Aga ni ikiru (阿賀に生きる)
Makoto Satō
1992. DVD (ca. 115 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 14
Summary: Over a three year period the film makers recorded the lives of people living in a small village on the banks of the Agano River in Niigata Prefecture. Many are suffering the effects of mercury poisoning from methyl mercury released into the river by the corporate giant Shōwa Denkō Kabushiki Kaisha. This second outbreak of Minimata disease is known as Niigata Minamatabyō or Daini Minamatabyō.
Biruma senki (ビルマ戦記)
1942. DVD (68 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 14
Summary: This film records the Japanese military's efforts to capture the Burma Road,one of the major supply lines to China, from the British beginning in December 1941. The film ends with the fall of Mandalay in May 1942.
Dokyumento Shōwa = Showa
1986. 2 VHSs
Call#: DS888.5 .D65 1986
Summary: The Showa period began in 1926, seven years after the Versailles Treaty. The first part deals with the formation of the League of Nations and Japan’s attitude towards it. The second part looks at the emergence of Japan as an industrial giant and the economic war that occurred with the USA in motor vehicle manufacturing. The third part focuses on the Manchurian Incident which led to the establishment of the state of Manchukuo and the end of China’s Ching Dynasty. The final part deals with Japan’s withdrawal from the League of Nations, and the effective isolation of Manchuria from China.
The Essence of being Japanese
Jean Antoine
2004. DVD (48 min.)
Call#: DVD DS885 .E87 1989b
Summary: Covers the events of the 20th century -- the earthquake of 1923, the rise of militarism, the accesion of Emperor Hirohito, the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere, the Pacific War, Hiroshima, and the American occupation of Japan -- but the primary focus is on what makes Japan Japanese.
The Essence of being Japanese
Jean Antoine
1989. VHS (48 min.)
Call#: DS885 .E87 1989
Summary: Covers the events of the 20th century -- the earthquake of 1923, the rise of militarism, the accesion of Emperor Hirohito, the Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere, the Pacific War, Hiroshima, and the American occupation of Japan -- but the primary focus is on what makes Japan Japanese.
Fuji ni chikau (富士に誓ふ)
1943. DVD (58 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 7
Summary: Released in 1943 to promote fighting spirit in Japan, this documentary film features the hard training that young soldiers in the tank corps underwent at the Imperial Army academy.
Gōchin (轟沈)
1944. DVD (62 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 9
Summary: The film features an I-Gō type submarine on patrol for three months in the Indian Ocean in August. The submarine is shown sinking an enemy convoy and undergoing a depth charge attack.
Hirohito Japan in the 20th century
1989. VHS (59 min.)
Call#: DS889.8 .H54 1989
Summary: A portrait of Hirohito, emperor of Japan for sixty years, from 1926-1989.
Hiroku Taiheiyō Sensō zenshi (秘錄・太平洋戦争全史)
1975. 2 DVDs (122 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 1-2
Summary: A documentary film on the Pacific War, mainly using footage shot during the war by Nihon Eigasha and the U.S. military.
Igaku to shite no Minamatabyō : sanbusaku. [Dainibu], Byōri, Byōzō-hen (医学としての水俣病 三部作. [第二部], 病理・病像篇)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
1974. DVD (ca. 103 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 6
Summary: Part two of a trilogy of films on Minimata disease features the pathological findings on Minamata disease by medical experts. They discusse how methyl mercury poisoning affects the brain and cranial nerves, causing a variety of functional disorders. At the time the film was made (1974), the government had established a sytem of officially certifying Minamata disease to provide victims with medical treatment and compensation. However, the recognition process is long and involved, and some applications are left pending for years, allowing patients to go untreated. This is a particularly serious problem for mentally disabled children because medical science had not yet proven a causal relation between methyl mercury poisoning and mental disorders. On the other hand, the animal experiments conducted by Shiraki Hirotsugu, a neuropathologist at Tokyo University, showed that methyl mercury accumulates in fetuses' bodies. The film ends with the pathologist Takeuchi Tadao at Kumamoto University warning that the fish in the Sea of Shiranui are still contaminated with methyl mercury. The fishermen who live in the area have continued to eat the fish putting them at increasing risk of contracting late-onset Minamata disease.
Igaku to shite no Minamatabyō sanbusaku. [Dai ichibu], Shiryō, shōgen hen (医学としての水俣病 三部作. [第一部], 資料・証言篇)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
1974. DVD (ca. 82 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 5
Summary: Part one of a trilogy, filmed in 1974, about the research done on Minamata disease, which is caused by methyl mercury poisoning. Medical researchers discuss how they discovered the cause of disease which was initially thought as an epidemic. Includes clips of patients suffering from spasm, convulsions, and various severe physical as well as mental disabilities. The film describes this pollution illness as a social disease and reports that the number of patients was still increasing at the time of filming.
