The is a group of loosely-connected Japanese filmmakers during the late 1950s and into the 1970s. Although they did not make up a coherent movement, these artists shared a rejection of traditions and conventions of classical

Japanese cinema The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2021, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. In 2011 Japan produced 411 feature films that ea ...

in favor of more challenging works, both thematically and formally. Coming to the fore in a time of national social change and unrest, the films made in this wave dealt with

taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

subject matter, including

sexual violence Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, or act directed against a person's sexuality, regardless of the relationship to the victim.World Health Organization., World re ...

, radicalism,

youth culture Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth and are distinct from those of adults in the community. An emphasi ...

and

delinquency Delinquent or delinquents may refer to: * A person who commits a felony * A juvenile delinquent, often shortened as delinquent is a young person (under 18) who fails to do that which is required by law; see juvenile delinquency * A person who fai ...

, Korean discrimination, queerness, and the aftermath of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. They also adopted more unorthodox and experimental approaches to

composition Composition or Compositions may refer to: Arts and literature *Composition (dance), practice and teaching of choreography *Composition (language), in literature and rhetoric, producing a work in spoken tradition and written discourse, to include v ...

editing Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, or ...

and narrative. The trend borrows its name from the French ''

Nouvelle vague French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

'', a concurrent movement that similarly scrapped the established traditions of their national cinema. Unlike the French counterpart, Japanese New Wave originated within the film studio establishment in an attempt to invigorate local cinema (which was being undermined by television productions) with new ideas from young directors. Failing to thrive within the studio system, these filmmakers eventually formed independent production companies. Most notably,

Art Theatre Guild Art Theatre Guild (ATG) was a film production company in Japan that started in 1961 and ran through to the mid-1980s, releasing mostly Japanese New Wave and arthouse films. History ATG began as an independent agency which distributed foreign fil ...

significantly boosted the movement by producing and distributing several of the most renowned New Wave titles.

History

David Desser in his ''Eros plus Massacre'' places the marginal comment:

Superficial comparisons between the Japanese New Wave cinema and the French New Wave, typically to imply greater integrity to the latter, have served the cultural cliché that the Japanese are merely great imitators, that they do nothing original. (...) To see the Japanese New Wave as an imitation of the French New Wave (an impossibility since they arose simultaneously) fails to see the Japanese context out of which the movement arose. (...) While the Japanese New Wave did draw benefits from the French New Wave, mainly in the form of a handy journalistic label which could be applied to it (the "nūberu bāgu" from the Japanese pronunciation of the French term), it nevertheless possesses a high degree of integrity and specificity.

Unlike the French

nouvelle vague French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

, the Japanese movement initially began within the

studios A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery ( ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design ...

, albeit with young and previously little-known

filmmakers Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

. The term was first coined within the studios (and in the media) as a Japanese version of the

French New Wave French New Wave (french: La Nouvelle Vague) is a French art film movement that emerged in the late 1950s. The movement was characterized by its rejection of traditional filmmaking conventions in favor of experimentation and a spirit of iconocla ...

movement. Nonetheless, the Japanese New Wave filmmakers drew from some of the same international influences that inspired their French colleagues, and as the term stuck, the seemingly artificial movement surrounding it began to rapidly develop into a critical and increasingly independent film movement. One distinction in the French movement was its roots with the journal ''

Cahiers du cinéma ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab ...

''; as many future filmmakers began their careers as critics and cinema

deconstruction The term deconstruction refers to approaches to understanding the relationship between text and meaning. It was introduced by the philosopher Jacques Derrida, who defined it as a turn away from Platonism's ideas of "true" forms and essen ...

ists, it would become apparent that new kinds of

film theory Film theory is a set of scholarly approaches within the academic discipline of film or cinema studies that began in the 1920s by questioning the formal essential attributes of motion pictures; and that now provides conceptual frameworks for u ...

(most prominently,

auteur theory An auteur (; , 'author') is an artist with a distinctive approach, usually a film director whose filmmaking control is so unbounded but personal that the director is likened to the "author" of the film, which thus manifests the director's unique ...

) were emerging with them. The Japanese movement developed at roughly the same time (with several important 1950s

precursor Precursor or Precursors may refer to: * Precursor (religion), a forerunner, predecessor ** The Precursor, John the Baptist Science and technology * Precursor (bird), a hypothesized genus of fossil birds that was composed of fossilized parts of u ...

films), but arose as more of a movement devoted to questioning, analyzing, critiquing and (at times) upsetting social conventions. One Japanese filmmaker who ''did'' emerge from a background akin to his French colleagues was

Nagisa Oshima NaGISA (Natural Geography in Shore Areas or Natural Geography of In-Shore Areas) is an international collaborative effort aimed at inventorying, cataloguing, and monitoring biodiversity of the in-shore area. So named for the Japanese word "nagisa ...

