More "Yasukuni" - Censorship is Alive and Well in Japan

No Tokyo theater to show 'Yasukuni' documentary

Three more cinemas in Tokyo and one in Osaka have decided against screening a contentious documentary film by Chinese director Li Ying on the war-related Yasukuni Shrine scheduled for release in mid-April, officials of the cinemas said Monday...

The 123-minute documentary won a best-documentary award at the 32nd Hong Kong International Film Festival. It was also shown at international film festivals in South Korea, Germany and the United States.

Read the story at Japan Today
http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment/view/tokyo-cinemas-decide-against-screening-yasukuni-documentary

If only this was an April Fool's joke...

See previous VAOJ posts about the film here.

UPDATE

You will notice that the headline and story at Japan Times have changed at the link above. The new headline is:

Tokyo theaters under fire for deciding not to show 'Yasukuni' documentary

Culture minister Kisaburo Tokai on Tuesday expressed regret over the recent moves by some cinemas to decide against screening a contentious documentary on the war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo set for release in mid-April...

he Mass Media Information and Culture Union issued a protest statement Tuesday, saying, ‘‘This is an unusual situation in which political pressure and hindrance by right-wing groups is about to thwart film screenings and a movie is about to be crushed. It’s absolutely unforgivable.’’

‘‘The Japanese film industry is faced with a humiliating situation which underlines Japanese society’s abnormality,’’ it said.

Issuing a separate statement Tuesday, the federation of cinema and theatrical workers’ unions urged movie companies and theaters to secure screening opportunities...

The Directors Guild of Japan expressed apprehension about the possibility that freedom of expression may be compromised following Monday’s development and issued a strong protest against some lawmakers’ action of calling for a preview of the film, saying it may be ‘‘anti-Japanese.’’

Cinemas in Sapporo, Nagoya, Hiroshima and Fukuoka are still scheduled to screen the film, according to Argo Pictures, one of the distributors.

It's encouraging to see this kind of reaction. It would be nice if it resulted in more theaters showing the film.

"Yasukuni" Opens Under Heavy Security...

So the film finally opened to the general public in Tokyo with police officers inside and outside the theater. Read the whole story at Japan Today.

Link to "Yasukuni" opens...
http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment/view/yasukuni-opens-under-heavy-security-gets-mixed-reaction

The film will be shown in Osaka from Saturday, May 10 at the Dai Nana Geijutsu Gekijyo in Juso (tel: 06-6302-2073).

UPDATE (Yes, yet another one...) 5/5/08

Two Yasukuni-related stories appeared in today's Daily Yomiuri. The first is similar to the stories that ran yesterday.

Link to Public Interest in "Yasukuni" High
http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/20080505TDY03105.htm

The second story I will cut and paste here in its entirety as it relates to our on-going discussion of photographing in public and getting people's permission to do so. Let's see how this develops...

Shrine wants 'uncleared' scenes cut; director says no

The Yomiuri Shimbun (May. 5, 2008)

Yasukuni Shrine has asked the maker of the documentary "Yasukuni" to cut scenes from the film that they say contain "unauthorized" footage, but the filmmaker is not planning to comply with the request.

In a letter dated April 11, the shrine asked director Li Ying to cut the scene of a ritual at the shrine, saying he was not permitted to film it.

The shrine also asked him to cut scenes showing close-ups of shrine personnel and visitors for which it said the filmmaker had not obtained permission from these people to shoot their images.

According to the shrine, the documentary's production company, Dragon Films, made three requests for permission to shoot footage of the shrine, but on none of these occasions did it specify that the footage was intended for a documentary to be called "Yasukuni."

Kazuo Hizumi, lawyer for Li and Dragon Films, said: "When you see news and other footage of the shrine, it's hard to believe that every single person seen in it has been asked for permission. It's a place that attracts many people and a lot of attention, and I believe members of the public seen there are usually taking images of it, too."

How specific does one have to be when getting permission to shoot a documentary? In early phases of research and shooting, I believe it is quite rare to know the title of one's film and what form the final edited cut will take. On the other hand, can the subject request that parts be deleted after the final cut if they change their minds? For visual anthropologists this is a legal and an ethical question.

*****

Yes, I know it's been a while since I promised to post a set of guidelines for students of visual anthropology to consider when photographing in public. I have not forgot. I have a stack of related books and articles that I have been reading and taking note of on my desk. Unfortunately I also have stacks of papers to grade and lectures to prepare on my desk as well... Someday all will get done...

New Documentary: "Yasukuni"

A new documentary film by Li Ying about Yasukuni Shrine has been shown at the Pusan International Film Festival. Japan's war dead from 1868 to the present are enshrined at Yasukuni. This includes so-called war criminals from World War II. Yasukuni is seen as a hotbed for right-wing nationalist politics. Japanese politicians and government officials (including former prime ministers) sometimes visit the shrine which angers and offends many people in Japan and abroad.


These pictures were taken at Yasukuni in the autumn of 2005. Right-wing "black trucks" meet and gather before being dispatched to various areas of Tokyo to blast propaganda and nationalistic music at incredibly loud volumes.


Click on the link below for some background information on Yasukuni Shrine, Enshrinement Politics: War Dead and War Criminals at Yasukuni Shrine by Akiko Takenaka which recently appeared in Japan Focus.