Igaku to shite no Minamatabyō sanbusaku. [Daisanbu], Rinshō, ekigaku hen (医学としての水俣病 三部作. [第三部], 臨床・疫学篇)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
1975. DVD. All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 7
Summary: Part three of a trilogy of films on Minimata disease, this film features the clinical findings of Harada Masazumi at Kyūshū Daigaku, who is both a psychiatrist and a neurology clinician. While the number of people who were apparently afflicted with Minamata disease was increasing during the 1970s, there was no increase in offiically certified victims, with the result the large number of uncertified patients were unable to receive any compensation. This film looks at some patients whose applications for official recognition have been turned down or held up by ad hoc certification committees.
Kaigun byōin-sen (海軍病院船)
1943. DVD (53 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 6
Summary: This documentary film focuses on the Japanese Navy's hospital ship, the Hikawa Maru. Admiral Yamamoto is shown visiting the ship.
Kaigun senki (海軍戦記)
1943. DVD Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 17
Summary: This film features the Japanese Imperial Navy in action in 1942. Although some original footage is missing, there are fascinating scenes of the fighting in the Solomons and a night attack on Tulagi Island.
Kaisō Kawamoto Teruo (回想川本輝夫)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
1999. DVD (ca. 42 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 15
Summary: Kawamoto Teruo was a Minamata disease victim who dedicated himself to fighting for proper recognition and compensation for those suffering from this terrible disease . When Kawamoto passed away in Feb. 1999, Tsuchimoto Noriaki, who had produced documentary films on the disesae, collected film clips of Kawamoto to create this tribute to screen at his memorial service.
Korehidōru sōkōgeki = Corregidor sokogeki (コレヒドール総攻撃)
1942. DVD (34 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 10
Summary: This documentary film features the Japanese military's attack against U.S. forces on Corregidor, Luzon, May 3-7, 1942.
Manʼei sakuhin bōkyōhen. Manshū no daichi / Reimei no seibu Manshū (満映作品望鄉編. 満洲の大地 / 黎明之西部満州)
1937. DVD (ca. 41 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M356 2005
Summary: "Rakudo kiki" (1937) is a promotional film intended to persuade farmers to participate in a farmers' cooperative called "Nōji Gakksakusha," explaining the cooperative works. Includes scenes of cows and sheep in the pasture, a livestock market and other farm activities. "Reimei no seibu Manshū" (date unknown) shows the life style, customs and sumo fighting of the Mongolians living in the heart of the Greater Khingan mountains. Also includes views of a Tibetan Buddhists mausoleum, a hot spring at Arxan City, and scenes of Hailar City.
Manʼei sakuhin bōkyōhen. Minori no Manshū / Nōgyō Manshū / Kokusō Manshū (満映作品望鄉編. 稔りの満洲 / 農業満州 / 穀倉満州)
1939. DVD (40 min.) All Region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M357 2005
Summary: "Manshū Kensetsu Kinrō Hōshitai" (1939, partial) documents the young farmers and students sent off to Manchuria for reclamation work. "Nōgyō Manshū" (date unknown, partial) shows farm life in Manchuria ifrom planting seaon to harvest season. "Kokusō Manshū" (1944) looks at Manchuria as a food source, showing harvested crops collected at a distribution center to be sent off to Japan, China and the battlefronts in the South.
Manʾei sakuhin bōkyōhen. Natsukashi no Manshū / Mohankyō no kensetsu (満映作品望鄉編. 懐かしの満洲 / 模範鄉之建設)
1935. DVD (45 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M358 2005
Summary: "Shinsei no eikō" (1935, partial) visits the Greater Khingan mountain range in northeastern China as well as the Amur River region and shows the different ethnic groups who live there: Mongolians, Koreans, Japanese and White Russians. "Mohankyō no kensetsu"(date unknown, partial) portrays Manchoukuo as a rich agriculrural nation. Includes a dramatized film which explains the vigilante corps system, clips of young farmers receiving agricultural education and practices, medical and welfare institutes, school education, food stores, riparian and road construction works. Also shows scenes of a farmers' cooperative, Nōji Gassakusha, etc.
Manʼei sakuhin bōkyōhen. Omoide no Manshū / Manshū Teikoku taikan (満映作品望鄉編. 想ひでの満洲 / 満州帝國大観)
1935. DVD (55 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M359 2005
Summary: "Rakudo shin Manshū" (1935) shows the variety of scenes in Manchoukuo, including temples and the Summer Palace in Chendge, city of Mukden, sport events for students and school education. "Sanga" (date unknown) looks at the White Russians living in the highlands of the Argun River basin, on western side of the Greater Khingan Range, showing farm work, dancing at a festival, religious service at a Russian Orthodox Church and military troops raising the Imperial Russian flag as well as Manchoukuo's five color flag during their horsemanship practice. "Manshū Teikoku taikan" (date unknown, incomplete) is an overview of the rapid development of Manchoukuo. Clips include the traditional life style of the Mongolian tribes at Xing'an Sheng, railroad contruction by the South Manchiairn railway Co., views of the city of Dalian, Mukden Harbin and Hsinking, coal mining at Fushun and clips of Puyi, the chief executive and later Emperor of Manchoukuo, etc.