, who had been a

leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...

activist and an analytical

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outlets ...

before being hired by a studio. Oshima's earliest films (1959–60) could be seen as direct outgrowths of opinions voiced in his earlier published analysis. ''

Cruel Story of Youth is a 1960 Japanese film directed by Nagisa Ōshima, starring Yusuke Kawazu and Miyuki Kuwano as teenage delinquents and lovers. It is Ōshima's second feature film and is known for its elements of Japanese '' nuberu bagu''. The film won the 1960 ...

'', Oshima's landmark second film (one of four he directed in 1959 and 1960) saw an international release very immediately in the wake of

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran ...

's '' Breathless'' and

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more th ...

's ''

The 400 Blows ''The 400 Blows'' (french: Les Quatre Cents Coups) is a 1959 French coming-of-age drama film, and the directorial debut of François Truffaut. The film, shot in DyaliScope, stars Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, and Claire Maurier. One of the ...

''.

Directors and themes

Directors initially associated with the Japanese New Wave included Susumu Hani,

Hiroshi Teshigahara was a Japanese avant-garde filmmaker and artist from the Japanese New Wave era. He is best known for the 1964 film '' Woman in the Dunes''. He is also known for directing other titles such as '' The Face of Another'' (1966), ''Natsu No Heitai'' ( ...

, Koreyoshi Kurahara,

Yasuzo Masumura was a Japanese film director. Biography Masumura was born in Kōfu, Yamanashi. After dropping out of a law course at the University of Tokyo he worked as an assistant director at the Daiei Film studio, later returning to university to study ph ...

, Masahiro Shinoda,

Yoshishige Yoshida , also known as Kijū Yoshida, was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Life and career Graduating from the University of Tokyo, where he studied French literature, Yoshida entered the Shōchiku studio in 1955 and worked as an assistant ...

Shōhei Imamura was a Japanese film director. His main interest as a filmmaker lay in the depiction of the lower strata of Japanese society. A key figure in the Japanese New Wave, who continued working into the 21st century, Imamura is the only director from J ...

and

Terayama Shūji Terayama (written: 寺山 lit. "temple mountain") is a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: *, Japanese poet, dramatist, writer, film director and photographer *, Japanese footballer {{surname Japanese-language surnames ...

. Certain other filmmakers who had already launched careers –

Seijun Suzuki , born (24 May 1923 – 13 February 2017), was a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are known for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility. He made 40 predo ...

Kō Nakahira (1926-1978) was a Japanese film director. He joined Shochiku film company as an assistant director in 1949. In 1954, he moved to Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest m ...

Masaki Kobayashi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, best known for the epic trilogy ''The Human Condition'' (1959–1961), the samurai films '' Harakiri'' (1962) and '' Samurai Rebellion'' (1967), and the horror anthology ''Kwaidan'' (1964). ''Sens ...

, and

Kaneto Shindo was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film producer, and writer, who directed 48 films and wrote scripts for 238. His best known films as a director include '' Children of Hiroshima'', '' The Naked Island'', '' Onibaba'', '' Kuroneko'' an ...

also came to be occasionally associated with the movement. Working separately, they explored a number of ideas previously not often seen in more traditional Japanese cinema: social outcasts as protagonists (including

criminals In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...

or delinquents), uninhibited sexuality, changing roles of women in society, racism and the position of ethnic minorities in Japan, and the critique of (or deconstruction of) social structures and assumptions. Protagonists like ''Tome'' from Imamura's ''

The Insect Woman is a 1963 Japanese drama film directed by Shōhei Imamura. It was entered into the 14th Berlin International Film Festival, where Sachiko Hidari won the Silver Bear for Best Actress award. It was also awarded numerous national film prizes. Plo ...

'' (1963) or the adolescent delinquents of Oshima's ''

'' (1960) represented

rebellion Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

, but also gave domestic and international audiences a glimpse into lives that would otherwise likely escape cinematic attention.

