed.
“An Ant Strikes Back“
*Starts October 23
Dir. Tokachi Tsuchiya, 2019, 98 min. After years of toiling for a large moving company under dehumanizing and illegal labor conditions—including enforced unpaid overtime, unregulated salary reductions, and restricted socializing with other employees—Yu Nishimura was on the brink of literally working himself to death, a phenomenon in Japan (known as karoshi) that officially killed 5,233 people between 2005 and 2017. Tokachi Tsuchiya's fascinating documentary offers a thrilling first-hand account of Nishimura's fight to take on the company that exploits him as he agitates for change with a tireless labor union to insist on his right to work and live with dignity on behalf of all “ants.”
“Edo Avant Garde”
*Starts October 23
Dir. Linda Hoaglund, 2019, 83 min. In this mesmerizing documentary, filmmaker Linda Hoaglund reveals the pivotal role Japanese artists of the Edo era (1603-1868) played in setting the stage for the “modern art” movement in the West. Featuring over 200 treasures from museums and private collections in the U.S. and Japan—including works by Sotatsu, Korin, Okyo, Rosetsu, Shohaku, and other artists who left their work unsigned—”Edo Avant Garde” invites viewers to experience folding screen and scroll painting masterpieces up-close in gorgeous, immersive 4K footage (handled by cinematographer Kasamatsu Norimichi) while expert curators, scholars and collectors provide insight into the contexts and details of these innovative and audacious works of art.
“Koshien: Japan's Field of Dreams”
*Starts November 20
Dir. Ema Ryan Yamazaki, 2019, 94 min. Every summer in Japan, baseball fans are swept up in the thrill of Koshien, the wildly popular national high school baseball championship named after Osaka's hallowed Koshien Stadium. On the historic 100th anniversary of the single elimination tournament, documentary filmmaker Ema Ryan Yamazaki follows the coaches and players of two promising teams as they undergo rigorous training—a process that reveals a uniquely Japanese and exceptionally martial approach to the Western sport that emphasizes self-sacrifice and spiritual conditioning. Through the lens of baseball, Yamazaki's perceptive film considers Japanese society as a whole as it continues to balance respect for tradition with the adoption of progressive change. A First Run Features release.
FILM SERIES
“Tomoyasu Murata: Stop Motion Master”
*Starts October 30
Returning to Japan Society as a virtual presentation after a sold out 2019 North American premiere, this retrospective program features the work of Tomoyasu Murata, one of Japan's most prolific independent animation artists, who has created breathtaking, boundary-breaking stop motion animated films over the last two decades. Initially inspired by the expressive power of traditional Japanese bunraku puppet theater, Murata's films—at once tender, whimsical and mysterious—deal with themes of memory, absence and mujo (the Buddhist concept of impermanence) through the cinematic manipulation of his meticulously handcrafted puppets and fantastical miniature sets. The eight short films in this program range from the artist's award-winning student work to recent projects that respond to the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.
“Three by Ryusuke Hamaguchi”
*Starts November 6
Following the widespread acclaim of his superlative 2016 feature “Happy Hour” and its unexpected follow-up “Asako I & II” (2018), Ryusuke Hamaguchi has recently emerged as one of Japan's most eminent filmmakers. With a co-writing credit on his former mentor Kiyoshi Kurosawa's latest Venice Film Festival Silver Lion-winning film “Wife of a Spy” (2020), Hamaguchi's prominence as an important and exciting voice within the international cinema community only continues to grow. In light of this recent accolade, Japan Society takes a look back on Hamaguchi's career to offer a handpicked selection of lesser known works—consisting of his seldom screened debut feature film “Passion” (2008) and two mid-length narrative fiction gems, “Touching the Skin of Eeriness” (2013) and “Heaven Is Still Far Away” (2016)—that shed light on the auteur's evolving style and thematic interests, including his ongoing fascination with the passage of time and the elusive nature of performance, perception and truth.