Manshū nyūsu eiga. 10, Gōgai. Sorengun satsuei eizō (満洲ニュース映画. 10, 号外. ソ連軍撮影映像)
19??. DVD (49 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M3675 2005 v. 10
Summary: 1931-nen -- 1932-nen Shanhai -- 1937-nen Shanhai Nankin -- 1939-nen Nomonhan jiken -- 1945-nen Manshū no shūen.
Manshū nyūsu eiga. 1-7, Manʼei tsūshin Manʼei jihō (満州ニュース映画. 1-7, 滿映時報 滿映通信)
19??. 7 DVDs (305 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M3675 2005
Summary: [1] "Manʼei jihō" dai 168-hō, "Manʼei tsūshin" dai 254-hō, 270-271-hō -- [2]. "Manʼei tsūshin" dai 272-274 hō, dai 276-hō -- [3] "Manʼei tsūshin" dai 277-280-hō -- [4] "Manʼei tsūshin" dai 281-285 hō -- [5] "Manʼei jihō" dai 286-289-hō, 291-hō -- [6] "Manʼei tsūshin" dai 292-hō, "Manʼei jihō" dai 302-hō, "Manʼei tsūshin" dai 303-hō, "Manʼei jihō" dai 304-305-hō -- [7] "Manʼei tsūshin" dai 306-hō, 310--hō, "Manʼei jihō" dai 311-hō, "Manʼei tsūshin" dai 312-hō, tokuhō, "Manʼei tsūshin" (no number), "Manʼei jihō" (no number).
Manshū nyūsu eiga. 8, Gōgai. Kodomo Manshū (満州ニュース映画. 8, 号外. こども滿洲)
19??. DVD (52 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M3675 2005 v. 8
Summary: Kodomo Manshū dai 45-gō -- Kodomo Manshū dai 46-gō -- Jōshikan senkyo : Hokushi sensen dai 59-hō -- Kūgun dainijin -- [Hikō kunren] -- [Shōkaiseki Kokumintō-gun]
Manshū nyūsu eiga. 9, Gōgai. Kyōwa Manʼei jijihō (満洲ニュース映画. 9, 号外. 協和滿映時事報)
19??. DVD (48 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M3675 2005 v. 9
Summary: Includes "dai 2-shū," "dai 3-shū," "dai 6-shū" and "dai 7-shū" of "Kyōwa Manʼei jihō." Each part includes several film clips. Dates of production are unknown. Explanatory comments are inserted by the DVD producton company at the beginning of each film clip. Also includes "Kyōwa eiga jihō kinen tokushūgō," produced by Manshū Teikoku Kyōwakai. The original explanatory comments are included.
Mantetsu kiroku eigashū. 1 Kensetsu kōji (満鉄記錄映画集. 1 建設工事)
1939. DVD (62 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M368 2005 vol. 1
Summary: Kensetsu kōji" (1939, 22 min.) documents the construction of a railroad between Chengdae, Rehe sheng, and the border of Xinan. "Kagayaku ichimankiro" (1939, 18 min.) tells the history of railroad construction in Manchuria by the South Manchurian Railway Company, which had laid over 10,000 km. of tracks by the late 1930's. "Kikansha Pashiha" (1939, 21 min.) documents the construction of a locomotive dubbed "Pashiha" at the factory in Dalian.
Mantetsu kiroku eigashū. 10 Natsu no harubin = Harbin in summer / Parin = Peitaiho / Kitsurin no ukai = Kirin / Tōman no shuryō (満鐵記錄映画集. 10 夏の哈爾賓 / 巴林 / 北戴河 / 吉林の鵜飼 / 東満の狩猟)
1937. DVD (53 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M368 2005 vol. 10
Summary: Each film features summer or winter recreation in Manchuria. "Natsu no Harubin" (1937, 8 min.) shows boat sailing in Songhua River, Harbin. "Parin: Kōanrei kyanpingu" (1937, 11min.) features camping in the Hsingan mountains. "Peitaiho" (1937, 8 min.) features Peitaiho (Beidaihe) as a popular seaside resort for Americans and Europeans. "Kitsurin no ukai" (1937, 9 min.) shows cormorant fishing practiced from June to mid September on Songhua River, Kitsurin (Jilin). "Tōman no shuryō" (1939, 17 min.) shows hunters hunting pheasants, deer, bears and tigers in the deep snow mountains.
