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Aging in Japan: When Traditional Mechanisms Vanish (45
minutes)
The video takes place in a bath house, where the elderly fight
isolation.
<$90>
[FHS]
Animated Classics of Japanese Literature
These are in Japanese with English subtitles. Three collections:
-Collection 1 (1994)
(285 minutes)
-The Izu Dancer
-The Dancing Girl
-The Harp of Burma (Parts 1 & 2)
-The Season of the Sun, Student Days
-The Grave of the Wild Chrysanthemum
-A Ghost Story
-The Theater of Life
-Wandering Days
-Growing Up
-Collection 2 (1994)
(312 minutes)
-The Sound of the Waves (Parts 1 & 2)
-Sanshiro
-The Judoist (Parts 1,2 & 3)
-The Wind Rises/The Fruit of Olympus
-Asunaro Story/The Story of Koyasu Dog
-A Walker in the Attic/A Psychological Test/A Red
Room.
-Collection 3
(260 minutes)
-Botchan (Parts 1 & 2)
-A Roadside Stone (Parts 1 & 2)
-The Tale of Shunkin/Friendship
-The Incident in the Bedroom Suburb
-Voice From Heaven
-The Martyr/The Priest of Mt. Kouya.
Each collection is $120 [CT]
Autumn Rain: Crime in
Japan (30 minutes)
Follows two young policeofficers after graduation from academy into the
neighborhood police boxes. Includes interviews with yakuza, members of
organized crime groups.
[CC]
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Budo Sai: The Spirit of the Samurai (70 minutes)
Twelve martial arts masters demonstrate their skills and mental discipline at
the Budo Sai festival.
<$149/$75>
[FHS]
Daimyo (30 minutes)
The "great names" of feudal Japan, this look at the daimyo
notes how they ruled their domains and their cultural activities.
<$30>
[CT]
Discovering the Music of Japan
In a teahouse, three instruments are demonstrated: the koto, the samisen,
and the shakuhachi.
<$50>
[F]
Faces of Japan
Multipart series produced in the 1970s, but still useful. Each segment
is a half hour long and focuses on one issue from foreigners doing
business in Japan to the craftsmanship evident in sword manufacturing. Edwin
O. Reischauer’s The Japanese (updated by M. Jansen) was the companion
volume.
Hidden Japan, The (25 minutes)
Produced by Maryknoll Media. Looks at Japanese outcasts: homeless, drug
addicts, and alcoholics. Follows the efforts of Maryknoll missionaries and
Japanese volunteers to address these social problems.
[F]
Hirohito: Japan in the 20th Century
(58 minutes)
Hirohito reigned over most of Japan's 20th century. This video covers
the depression, the invasion of Manchuria, the exit from the League of
Nations, the rise of militarism, the war, surrender, and postwar economic
growth.
<$159/$75>
[FHS]
Hiroshima: The Legacy
(30 minutes)
A visit to the peace museum in Hiroshima. The message is that a repeat
of the atomic bombing must somehow be avoided.
<$90>
[FHS]
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Illustrated Handscroll: The Tale of Genji (60
minutes)
The world's first novel was written by a woman, Murasaki Shikibu, in the
eleventh century. This video follows the story as it is depicted on a series
of handscroll panels.
[FHS]
In the Emperor's Name (55 minutes)
Focuses on a group of naval officers who prepared to assault an allied base in
Sydney harbor. Their courage is still remembered in Japan today.
[CC]
Inside Japan: Industry and Management
(25 minutes)
Look at production of goods, Japanese stores and television ads, and the
changing role of women in the workplace.
<$99 [CC];
$15.75 rental [KU]>
Inside Japan: Tradition and Family Life
(23 minutes)
Old world customs collide with modern society. Focuses on atypical
settings: a family living in small town Japan and a Japanese man married to an
American woman. 4 stars from Video Rating Guide for Libraries.
[CC]
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Japan
Four hour series hosted by Jane Seymour (yes, “Dr. Quinn, Medicine
Woman”).
