[Series] Wanting to Ride Inamura Jane (3) - In Search of Kuwata Keisuke's "Summer" -
This series was a celebration of that, and also a challenge to pursue "the original landscape of Shonan that Kuwata saw."
Was your summer hot? Or was it short? (Author)
"Autumn has awakened."
Every time I think of these lyrics, I feel like our summer begins in September. Come to think of it, Inamura Jane was released on September 8th, 1990. How many times has it been since that day...?
But why does Chigasaki's summer feel so much more suited to autumn?
As early as the Sui and Tang dynasties, the eminent monk Daochuo Zenji addressed the question, "Why is Amitabha Buddha's Pure Land in the west?" by explaining that the west is the direction from which the sun sets, and since the place where the sun sets is called death, the Pure Land is the destination of death. The association of the end of summer with the end of life is also likely a product of human emotion.
Our summer in search of "Jane," which began on June 25, 2021, is coming to an end.
① As a theory of others
Oz: It's been a long time, teacher! Huh...
Ami: Huh, Sensei?! Why are you wearing white tights and dressed as a swan?!
Professor: Yes, I'm thinking about my next job. I want to be a "show-off entertainer."
Ami: Wow, Sensei, that's so emotional...
Oz: (That line sounds familiar...)
Professor: Alright everyone, let's check the answers to this summer's questions. Why do you think so many funny things happen in the daily lives of comedians? The material they use in their free talk on TV, the events that are unimaginable for us, funny things happen to them on a daily basis, right?
Oz: I think that if you live the kind of life a comedian lives, interesting things are more likely to happen, right?
Ami: It's like they live in a different world than us...
Professor: Do you really think so? I think they're just constantly keeping their "comedy antennae" up, and they're professionals at catching "humor" in the same world and everyday life as us.
[Research Note 1]
This research (series) began with the intention of contemplating the waves that are not specifically shown in the film "Jane," and searching for the "summer" that exists within Keisuke Kuwata.
This work might appear at first glance to be mere film criticism, but it is not. It is a practical study aimed at approaching the true nature of "that summer" that resides in everyone's heart, a place and area name that does not exist as an address, "Shonan."
Kuwata states: "There's a scene where she (Namiko, the author) scolds Hiroshi, a stray surfer. She says, 'There's no point in keeping everyone at a distance and floating on a calm sea.' It's a line that says you can't just float around on small waves and try to maintain your balance; sometimes you have to be prepared to take risks and catch big waves." (With, October 1990) This describes the heroine's position.
The main character, Hiroshi, often says, "We're strangers to each other." Indeed, the key to this film is the relationship with "others."
When we try to find ourselves, we cannot confirm ourselves without "others." If I were the only one in this world, would I be able to recognize "myself"? (No).
And when we reflect on ourselves, we become, in a sense, "the other." Just as when we think, "Ah, I want to sleep now," there is a certain distance between the "me" that is the object of that thought and the "me" that we are thinking of.
Ami: I suppose it means looking at things from a broader perspective?
Professor: That's right. If we assume that the comedian we just talked about has a sense of self, I think he's viewing the world from a slightly detached, "funny perspective."
Oz: So, does that mean Jane is an "other"?
Professor: Yes, that's my primary opinion. When Kuwata talks about "Inamura Jane," he mentions several films, and you can see this clearly if you watch Jim Jarmusch's "Stranger Than Paradise" (1984, USA) and "Bagdad Cafe" (1987, West Germany). To me, it seemed like 90% of the film was about relationships with "others." However...
Ami: But?
Professor: There's another film that he mentioned at the time, though it wasn't a particularly assertive statement. That has stuck with me ever since.
Oz: What do you mean?
Professor: That would be the 1987 French-West German co-production film, "Wings of Desire."
② A gaze from the other side
[Research Note 2]
When asked what kind of movie he wanted to make, Kuwata replied, "I like lazy, understated things."
He said, "It's a black-and-white film with not much dialogue, a film with a twisted perspective. It's like the ultimate surf film with a shifted viewpoint." (FM fan, April 1989)
Initially, it seems that a highly artistic concept was envisioned, as he stated, "It was really like 'Stranger Than Paradise.' Back alleys, back streets..." (ibid.) and "At first, I was aiming for a low-key film like 'Stranger Than Paradise' (omitted). A slice-of-life film where the main characters don't even call each other by name, just a simple, one-scene-per-shot film." (Weekly Playboy, August 1990).