Mantetsu kiroku eigashū. 11-12 Hokushi no reimei (満鐵記錄映画集. 11-12 北支の黎明)
1937. 2 DVDs (105 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M368 2005 vol. 11-12
Summary: A series of thirteen short films which record the Sino-Japanese Conflict, filmed on the front lines by Mantetsu Eiga Seisakujo film crews in 1937.
Mantetsu kiroku eigashū. 2 Manshū no tabi (満鉄記錄映画集. 2 満洲の旅)
1937. DVD (45 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M368 2005 vol. 2
Summary: "Manshū no tabi" (1937, 5 min.) is a short promotional film about traveling in Manchuria. "[Sen-Man shūyū no tabi] naichi-hen" (1937, 10 min.) features two women travelling from Tokyo, Japan, to Dalian, Manchuria via train and ship. "Nai-Sen-Man shūyū no tabi, Manshū-hen" (1937, 28 min.) visits a variety of sightseeing spots in Manchuria.
Mantetsu kiroku eigashū. 3 Kenkoku no haru (満鐵記錄映画集. 3 建国の春)
1932. DVD (59 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M368 2005 vol. 3
Summary: "Kenkoku no haru" (1932, 17 min.) is a silent film which records the foundation of of the nation-state of Manchukuo. Also includes the inauguration ceremony of Pu Yi as Manchukuo's administrator and the raising of the flag of Manchukuo . "Manshūkoku kōko taiten" (1934, 18 min.) features the enthronement ceremony of Pu Yi as the new emperor of Manchukuo in March 1934. Subtitles in Chinese and English. "Yakushin kokuto" (1937, 22 min.) displays some of the buildings erected in a five-year construction plan in Manchukuo's capital city of Shinkyō (Changchun).
Mantetsu kiroku eigashū. 4 [Manshū ni okeru ritton chōsadan] = The League of Nations Commission of Inquiry in Manchuria (満鉄記錄映画集. 4 [満洲におけるリットン調查団])
1931. DVD (41 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M368 2005 vol. 4
Summary: A silent film which records the activities of the Lytton Commission sent by the League of Nations to Manchuria to investigate the Manchurian Incident of Sep. 1931.
Mantetsu kiroku eigashū. 5 Ōdō san tari (満鐵記錄映画集. 5 王道燦たり)
1941. DVD (68 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M368 2005 vol. 5
Summary: Produced in commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the foundation of Manchukuo, this film surveys the history of Manchuria and the South Manchurian Railway from the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 to the opening of the Pacific War, 1941. Clips include a variety of historical figures and events.
Mantetsu kiroku eigashū. 6 Kaitaku totsugekitai - tetsudō jikeison imin kiroku (満鐵記錄映画集. 6 開拓突撃隊 - 鉄道自警村移民記錄)
1937. DVD (62 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M368 2005 vol. 6
Summary: "Kaitaku totsugekitai" (1937, 33 min.) is a reportage on the vigilance villages built along South Manchurian Railway, featuring the Japanese immigrant farmers' daily life, security duty as vigilantes and the education for their children. "Shōnen takushi no nikki" (1940, 29 min.) features the daily life of trainees who participate in "Man-Mō Kaitaku Seishōnen Giyūgun (Emigration of Youth Troops to Manchuria-Mongolia Areas), showing their agricultural education and military drill.
Mantetsu kiroku eigashū. 7 Sōgen Baruga (満鐵記錄映画集. 7 草原バルガ)
1936. DVD (51 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M368 2005 vol. 7
Summary: "Sōgen Baruga" (1936, 21 min.) looks at the life and customs of the nomadic people of Barga, Hulunbuir, a border region where Manchuria, Soviet Russia and Mongolia intersect. "Kōri no hyōjō" (1941, 28 min.) documents some research experiments with ice conducted by the South Manchurian Railway Company on the Sungari River, Harbin. Includes scenes of winter in Harbin, such as winter sports, Russian Orthodox baptismal rites in icy water, and ice fishing.
Mantetsu kiroku eigashū. 8 Manshū daizu = Soja-bohnen (満鐵記錄映画集. 8 満洲大豆)
1938. DVD (42 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M368 2005 vol. 8
Summary: "Manshū daizu" (22 min, 1938) features the contemporary soybean farming and processing industry in Manchuria, where over 50% of the world's soybeans were then produced. Also includes clips of the agricultural experimental station at South Manchurian Railway Company engaged in improving the quality of soybeans. "Nyanʼnyan meyaohoi " (20 min., 1940) features a festival at the Taoist temple Niang Niang Miao, Daisekikyō (Dashiqiao) City, Liaodong Peninsula.