The Electronic Tribe
-Contrasts between industrial life and traditional work and life.
The Legacy of the Shogun
-Legacy of Tokugawa values in
economic success and social structure.
The Sword and the Chrysanthemum
-The paradox of the martial and
aesthetic sides of the samurai.
A Proper Place in the World
-Discussion of the world role to be
played by Japan.
[CT, F]
Japan At Work
(30 minutes)
1987 production.
<$15.25 rental>
[IU]
Japan Bashing
(22 minutes)
1992 production.
<$11.50 rental>
[IU]
Japan: Behind the Mask
(52 minutes)
1990 production.
<$16.50 rental>
[IU]
Japan Dreaming (1991)
(58 minutes)
This film explores Japanese perspectives on what the future should bring. It
may make for an interesting place to begin a discussion of what the ensuing
years actually yielded. Sue Clayton, director.
<Purchase: $390/Rental: $75>
[FRIF]
Japan Enters the World Scene: The Battle
of Tsushima: 1905 (41 minutes)
Includes the Perry expedition, the triumph over China in 1895, and the war
with Russia, a victory which shocked the world.
<$90>
[FHS]
Japan: Past and Present
This five part series traces Japanese history from the seventh century
centralization along the Chinese model to the modern society which maintains
many traditions. Series as follows:
Buddha in the
Land of the Kami (7th-12th Centuries)
(53 minutes)
Begins with Japanese creation myth and then addresses
the adoption of Buddhism and the creation of Heian aristocratic culture.
The Coming of the
Barbarians (1540-1650)
(52 minutes)
Sometimes called "Japan's Christian
Century," this period represented a high point of Japanese-European cultural and
economic exchange, a
period which came to an end with the prohibition of Christianity and unauthorized
contact with the West.
The Age of the
Shoguns (1600-1868)
(51 minutes)
The Edo or Tokugawa period saw remarkable peace and development, both economic and cultural.
The Meiji Period
(1868-1912)
(52 minutes)
Discusses the "opening" of Japan by Perry
and the subsequent fall of the Tokugawa and then traces the remarkable modernization
program pursued during the reign of the Meiji Emperor.
The Essence of
Being Japanese
(48 minutes)
Looks at major events of the 20th century including
the 1923 Kanto earthquake, the rise of militarism and imperialism, the American
occupation, and postwar development. The focus is on isolating those things that make
Japan distinct.
<The series is available for $749
and individual parts may be purchased for $159 or rented for $75>[FHS]
Japan Series, produced by the National
Film Board of Canada. Series as follows:
Children of the Tribe
(28 minutes)
Close family ties and intense focus on academics
influence children's lives. Won first prize at 25th Competition for Films on
Japan (Tokyo)
Japan, Inc.
(28 minutes)
Explores the factors behind Japan's economic success.
Won award at US industrial film festival.
Japanese Woman
(28 minutes)
Interviews with women, look at lifestyles, and
comparison with World War II. Won second prize at 28th Competition for Films on
Japan.
Satori in the
Right Cortex (29 minutes)
"Satori" is a sudden flash of
enlightenment. Examines Japanese philosophical traditions and their persistence in
contemporary life.
[CC]
Japan: The Island Empire
A video tour of Japan, including Tokyo, feudal castles, and other
monuments.
<$25>
[F]
Japanese Economic Bubble, The
(40 minutes)
Examines the bubble economy of the 1980s and its collapse. Notes how
Japanese culture and economy is becoming less distinctly Japanese. <$149/$75>
[FHS]
Japanese Tea Ceremony, The
(30 minutes)
While it originated in China, the Japanese have dramatically refined and
preserved the tea ceremony. This video focuses on the approach of the Omote
Sen-ke school.
<$149/$75>
[FHS]
Japanese Version, The
(55 minutes)
Looks at how Japanese adapt Western cultural objects. Can be rented for
$17.75 from Indiana University. 1991 production.
