When filmmaker Mansaku Itami warned of the dangers of blind obedience in 1946, he could have had no way of knowing that Japan would be learning that same lesson nearly 70 years later.
When filmmaker Mansaku Itami warned of the dangers of blind obedience in 1946, he could have had no way of knowing that Japan would be learning that same lesson nearly 70 years later.
In his essay "Senso Sekininsha no Mondai" (The issue of those responsible for the war), published a month before his death in September 1946, Itami wrote that being deceived was a "crime."
His message--that Japanese deceived and were deceived by fellow countrymen during World War II, and were liable to repeat that mistake--is one that resonates for many in the aftermath of last year's nuclear disaster.
Eiichi Yoshimura, a freelance writer and editor, believes that Japanese were deceived by the myth of the safety of nuclear energy until the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant was crippled by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011.
Itami's essay was included in the anthology "Imadakara Yomitai Hon--3/11 go no Nihon" (Books to read in post-3/11 Japan) at the suggestion of Yoshimura. The work was compiled by musician and anti-nuclear activist Ryuichi Sakamoto and like-minded friends.
"Many people say they were deceived during the war," Itami wrote. "(But) being deceived is another crime, and it has long been considered nothing to boast of. … A people who do not hesitate to say they were deceived will probably be deceived over and over again. Well, they must have already begun to be deceived by a different lie."
Yet Yoshimura, 46, sees signs of change and hope for the future in the thousands of citizens who gather in front of the prime minister's office each Friday night to protest the government plans to restart nuclear reactors.
Standing among a crowd of protesters on the night of July 29 as they held candles and lights around the Diet building, Yoshimura said, "I will never forget what I witnessed tonight."
A native of Matsuyama, Ehime Prefecture, Itami made a name for himself through his social criticism and human screenplays, such as the script he wrote for "Muhomatsu no Issho" (The Life of Matsu the Untamed), a 1943 classic. His son, Juzo Itami, was also a film director, known for "Ososhiki" (The Funeral) and "Marusa no Onna" (A Taxing Woman).
Yasuko Nakano, 34, is curator of the Itami Juzo Museum in suburban Matsuyama, where she has displayed the full text of "Senso Sekininsha no Mondai" as part of an exhibition for the past two years.
Nakano is from Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, one of the prefectures devastated by the earthquake and tsunami, and says that compared with her hometown, the memories of the triple disasters are beginning to fade on the island of Shikoku, where Matsuyama is located.
She hopes that Mansaku's message will encourage people to confront the problems Japanese society faces, particularly the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
Mansaku's words also continue to inspire Minoru Hatano, 82, a retired teacher who mentors drama club members at the Matsuyama Shinonome Junior and Senior High School.
In 1945, Hatano joined the Imperial Japanese Navy's air corps at age 15, believing the romanticized stories of soldiers dying honorable deaths in battle.
The war ended before he flew, and Hatano, who had been determined to die for the nation, was sent searching for what he should live for. In his despair, he even tried to kill himself.
Hatano, who developed a passion for theater while at a teachers college, read "Senso Sekininsha no Mondai" during the 1960s after he became a teacher.
Recalling his postwar agonies, Hatano feels it is his mission to nurture children of greater sensitivity through education and drama so that they do not mindlessly accept what they are told, as he and many of his contemporaries had.