Category Archives: Books

Learning by Drinking: Introduction

by

(See here for a synopsis of this book.)

You feel so incredibly sick and hungover that you can’t even get up.

I would venture to guess that quite a few of the people reading this book have experienced the aforementioned feeling before. If only you hadn’t gone to that second or third bar last night; no, if only you’d just passed on that last drink.

But lying in bed regretting such matters isn’t going to solve anything.

Just as it is apparently important for a company employee to remain at work even when they’re doing absolutely nothing, I have similarly been told by many people older and wiser than me how, come hell or high water, company employees must always strive to make their way to the office, no matter what.

I must say, though, that it has always been a mystery to me how a human being who literally has to crawl their way to the toilet could possibly make it to the office of all places.

Continue reading →

Nakadai Tatsuya on the Golden Age of Japanese Film: Conclusion

by

Conclusion

The decline of film, the rise of television, and the transition to an internet society—the world has seen a tremendous amount of change in the past half century or so. While the Golden Age of Japanese Film has long since passed, many of the works from that time have found their way onto formats like VHS and DVD, still surviving today. “Revival houses” and similar movie theaters are still going strong, featuring unique films in their showings, and you can easily find plenty of video rental stores in town.

I admit, I do miss the big screen of times past, and so I like to go to the movies to see those works whenever I can. But regardless of whether or not it’s a film that I myself appeared in, whenever I’m watching those old movies, the thing I find the most moving is the realization of how so many of those actors have passed away. I often find myself counting them on my fingers. “Ah, that actor just passed last month…” “Oh, he’s not here anymore either…”

Continue reading →

Nakadai Tatsuya on the Golden Age of Japanese Film: Extras ②

by

On the Set of “A Duel Tale”

Text: Kasuga Taichi

“I previously did an NHK period drama called Seizaemon Zanji Tsuroku, based on a Fujisawa Shuhei novel. I played a rather indifferent, retired samurai, and people seemed to like it very much. I feel like A Duel Tale is kind of a continuation on that theme, and reading the original work, it’s quite interesting indeed. It again depicts a rather negative set of circumstances.

There are disparities among samurai, and the rank of the samurai I’m playing is that of “heyazumi,” meaning that he’s now retired and living a quiet life at home where his family consider him a nuisance. It’s a very sad story, different from the typical kind of sword fighting period drama I’ve done in the past. I feel like it was a project fitting for my age.” —Nakadai

Continue reading →

Nakadai Tatsuya on the Golden Age of Japanese Film: Extras ①

by

Present-Day Nakadai Tatsuya

Nakadai Tatsuya, currently in his eighties, continues earnestly to appear in both theater and film productions as an active duty actor. In both arenas, he has always kept trying, through trial and error, to show audiences a “new side of Nakadai Tatsuya.”

Feeling it imperative to detail Nakadai’s activities in recent years, this segment of the book was compiled from interviews conducted both before and after appearances in some of his major recent works.

Continue reading →

Nakadai Tatsuya on the Golden Age of Japanese Film: Chapter Nine

by

Kobayashi Masaki and
The Fall of Japanese Film
“Samurai Rebellion,” “Kwaidan,” “Dunhuang”

It was director Kobayashi Masaki who selected Nakadai Tatsuya to play the leading role in the six-part The Human Condition, elevating him to immediate stardom. Having worked with numerous master directors throughout his career, Nakadai describes especially his partnership with Kobayashi as the “best match” for him. But while Kobayashi made full use of his mastery in the 1960s, there was a sudden decline in the number of works he produced in the 70s. He then made a mere two films in the 80s, and finally zero in the 90s. You could say it was as if this one director personified the shift from Japanese film’s golden age to its decline.

In this final chapter, Nakadai talks about changes in the world of Japanese cinema throughout director Kobayashi Masaki’s life as it was heading towards its fall.

Continue reading →