Link to Enshrinement Politics
http://japanfocus.org/products/details/2443


There is most certainly a military feel to Yasukuni. Welcoming guests from the main entrance is a statue of Omura Masujiro, who was the Vice Minister for Military Affairs after the Meiji Restoration and widely seen as the creator of the Imperial Japanese Army.


There is a museum, Yushukan, attached to the shrine that has an interesting and biased view of history that seems to justify Japanese colonization and imperialism. I certainly recommend a visit to Yasukuni and the museum as an exercise in visual anthropology to see the power of photography in terms of imposing a certain interpretation of reality.

The new film promises to be interesting and controversial. It is scheduled to begin limited showings in Japan early next year. For more information on the film, check out the link below.

Link to review on the Hollywood Reporter website
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/awards_festivals/fest_reviews/article_display.jsp?&rid=9966

The film has generated some discussion on Japan Today.

Link to discussion on Japan Today
http://www.japantoday.com/jp/quote/2336


"Shichi-go-san" is also celebrated at Yasukuni Shrine. This is an important Shinto life cycle ritual for Japanese children where thanks and prayers are offered for children's health and happiness.


After the ritual, a little girl dressed in kimono plays with a canon. I really wonder why parents would choose Yasukuni for shichi-go-san... Anyway, I am looking forward to the film.

Yasukuni, NHK and Documentary Styles

Philip Brasor contributes to the ongoing dialogue about "Yasukuni" in his recent contribution to Japan Focus. He discusses various documentary styles (like we have been doing in class) and their repercussions.

Yasukuni Film and NHK’s Declaration to Promote National Interests. Government Funding, Free Expression and Propaganda in Japan

Here are Brasor's final two paragraphs:

Mori's idea is what connects Komori Shigetaka to Inada Tomomi. Neither of these authority figures trusts viewers to make up their own minds about the information they receive. Komori believes that overseas viewers of NHK World broadcasts will not form a correct idea of Japan's interests unless those interests are conveyed exclusively; while Inada thinks that anyone who sees "Yasukuni" will come away from it hating Japan.

Both of these positions are inherently patronizing, which brings to mind a comment a Japanese friend made after seeing "Yasukuni." She said that all the local reports about the movie stress that it has no narration. Japanese people have been raised on NHK-produced documentaries, which could be described as over-narrated: the visuals and dialogue are reinforced with redundant voiceover that, in some cases, is added for the visually impaired but whose content and tone nevertheless implicitly tell viewers how to process what they're taking in. A 74-year-old man who attended a public preview of "Yasukuni" in Tokyo told the Japan Times that he was bothered by the film because its "message...is not clear." The trouble many Japanese will have with the documentary is not that it brings up difficult issues, but that it doesn't tell them how they're supposed to feel about them.

Link to Brasor's article in Japan Focus:
http://japanfocus.org/products/details/2728

Still More "Yasukuni" Controversy...

Yes, controversy surrounding the documentary film, which has yet to be seen in public in Japan, continues. The following article appears in Japan Today today.

"Yasukuni" director slams lawmaker for intervention after swordsmith wants his scenes deleted

Link to story at Japan Times:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment/view/yasukuni-director-slams-lawmaker-for-intervention-after-swordsmith-wants-his-scenes-deleted

Japan Focus has an article with an introduction by David McNeill giving some background and context of the Yasukuni controversy, follwed by an interview of the film's director, Li Ying, by John Junkerman.

Freedom Next Time. Japanese Neonationalists Seek to Silence Yasukuni Film

Link to article at Japan Focus:
http://japanfocus.org/products/details/2712

Politically, of course, the Yasukuni controversy, along with other current events, illustrates serious problems in Japanese society. From the McNeill introduction:

“My sense is that we have entered a very dangerous period for freedom of expression and press freedom in this country,” says Tajima Yasuhiko, a professor of journalism in Tokyo’s Sophia University. “That is the background to these cases. The idea that people are entitled to express different opinions and views is withering. That should be common sense, whether one is on the left or the right.”

There is also a recent article in Japan Today by Tetsuro Koyama about Haruki Murakami and his ideas and experiences with the writing of his non-fiction book, Underground. Underground deals with the Aum Shinrikyo sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway in 1995.

"Why did those people (members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult who carried out the attack) go over to that side? We should fully probe that. It’s not good to put an end to it by simply sentencing them to die."

Murakami was frequently in courtrooms to hear the Aum trials and saw Aum members who had merely obeyed cult leader Shoko Asahara’s order to spray sarin. Through this experience, he "seriously thought about" World War II, he said. "During the war, no one could say ‘No’ to senior officers’ orders to kill prisoners of war. The Japanese did such things in the war. I think the Japanese have yet to undertake soul-searching."

Murakami discusses the importance of story telling in the area of such soul searching. Li Ying would probably agree with this idea as he sees his film as a story whose aim is to explore the events and ideas surrounding Yasukuni Shrine as a symbol of Japanese culture.