Susumu Hani

Unlike other Japanese New Wave filmmakers, Susumu Hani directed his works almost entirely outside of the major studios. Hani moved into feature filmmaking from an earlier career in

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

, and favored non-actors and

improvisation Improvisation is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. Improvisation in the performing arts is a very spontaneous performance without specific or scripted preparation. The skills of impr ...

when possible. The documentaries Hani had made during the 1950s (1954's ''Children in the Classroom'', and 1956's ''Children Who Draw'') had introduced a style of

cinema verite ''Cinema Verite'' is a 2011 HBO drama film directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. The film's main ensemble cast starred Diane Lane, Tim Robbins, James Gandolfini and Patrick Fugit. The film follows a fictionalized account of th ...

documentary to Japan, and were of great interest to other filmmakers. Hani's 1961 feature debut, '' Bad Boys'' was based upon the actual experiences of the disaffected youth seen in a

reformatory A reformatory or reformatory school is a youth detention center or an adult correctional facility popular during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Western countries. In the United Kingdom and United States, they came out of social concern ...

; Hani felt that casting the same youth as actors would lend his film authenticity, blurring the lines between fiction and documentary in the process. Hani would go on to complete several other features through the 1960s – among them the Antonioni-like '' She and He'' (1963), '' Song of Bwana Toshi'' (1965), which dramatizes a spiritually and psychologically-themed journey to East Africa undertaken by a Japanese engineer facing family difficulties, and '' Nanami, The Inferno of First Love'' (1968). Hani, who was one of few true independents within the movement (and was – for this reason – one of its real cornerstones) would later retreat from feature filmmaking, primarily out of disillusionment:

I do not admire people, though I admire many persons. But I don't like what society does to persons. It perverts them. Yet, I don't want to attack
society A society is a group of individuals involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social group sharing the same spatial or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations. Soc ...
. I am not that kind of person. What I would like to do is ignore it. Or better, show something else. This is what I have done in my pictures, including the animal ones

Many of Hani's subsequent nature films were shot in Africa, an area he first explored in the ''Song of Bwana Toshi''. Though fiction, the feature film presaged Hani's later professional moves, and – in its theme of a man's attempt to "find himself", it stands as one of the more personally revelatory examples of Japanese New Wave filmmaking, revealing the direct human ambitions situated underneath the styles closer to the movement's surface.

Shōhei Imamura

Alongside

became one of the more famous of the Japanese New Wave filmmakers. Imamura's work was less overtly political than Oshima or several filmmakers who emerged later in the 1960s. Nevertheless, Imamura in many ways became a standard-bearer for the Japanese New Wave: through his last feature (''

Warm Water Under a Red Bridge Warm, WARM, or Warmth may refer to: * A somewhat high temperature * Kindness Music * ''Warm'' (The Lettermen album), 1967, and the title song * ''Warm'' (Johnny Mathis album), 1958, and the title song * ''Warm'' (Herb Alpert album), 1969 * '' ...

'', 2001), Imamura never lost interest in his trademark characters and settings. Imamura had once been an assistant of

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in t ...

, and had – in his youth – developed an antipathy towards Ozu's (and

Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), '' The Life of Oharu'' (1952), ''Ugets ...

's) finely crafted aestheticism, finding it to be a bit too tailored to approved senses of "Japanese" film.Richie, p. 186 Imamura's preference was for people whose lives were messier and for settings less lovely: amateur pornographers, barmaids, an elderly one-time prostitute, murderers, unemployed salarymen, an obsessive-compulsive doctor, and a lecherous, alcoholic monk were a few of his many protagonists. Imamura stated this on a number of occasions:

If my films are messy, it is probably because I don't like too perfect a cinema. The audience must not admire the technical aspects of my filmmaking, as they would a computer or the laws of physics.

Imamura continued:

I love all the characters in my films, even the loutish and frivolous ones. I want every one of my shots to express this love. I'm interested in people, strong, greedy, humorous, deceitful people who are very human in their qualities and their failings.

In integrating such a social view into a creative stance, Imamura – in an oblique fashion – does reflect the humanist formalism of earlier filmmakers – Ozu, and Kurosawa (whose '' Drunken Angel'' he cited as a primary inspiration), even when the episodic construction seems more akin to the global (and Japanese) New Wave. Thus, where Oshima would seem to strive for a radical break between old and new in Japanese cinema, figures like Imamura (and Seijun Suzuki) instead took older ideologies (and older, little-explored tangents), and helped create a Japanese New Wave that instead stood as an inevitable evolution in a dynamic cinema.

Nagisa Oshima

was among the most prolific Japanese New Wave filmmakers, and – by virtue of having had several internationally successful films (notably 1960's ''

'', 1976's ''

In the Realm of the Senses ''In the Realm of the Senses'' (french: link=no, L'Empire des sens, Japanese: , ''Ai no Korīda'', "Bullfight of Love") is a 1976 erotic art film written and directed by Nagisa Ōshima. It is a fictionalised and sexually explicit treatment of a ...

