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Kōji Wakamatsu

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Kōji Wakamatsu
Kōji Wakamatsu in 1967
Born
Takashi Ito

(1936-04-01)1 April 1936
Wakuya, Miyagi, Empire of Japan
Died17 October 2012(2012-10-17) (aged 76)
Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan
Occupation(s)Film director, producer and screenwriter
Years active1963–2012
MovementPinku eiga

Kōji Wakamatsu (若松わかまつ孝二こうじ, Wakamatsu Kōji, 1 April 1936 – 17 October 2012) was a Japanese film director who directed such pinku eiga films as Ecstasy of the Angels (天使てんしの恍惚こうこつ, Tenshi no Kōkotsu, 1972) and Go, Go, Second Time Virgin (ゆけゆけ二に度目どめの処女しょじょ, Yuke Yuke Nidome no Shojo, 1969). He also produced Nagisa Ōshima's controversial film In the Realm of the Senses (1976). He has been called "the most important director to emerge in the pink film genre,"[1] and one of "Japan's leading directors of the 1960s."[2]

His 2010 film, Caterpillar, was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.[3]

Early life

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Kōji Wakamatsu was born in Wakuya, Miyagi, Japan on 1 April 1936, from a poor family of rice farmers.[4] Wakamatsu worked in several menial jobs, namely as a construction worker, before becoming a yakuza, as "a member of the Yasuma-gumi clan in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo".[4] After his criminal experience, he unsuccessfully enrolled in television before beginning his film career with Nikkatsu in 1963.[5]

Career

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Between 1963 and 1965, he directed 20 exploitation films for the studio, based on sensational topics of the day. He became interested in the Pink Film genre after the success of Tetsuji Takechi's 1964 Daydream. Nikkatsu submitted his Skeleton in the Closet (壁かべの中なかの秘事ひめごと, Kabe no Naka no Himegoto) (also known as Secrets Behind the Wall) (1965) to the 15th Berlin International Film Festival[6] while the film was still under review by Eirin, the Japanese film-rating board. This submission before passing Eirin's review was doubly embarrassing for the government since pink films, though already emerging as the dominant domestic cinematic genre, were not regarded as worthy of critical attention or international export.[7] The film received an enthusiastic reception at the festival, but Nikkatsu, fearful of governmental retaliatory action, gave it a low-profile domestic release. Disappointed, Wakamatsu quit the studio to form his own company.

Wakamatsu's independent films of the late 1960s were very low-budget, but often artistically done works, usually concerned with sex and extreme violence mixed with political messages. Some critics have suggested that these films were an intentional provocation to the government, in order to generate free publicity resulting from censorship controversies.[8] His films were usually produced for less than 1,000,000 yen (about $5,000), necessitating extreme cost-cutting measures including location shooting, single-takes, and natural lighting. His early films were usually in black and white with occasional bursts of color for theatrical effect.[9]

His first self-produced film was The Embryo Hunts In Secret (胎児たいじが密猟みつりょうする時とき, Taiji ga Mitsuryō Suru Toki, 1966), a story of a man who kidnaps, tortures and sexually abuses a woman until she finally escapes and stabs him to death. Freeze-frames, flash-backs, hand-held camera and locations limited to two rooms and a hallway add to the film's disturbing, claustrophobic atmosphere.[10] Vagabond of Sex (性せいの放浪ほうろう, Sei no Hōrō, 1967) was a parody of Imamura's A Man Vanishes (1967). In Wakamatsu's film, a man leaves his family in Tokyo to travel and engage in various sexual escapades. When he returns home he finds out that his wife is starring in Imamura's documentary about her search for her missing husband.[11]

Violated Angels (犯おかされた白衣はくい, Okasareta Hakui, 1967) was based on the murder of eight nursing students in the U.S. by Richard Speck. Dark Story of a Japanese Rapist (日本にっぽん暴行ぼうこう暗黒あんこく史し, Nihon Bōkō Ankokushi, 1969) was based on a serial rapist case in Japan after World War II. Go, Go Second Time Virgin (ゆけゆけ二に度目どめの処女しょじょ, Yuke yuke nidome no shojo, 1969) is loosely based on the Tate-LaBianca murders by the Manson Family in the same year. With Sex Jack (性せい賊ぞく, Seizoku, 1970), he tried "to show how the revolutionary movements are always infiltrated by the moles working for the government".[12] One of his most critically esteemed films is Sacred Mother Kannon (聖母せいぼ観音かんのん大だい菩薩ぼさつ, Seibo Kannon Daibosatsu, 1977), which has been called a "'text book example' for the use of metaphor and symbolism in contemporary cinema."[13]

United Red Army (連合赤軍れんごうせきぐん, Rengo Sekigun, 2008) was based on the "Asama-Sansō incident". Long and harsh, this movie includes a long documentary part about the political background that led to this tragedy and the self-destruction of the Japanese radical left.