Link to "Murakami sees storytelling as global common language" at Japan Today:
http://www.japantoday.com/category/book-reviews/view/murakami-sees-storytelling-as-global-common-language

From a visual anthropological perspective, this latest Yasukuni controversy brings up interesting ethical questions. I assume that the filmmaker had the sword maker sign a consent form. But now what if the sword maker does not want to appear in the film? Can he change his mind? Should Li Ying remove those scenes featuring the sword maker? What is the filmmaker's responsibility to the subjects featured in his film? Ethically anthropologists are supposed to protect those who help us in our research. Some might suggest that Li Ying should have anticipated that the film would make life difficult for the sword maker. Li Ying is not an anthropologist, of course, but should he have similar responsibilities?

There are no easy answers. How do we balance freedom of speech/freedom of expression with protecting real human beings?

UPDATE:

An article in the Mainichi Daily News provides a different perspective about the sword maker's objection to the film.

Link to Sword maker asks his scenes to be deleted...
http://mdn.mainichi.jp/national/news/20080411p2a00m0et017000c.html

It would certainly be more problematic is Li lied to the sword maker about the nature of the film and broke his promise about editing a new version.

Yasukuni keeps getting messier and messier...

Another "Yasukuni" Update

VAOJ readers have been following the story about the controversial documentary film "Yasukuni" directed by Li Ying. Now it turns out a movie theater in Tokyo has decided against showing the film for fear of inconveniencing its neighbors.

According to the theater spokesperson, "The film is talked about so much that it may create trouble and we don't want to cause inconvenience to building tenants."

Read more about the story at Japan Today.

Link to "Tokyo cinema decides against screening 'Yasukuni' documentary"
http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/431475

Also in the news today is a story about a teachers' union suing a hotel for canceling a reservation and contract for a venue for their meeting. The hotel canceled because it feared actions against the union from right wing extremist groups. Read more...

Link to Teachers union chief criticizes Prince Hotel for not letting them hold meeting
http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/431431

What is going on here? Businesses are deciding not to let people see controversial films and teachers hold union meetings. Are the lines being drawn? Business to the right? All to avoid inconvenience? Again, what is going on? Big black trucks blast loud music and propaganda not so the people can hear it but to drown out other voices. VAOJ is certainly not hiding its biases, but the major issue here is an unwillingness for dialogue and discussion. And of course visual anthropologists want to see the film... Hopefully coming to a theater near you (Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka) on April 12. Please check your local listing. Or ask a teacher...

Update to the Update (March 26, 2008): Read more about one of the film's producers, Ai Wan, in Japan Today: http://www.japantoday.com/category/entertainment-arts/view/from-china-doll-to-yasukuni-shrine

Update: Documentary Film "Yasukuni"

(Movie poster; image borrowed from China.org.cn)

There is a lot of buzz about the documentary film, Yasukuni, that I wrote about last October. Apparently the filmmaker received some sort of Japanese government subsidy to make the film. With this as a possible excuse, some Japanese lawmakers got a special sneak preview of the film to judge its tone and make sure it is not overly anti-Japanese. Read more in the story reported in today's Japan Today.

Link to story in Japan Today
http://www.japantoday.com/jp/news/430857

Also, apparently the filmmakers have been threatened by Japanese right wing groups.

Link to story at Yahoo News
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080220/film_nm/japan_dc_1#

A synopsis of the film can be found at the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival webpage.

Link to Yasukuni
http://filmguide.festival.asianamericanmedia.org/tixSYS/2008/filmguide/eventnote.php?EventNumber=1124¬epg=1

Many blogs have been reporting on this subject as well. Here is an interesting post from Tokyomango.

Link to "Yasukuni: A Documentary Explores the Ethics of War Memory" at Tokyomango
http://www.tokyomango.com/tokyo_mango/2008/03/post.html

The film is scheduled to be released in Japan in April.

"Yasukuni" Shown in Osaka

Documentary "YASUKUNI" screened at Osaka theater
(Kyodo News, May 10, 2008, 10:29 AM)

A movie theater in central Osaka began screening the controversial documentary film "YASUKUNI" on Saturday, becoming the first theater to do so in the Kansai area of western Japan.

The Seventh Art Theater in Yodogawa Ward will run the film by Chinese Director Li Ying till June 6. Depending on viewer turnout, the showing will be extended, it said.

Preliminary Report:

I was among the first people in Osaka to see Yasukuni this morning. It was my intention to get there well before the first 9:30 AM showing to see/photograph any trouble that might have been brewing near or inside the theater. I thought I might be lucky enough to get a ticket for the second screening at 11:55 AM or maybe even tomorrow.

When I arrived the only brewing trouble seemed to be coming from the media and its traveling circus outside the theater. I started taking some pictures when a theater staff member asked if I was there to see the film. I replied yes and was told to proceed on the other side of a rope. As I entered the customer line, the media swooped down on the foreigner.

No asking of permission, no acceptance of my claimed language difficulties, boom! I had two TV cameras shoved in my face and was being asked why I was there to see the movie. I replied that I was interested in Japanese politics. Why? I was asked. The questions got longer and longer and I felt as if they were attempting to put words into my mouth. Finally I politely said I was done. I turned around and there were more reporters and cameras aimed at my face, looking to get their shot. So I started taking pictures of them.

Disappointed reporters and cameramen turn away from the visual anthropologist.

