50s-60s Japanese Cinema (Opinion )

I have observed after watching most of the mainstream Japanese action movies of the 50s that they have a very subtle idea of heroism of the individual for the greater good of society. Movies like Seven Samurai, Three Outlaw Samurai, Yojimbo, The Tale of Zatoichi (1962), specifically the work of Akira Kurosawa. I have noticed that Japanese proposed the idea of a lone warrior or a group of warriors keen to deliver justice and help people or individuals in distress. Protagonists are always carefree and homeless, have no family or background whatsoever, and even if they have a past, it was mostly long forgotten even by the individual himself. This is a very different perspective that always helps the plot progress in a certain direction without making unnecessary switches to random conversations about the heroic past of the protagonist or any flashback. It's all about the present and not about what happened in the recent but forgotten past.

There is always a love interest, a woman, a damsel in distress, a character that falls for our hero. Our hero knows this but proceeds as the plot proceeds, even not for a single valuable minute does he compromise his task for the sake of the woman. However, specifically in the movie Seven Samurai, one of the young warriors has a love interest and even spends a few romantic moments with her, but generally, this was not the case. Others were dedicated to the task at hand. As the plot progresses, protagonists perform necessary actions to deliver justice to the needy, and in that process, after each movie, either the hero dies or, even if he survives, he leaves without notifying the love interest. If the woman even waited for the protagonist to join him in his journey after the movie, like the woman waiting in The Tale of Zatoichi (1962), our protagonist Zatoichi chooses a hard mountain path to avoid confrontation with the woman to spare her from the tough journey of life he is about to endure alone.

In the grand idea, these movies were entertaining yet had a very profound sociological implication on the war-torn Japanese society. Due to the Second World War, the world was recovering and Japan was most scarred after the nuclear strike by the USA. So much uncertainty of the Japanese future was there, the economy was shattered, sanctions were imposed, and the Japanese, an industrialist race, were stripped of their martial capabilities after the Japan-U.S. Security Treaty was signed.

Morale was down and the country was in a desperate situation to rebuild itself. Japan, an island with so many natural challenges from frequent earthquakes to tsunamis and very few natural resources, caused the frequent industrialization of the country, making it a resource-poor economy. Above all, the island nation witnessed two powerful nuclear strikes against itself. The devastated economy and below-the-belt morale yet the spirit to prepare a new generation of industrialists, doctors, scientists, and most importantly soldiers was in the air. These movies made in the 50s to late 60s were an idea of indoctrinating the young surviving minds of the island. To fill them with the feeling that in the end, even if the hero doesn’t get what he wants for himself, even if it’s the love of a woman, it’s always the path of penance for the warrior or soldier that is his destiny and that gives him solace.

The country was rebuilding itself and people watched these movies not only finding them entertaining yet simultaneously this kind of cinema filled them with the feel of serving the great land of the rising sun once more against all odds. Even if the situation hits hard, bouncing back is what counts. This can be observed in Seven Samurai, against all odds the seven individual warriors with the help of a few peasants fought against the mighty bandits, and Sanjuro brought peace in the movie Yojimbo (1961).

Another perspective is that in these works of art showing how people used to live and survive during the harsh conditions of the medieval time period make them care and be more grateful for what they have in their hands and plate. Subtly the cinema asked them to find a deep sense of contentment in the slow but steady growth of the crumbled economy after the war. The nuclear strike by the USA devastated the morale of the Japanese administration also and economic growth without the sense of an optimistic future is hard, so this kind of forced fulfillment was necessary so people don’t revolt or ask more even after a decade-long slow growth of the economy.

Building everything from the ground up is a tedious task and Japanese society has this deep peaceful and harmonious relationship with chaos. Remember we have talked about the love interest of our protagonist? That was a very well orchestrated plot cover that was there to fill the young minds with the feeling that even if it’s love, there are duty and a path of harsh life that must be followed. What happened with other cinema of the world where a protagonist in the end lives happily ever after, counter to those ideas, Japanese young people understand the value of sacrifice and equanimity. Indoctrinating younger generations with values of duty, resilience, and sacrifice for a far greater good for the fellow Japanese. This was to implement an idea of collective and mutual progress which was very important during the initial decade of war-torn Japan.

However, I think this love interest ignorance was also due to the fact that the Cold War during the 60s was at its peak and the uncertainty of the future was threatening the world to witness a World War 3, Japan was building itself and in the 50s an empire was dissolved and during the 60s the intense political struggle in Japan in the form of the Miike Struggle and Anpo protests unleashed. To prepare a new generation of Japanese defense against the fear of Cold War or a future World War 3, this was also a subtle effort put into the cinematography of 50s and 60s Japan.

-m.दिनेश 

-m.Dinesh      

Dinesh Mandora All rights reserved ©

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