Mantetsu kiroku eigashū. 9 Hikyō Nekka (満鐵記錄映画集. 9 秘境熱河)
1936. DVD (49 min.) All region
Call#: DVD DS784 .M368 2005 vol. 9
Summary: "Hikkyō Nekka" (1936, 15 min.) tours the major cities in Nekka-shō (Rehe Sheng) and visits the buildings, castles and Buddhist temples constructed duringthe early Qing Dynasty. Also shows the culture and life style of Tibetan Buddhists, commonly known as Lamaists. This DVD includes part 1 and part 3 of the original 5 parts. "Rusutaku dayori" (1939, 10 min.) is a silent documentary film which records the welfare-related activities in Dairen (Dalian) for the families of the employees of the South Manchurian Railway Company who have been sent to the front. Includes stage performances, a sport festivals for the families who have left behind. In "Nichi-Man tsuzurikata shisetsu" (1940, 23 min.) ten Japanese elementary school students who won a writing contest travel across Manchukuo, stopping over in the major cities of Mukden, Changchun, Harbin and Dalian.
Marē senki = Malay senki (マレー戦記)
1942. DVD (67 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 13
Summary: This film records Japanese military operations against the British on the Malayan Peninsula and Singapore from December 1941 through February 1942 and captures the meeting between General Yamashita Tomobumi and Lieutenant General Author Earnst Percival, which resulted in British surrender. Also included is British film footage of the fighting confiscated by the Japanese military.
Minamata (水俣)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
1971. DVD (ca. 167 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 1
Summary: This film looks at the plight of the victims of Minamata disease, which is caused by methyl mercury poisoning. In 1969, 29 families sued Chisso Kabushiki Kaisha, which was responsible for releasing mercury-polluted industrial waste water into Minamata Bay and out to the Sea of Shiranui. With this lawsuit, the Minamata victims made their situation a national issue. Following them as they go about their daily lives, the film shows the plaintiffs appealing for public support through fund-raising campaigns and demonstrations. In order to confront the company directly, the patients purchase Chisso's stocks so they can attend a stockholders' meeting. At a stock holders' meeting held in Osaka in Nov. 1970, as soon as the president speaks to open the meeting, the roar of the audience drowns him out. At the time of filming, only 121 individuals were recognized as Minamata disease patients. The number of applications to be certified as Minamata patients later reaches about 15,000. This film documents the initial stage of the Minamata disease lawsuit.
Minamata (水俣)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
1971. DVD (ca. 120 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 2
Summary: This film looks at the plight of the victims of Minamata disease, which is caused by methyl mercury poisoning. In 1969, 29 families sued Chisso Kabushiki Kaisha, which was responsible for releasing mercury-polluted industrial waste water into Minamata Bay and out to the Sea of Shiranui. With this lawsuit, the Minamata victims made their situation a national issue. Following them as they go about their daily lives, the film shows the plaintiffs appealing for public support through fund-raising campaigns and demonstrations. In order to confront the company directly, the patients purchase Chisso's stocks so they can attend a stockholders' meeting. At a stock holders' meeting held in Osaka in Nov. 1970, as soon as the president speaks to open the meeting, the roar of the audience drowns him out. At the time of filming, only 121 individuals were recognized as Minamata disease patients. The number of applications to be certified as Minamata patients later reaches about 15,000. This film documents the initial stage of the Minamata disease lawsuit.
Minamata ikki (水俣一揆)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
1973. DVD (ca. 108 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 4
Summary: On Mar. 20, 1973, the Kumamoto District Court found Chisso Kabushiki Kaisha responsible for releasing methyl mercury into Minamata Bay which causes the neurological syndrome known as Minamata disease among those who eat contaminated marine products from the ocean. The decision required Chisso to pay compensation as the plaintiffs had been seeking. At the time of filming the Minamata disease patients were disunited due to their different attitudes towards negotiations with Chisso. A small number of patients who decided to negotiate directly with Chisso went to the company's Tokyo headquarters and demanded the company executives sign an oath guaranteeing life-time medical treatment and compensation for themselves. In the presence of these patients, the executives admit to the company's responsibility, but the company president initially hesitates to sign the document, claiming that such an agreement would invite more and more demands for compensation, which could drive the company into bankruptcy. The delegation of victims explodes in anger at the company's insincerity; and the president eventually aplogizes and signs the document. The flim gives an account of the ongoing face-to-face negotiations between Chisso executives and the disease victims over medical treatment and compensation.
Minamata nikki (みなまた日記)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
1996. DVD (ca. 100 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 16
Summary: In 1994, Minamata disease victims held an exhibition in Tokyo where portraits of the all the 1,080 people who had died of the disease by that time were displayed. Tsuchimoto Noriaki and his wife Motoko spent a year in Minamata collecting photos of the deceased. In this film Tsuchimoto discusses the contemporary community of Minamata and those suffering from the disease, and shows films and photographs from Minamata, including festivals, stage performances, music concerts, memorial services for the victims, etc.