I was ushered into an elevator and up to the 6th floor. I was asked not to take photographs. It seemed that I had three choices of tickets for the day: 1) a standing room only ticket for the 9:30 show, 2) a ticket for a special hall set up on the fourth floor for the 9:30 show, or 3) a ticket for the 11:55 show. I chose number 2.

The main theater on the 6th floor had about 130 viewers I was told. On the 4th floor in a large hall belonging to a Chinese restaurant a special screen and speakers were set up. About 100 people viewed the film there.

This photo is of the hall on the 4th floor set up to accommodate excess viewers. A few people were taking photographs so I quickly snapped this one. The hall quickly filled up before the film began.

There were many staff people ushering customers here and there. There weren't any uniformed police but there were some plain clothed security guards. Two sat in the rear of the hall; they were older men with scars and quite frankly, scary-looking. Before the film began, two more security guards came in and sat on each side in the front of the hall. They had earphones in their ears and handguns under their jackets.

The atmosphere was odd and tense. I felt as if I were at some illegal gathering... Many people seemed to come by themselves. There wasn't a whole lot of interaction between the members of the audience except for a group of older people who sat in the front of the hall. They all seemed to know each other; eventually one woman started passing out flyers for a "Viva! Cuba X Japan Fiesta" on May 20. The woman made a special effort to make sure I got a flyer. I was truly among a hotbed of radical Japanese.

After the film I was able to buy a film program/study guide (700 yen) and talk with theater staff members a bit. I waited my turn to take the elevator and was once again greeted by the media.

I was still processing the film in my mind, so when the microphone was jammed in my face again I said, "No comment..." More disappointed media. But other Japanese people were there to give their comments. I felt this was more appropriate anyway. This is a Japanese issue; why was the media swooping down on a foreigner to get his opinion?

So what is my opinion of the film? I will offer a few brief comments.

Overall, I felt as though I really didn't learn anything new from the film. The film portrayed, often times in a jerky and blurry video style, radical right wing activities at Yasukuni, but these were public events that seemed to demand an audience and documentation. They were intended to be public events, so I don't see how real nationalists would have a problem with these scenes. Perhaps some right leaning politicians might feel like they would want to hide such activities to an international audience...

In one scene, war veterans paraded into the shrine and prayed. The movie poster (seen below along with the movie program and my ticket stubs) highlights one of these public events.

What is odd about the movie poster is the position of the man's arms. What is the meaning of this man's gesture?

Actually, the gesture is captured/photographed at the wrong moment. The man holds his hands apart before bringing them together for a Shinto prayer-clap. The photo should have been of the prayer/clap itself. The hands outstretched taken out of context is suggesting some other meaning.

Li Ying focuses on a sword maker and much of the footage of the sword being made is quite beautiful. I suppose it is a juxtaposition of a beautiful art resulting in a deadly weapon. Li Ying at times seems a little aggressive when interviewing the sword maker. At times the sword maker seems to not know the answer, or perhaps not want to answer, some more politically motivated questions.

Overall, the film is interesting and might be educational to people who don't know much about the issues surrounding Yasukuni shrine. But one has to wonder if such people would come out to see this film anyway. All of the sensational protests and media coverage gave the film much more attention that it would have otherwise gleaned. A colleague has recorded and given me several clips of news coverage of the film and the screenings in Tokyo and Osaka. They all tend to show the more violent scenes from the film. This is yet another example of the media over-blowing an issue; but it also serves to give Li Ying free advertising for his film.

Does the film deserve all the controversy it has received? In the end, probably not. But the film certainly deserved to be made, and it deserves to be seen. Do check it out and offer your opinions here at VAOJ. What do you think of the film? How does the film serve to help us in out understanding of the visual anthropology of Japan?

(Special thanks to JH. Preliminary report written 5/10; additional text and photos added on 5/12.)

...and more Yasukuni articles trickle in.

Yasukuni: The Stage for Memory and Oblivion. A Dialogue between Li Ying and Sai Yoichi
Translated by John Junkerman, this discussion between "foreign" filmmakers in Japan appears in the latest edition of Japan Focus.

Link to "Dialogue"
http://japanfocus.org/products/details/2750

Yasukuni Update

(Korean version of the movie poster; image borrowed from Japan Focus.)

It's been a while since I have posted on Li Ying's controversial film, Yasukuni. A nice update of events by John Junkerman (Li Ying’s “Yasukuni”: The Controversy Continues) can be found at Japan Focus.

Junkerman begins his text: On March 5, 2009, the first hearing in a civil suit against Chinese film director Li Ying was held in the Tokyo District Court. It was, ironically, twenty years to the day since Li first took up residence in Japan, and a year after his documentary, “Yasukuni,” became the center of a political maelstrom when all five theaters scheduled to premiere the film suddenly cancelled their screenings.

The cancellations were prompted by threats from right-wing nationalists to disrupt the screenings, coupled with harsh criticism of the political slant of the film by conservative members of the Japanese Diet... Dozens of civil liberty and media organizations responded with statements condemning what was seen as political censorship, and theaters across the country stepped up with offers to screen the film.

“Yasukuni” will have its US premiere at the Film Forum in New York on August 12, and it will open at more than a dozen theaters in South Korea on August 6.

