Question 3: Historical Developments During the Japanese New Wave- The Tokyo Drifter

Introduction

One of the films that match the historical period of the Japanese New Wave is the Tokyo Drifter (1966), directed by Seijun Suzuki. The film demonstrates multiple themes to show how various transformations in infrastructures and institutions in the 1960s affected the film industry. During this period, historical developments affected other film-related attributes such as exhibition, distribution, and production. The Tokyo drifter shows the impacts of such developments. Before the 1950s, the Japanese film industry featured independent companies run by socialist sympathies, primarily political messages. It was not in the interest of producers to have nonavant-garde films. However, in the 1960s, there was a transformation. Independent companies began venturing into films that were alienated from a major studio. They focused on films that expanded the scope of the Japanese film industry without specifying political ideologies. It is through these developments that the Japanese New Wave phase was born.[footnoteRef:1] The Tokyo Drifter film was one of the productions that formed part of this critical wave. This paper seeks to examine this historical period and use the Tokyo Drifter as the point of reference to demonstrate the mentioned factors. It was a phase characterized by multiple crises in the studios because of the growing changes. [1: Hiroshi Komatsu, The Modernization of Japanese Film, The Oxford History of World Cinema, 1999, 716.]

Analysis

During the Japanese New Wave in the 1960s, six well-established film companies provided infrastructure for film production. These were Daiei, Toei, Nikkatsu, Shin Toho, Toho and Shochiku. These were the institutions that made significant differences in how films were produced. What these companies provided in terms of quality of production and content influenced the creation of the Tokyo Drifter. While most of these companies became weaker with time regarding their production statuses, Shochiku and Nikkatsu embraced new and young talents that formed the basis of the Japanese New Wave of the 1960s.[footnoteRef:2] During this time, the Tokyo Drifter filmmaker Suzuki as leaving Nikkatsu to further his career. Nikkatsu had already begun integrating new film genres, unlike Shochiku, which was very conservative. What became evident is the professionalism in those companies shaped how future directors made their production, such as in the case of Suzuki and the film Tokyo Drifter. New technologies were also taking shape, particularly in the production of colored films.[footnoteRef:3] For Suzuki, this was a positive transformation in production. Independent companies also began constructive engagement with the Arts Theatre Guild (ATG), which introduced new elements in the film industry. For example, bringing foreign ideologies into the Japanese film industry. This meant that for the directors who had left the major companies, the New Wave, through this collaboration, was going to change the traditional narrative of film production. This meant that for Suzuki and the Tokyo Drifter, the New Wave would influence this production. ATG also aided in the realization of new talents in the television industry, which affected Japanese cinema.[footnoteRef:4] However, this was a short phase because ATG's role in film production ended in less than a decade. During this time, violence was not very common in films. It is important to note that one of the themes prevalent in the Tokyo Drifter is gangster life which encompasses violence.[footnoteRef:5] It implies that for Suzuki, this was a relatively new approach to the film industry. Young people became active players in the film industry using 16mm or 8 mm cameras and presented them to a different audience. Most of these productions were in black and white, owing to the technologies used during that period. Even in such contexts, Suzuki's approach to the film was far-sighted. However, it is essential to note that film production during the 60s and 70s did not appreciate hidden meanings, unlike the present age. Suzuki produced films that carried symbolic meaning, making it challenging for him to excel in such environments. The effect of films that carried the gangster genre only had a significant influence on young people. This was true for the Tokyo Drifter, where the gangster genre is highly felt.[footnoteRef:6] Suzuki was keen to utilize colors, hyperbolic sets, and other styles to improve the quality of acting. The existence of these new technologies influenced how the Toyo Drifter was constructed. The use of these production styles emanated from his previous engagement with major film production companies.[footnoteRef:7] This is evident in his confession, where he indicated that his partnership with traditional Kabuki prepared...…Tokyo Drift, Suzuki had to rely on the company's policies, which affected the nature of the film. [17: Antony Bitel, When Japanese Cinema Went Wild, Eye For Film, accessed October 29, 2021,.]

It is important to compare two influential decades in how Tokyo Drifter was produced and how it was received. In the 1960s, there was tremendous growth in film production and the size of the audience.[footnoteRef:18] It meant that this was an ideal time for the production of the Tokyo Drifter, which hit the scenes in 1966. Demand was growing, and it only meant one thing for Suzuki- an ideal time to maximize his potential as a producer. His firing by Nikkatsu for making incomprehensible films was instrumental in shaping his future career. The growing trend continued up to the early 1970s.[footnoteRef:19] During this new decade, there was a significant increase in television, leading to a significant decline in the cinema audience.[footnoteRef:20] Film companies tried multiple ways to counter this effect, such as using violent or sexual language. However, the results were not admirable. It was the opportune time for independent film producers to rise.[footnoteRef:21] For producers like Suzuki, who initially relied on big companies, these developments implied that the market was becoming huge, making his supposedly "weird" ideas possible to reach a larger audience. These changes implied that the distribution and exhibition of Tokyo Drifter would increase. [18: Film Series: Japanese Cinema 1960s, Asia Society, 2010, https://asiasociety.org/film-series-japanese-cinema-1960s.] [19: Lomax, The World Screen: Japan's Cinematic Reinvention and International Film Festivas, Journal of Film and Video 72, no. 1-2 (2020).] [20: Film Series: Japanese Cinema 1960s] [21: Jeffrey Hays, Modern Japanese Film Industry: Its Decline and Rebirth, Sony and Hollywood's Japanese Ghosts, Facts and Details, accessed October 28, 2021, ]

Conclusion

The analysis presented in this paper shows how different institutions and historical development in the Japanese film industry affected the production of the Tokyo Drifter. They demonstrate the challenges faced by filmmakers primarily when they depend on companies for approval. The essay shows that monopoly of these companies affected how the film was produced. The rise of new independent filmmakers shows how the Japanese witnessed a new approach to production. The growth of television across Japan demonstrates its influence in the distribution…