Minamata no amanatsu (水俣の甘夏)
Masato Koike
1984. DVD (ca. 55 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 12
Summary: Some fishermen who suffer from Minamata disease become too ill to continue in their livelihood. The 49 fishing families form a cooperative, "Minamatabyō Kanja Katei Kaju Dōshikai," and start cultivating sweet summer oranges, special products of Minamata. Having experienced the harmful consequences of industrial pollution firsthand, they try growing chemical-free, organic oranges. Except some members use weed-killers, which not only betrays their principles but also damages their team work spirit. Through many a meeting the group reaches a decision.
Minamata no zu, monogatari (水俣の図・物語)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
1981. DVD (ca. 111 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 11
Summary: In 1979, husband and wife artists Maruki Iri and Maruki Toshi, who created for the Hiroshima Panels (Genbaku no zu), turned their attention on Minamata. They visited Minamata and found the people and the scenery beautiful, but the finished mural painting only expresses the sufferings of Minamata disease victims. In late fall of 1980, they visited Minamata again and drew portraits of Minamata disease victims. Two girls whose portraits they drew they used as subjects in their second work on Minamata.
Minamata repōto. I, Jitsuroku Kōchōi (水俣レポート. I, 実錄公調委)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
1971. DVD (ca. 112 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 3
Summary: These films made in the early 1970s document the activities of the victims of Mianamata disease who decide to sue Chisso Kabushiki Kaisha, which released methyrl mercury into Minamata Bay, causing this pollution-related disease. "Minamata repōto I" (ca. 48 min., 1973) was filmed two months before the judgment in the lawsuit was reached at the Kumamoto District Court. At that time of filming, Chisso has been trying to proceed with arbitration with those patients who have not joined in the "litigation group," through "Kōchōi" (abbreviation of Kōgai Tō Chōsei Iinkai, translated as the Central Pollution Board). Kōchōi is rushing to reach arbitration settlements before the court rules on the lawsuit, because a ruling for the victims would result in greater compensation. The disease victims uncover that Kōchōi has fabricated documents of applications and letters of attorney without the knowledge of the victims. At the same time in Minamata, medical doctors are examining patients who have remained silent and uncertified. "Kanjin" (ca. 24 min., 1971) documents the representatives of the Minamata disease victims who go to Tokyo to attend the interrogation of Nishida Eiichi, Chisso's plant manaager. The representatives, in the clothes of pilgrimage, visit the houses of seven executives of Chisso in Tokyo. But the doors of the executives' houses are closed to them. "Shimin no michi" (ca. 40 min., 1972) records the activities of the victims in Tokyo, from Nov. 1971 to March 1972. They conducted sit-ins in front of the main office of Chisso, demanding direct negotiations with the company. In Feb. 1972, Chisso finally agrees to meet with the representatives with the governor of Kumamoto Prefecture, at the Environment Agency (current Ministry of the Environment). As a result of the three months sit-in the talks are broken off, and arbitration is entrusted to a third party.
Minamatabyō (水俣病)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
1976. DVD (ca. 135 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 9
Summary: "Minamatabyō sono 20-nen" (ca., 43 min., 1976) recaps the 20 years of suffering of the Minamata disease patients. The film covers the outbreak of the disease, animal experiments with mercury poisoning, mental and physical conditions of the patients and their legal struggles with Chisso, the company responsible for pumping mercury polluted industrial waste water into Minamata Bay and out to the Sea of Shiranui. The film ends with fishermen fishing in the Sea of Shiranui, exemplifying the people in Minamata's dependence on fishing. "Minamatabyō sono 30-nen" (ca., 46 min., 1987) portrays the ongoing sufferings of the Minamata disease patients, demonstrating that the problems of Minimata have not been resolved. Although Chisso and the Japanese government agreed to pay compensation to the disease victims, as of 1986, only 2,147 applicants out of 14,596 were certified as Minamata disease sufferers.
Minamatabyō bideo Q&A (水俣病ビデオQ&A)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
1965. DVD (ca. 137 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 17
Summary: "Minamata Q&A" (30 min., col. with b&w sequences, 1996) was created for the exhibition on Minamata disease held at Tokyo in 1996, overviewing Minamata disease as an industrial pollution-related disease that still poses unsolved problems today. "Minamata no ko wa ikite iru" (25 min., b&w, 1965) follows a female social worker in training who visits Minamata for one week and finds that the patients and their families live in utter poverty and receive very little public assistance or compensation, and that the parents of prenatally damaged children give up trying to get hospital care for them despite of the severity of their condition. Onizuka Iwao, who worked for the company responsible for Minamata disease, Chisso Kabushiki Kaisha, produced many films, photographs and books on the subject. This DVD includes four of his early works produced with Chisso's Labor Union. "Minamatabyō [1]" (20 min., b&w., 1968) reports the history of Minamata disease as it occurred in Minamata, Kumamoto, and the Agano River area of Niigata. The film criticizes Chisso for denying its responsibility for releasing mercury-polluted industrial water into Minamata Bay, while appealing for solidarity among disease patients and supporters in the fight against Chisso. "Minamatabyō 2" (22 min., b&w., 1969) documents the activities of disease victims and supporters to increase awareness with the public and make a plea for donations to the cause. After the arbitration with Chisso fails, a litigation group is formed to file a lawsuit against the company at the Kumamoto District Court in June 1969. "Ikarenai sekai" (22 min., b&w., 1970) focuses on prenatally damaged Minamata disease patients. Mentally and physically handicapped , some are unable to see or hear and/or speak to express their suffering. "Odaku to hōshutsu" (18 min., col., 1987?) shows Chisso's inadequate drainage systems which were continuing to pollute the waters of Minamata Bay thirty years after the disease first came to light.
