In 1978, Renzō and Sayoko Kinoshita, made the powerful
ground-breaking film Pica-Don (ピカドン,
1978) which depicts the bombing of Hiroshima on the 6th of August
1945 from the perspective of the victims of the atrocity. An early example of an animated documentary, the
Pica-Don was based on the testimonies
and drawings of the survivors. This use
of animation to depict the unimaginable was done with the intent of educating
people around the world about the horrors of war in effort to bring about world
peace. It is this same desire for “love
and peace” that led the Kinoshitas to become involved in the founding of the
Hiroshima International Animation Festival in 1985 (Source: hiroanim.org)
With The Last Air Raid Kumagaya (最後の空襲くまがや / Saigo no
Kūshū Kumagaya, 1993), Renzō and Sayoko Kinoshita continue to drive home
the message about the futility of war.
As they did with Pica-Don,
they based this 29-minute long animated film on historical records, interviews
with witnesses/survivors, and the documents belonging to survivors.
The first
part of the film is critical of domestic propaganda. A female narrator says that the common people
of Japan were ignorant of the “evils of war”, such as the atrocities’ committed
by their military in the South Pacific and Okinawa. The
film suggests that people believed the propaganda, which hid from them the fact
that the Japanese were fighting a losing battle. The narrator says that in the closing days of
the war, the general populace believed the myths of their country’s victories
abroad and were oblivious that their emperor was on the verge of
surrender.
It is in
this context that the story of the last American air raid on Japan
unfolds. The central character is a 7
year old girl called Sachiko. She has
just lost her immediate family in the firebombing of Tokyo and takes the train
to her uncle’s family in Kumagaya in Saitama Prefecture. She is not out of danger yet, for the train gets
shot at by a plane along the journey. Her
uncle meets her at the station and he and his whole family welcome her with
open arms. With her cousins, Sachiko
explores the beauty of the natural landscape around Kumagaya.
Sadly, these
beautiful days of late summer are not to last.
The final movement of the film depicts the final air raid of the
war. The city descends into fear and
chaos and Sachiko gets separated from her family with tragic results. This film has no happy ending, for war brings
no happy endings except in schmaltzy Hollywood features. Just when you think the film has served up more
sadness than you can bear, the shock ending is a real kick in the gut. Along with Isao Takahata’s Grave of the
Fireflies (火垂るの墓, 1988), this film not only has a strong anti-war
message, but it also the highlights the suffering of children in times of
war.
The terrible
irony of what happened in Kumagaya on August 15, 1945, was that as the people
were reeling in shock in the ashes of the attack, Emperor Hirohito’s speech
announcing Japan’s defeat came on the radio.
It is hard to imagine how the people of Kumagaya, and other cities bombed
that final day (Osaka, Tokoyama, Isesaki) felt about the futility of their
suffering at that moment.
This short
film, animated beautifully with handmade cutouts, can be screened at the Peace Museum of
Saitama (埼玉県平和資料館). It is a
useful educational film, but I would not recommend it for children under the
age of 14. It has deeply distressing
imagery and raises some important political debates that require careful
guidance by educators. Although we do glimpse
the American planes responsible for the air raids, I would argue that the film
actually points the blame for the suffering of the Japanese people during the
war on the Japanese government itself. It
is not easy material, but certainly useful when taught in the greater context
of propaganda and war.
Catherine
Munroe Hotes 2014