'' and 1983's ''

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence , also known in many European editions as , is a 1983 war film co-written and directed by Nagisa Ōshima, co-written by Paul Mayersberg, and produced by Jeremy Thomas. The film is based on the experiences of Sir Laurens van der Post (portrayed ...

''), became one of the most famous filmmakers associated with the movement. Certain films – in particular Oshima's ''Cruel Story of Youth'', ''

Night and Fog in Japan is a 1960 Japanese film directed by Nagisa Ōshima. It is an intensely political film both in subject matter (Zengakuren opposition in 1950 and 1960 to the Anpo treaty) and in thematic concerns such as political memory and the interpersonal dynam ...

'' (1960), and his later '' Death by Hanging'' (1968) – did generate enormous

controversy Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of conflicting opinion or point of view. The word was coined from the Latin ''controversia'', as a composite of ''controversus'' – "turned in an opposite d ...

(''Night and Fog in Japan'' was pulled from theatres one week into its release). They also provoked

debate Debate is a process that involves formal discourse on a particular topic, often including a moderator and audience. In a debate, arguments are put forward for often opposing viewpoints. Debates have historically occurred in public meetings, a ...

, or – in some instances – became unexpected commercial successes. ''

Violence at Noon , also titled ''Violence at High Noon'', is a 1966 Japanese crime drama film directed by Nagisa Ōshima. Plot After housemaid Shino is attacked and tied up and her employer raped and murdered, it turns out that Shino and the intruder, serial ...

'' (1966) received a nomination for the ''Silver Bear'' at the

Berlin Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...

. Oshima's structural and political restlessness and willingness to disrupt cinematic formulas drew comparisons to

– the two filmmakers emerged globally almost simultaneously, both were interested in altering the form and processes of

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

, both came from backgrounds as critics, both challenged definitions of cinema as entertainment by inserting their own political perspectives into their work. Oshima elaborated upon the comparison:

I don't agree specifically with any of his positions, but I agree with his general attitude in confronting political
themes Theme or themes may refer to: * Theme (arts), the unifying subject or idea of the type of visual work * Theme (Byzantine district), an administrative district in the Byzantine Empire governed by a Strategos * Theme (computing), a custom graphical ...
seriously in film.

Oshima varied his style dramatically to serve the needs of specific films – long takes in ''Night and Fog in Japan'' (1960), a blizzard of quick

jump cuts A jump cut is a cut in film editing in which a single continuous sequential shot of a subject is broken into two parts, with a piece of footage being removed in order to render the effect of jumping forward in time. Camera positions of the subj ...

in ''Violence at Noon'' (1966), nearly neo-realistic in ''Boy'' (''Shonen'', 1969), or a raw exploration of American b-movie sensibilities in ''Cruel Story of Youth''. Again and again, Oshima introduced a critical stance that would transgress

social norms Social norms are shared standards of acceptable behavior by groups. Social norms can both be informal understandings that govern the behavior of members of a society, as well as be codified into rules and laws. Social normative influences or soci ...

by exploring why certain dysfunctions are tolerated – witness the familial dysfunctions of ''Boy'' and 1971's ''The Ceremony'' or the examinations of racism in ''Death by Hanging'' and ''Three Resurrected Drunkards'' (both 1968), and why some are not, at least openly – the entanglements of sex, power and violence explicitly depicted in ''In the Realm of the Senses'' (1976), or gay undercurrents located within

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They ...

culture (a well-documented subject in publications, but not in film) in 1999's otherwise atypically serene ''Taboo'' (''Gohatto'').

Seijun Suzuki

's connections with the Japanese New Wave were more by association than by any actual endorsement of the term. Suzuki had begun his career as a mainstream director of low-budget

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other f ...

films like ''

Underworld Beauty is a 1958 Japanese film directed by Seijun Suzuki. It marked Suzuki's first CinemaScope film and was also the first to be credited to his assumed name A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a parti ...

'' and '' Kanto Wanderer'' for

Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio, founded in 1912 during the silent film era. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally ...

studios. As noted by Japanese film critic

Tadao Sato was a Japanese film critic, theorist and historian. His real name was . Overviews Born in Niigata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, He published more than a hundred books on film, and was one of Japan's foremost scholars and historians addressin ...