Mukonaru umi (無辜なる海)
Naotaka Katori
1983. DVD (ca. 81 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 13
Summary: In the early 1980s when Minamata disease seemed to have faded from public awareness, some young people stayed in Minamata and filmed the lives of the families who still suffer from the disease. The Iwamoto family's daughter is prenatally damaged Minamata disease patient but she has not been officially certified. An old lady tearfully tells her story. In the village of Meshima, half of the residents have applied for certification while some hesitate to apply, worrying that certification will exclude them from marriage and a career.
Nankin (南京)
1938. DVD (56 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 4
Summary: This documentary film, discovered in China in 1995, shows the war-devastated state of Nanjing under Japanese military control. The film was shot by Tōhō Bunka Eiga-bu, which later merged with Nihon Eigasha.
Nihon no higeki (日本の悲劇)
1946. DVD (42 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 16
Summary: This film, released in 1946 and confiscated by the Occupation forces after one week, argues that the course of conquest on which Japan embarked in the thirties was driven by the desire of the capitalist class in Japan to gain control of overseas markets. Even while questioning (rightfully so) the authenticity of the so-called Tanaka Memorandum of 1927, which advocated the takeover of Manchuria and Mongolia, it is suggested that the memorandum accurately represents the intentions of the capitalist elite. The film is an early example of the public discussion in Japan of the Emperor's responsibility for the the war.
Rikugun kōkū senki. Biruma hen (陸軍航空戦記. ビルマ篇)
1943. DVD (91 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 8
Summary: This film features the Japanese Imperial Navy's aerial operation against the British Air Force in Burma.
Rikugun Tokubetsu Kōgekitai (陸軍特別攻撃隊)
1945. DVD (40 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 18
Summary: A Japanese Imperial Army documentary, filmed in November and December, 1944, featuring a special air attack [i.e. kamikaze] unit (tokubestu kōgeki butai ("tokkōtai)). The pilots are shown cleansing themselves in a river, playing with a puppy, writing letters to their family, and attending their farewell party before taking off on their suicide mission.
Seisen 3-nen (聖戰三年)
1939. DVD (44 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 19
Summary: Two films depicting the Japanese Imperial Army's campaigns in various parts of China from 1937 to 1940. Also included is the signing of the peace treaty between Japan and Wang Jingwei's Nanking government formed in Nanjing, March 1940 as well as scenes from a military parade for Chiang Kai-Shek filmed by the Chinese.
Senjika no sukurīn (戦時下のスクリーン)
1929-1943. 2 DVDs (240min) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS888.4 .S46 2005
Summary: Includes 25 short films produced between 1929-1943.
Sensen nimankiro (戦線二萬粁)
1942. DVD (35 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 20
Summary: By early1942, Japanese forces had advanced as far the Soviet-Manchukuo border in the north, to Sumatra and Australia in the south. This film visits many places along the front lines, including the Soviet-Manchukuo border, Zhengzhou, Changsha, Fujian Sheng in China, Thailand, Borneo and other areas of Southeast Asia.
Shanhai (上海)
1938. DVD (77 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 3
Summary: A documentary film which portrays the anti-Japanese sentiment in devastated Shanghai settlements after the second Shanghai Incident, August 1937. The film was shot by Tōhō Eiga Bunka Eigabu, which later merged with Nihon Eigasha.
Shina Jihen Kaigun sakusen kiroku (支那事変海軍作戦記錄)
1939. DVD (66 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 5
Summary: In 1939 Kaigunshō produced a multi-part documentary film on the Sino-Japanese conflict from July 1937 to November 1938, which includes the Japanese Imperial Navy's attacks on Shanghai, Qingdao and Hankou. This DVD includes parts 1,3, 5, and 7 of that longer film.
