The Quest for Individuality by Kurt Ogilvie
After having some time to view a selection of Japanese films that deal with the postwar Yakuza chaos, I have a few comments in late response to the topic that Jaime brought up on New Wave Cinema and the development of the Art Theatre Guild (ATG) in Japan and Jay’s discussion of the Yakuza film.
We are all aware of the problems that production companies were having around the world during the 1960s when television invaded the home space. The ATG was developed in Japan as a desperate means to lure audiences back to the cinema (I’m sure the “Pink Films” were quite a lure). The focus was on innovation and experimentation with exhibiting the problems and struggles of the individual. Director Akira Kurosawa tackled that theme with his various samurai epics such as the well-known Seven Samurai (1954) and Yojimbo (1961). Kurosawa depicts the wandering samurai of the nineteenth century as the noble outlaw. After social reforms in Japan around the 1860s, there was no longer an employment need of the honorable samurai defender. The samurai was forced to do whatever was necessary to earn his income based on what he was trained by his country to do – to kill. When under the employ of corrupt gamblers, the noble samurai becomes an assassin for the common criminal, and thus the outlaw is born. There is a direct linkage from the samurai film to the Yakuza film by how the protagonist is forced to become a criminal because of the drastic change in their society at the time. Both timelines also have links to the influence of western invasion.
If you haven’t seen Yojimbo or its sequel, Sanjuro (1962), check them out because it is clearly observable how they influenced the Western Clint Eastwood outlaw character just as Hidden Fortress (1958) influenced Star Wars (1977) (all Kurosawa films).
The ATG came in 1961, the same year Yojimbo was released and the wave of new film styles emerged depicting social outcasts as heroes to society. The ATG films reflected a lot of the postwar mentality of confusion and moral corruption as a result of the “liberation” by America. The search for one’s personal identity forced many to land into the loyalty of the Yakuza families. Kinji Fukasaku directed a number of films on postwar corruption in the Yakuza gangs including five volumes of Battles without Honor and Humanity (1973-74) and Graveyard of Honor (1975) and Yakuza Graveyard (1976). If you didn’t gather it from the titles, there is a common storyline to pledge ones body to the honor of the Yakuza, and then to the graveyard. I would say that Graveyard of Honor was the best out of all of them because it really went into depth about the problems that Japanese society faced following the reforms of the war. The third nations people living in Japan such as the Chinese, Koreans, and Taiwanese were suppressed by Japanese law prior to the war, but the American liberation gave them more freedom to roam on true Japanese territory and interfere with the Yakuza. There is a scene where feuding Yakuza and third nations gang members are arrested and imprisoned. A Japanese officer gives his key away and allows a full jailbreak for the Japanese Yakuza members. He tells them to regain order and reclaim “our” territory. This goes to show how corrupt the society was becoming when the upholders of the law were not doing their job, and it goes to show that forced social change does not come easy. The rights and freedoms of America do not always apply to those bound by their own honor and tradition. America just loves to mess around with the traditions of other countries with their “liberation”.
American liberation in Japan forced rebellion and many lost souls to take allegiance to honor in a Yakuza family. Like the wandering samurai, the Yakuza are left in a ruined postwar Japan wandering the black markets in search of a means to make a living. One can see the theme of the individual struggle at work here and the representation of harsh times in Japanese history. They serve as a critique to the social structures at the time and deconstruct moral values, not to mention a showcase of the contagious inhumanity through the countless murders and gang wars. Fukasaku’s films are based on the lives of actual Yakuza members of the late 1940s through the 50s. Certainly the most interesting aspect of the films, I found, is the portrayal of the Japanese psyche at the time and their senseless pledge to violence and a code of honor as a means to find personal identity in a ruined society.
Fast-forward thirty years and still on the subject of the Yakuza, (the ATG seemed to have accomplished its goal to bring moviegoers back to the cinema) modern director Takashi Miike deals with Yakuza on a whole new level, as Jay discussed with Ichi the Killer. Keeping with the ATG goals, Miike without a doubt brings innovation into Japanese cinema with some of the most explicit films ever made. Miike brings the corrupted psyche of the Yakuza member into the modern time where they are now completely psychotic instead of just merely misguided. Where Fukasaku focused on the Yakuza brutality forced by society, Miike focuses on brutality forced by revenge. Fudoh: The New Generation (1996) is a good example of revenge, brutality, and the Yakuza honor.
A Yakuza member is forced to take drastic action in order to prevent a gang war from erupting. In keeping with the honor code he presents the head of his eldest son to the rival families’ godfathers as a formal apology. Apology accepted, but not by his youngest son who witnessed the decapitation of his brother. The film focuses on the young boy growing up to put his foot in the Yakuza order to eliminate the “old blood” in retaliation and revenge for his murdered brother. One can observe how the theme of the individual struggle remains in place, but the humanity has taken a turn towards the large common interest in brutality, revenge, and gore in modern cinema by moviegoers around the world.
The road to economic recovery was tough for postwar Japan and I highly recommend checking out Fukasaku’s work for anyone unfamiliar. They portray the real problems faced by Yakuza at the time and serve to exhibit historical events in an innovative way. Takashi Miike’s films do not portray any historical significance but they deal with modern Yakuza in a somewhat surreal psychotic way basing many of the stories upon popular Japanese graphic manga novels. If you are a fan of Asia Shock cinema or love explicit images and subjects, then definitely check out Takashi Miike’s work.