I’ve continued following the reports of even more controversy surrounding Li Ying’s both revered and reviled documentary “Yasukuni”, so I thought I’d give an update and link to some of the recent articles on it.
Since I ran The Pow-Wow’s first story on “Yasukuni” on April 3rd it seems that things have gotten even worse for the film. The main subject of the film, 90 year-old swordsmith Naoji Kariya, has been asked that all footage of him be edited out of the film.
Ying filmed Kariya as the sword master forged the last of his "Yasukuni swords”. These swords, over 8,100 of them were forged by Kariya and other swordsmiths on the grounds of Yasukuni during WW2 and sent to the Imperial Army forces on the front lines. In his documentary Ying contrasts contemplative shots of Kariya at work with archival footage of the horrors that the Imperial Army inflicted on the Asian mainland.
While Ying maintains he explained the nature of the documentary to Kariya before, during and after its production, but the swordsmith has now publicly stated that the film shows him “in manners far from” his original intention and understanding of what the film would be. “I thought the film was aimed at showing future generations the traditional techniques and artistic value of Yasukuni swords,” Kariya has explained, “and I never expected it to be used in a direct connection with the Yasukuni controversy.”
Ying believes that Kariya has been coerced into demanding cuts by members of the ruling LDP Party, particularly Upper House member Haruko Arimura. Arimura has denied these claims.
Due to Kariya’s, and now Yasukuni Shrine’s own demands for cuts and re-edits of the documentary the film is being pulled from the few theatres who have agreed to show it for the simple reason that the distributor is holding prints of “Yasukuni” back until all parties can agree on how to proceed.
Check out the trailer for “Yasukuni” below, as well as a ton of links on the controversy as well as a link to our original post on the doc:
http://jfilmpowwow.blogspot.com/2008/04/yasukuni-documentary-continues-to-stir.html
The Japan Times: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080413a1.html
The International Herald Tribune: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/11/arts/seno.php
Japan Probe: http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=4251
Since I ran The Pow-Wow’s first story on “Yasukuni” on April 3rd it seems that things have gotten even worse for the film. The main subject of the film, 90 year-old swordsmith Naoji Kariya, has been asked that all footage of him be edited out of the film.
Ying filmed Kariya as the sword master forged the last of his "Yasukuni swords”. These swords, over 8,100 of them were forged by Kariya and other swordsmiths on the grounds of Yasukuni during WW2 and sent to the Imperial Army forces on the front lines. In his documentary Ying contrasts contemplative shots of Kariya at work with archival footage of the horrors that the Imperial Army inflicted on the Asian mainland.
While Ying maintains he explained the nature of the documentary to Kariya before, during and after its production, but the swordsmith has now publicly stated that the film shows him “in manners far from” his original intention and understanding of what the film would be. “I thought the film was aimed at showing future generations the traditional techniques and artistic value of Yasukuni swords,” Kariya has explained, “and I never expected it to be used in a direct connection with the Yasukuni controversy.”
Ying believes that Kariya has been coerced into demanding cuts by members of the ruling LDP Party, particularly Upper House member Haruko Arimura. Arimura has denied these claims.
Due to Kariya’s, and now Yasukuni Shrine’s own demands for cuts and re-edits of the documentary the film is being pulled from the few theatres who have agreed to show it for the simple reason that the distributor is holding prints of “Yasukuni” back until all parties can agree on how to proceed.
Check out the trailer for “Yasukuni” below, as well as a ton of links on the controversy as well as a link to our original post on the doc:
http://jfilmpowwow.blogspot.com/2008/04/yasukuni-documentary-continues-to-stir.html
The Japan Times: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20080413a1.html
The International Herald Tribune: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/04/11/arts/seno.php
Japan Probe: http://www.japanprobe.com/?p=4251
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