Headlessgod.com » PHOTOS

Tatenokai marching

admin — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 01:48:09 +0000

This is a clip from the Schrader film, if I am not mistaken.

Mishima

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 02:12:50 +0000

via Flickr

Hitokiri (Tenchu!) – Another on-screen hara-kiri filmed in 1969

admin — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 04:18:31 +0000

Mishima’s character in the yakuza film “Afraid to Die“ actually dies in the end.

In “Patriotism,” Mishima famously filmed himself going through the motions of hara-kiri four years before he eventually committed suicide in almost exactly the same manner.

In “HitoKiri,” he plays Tanaka Shinbei. When Shinbei’s sword is found at a high official’s assassination scene, he quickly commits seppuku. Given the actor, that’s hardly a spoiler.

As a still, this is one of the most menacing images I’ve ever seen of Mishima.

The film itself seems to be particularly relevant to Mishima’s concerns in 1969, which is when it was filmed. According to IMDB, the film was released February of 1970*, just months before Mishima’s own late November exit.

Hitokiri translates roughly to “manslayer.” The alternate title of the film, Tenchu!, was a battle-cry, meaning “divine punishment.”

Hitokiri is a cinematic retelling of the tale of The Four Hitokiri of the Bakumatsu. These warriors opposed the shogunate and favored the restoration of the Emperor to power. This role was chosen with artful precision. Not only did Mishima’s character commit suicide, but the Four Hitokiri, like Mishima, were supporters of the Emperor. Mishima’s private army, the Tatenokai, were a spiritual army sworn to “shield” the ideal of the Emperor.

Apparently, Mishima also sang the film’s theme song (!!?!?!). I’m working on that…

Review of Hitokiri on Midnight Eye

http://www.midnighteye.com/reviews/hitokiri.shtml

Review of Hitokiri on Movie Feast

http://moviefeast.blogspot.com/2008/06/tenchu-hitokiri-1969.html

Review of Hitokiri on Lard Biscuit Enterprises

http://www.lardbiscuit.com/jidaigeki/gosha-tenchu.html

* At least in the USA. I was unable to find a Japanese release date, but it couldn’t have been much sooner if the film was produced in 1969.

h/t the Werwolf Ensemble guys, who told me about this film.

Mishima items to be auctioned.

admin — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 20:15:55 +0000

http://news.3yen.com/2009-07-02/saint-mishima-now-on-sale/

I was pleased to find this image on http://news.3yen.com/. have never seen this version before. The post itself was in reference to an upcoming auction of some recently discovered Mishima items.

The photo is presumably by Kishin Shinoyama.

Eikoh Hosoe

admin — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 03:16:13 +0000

The photographer who took the famous “Ordeal by Roses” shot of Mishima will be having an exhibition in June at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Japan.

Covered here and here.

Eikoh Hosoe

http://www.eikoh-hosoe.jp/index.html

and on Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eikoh_Hosoe

Here’s an article about another exhibition that too place a few years ago.

Japan Times: EIKOH HOSOE
Photographer chronicles an alternate Japanese history

Flickr – Truckin’ with Mishima

admin — Tue, 05 May 2009 02:30:56 +0000

From what I can gather these are photos of the uyoku trucks that travel around Japan broadcasting right-wing nationalist propaganda (or, “inspirational thoughts,” depending on what side of the dialectic you are on).

Some could also be bus ads for books, but that doesn’t seem to be the case.

If you can read Japanese, please confirm, correct or expand on my assumptions.

(Those characters beside Mishima are fairly clear. I would love to know what they say.)

This Flickr user posted a set of the right-wing trucks (some with Mishima, some without) and gave a first-hand account of the experience.