While directing many successful and critically praised Pink Films, Wakamatsu also became known for giving young filmmakers their first experience in working in the industry. Among those whose early careers were helped by Wakamatsu are Banmei Takahashi, Genji Nakamura and Kan Mukai.[14]

His 2010 film, Caterpillar, competed for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival.[3]

In 2011, a new film on the last days of acclaimed novelist and political activist Yukio Mishima, focusing on the stream of events leading to the so-called Ichigaya incident of November 25, 1970, was announced as being on its stage of full completion. The film entitled 11.25 Jiketsu No Hi, Mishima Yukio To Wakamonotachi [11.25自決じけつの日ひ、三島みしま由紀夫ゆきおと若者わかものたち] features Japanese actor Arata as Mishima.[15] The film competed in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.[16][17]

Death

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Wakamatsu died on 17 October 2012 after being hit by a taxi cab in Tokyo on 12 October on his way home after a budget meeting to discuss his next project, a movie about the Japanese nuclear lobby and Tepco.[18][19][20][4]

Partial filmography

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English title Japanese Year
Sweet Trap 1963
Naked Shadow 恐おそるべき遺産いさん 裸はだかの影かげ 1964
Lead Tombstone 1964
Frenzy 1964
Secrets Behind the Wall 壁かべの中なかの秘事ひめごと 1965
The Embryo Hunts in Secret 胎児たいじが密猟みつりょうする時とき 1966
Vagabond of Sex 性せいの放浪ほうろう 1967
Violated Angels 犯おかされた白衣はくい 1967
New Underground History of Japanese Violence: Vengeance Demon 1968
Sensual Game 1969
Go, Go, Second Time Virgin ゆけゆけ二に度目どめの処女しょじょ 1969
Dark Story of a Japanese Rapist 日本にっぽん暴行ぼうこう暗黒あんこく史し 1969
Running In Madness, Dying In Love 1969
Naked Bullet 1969
Violence Without A Cause 1969
Violent Virgin 1969
Season of Terror 1969
Shinjuku Mad 1970
Sex Jack 性せい賊ぞく 1970
Sekigun PFLP: Declaration of World War 1971
Secret Flower 1971
Ecstasy of the Angels 天使てんしの恍惚こうこつ 1972
100 Years of Torture: The History 1975
Torture Chronicles Continue: 100 Years 1977
Sacred Mother Kannon 聖母せいぼ観音かんのん大だい菩薩ぼさつ 1977
Serial Rapist 1978
A Pool Without Water 1982
Ready to Shoot われに撃うつ用意よういあり 1990
Erotic Liaisons エロチックな関係かんけい 1992
Singapore Sling 1993
Endless Waltz エンドレス・ワルツ 1995
Perfect Education 6 完全かんぜんなる飼育しいく 赤あかい殺意さつい 2004
United Red Army 連合赤軍れんごうせきぐん 2008
Caterpillar キャタピラー 2010
11:25 The Day He Chose His Own Fate 11・25自決じけつの日ひ 三島みしま由紀夫ゆきおと若者わかものたち 2012
Petrel Hotel Blue 海燕うみつばめホテル・ブルー 2012
The Millennial Rapture 千せん年ねんの愉楽ゆらく 2012

References

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  1. ^ Desser, David (1988). Eros Plus Massacre: An Introduction to the Japanese New Wave Cinema. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. p. 99. ISBN 0-253-31961-7.
  2. ^ Sato, Tadao (1982). Currents in Japanese Cinema. Gregory Barret (trans.). Tokyo: Kodansha International Ltd. ISBN 0-87011-815-3.
  3. ^ a b "Hollywood Reporter: Berlin festival unveils full lineup". hollywoodreporter.com. Archived from the original on February 5, 2010. Retrieved 2010-02-07.
  4. ^ a b c Crispim, Pedro (2022). "Kōji Wakamatsu: Alienation and the Womb" (PDF). Disegno: Journal of Design and Culture. 1 (01): 49.
  5. ^ Macias, Patrick (2001). TokyoScope: The Japanese Cult Film Companion. San Francisco: Cadence Books. p. 176. ISBN 1-56931-681-3.
  6. ^ "IMDB.com: Awards for Secrets Behind the Wall". imdb.com. Retrieved 2010-02-21.
  7. ^ Desser, p.99.
  8. ^ Weisser, Thomas; Yuko Mihara Weisser (1998). Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films. Miami: Vital Books : Asian Cult Cinema Publications. p. 499. ISBN 1-889288-52-7.
  9. ^ Desser, p.100, 103.
  10. ^ Desser, p.100-101.
  11. ^ Cowie, Peter, ed. (1977). "Japan". World Filmography 1967. London: Tantivy Press. p. 404. ISBN 0-498-01565-3.
  12. ^ in an interview published in Sex Star System n°14 (1976)
  13. ^ Weisser, p.101, 288, 357.
  14. ^ Weisser, p.287.
  15. ^ "若松わかまつ孝二こうじ監督かんとく最新さいしん作さく 11.25自決じけつの日ひ 三島みしま由紀夫ゆきおと若者わかものたち". Wakamatsukoji.org. Archived from the original on 2012-04-26. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
  16. ^ "2012 Official Selection". Cannes. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
  17. ^ "11.25 The Day He Chose His Own Fate". Nippon Cinema. Archived from the original on 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
  18. ^ "Koji Wakamatsu, Self-Taught Movie Director, Dies at 76". The New York Times. 20 October 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  19. ^ 映画えいが監督かんとく:重傷じゅうしょうの若松わかまつ孝二こうじさん死去しきょ　タクシーにはねられ (in Japanese) Archived 2012-10-19 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ Wakamatsu e l’Impero senza veli

Sources

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