, Suzuki also represented a certain tradition in Japanese film: energizing normally conventional or even traditional styles with discreet infusions of unorthodox irreverence. In Sato's assessment, Suzuki's

precursors Precursor or Precursors may refer to: *Precursor (religion), a forerunner, predecessor ** The Precursor, John the Baptist Science and technology * Precursor (bird), a hypothesized genus of fossil birds that was composed of fossilized parts of unr ...

in some ways were Sadao Yamanaka and

Mansaku Itami Mansaku Itami (伊丹万作; real name Yoshitoyo Ikeuchi 池内義豊; 2 January 1900 – 21 September 1946) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter known for his critical, sometimes satirical portraits of Japan and its history. H ...

, whose unconventional humor reinvented period film during the 1930s.Sato, p. 222 Suzuki's stature as an influence upon the New Wave was cemented with two developments: the desire to enliven the formulaic

screenplays ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, fe ...

he was given by Nikkatsu (a deliberately overripe pop-art stylishness introduced in 1963's '' Youth of the Beast'' and ''Kanto Wanderer'', both key, transitional films for Suzuki), and his 1968 dismissal from Nikkatsu.Sato, p. 224 In the wake of ''Kanto Wanderer'', Suzuki's developing sense of style grew ever more surreal:

What is standing there isn't really there. It's just something reflected in our eyes. When it is demolished, the consciousness that it is, or was, first begins to form.

This made clear Suzuki's anarchic approach to cinema, which coincided nicely with other developments during the 1960s. 1965's ''

Tattooed Life is a 1965 Yakuza film, yakuza Action film, action movie directed by Seijun Suzuki. The film stars Hideki Takahashi as "Silver Fox" Tetsu. The story follows the flight of yakuza Contract killing, hitman Tetsu and his younger, artistic brother Kenj ...

'' took

Yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the ter ...

formulas to

comic-book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are oft ...

extremes, with a deliberate and unreal heightening of

melodrama A modern melodrama is a dramatic work in which the plot, typically sensationalized and for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodramas typically concentrate on dialogue that is often bombastic or exce ...

and wildly anti-realistic violence, played for humor or for style (using strobe effects and glass floors to break down perspective expectations during one notable scene). Beginning with this film, and continuing through ''

Fighting Elegy is a 1966 Japanese film directed by Seijun Suzuki. Filmmaker Kaneto Shindō adapted the script from the novel by Takashi Suzuki. The film has also screened under the titles ''Violence Elegy'', ''Elegy to Violence'', ''Elegy for a Quarrel'' and ' ...

'' and '' Tokyo Drifter'' (both from 1966) an accelerating move away from

narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional ( memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travelogue, etc.) or fictional ( fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller, novel, etc ...

, and towards greater spontaneity, enhanced with occasional

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

ian touches, became evident in Suzuki's work, though such elements were used in ways quite different from other filmmakers of the New Wave. This hit a pinnacle with 1967's ''

Branded to Kill is a 1967 Japanese yakuza film directed by Seijun Suzuki and starring Joe Shishido, Koji Nanbara, Annu Mari and Mariko Ogawa. The story follows contract killer Goro Hanada as he is recruited by a mysterious woman named Misako for a seemingly im ...

'', an elliptical, fragmented dive into

allegory As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming o ...

and stylishness, built around a yakuza with a boiled rice fetish. The film was regarded as "incomprehensible" by Nikkatsu, who sacked him (he didn't complete another feature for 9 years), but the largely non-narrative film plays like a compendium of global New Wave styles, absent the politics in most ways, though Suzuki's irreverence towards social convention is very clear, and the film's cult status grew at home and (ultimately) internationally.

Hiroshi Teshigahara

Other filmmakers – notably

– favored more experimental or allegorical terrain. Alongside Hani, Teshigahara worked as an independent (excepting ''

The Man Without a Map is a 1968 Japanese film directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara and starring Shintaro Katsu. The screenplay was adapted by Kōbō Abe from his novel '' The Ruined Map''. This was the fifth and final film collaboration between Teshigahara and Abe.Berra, ...

''), apart from the studio system entirely.Richie, from ''Japan Journals'', p. 194 Teshigahara – who was the son of a famed

ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It is also known as . The tradition dates back to Heian period, when floral offerings were made at altars. Later, flower arrangements were instead used to adorn the (alcove) of a traditional Japan ...

master ( Sofu Teshigahara), began his career with a number of

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretica ...

shorts, including ''Hokusai'' (1953), ''Ikebana'' (1956), ''Inochi'' (1958), ''Tokyo 1958'' and ''José Torres (part 1)'' (1959); he had studied art at the Tokyo Art Institute.Svensson, p. 99 He launched his feature career a few years later, frequently collaborating with avant-garde novelist Kōbō Abe, making a name for himself with the self-financedRichie, p. 195 independent '' Pitfall'' (1962), which he described as a "documentary fantasy", and subsequently winning the jury prize at the 1964

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films ...

for ''

Woman in the Dunes is a 1964 Japanese New Wave drama directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara, starring Eiji Okada as an entomologist searching for insects and Kyōko Kishida as the titular woman. It received positive critical reviews and was nominated for two Academy A ...