Also of interest for visual anthropologists dealing with privacy issues is discussion of one of the current lawsuits againt Li.:

The suit against Li came as something of a surprise, given that the film’s theatrical run had ended and the DVD had already been on the market for some four months. The plaintiff is Kuroiwa Toru, a man who appears in a short, 90-second scene early in the 123-minute film. He is claiming violation of his right to privacy.

Kuroiwa was filmed having a casual conversation with two other men on the grounds of Yasukuni Shrine on August 15, during the annual commemoration of the end of the Pacific War that is the centerpiece of Li’s film. He claims that he was unaware that he was being filmed and has suggested that Li used a hidden camera. (Li counters that he used a large, quite visible video camera and filmed from only several feet away.)

Kuroiwa described his motivation for filing the suit in a public declaration in February: “I absolutely cannot condone grave acts of aggression against the honor of Yasukuni Shrine and the heroic spirits of the dead, and by extension against the dignity of our country.” He goes on to declare his determination to fight in court against “this film’s Chinese director who brazenly commits this kind of uncivilized violence.”

Read the whole article:
http://japanfocus.org/-John-Junkerman/3198

The Region 2 (Japan, Europe) version of the film is available on DVD; I haven't been able to clarify if English subtitles are included.

(Pre-)Earth Day Activities in Nagoya

This weekend, Earth Day was celebrated in a variety of areas, including locations in Japan. Earth Day, which technically is April 22, celebrates the beginning of the modern environmental movement. The first Earth Day took place in the United States in 1970 amid much political turmoil and pollution that was almost taken for granted as a sign of prosperity.

On April 22 [1970], 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment... Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values. (from Earth Day Network "History" web page)

Earth Day is now an international event celebrated widely around the world. You can read more about Earth Day at the Earth Day Network Web site.

Link to Earth Day Network:
http://ww2.earthday.net/

To be honest, I don't really remember celebrating Earth Day when I lived in America. I do remember friends celebrating a similar occasion on April 20. I have found Japan to be especially socially and environmentally conscious; I beleive this is evident by the increasing number of Japanese people involved in NGOs and NPOs. Here are some pictures of Earth Day as celebrated in Nagoya's Hisayaodori-koen near the Sakae area. How is Earth Day celebrated in your part of the world?

There were a variety of performances. Here, little school children advise the audience via song and dance how to properly recycle and use environmentally damaging appliances.

Other children dressed as "recycling power rangers" - each grappled with a different piece of refuse and taught us how to prepare and stick the item in the correct bin.

There was a variety of international foods available as well as various art activities. Here, people enjoy themselves against the backdrop of the famous Nagoya TV Tower.

There were lots of crafts, healthy food and environmentally friendly product booths; it reminded me of hippies in San Francisco...

On the other hand, there was a booth sponsored by JT (Japan Tobacco) that was encouraging people to purchase the new TASPO card. The TASPO card is an age-verification ID card that lets the over-age-20 user purchase cigarettes from vending machines. The card has proven to be somewhat unpopular and so driver's licenses will also be allowed to be used by people to buy tobacco in vending machines. Should JT really be at an Earth Day celebration?

Many have commented about the lack of trash cans in public in Japan. Here is a rarity, three in a row. But they are closed for Earth Day. Caption taped across the trash can reads: "Today is Earth Day. Let's bring our garbage home!"

There was also a young woman, sponsored by JT, handing out trash bags and tongs, encouraging people to pick up litter. Here she is approaching a young woman while a group of older women enthusiastically look for trash among the foilage.

A nearby man takes advantage of the public art in the park for a nap. His pillow is a bag of aluminum cans.

Near the park, but as a separate event, members of a local political activism group try to garner support for world peace, continuation of the Japanese Constitution's Article Nine and allowing the controversial documentary Film, Yasukuni, to be shown freely in Japanese theaters.

Happy Earth Day! And for my Deaf friends, Happy Eyeth Day. Please do whatever you can to make the world a better place for all people. Peace.

Ethics of Visual Anthropology in Japan - Part Four

Photographing in Public in Japan: What Professional Photographers Have To Say

More monster text...

I contacted several photographers and photojournalists via e-mail and asked them questions about photographing in public in Japan. I received responses from 6 individuals. All are foreigners who have been working in photography for at least several years. One of the photographers reproduced my questions in his own blog and received more comments; I reproduce comments from 4 people in his blog here.

I am grateful to those who took the time and energy to answer my questions. There are some very interesting answers below that are helpful in my goal of establishing a set of guidelines for students of Visual Anthropology of Japan to follow when doing their research. I would have liked to receive responses from Japanese photographers; hopefully I will in the future. I present my questions followed by the answers I received. All respondents remain anonymous. I do not supply any of my own comments or analysis yet. My next move is a draft of guidelines for my students based on all the recent monster blog posts where I have dumped various data to be digested and pondered. After my students are set and working on their assignment I will continue with this project with the hopes of gaining more data and ultimately publishing a polished version in an anthropological journal. I am sharing my raw data here in the spirit of collaboration as all of the photographers who responded seemed very interested in this project and requested further information.

In addition, here are two additional sources that are valuable for this dialogue. The first is a web page with advice on how to conduct street photography.

