The Complete Book of OZU Yasujiro

The definitive edition of a book dedicated to film director OZU Yasujiro. We worked through the entire process from planning to interviews, the selection of contributors, research, and writing (co-authored by MIYAMOTO Akiko and published by Asahi Shimbun Publications). It contains: his first full biography over 100 pages; an encyclopedia of all 60 of his works, which introduces both his existing movies, and scripts that were not made into a movie; and interviews with KAGAWA Kyoko, TSUKASA Yoko, IWASHITA Shima, SAKAMOTO Ryuichi, and others, in addition to articles by various contributors such as KASE Ryo, HOSAKA Kazushi, KITAMURA Kaoru, Pedro Costa, and Mika Kaurismäki.

The research and interviews yielded a number of new discoveries. Some of the academically valuable discoveries included: the lyrics to the theme song for A Story of Floating Weeds; a then-cutting-edge simultaneous audio recording on location of Late Spring; the fact that Ozu used a 40 mm lens contrary to the accepted theory; the influence on him musically of Drunken Angel and Stray Dog directed by KUROSAWA Akira; the appointment by Ozu himself of MAYUZUMI Toshiro as music director for Good Morning; and Ozu’s plans in his final years for a story featuring two young women as the main characters.

The book also deals with some new points of view: the fact that both of Ozu’s parents were on their second marriage and the impact of this on his works; a quote from John Ford in the Sword of Penitence; Lupin and Holmes, who appeared in Wife Lost; the peculiar setting for Record of a Tenement Gentleman; a song in The Only Son, which was banned from sale; and the theme tune to Good Morning that was created based on existing works by Mozart and Mayuzumi. It is safe to say that this was the first full-scale research carried out in these areas.

Other contents never previously published in a book include: restored paintings by Ozu from his youth; photographs by Ozu from when he was dispatched to China as a soldier against his will; a cat drawing and postcard; and an image from an 8mm film created by Ozu and screenwriter NODA Kogo.

After publication, it was featured in newspapers such as Yomiuri, Asahi, and Mainichi Shimbun and various magazines such as Kinema Junpo, Shukan Shincho, and Sunday Mainichi, as well as on a number of radio programs. It was highly praised as the “latest and best” or “a book worthy of calling itself ‘The Complete Book of OZU Yasujiro’.”
The front of the flyer→, the reverse side→, the book can be purchased here→.

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Flyer designs

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Film Sound Critics – Talk About the Sound of OZU Yasujiro
Flyer design for an open lecture at Waseda University titled “Film Sound Critics – Talk About the Sound of OZU Yasujiro.” The flyer was for a lecture by guest speaker NAGATO Yohei, who has a high profile in the world of film sound research. The flyer depicted the main subject of the lecture, which used a blurred scene from Ozu's work so that sound, as opposed to the story or images, could be used to decipher them. The flyer can be found here→

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Coffee Science
Flyer design for the Coffee Science lectures organized by the Tokyo Tech Professional Academy. Responsible for all design elements of the flyer for the open lectures by speakers including HIROSE Yukio, who is an authority in the world of coffee. The upper part of the flyer shows how coffee beans gradually change color before and after roasting, while the lower part contains text written vertically. It was well received when introduced on a Nippon TV program. The flyer can be found here→

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Talks

amima/body (a face-to-face talk with ITO Yutaka, an animation artist, whose work includes background artwork for Kiki’s Delivery Service)

Film Sound Critics – Talk About the Sound of OZU Yasujiro (a face-to-face talk with NAGATO Yohei)

Exhibition to Commemorate the 115th Anniversary of the Birth of Ozu Yasujiro and the 15th Anniversary of the Opening of the Ozu Yasujiro Youth Memorial Hall (a face-to-face talk with TANAKA Kogi)

Symposium OZU2020 (a face-to-face talk with SUO Masayuki)

A Face-to-Face Talk: What to See and Read in ‘The Complete Book of Ozu Yasujiro’ (a face-to-face talk with Naoki Prize winner KITAMURA Kaoru)

HOSAKA Kazushi, MATSUURA Kanji, MIYAMOTO Akiko (a face-to-face talk with Akutagawa Prize winner HOSAKA Kazushi)

International Conference on Social Science and Business (presented the impact of J. Ford on Ozu at the international conference held in the U.S.)

International Symposium on Business and Social Sciences (presented Ozu’s stay in Singapore)

Society For Cinema and Media Studies (presented Japanese movies with a focus on animation)

A special lecture at the Department of Comparative Study of Cultures, Tsuru University

A special lecture at Waseda University
 

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Other

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Workshop on animation production at Mitsuya Clinic

Photographed author TANAKA Kogi (posted in the book Tofu-ya ha Okara mo tsukuru)

Night – OBOROGENA KIWA (photographed the works by artist KUROMIYA Nana at @KCUA)

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