''. Both films, along with the subsequent '' The Face of Another'' (1966) and ''

'' (1968) were co-scripted with Abe; in all four the search for self-definition in personal identity and for one's purpose in life is the driving theme, albeit related in allegorical fashion. In 1971, Teshigahara completed an additional feature, '' Summer Soldiers'', which was scripted by John Nathan (translator for

Yukio Mishima , born , was a Japanese author, poet, playwright, actor, model, Shintoist, nationalist, and founder of the , an unarmed civilian militia. Mishima is considered one of the most important Japanese authors of the 20th century. He was considered fo ...

and Kenzaburō Ōe), and focused on two American soldiers

AWOL Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

from the Vietnam War, and their attempt to hide in Japan. Teshigahara would later retreat from filmmaking; after the retirement and death of his father he would take over his father's school, eventually becoming grandmaster. After completing '' Summer Soldiers'' in 1971, Teshigahara would not make another film for 12 years, re-emerging with a minimalistic documentary about architect ''

Antonio Gaudí Antonio is a masculine given name of Etruscan origin deriving from the root name Antonius. It is a common name among Romance language-speaking populations as well as the Balkans and Lusophone Africa. It has been among the top 400 most popular mal ...

''.

Creative legacy

The Japanese New Wave began to come apart (as it did in France) by the early 1970s; in the face of a collapsing studio system, major directors retreated into documentary work (Hani and – for a while – Imamura), other artistic pursuits (Teshigahara, who practiced

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable ...

and became grand master of an

Ikebana is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It is also known as . The tradition dates back to Heian period, when floral offerings were made at altars. Later, flower arrangements were instead used to adorn the (alcove) of a traditional Japan ...

school), or into international co-productions (Oshima). In the face of such difficulties, a few of the key figures of the Japanese New Wave were still able to make notable films – Oshima's 1976 film ''

'' became internationally famous in its blend of historical drama and aspects of

pornography Pornography (often shortened to porn or porno) is the portrayal of sexual subject matter for the exclusive purpose of sexual arousal. Primarily intended for adults,

(drawn from an actual

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the History of writing#Inventions of writing, invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbr ...

incident), and – after a return to filmmaking Teshigahara won acclaim for his experimentalistic documentary ''

'' (1984) and the features '' Rikyu'' (1989) and '' Princess Goh'' (1992). Shōhei Imamura eventually became one of only four filmmakers to win the

Palme d'Or The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

for multiple films – '' The Ballad of Narayama'' (1983), and '' The Eel'' (1997).

Key films associated with the Japanese New Wave

(directors listed alphabetically within the year)

1950s

1956

* '' Children Who Draw'', Susumu Hani (documentary) * '' Punishment Room'', Kon Ichikawa * ''

Crazed Fruit , also known as ''Juvenile Jungle'', is a 1956 Japanese Sun Tribe film directed by Kō Nakahira. It is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Shintaro Ishihara, the older brother of cast member Yujiro Ishihara,Marc Moha"Crazed Fruit: ...

'', Kō Nakahira * '' Suzaki Paradise: Akashingō'', Kawashima Yuzo

1957

* '' Kisses'', Yasuzo Masumura * '' Warm Current'', Yasuzo Masumura * ''

Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate is a 1957 Japanese comedy film directed by Yūzō Kawashima with a screenplay by Kawashima, Shōhei Imamura and Keiichi Tanaka. It was voted the fifth best Japanese film of all time in a poll of 140 Japanese critics and filmmakers conducted by ...

'', Kawashima Yuzo

1958

* ''

Giants and Toys is a 1958 Japanese satirical comedy film directed by Yasuzo Masumura and starring Hiroshi Kawaguchi. Plot Candy manufacturer World competes with companies Giant and Apollo over caramel sales. While looking for a poster girl for a new promot ...

'', Yasuzo Masumura

1959

* ''

The Assignation ''The Assignation, or Love in a Nunnery'' is a Restoration comedy written by John Dryden. The play was first acted late in 1672, by the King's Company at their theatre at Lincoln's Inn Fields, but was not a success with its audience. Apart fro ...