Link to pinkheadedbug.com - Techniques:
http://www.johnbrownlow.com/phb/techniques/shynessone.html

The second is a YouTube video about American street photographer Bruce Gilden.



I will comment here while I enjoy Gilden's approach (although I wonder how he can get away with it, even in America...), such a technique would probably not go over so well here in Japan...

OK, so here is the Q&A with photographers currently working in Japan:

1) How do you go about taking photographs in public?

A-さん: The organization to ask is the 日本新聞協会 (Nihon Shinbun Kyoukai; The Japan Newspaper Publishers and Editors Association). I went to their office in Hibiya and a one of their staff very patiently explained the rules to me. They are also printed in a handbook published by the organization called 取材と報道.

B-さん: So far I have just been shooting anything and anybody without worrying about anything.

C-さん: Generally, photographing in public spaces with a tripod often needs a　permit (that depends from area to area), without a tripod is easy. If you use images of several people in the frame for non commercial like art or journalistic purpose, internationally this is fine without permission, but if these photographs ever show up in an advertising, you MUST have a written consent. And if you do portraits etc, asking is generally better. If you shoot a religious or cultural event, it is better to get a permission, too.

D-さん: As a general motto it is of utmost importance to be open and frank about what you do and then assess the reaction of people towards your taking photos of them. That will determine whether to go ahead with the shot or just move on to the next opportunity. We never compensate monetarily and when publishing (on the web) we never blur the face or similar. I have lately observed blurred number plates of cars as well in published photos, but I am unaware of the motivations behind it. I have no hard info on the legalities, but given the strong history of photography in public in Japan and the many exhibitions of photographers featuring strangers there does not seem to be any reason to be overly concerned, although as always the consultation of a lawyer may be advisable.

E-さん: As a photographer the anthropological aspect to what we are doing is never far from my mind. We notice the differences and similarities of the people and cultures we photograph, that is our job. The golden rule is also ALWAYS research. You can get much better pictures if you understand and respect, or even not in some cases, the people you wish to have in your images.

I try to blend in, to be unnoticed if possible. Sometimes though getting noticed in important for eye contact to fix an image in the viewers eye. Japanese people, I have noticed, have an understanding of the needs of many of the Japanese cameramen, particularly the retired enthusiasts with professional aesthetics that shoot everything, everywhere. Indeed at times they seem to be almost invisible to their subjects which is somewhat gall inducing when I try, without success, to do that. The annoying peace sign is the flip side of that knowledge and is mostly to me a wasted shot though it can have ironic impact like a nationalist burning a Chinese flag at Yasukuni flipping the peace sign as happened to me last year. It is harder to get the people to act down but be aware of you sometimes so I just hang around longer until they get used to you. Other times I just shoot from the hip and move on quickly.

F-さん: I just go out, walk about, and shoot that which interests me, which is usually people. I don't have any method, other than travel light in terms of cameras carried, small discreet camera is preferable. I walk and I shoot at random when something perks my interest. I'll criss-cross streets, back and forth, up and down, follow the action, or just loiter in somewhere where there are groups of people, or it looks like there might be pictures to be had. If you were to plot my movements you would concur that you were following a mad man.

2) Do you get permission from the people you photograph in public? How? Oral permission? Written permission?

A-さん: For photojournalists the rule tends to be "shoot first, ask permission later". Generally speaking, I only ask permission if people have noticed I am there.

B-さん: Usually I don't. Most people I shoot from a distance so they are not aware that I took their picture. When you ask people if you can take their pictures, they always start posing and put the peace sign up - totally useless images are the result. If you want to catch life on the streets you have to do it without the people knowing. Occasionally, I might ask somebody to take a series of pictures so then of course, the subject is posing and that shows in the images.

C-さん: That depends. If you need candid street shots, I don' t ask for permission. Otherwise, a simple smile for approval is fine. For a photo of posing people, a written model release is best.

E-さん: Sometimes I ask if it is okay to take their picture. I use the very polite keigo version for older people or right-wingers. Sometimes I need to isolate a person or people from a crowd as the shot is too messy or move them into a specific position that they had been before or someone else had been before and would have made a great shot if less busy. In that case I am quite business like and tell them my motivation and my intent. Since digital it has been easier to show people what you just did too and they trust you more when they can see you are not intent on exploiting them. I have rarely used model releases but if a shot will be used in advertising I do. The main journalistic rule however is shoot first apologise or seek permission after (if they notice) that is.

F-さん: No, I don't. I work on the premise that it is ok to shoot until told not to. I shoot and don't ask permission (usually, there are of course sometimes exceptions). Generally I shoot and don't ask permission. If someone deliberately moves away, or turns their back, or tells me not to shoot then I generally abide by that and don't shoot. Of course there are always exceptions, sometimes I will ask, but usually that would be if I was shooting more of a considered portrait as opposed to a fleeting moment, where if I was to ask permission the moment would be gone. (Oral permission?) Yes, if I ask people. (Written permission?) I don't think I've ever done that.

H-さん: I am a photo-journalist and also shoot for my sites. As a photo-journalist I never ask permission as my images are published as news stories in newspapers and magazines, mostly abroad. But for photos that go on my site... I have each person that I shoot sign a Japanese language release of rights. It is a lot of extra work, but it helps as the people in the images know exactly how the images will be used.