[CAM]
Japanese Way of Life, The
(25 minutes)
1990 ABC production.
<$17.75 rental [IU];
$15.75 [KU]>
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Kabuki (56 minutes)
Kabuki is more than four centuries old. This video introduces the
history and current state of kabuki, taking viewers to a rehearsal, and
performance.
[FHS]
Kabuki Classics: Onue Baiko VII in the
Salt Gatherer (1972) (27 minutes)
Onue Baiko, a "living national treasure," performs this famous
kabuki dance from the 18th century.
<$90>
[CT]
Kodo: Heartbeat Drummers of Japan
(57 minutes)
Traditional and contemporary drumming.
[F]
Living Treasures of Japan (60 minutes)
A National Geographic film on Japanese artists considered masters of
traditional arts and crafts.
<$20>
[F]
Nightline: Akio Morita (30 minutes)
Report on and interview with the founder of Sony.
[F]
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Osaka Story (1994) (84 minutes)
Filmmaker Toichi Nakata spent three years abroad and upon his return
documented the strains that had developed in his family. Nakata's father is a
Korean immigrant to Japan and has difficulties serving as a bridge between his
Korean family and his wife's Japanese family. His siblings are also
confronting competing loyalties and desires.
<Purchase: $440/Rental: $100>
[FRIF]
Our Musical Heritage Series: Music of
Japan
This is a 10 volume series. The Japanese volume is $20.
[F]
Postwar Japan: 40 Years of Change (56 minutes)
Offers a Japanese perspective on the transformation of the nation since
1945. Traces the remarkable economic development and social
changes since the war.
<$149/$75>
[FHS]
Principles and Practice of Zen, The
(100 minutes)
Explains the process leading to satori. Includes coverage of tea
ceremony, flower arranging and other aspects of Zen culture.
<$159>
[FHS]
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Samurai Japan (48 minutes)
From their ascension to power in the 13th century to the
unconditional surrender of Japan at the end of World War II, the Samurai, with
their code of virtue and discipline, created a society that prized one's honor
over one's life. In this program, scholars discuss the unique influence that
this created and the impact of the Samurai on Japan's institutions and
history, including the role of women in political alliances. Also discussed in
Japan's shift from feudalism to a bureaucratic and cosmopolitan society,
symbolically ruled by the emperor and administered by shoguns.
<Purchase $129/ Rental $75>
[FHS]
Shodo: The Path of Writing (1980)
(30 minutes)
This film examines Japanese calligraphy, its history and role in the culture.
<$30>
[CT]
Tale of Genji, The (1991) (110 minutes)
This is an animated telling of the classic 11th century story.
<$15>
[CT]
Traditional Japanese Architecture
(30 minutes)
Detailed examination of a seventeenth century building, the Katsura
Imperial Villa in Kyoto. Follows restoration efforts.
<$149/$75>
[FHS]
Tokyo in Tennessee
(15 minutes)
Examines the Nissan plant in Tennessee. A 1982 production.
<$10.50 rental>
[KU]
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Video Letter from Japan II
Produced by The Asia Society [AS].
Series as follows:
The Early Working
Years (25 minutes)
Follows workers as they begin their careers, includes
discussion of the opportunities for women.
Opportunities for
Women at Mid-Life (25 minutes)
Examines the roles of housewife and the lives of
middle aged couples.
A Young Family
(25 minutes)
An in-depth look at the roles and responsibilities of young parents.
<Available for $110 for the set and $23 each>
[AS]
Working Couple, A 28
minutes
A 1982 Film Australia production looks at middle income couple and the
pressures they confront.
<$18.75 rental>
[KU]
Written Face, The (1995)
(89 minutes)
Tamasaburo BANDO is a distinguished Kabuki actor who specializes in women's
roles. This film has four acts proceeding simultaneously and includes segments
featuring geisha and film performers discussing this fading aspect of Japanese
culture. Daniel Smid, director.
<Purchase: $440/Rental $100>
[FRIF]
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