'', Kō Nakahira * ''

A Town of Love and Hope , also titled ''Street of Love and Hope'', is a 1959 Japanese drama film written and directed by Nagisa Ōshima. It was Ōshima's feature film debut. Plot Masao lives with his mother, who works as a shoe polisher, and his sister in a poverty-str ...

'', Nagisa Oshima

1960s

1960

* ''

'', Nagisa Oshima * ''

The Sun's Burial is a 1960 Japanese film directed by Nagisa Ōshima. ''The Sun's Burial'' is known for its elements of Japanese nuberu bagu. ''The Sun's Burial'' depicts people at the bottom of the social pyramid. Isao Sasaki was selected for one of the lead rol ...

'', Nagisa Oshima * ''

'', Nagisa Oshima * '' Naked Island'', Kaneto Shindo * '' The Warped Ones'', Koreyoshi Kurahara

1961

* '' Bad Boys'', Susumu Hani * '' Pigs and Battleships'', Shōhei Imamura * '' The Catch'', Nagisa Oshima

1962

* ''The Revolutionary'', Nagisa Oshima * '' Pitfall'', Hiroshi Teshigahara * '' Harakiri'',Masaki Kobayashi

1963

* '' She and He'', Susumu Hani * ''

'', Shōhei Imamura

1964

* '' Intentions of Murder'', Shōhei Imamura * ''

Assassination Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...

'', Masahiro Shinoda * ''

Pale Flower is a 1964 Japanese film noir directed by Masahiro Shinoda. The film is about Muraki ( Ryō Ikebe) a Yakuza hitman just released from prison. At an illegal gambling parlor, he finds himself drawn to a mysterious young woman named Saeko ( Mariko Ka ...

'', Masahiro Shinoda *'' Onibaba'', Kaneto Shindo * ''

Gate of Flesh is a 1964 Japanese film based on a novel by Taijiro Tamura and directed by Seijun Suzuki. Plot In an impoverished and burnt out Tokyo ghetto of post- World War II Japan, a band of prostitutes defend their territory, squatting in a bombed-out b ...

'', Seijun Suzuki * ''

'', Hiroshi Teshigahara

1965

* '' The Song of Bwana Toshi'', Susumu Hani * '' Sea of Youth'', Shinsuke Ogawa (documentary) * '' With Beauty and Sorrow'', Masahiro Shinoda * '' A Story Written with Water'', Yoshishige Yoshida * ''

Kwaidan is a Japanese word consisting of two kanji: 怪 (''kai'') meaning "strange, mysterious, rare, or bewitching apparition" and 談 (''dan'') meaning "talk" or "recited narrative". Overall meaning and usage In its broadest sense, ''kaidan'' refe ...

'', Masaki Kobayashi

1966

* '' Bride of the Andes'', Susumu Hani * '' The Pornographers: An Introduction to Anthropology'', Shōhei Imamura *''

Emotion Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definitio ...

'', Nobuhiko Obayashi * ''

'', Nagisa Oshima * ''

'', Seijun Suzuki * '' Tokyo Drifter'', Seijun Suzuki * '' The Face of Another'', Hiroshi Teshigahara

1967

* ''

A Man Vanishes is a 1967 Japanese pseudo documentary film by director Shōhei Imamura about a film team's search for a man reported missing. Plot Tadashi Oshima, a 32-year-old salesman from Naoetsu, Niigata prefecture, is reported missing. Together with Oshim ...

'', Shōhei Imamura * '' The Oppressed Students'', Shinsuke Ogawa (documentary) * '' Manual of Ninja Arts'', Nagisa Oshima * '' A Treatise on Japanese Bawdy Song'', Nagisa Oshima * ''

'', Seijun Suzuki

1968

* '' Inferno of First Love'', Susumu Hani * '' Profound Desires of the Gods'', Shōhei Imamura * '' Summer in Narita'', Shinsuke Ogawa (documentary) * '' Death by Hanging'', Nagisa Oshima * ''

Three Resurrected Drunkards is a Japanese film directed by Nagisa Ōshima. It was based on the hit song "Kaette kita yopparai" by The Folk Crusaders, a folk and pop music group that also appeared in the film. It was released in March 1968. Plot Three young men go to the b ...

'', Nagisa Oshima * ''

'', Hiroshi Teshigahara

1969

* '' Aido'', Susumu Hani * '' Ryakushô Renzoku Shasatsuma'', Adachi Masao * ''

Eros Plus Massacre is a Japanese black-and-white art film released in 1969. It was directed by Yoshishige Yoshida, who wrote it in cooperation with Masahiro Yamada. It is the first film in Yoshida's trilogy of Japanese radicalism, followed by ''Heroic Purgatory'' ...