3) What do you know about the laws and regulations in this matter, especially dealing with privacy laws and portrait rights in Japan?

A-さん: You need to ask the Shimbun Kyoukai about this. As I understand it, there are no restrictions on taking photos in public places in Japan. But if the picture is published and you have infringed someone's right to privacy, they can sue you and have a good chance of winning. The example I was given was taking a picture of Shibuya crossing, publishing it in a Japanese magazine, and then being sued because a couple in the photo were having an affair. If you harmed their marriages by infringing their right to privacy you can lose in court. That's very different to say the UK where pretty much anyone is fair game as long as they are in a public place.

The Shimbun Kyoukai did tell me though that no foreign journalist has been sued in this situation. It's probably because if the picture is published outside Japan its less of an infringement of privacy.

B-さん: To be honest, nothing at all. I didn't even know there were such laws. Portrait rights?? Must be something new. Never heard about it before.

C-さん: I do not know much here. But, as Japanese generally are photo crazy themselves, photographing people here never has been a problem. Social documentary type of photography, like homeless people etc, there I always ask out of respect.

E-さん: As far as I understand there is no right to privacy in Japan if you are not a celebrity. Portrait rights are only to protect the product of a talento though there seems to be some call for these rights to be extended. I know that if an image is published in Japan and causes someone harm by exposing a secret that they could realistically hoped to have kept the photographer can lose badly in the courts. This doesn’t affect images published overseas though so am not too worried. The internet is another issue here as it is global but the English language barrier should stop any images accidently causing problems even in Japan.

F-さん: In the UK from where I come , I know the rules (although post 9-11 terrorism incidents these rules are becoming harder to work by and live with/ be protected by). In Japan I'm not so sure of the exact rules regarding privacy/portrait rights, but I work to the same rules as I would in UK. If I'm in the street then I'm on public property and everything is fair game. If I'm within private property, on the grounds of a company, in a building, bar/ hotel etc then obviously the rules are different, you should have permission, but this isn't to say I don't still shoot without asking- but legally if I was later challenged I'd be on thin ice. As for portrait rights, I wouldn't do a picture and then be able to use it in advertising or to generate money through adding it to promote a product etc, without having rights granted. I can understand that but it isn't something which usually I have to worry about. I do of course take portraits of celebrities through my newspaper work, and then I will resell those images, but only in an editorial sense, not to use in advertising in anyway.

G-さん: There is a law – I’ve been assured by Japanese nationals - requiring faces to be obscured in published photos. License plate numbers also seem to be regularly obscured. Don’t know about the face- obscuring issue. Seems very few faces are mosaic’ed in photos of all kinds on the Japanese websites and blogs. There also seems to be a gray area regarding photos of the girls at the beach. Cops forever seem to be arresting photographers for…taking pictures in a public place. Would be nice to know the rules about that scenario. Also, the Google Streetview images - seems to be a controversy also about photos snapped from public places.

I-さん: There is a portrait right regarding celebrities where all images of Japanese “talentos” have to be authorized by them or their management before being published (in Japan at least as I understand it). This is nominally to stop unofficial endorsements in advertizing, though this seems an unneeded protection to me and is, I believe, a way to stop scandal stories developing much publicity in the picture led gossip mags. Also apparently all images of the royal family are property of the Imperial Household Agency.

4) Do you do anything to protect the people who appear in your photographs (like blurring out their face, etc.)?

A-さん: No I don't, basically because I'm not worried about being sued (see above). Also, it wouldn't be acceptable in a foreign publication.

B-さん: No, I don't blur people's faces because what is the point of taking candid pictures if you blur the faces?? I do take care not to make people look stupid and I don't make fun of them.

C-さん: Never.

E-さん: No! It isn’t ethical to me to do so and aside from France where I believe minors are protected this way in print journalism, the face is most important to telling the story most of the time. I have tried to protect dignity of people who may not want their picture seen due to poor circumstances such as poverty in Japan, but the dehumanising blur or pixalation is unneeded where I sell my work mostly.

F-さん: No, unless it is specifically asked for, i.e. recently I did an assignment about "private investigators" etc., and I blurred the faces of some people they were following, as they had no idea I was taking their pics and those pics were appearing in a magazine.

I-さん: [T]he media here have a fear of maybe we’ll get in trouble so blur out any identifying features just in case. The courts have invariably come down against the photographer in any cases that have been brought and damages are high so it perhaps better to be safe. What I don’t like is the way that ordinary people have gotten this fear too though the trickle down effects of rumour and misinformation even though there is really no cause for a blogger for example to pixalate faces, and there is a growing false understanding, as in my own country of England, that it is illegal to take pictures of people in the street.

5) Do you ever compensate people you photograph in public (either money or other considerations)?

A-さん: Never money. I will send them a copy of the photo if they ask.

B-さん: Occasionally I give some money to homeless people when I take their　picture but I don't think of that as compensation for taking the picture, just because I feel sorry for them.

C-さん: If I photograph people portrait- style, I would give them a nice print, otherwise I never compensate.