Shiranuikai (不知火海)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
1975. DVD (ca. 153 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 8
Summary: This films depicts the lives of the people of Minamata. The fishermen in villages by Shinanui Sea (also known as Yatsushiro Sea) still practice traditional fishing techniques and live peacefully. However, there also the Minamata disease patients who suffer from mercury poisoning. The film particularly focuses on young patients infected prenatally who receive care at Meisuien, the clinic especially for Minamata disease patients. One day they throw a party where the patients have a good time, but no guests or family members attend. A boy wants to join the film crew; another boy wants to drive a car. In another clip taken at the seashore, two young patients talk to a doctor. A girl asks the doctor if surgery could cure her. The doctor says no, and he realizes the girl has no hope for the future. There are several islands in Shiranui Sea where no serious medical intervention has occurred despite the fact that a medical examination detected a high concentration of mercury in the hair of a deceased resident. The film ends with a fisherman singing a song of praise for the fertile Sea of Shiranui while he trawls for globefishes.
Shōwa Nippon (昭和ニッポン)
2004-2005. 24 DVDs. Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS888.2 .S493 2004
Sora no shinpei (空の神兵)
1942. DVD (55 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 12
Summary: This film shows Japanese airborne troops undergoing hard training, culminating with general maneuvers.
Taiyō = The sun (太陽)
Aleksandr Sokurov
2007. DVD (110 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD PN1997.2 .S652 2005
Summary: As Japan nears defeat at the end of World War II, Emperor Hirohito starts his day in a bunker underneath the Imperial Palace in Toyko. A servant reads to him a list of activities for the day, including a meeting with his ministers, marine biology research, and writing his son. Hirohito muses about the impact on such schedules when the Americans arrive but is told that as long as there is a solitary Japanese person living, the Americans will not reach The Emperor. Hirohito replies that he at times feels like he himself will be the last Japanese person left alive. The servant reminds him that he is a deity, not a person, but Hirohito points out that he has a body just like any other man. He later reflects on the causes of the war when dictating observations about a hermit crab, and then about the peace to come when composing a letter to his son. Soon enough General Douglas MacArthur's personal car is sent to bring him through the ruins of Tokyo for a meeting with the supreme commander of the victorious occupying forces. Underlying all the conversation that follows is the question of Hirohito's future, either as Emperor or a war criminal. The two very different men strangely bond after sharing dinner and Havana cigars, and Hirohito leaves, renounces his divine nature, and is re-united with his family in the palace to face a new life to help re-build his war-ravaged country as a constitutional monarch. -- IMDB.
Tatakau heitai (戦ふ兵隊)
1939. DVD (66 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 11
Summary: This film, discovered in 1975, depicts the Japanese troops advancing into Hankou, China, during the Sino-Japanese Conflict, 1937-1945.
Teikoku Kaigun shōri no kiroku (帝国海軍勝利の記錄)
1942. DVD (45 min.) Region code 2
Call#: DVD DS838.7 .S46 2004 vol. 15
Summary: A re-edited version of news films depicting the Japanese Imperial Navy in action. These films were originally screened as "Nihon nyūsu" programs in movie theaters during the war.
Waga machi waga seishun (わが街わが青春)
Noriaki Tsuchimoto
1978. DVD (ca. 43 min.) All region
Call#: DVD RA1231.M5 K64 2006 vol. 10
Summary: Two decades have passed since Minamata disease was officially recognized, and the children prenatally infected with mercury poisoning have grown up. They desire to do something special on their own for the benefit of all Minimata disease victims and decide to host a concert featuring Ishikawa Sayuri. In order to make the concert successful, eight young patients put up posters, sell tickets and distribute despite their physical disabilities. On the day of the concert, they bring Ishikawa Sayuri to Meisuien, the special clinic for Minamata disease patients where they grew up. The concert hall is packed and the event is a great success.
Warai no daigaku University of laughs = University of laughs (笑いの大学)
Mamoru Hoshi
2004. 2 DVDs (121 min) Region code 2
Call#: PL856.I645 W3724 2004
Summary: In Shōwa 15 (1940), while the Sino-Japan War is raging, the Government imposes strict censorship on stage performances, one of the few entertainments available to commoners. All plays that are deemed out of step with the war effort are being censored. Tsubaki Hajime, a comedy script writer for the theater group "Warai no Daigaku (University of Laughs) meets Sakisaka Mutsuo, a government censor who has never understood what a laugh is and has been especially merciless about censoring satirical scripts. Of course, Sakisaka demands that Tsubaki alter his scripts, but as the two men work with and against each other, the scripts keep getting funnier and funnier.
Yukiyukite, shingun (ゆきゆきて、神軍)
Kazuo Hara
1987. VHS (122 min.)
Call#: DS890.O46 Y89 1987
Summary: "This documentary was five years in the making, and revolves around 62-year-old Okuzaki Kenzo, a survivor of the battlefields of New Guinea in World War II who gained notoriety by slingshooting steel pinballs at Emperor Showa to protest against what he considered to be the ruler's war crimes. Setting out to conduct interviews with survivors and relatives, he finds the truth of the past to be elusive, achieving a breakthrough only when he confronts ex-Sergeant Yamada, who grudgingly admits the occurrence and instructional source of certain atrocities." -- IMDB
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