'', Yoshishige Yoshida * ''

Funeral Parade of Roses is a 1969 Japanese drama art film directed and written by Toshio Matsumoto, loosely adapted from ''Oedipus Rex'' and set in the underground gay culture of 1960s Tokyo. It stars Peter as the protagonist, a young transgender woman, and features Osa ...

'', Toshio Matsumoto * ''

Boy A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy is ...

'', Nagisa Oshima * ''

Diary of a Shinjuku Thief is a 1969 Japanese New Wave film directed by Nagisa Ōshima. Synopsis The film centers around Birdie, a young Japanese book thief who is caught by a store clerk named Umeko. As their encounters grow increasingly fraught with tension and desire ...

'', Nagisa Oshima * '' Double Suicide'', Masahiro Shinoda * '' Go, Go Second Time Virgin'', Kōji Wakamatsu

1970s

1970

* '' History of Postwar Japan as Told by a Bar Hostess'', Shōhei Imamura (documentary) * '' The Man Who Left His Will on Film'', Nagisa Oshima *''

Heroic Purgatory is a Japanese black-and-white arthouse film released in 1970. It was directed by Yoshishige Yoshida , also known as Kijū Yoshida, was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Life and career Graduating from the University of Tokyo, where ...

'', Yoshishige Yoshida * '' Buraikan'', Masahiro Shinoda *'' Live Today, Die Tomorrow'', Kaneto Shindo

1971

* ''

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...

'', Adachi Masao * '' The Ceremony'', Nagisa Oshima * * ''

Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets is a 1971 Japanese feature-length experimental drama film directed by Shūji Terayama. A metaphor for Japan's descent into materialism, it follows a young man's disillusionment with the world around him and his determination to achieve something ...

'', Shuji Terayama *'' Emperor Tomato Ketchup'', Shuji Terayama * '' Summer Soldiers'', Hiroshi Teshigahara

1972

* '' Dear Summer Sister'', Nagisa Oshima

1973

* '' Karayuki-san, the Making of a Prostitute'', Shōhei Imamura (documentary) * '' Coup d'État'', Yoshishige Yoshida

1974

* '' Matsu the Untamed Comes Home'', Shōhei Imamura (documentary) * ''

Pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depict ...

'', Shuji Terayama

1976

* '' God Speed You! Black Emperor'', Yanagimachi Mitsuo (documentary) * ''

'', Nagisa Oshima

1978

* ''

Empire of Passion is a 1978 French-Japanese film produced, written and directed by Nagisa Ōshima, based on a novel by Itoko Nakamura. The film was a co-production between Oshima Prods. and Argos Films.Galbraith, Stuart (1994). Japanese Science Fiction, Fantasy an ...

'', Nagisa Oshima

1979

* '' Vengeance Is Mine'', Shohei Imamura

References

Notes

Works cited

* Desser, David (1988). ''Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to The Japanese New Wave Cinema''. Indiana University Press, Bloomington. . * Mellen, Joan (1976). ''The Waves At Genji's Door: Japan Through Its Cinema''. Pantheon, New York. . * Oshima, Nagisa and Annette Michelson (1993). ''Cinema, Censorship, and the State: The Writings of Nagisa Oshima''. MIT Press, Boston. . * Richie, Donald (2005). ''A Hundred Years of Japanese Film: A Concise History, with a Selective Guide to DVDs and Videos''. Kodansha America, New York and Tokyo. . * Richie, Donald (2004). ''Japan Journals 1947-2004''. Stone Bridge, Berkeley. . * Sato, Tadao (1982). ''Currents In Japanese Cinema''. Kodansha America, New York and Tokyo. . * Svensson, Arne (1971). ''Japan (Screen Series)''. Barnes, New York. .

External links

https://web.archive.org/web/20060303000105/http://citypages.com/databank/20/945/article6982.asp

{{Film genres 1960s in Japan 1970s in Japan Movements in cinema New Wave in cinema Postwar Japan History of film of Japan

History

Directors and themes

Susumu Hani

Shōhei Imamura

Nagisa Oshima

Seijun Suzuki

Hiroshi Teshigahara

Creative legacy

Key films associated with the Japanese New Wave

1950s

1956

1957

1958

1959

1960s

1960

1961

1962

1963

1964

1965

1966

1967

1968

1969

1970s

1970

1971

1972

1973

1974

1976

1978

1979

See also

References

Notes

Works cited

External links