E-さん: I have given homeless people money and food and not photographed them after initially wanting to but I have never paid someone for a photograph. Usually spending a bit of time talking to them helps ease the way to shoot. One thing to remember is you are there with a camera and if you tell them why you are there and spend a bit of time explaining yourself and learning about them they will basically expect you to do your job and ask to take their picture. If they like you most will say yes.

F-さん: I say no, generally I don't, it changes the situation if you start paying for pictures..... But yesterday I did give a homeless guy some yen after I’d shot his portrait, but that was an incredibly rare event, that I do a portrait like that, and he was half naked in the cold, he needed some help and a friendly moment.

6) If you have published your work in print, how do book publishers deal with these issues? Is it up to the photographer or the publisher to gain permission for all photos published?

A-さん: This is about the difference between editorial and other photography. If you want to use the photo in an advertisement, company brochure etc you will need a "photo release" for any people or property in the photo. The photographer normally has the subject sign the release just after the photo is taken.

It is very important for stock photography as you never know where the photo might be used. In the US its necessary to make a small payment to make the contract legal I think. (There's a lot of info about this on the internet). Photo releases have become common in Japan too.

C-さん: Yes, the publishers always delegate this responsibility to you, the photographer. But as I said above, you needn’ t worry really. In the US, privacy rights are meanwhile very strict. Many photo contests now demand a written consent from everybody in the picture, even the images were taken overseas. That of course, is unpractical and nonsense. But in Japan generally things are smoother, and lots of contracts are done handshake-style, so a friendly smile asking for permission would be fine for most situations.

E-さん: Model releases are the photographers responsibility. Publishers have larger legal teams that would be able to assess the potential damages of any suspect photo and would I leave it up to them to run or not run such an image if I ever took one!

F-さん: I'd say it's up to both, it really depends on the work that would be published. How much it could be regarded as an intrusion of privacy, or defamatory etc. It would really depend on the pictures and situation, and if it were being used in an editorial way or advertising.

7) What about posting pictures you have taken in public on the internet? Are there any special considerations here? Do you do anything to protect your posted photos?

A-さん: I watermark my photos…

B-さん: The pictures I put on my web site are low resolution, small size and not suitable to be printed out. I don't think that anyone else would want to print them out and use them for evil purposes. My pictures　never show people in a bad light.

C-さん: I suggest watermarking them and putting your copyright next to them or on them.

E-さん: I should watermark my blog pics but I don’t. I watermark my website pics. must really get onto watermaking my blog pics.

F-さん: I post pics on the internet, I don't hide identities etc of anyone in them.

8) Any other comments?

B-さん: It's really sad that more and more rules and regulations are being made that limit creative expression and spontaneity in photography. Do you think that famous street photographers such Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, Eisenstaedt, Lartigue and others, ever asked their subject if they could take their pictures?? The reason why these photographers are famous is just because their pictures grabbed life on the streets first hand, raw, unposed and beautiful.

That is why do street photography, to catch life as it is in all its aspects.

E-さん: Photography is being attacked on all sides by the current fashion for control in the name of security and photographers need to be fully and intelligently aware of the rights they have. I’m from the UK where the general population, private security and even many policemen think that public photography is an illegal act. They are wrong and everyone with a camera should know that so that ignorance cannot take away out right as photographers to enjoy our hobby or undertake our business. I hope that this sort of intimidation does not come to Japan but rather fear it will. Like England also I fear that the subjects of street candids will begin take violent umbrage to having their picture taken first. A few assaults and such rules will be brought in soon after to "protect" subjects and photographers, nib the problem in the bud as it were much as has happened in France where I’m told that in an effort to stop the craze of "happy slapping" photographing strangers is more or less illegal. I am happy to be corrected though.

F-さん: I think when you are a professional photographer doing this type of work a lot, day in day out for 20 years, then you get a good sense of when it is ok to shoot, and when it isn't, and also, although this may sound crazy, even when it is ok to shoot even though you've been told not to (- and those moments depend on why you're shooting what you're shooting, what the end purpose is for etc.) My skill and professionalism tells me how far I can push a situation, how to read peoples body language etc, how much I can shoot before I'd better leave or move on. Being a Westerner in Japan also affords you a bit of extra leeway, people are less likely to challenge me. Although it can also work against you occasionally.

(I’m not sure if the following person is a photographer, but his comments are still interesting.)

J-さん: Regardless of whether there are laws that allow one to take photos in public, I confess that I’ve found it a very easy matter to get police cooperation to threaten photographers into ‘compliance’. In my case, I was irked by what appeared to be a team of Japanese professional photographers taking shots of us as I was walking my son to school. I indicated a firm “no! bugger off!” and they put down the camera but being a foul mood, I dropped by the police box further down in the road. In no time at all, the policeman was on them and forcing them to pack up their gear. Sorry - I know you guys have a right to your livelihood and everything. However, regardless whether you might have a legal right or not, I will be damned if anyone takes photographs of my kids.

A-さん’s response: Have been on exactly the other end of that situation! I was taking photos of schoolchildren for a story on the shrinking birthrate. Two policeman hauled me into a koban, checked my gaijin card, give me a ticking off, and told me to go away and take photos of Fuji-san instead.

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Are there any other photographers out there who want to participate in this dialogue? Anybody else wish to comment or question? Stay tuned to VAOJ for upcoming guidelines and more!