And in relation to that use of monochrome, what's noteworthy is this statement: "These days, office ladies and students dress up and go see 'Wings of Desire' on dates. Back in our day, it was something like 'Joey.' It just shows how much more discerning viewers' tastes have become." (CanCam, June 1989).
This statement, which suggests that Southern All Stars could do something more niche, is a comment on "Megami-tachi e no Jouka (Hodou narai Y-gata no Kanata e)" (Beyond the Unreported Y-type), but it's worth noting in relation to the film production that was already underway.
The film "Wings of Desire" is a worldwide hit that depicts the perspective of angels (the underworld), invisible to humans, in black and white, while showing the human perspective and world (the visible world) in color.
In Japan, the concept of the visible and invisible worlds became clearer from the Middle Ages onward. Normally, we humans can only see the visible parts of the world. However, this worldview posits that a hidden world exists, and that gods, Buddhas, and the dead residing there influence the visible world.
Professor: Actually, a professor in Kobe pointed this out to me this summer.
Oz: Oh, did you get scolded for getting too carried away?
Ami: (No, Oz, you can't do that. The teacher is sensitive...)
Professor: Wow, that was an eye-opener. I was told that the movie didn't even depict waves, let alone surfing scenes.
( ※Series 1 ), there is one place where this is found.
Ami: Huh? Did they show a big wave?!
Professor: I hastily checked "Document of Inamura Jane" again, and sure enough, Jane is in it. It's a shot of Kuwata himself on a crane that's swaying from the sea, filming the shore with a camera. So, in other words, we were being shown the shore (this world) from Jane's perspective.
Oz: I see! It wasn't a picture of Jane as a wave, but Jane did appear in the story.
Professor: Yes, that's when I realized. So Jane's gaze was from the other side!
Ami: What does it mean to pass away?
Professor: The word "other" came up earlier, but "other" doesn't just mean other people. Though you may not be able to see them, gods, Buddhas, and even the dead are also "others."
Oz: I guess that means someone other than myself.
Professor: Yes, that's where the movie "Wings of Desire" comes in. In this movie, angels (the dead) who live on forever stand beside the living, looking out at the world with melancholic expressions. Because the angels are in eternity, they cannot experience the present moment or the here and now. The joys and sorrows of love that were buried and unnoticed when they were alive. Through the eyes of the dead, they teach us about the rarity of each moment, the wonders of this world, and the precious extraordinary. I think this gaze from the other world is what Kuwata wanted to show us through Jane.
③ The "in-between" space between youth and adults, between life and death
[Research Note 3]
Kuwata reportedly said the following in an interview: "Young people, in any era, are ultimately waiting for something to happen. Those who have the wisdom to start something on their own are not young people." (Josei Seven, September 1990).
When we want to ride a wave, we either have to notice the wave that has already come up and ride it, or create our own wave. If we interpret Kuwata's earlier words, then being an adult means being someone who can create their own wave with their own power.
As mentioned in Part 2 of this series , big waves in life are rare. And when you're young, you can't even notice the ripples of everyday life. Producer Akira Morishige quotes Kuwata as saying, "'Youth is about whether you can feel your own wave with your body when you encounter it.'" (ibid.)
In other words, we live in the space between youth and adulthood, amidst our boring daily lives. And as long as we feel the waves, we can remain youthful forever. 99% of our daily lives are boring, but we can still search for something interesting and continue to dream.
Jane further teaches us about the serendipity of this very moment, the wonder of life. "The sea is trying to tell us something, an answer. But there's no way we could know that (laughs)" (Heisei NG Diary, June 1992), Kuwata leaves the answer to the sea (waves)... But by encountering the answers (waves) of each irreplaceable moment, the boring, eternal youth is affirmed.
Professor: At first, I didn't understand the meaning of the climax where demons and monsters appear.
Ami: You're probably thinking, "What, dancing?!"
Professor: But this summer I finally arrived at my own interpretation. Including the painting from Jane, that's where the gaze shifts from the other world. This is very similar to Zeami's technique. His phase shift in Noh is the "dance." In technical terms, it's called "detached view," entering the part of the gaze from the other world.
Oz: Hiroshi no longer says "because they're strangers," and he's now living in the joy of living with others, isn't he?
Professor: By the way, Noh stages have a white area between the stage and the audience, and a pine tree is painted on the back panel (mirror panel). It's Shonan, isn't it? (laughs) Kuwata said on a TV program that regarding the climax he was interested in "Japan's Rio Carnival, the madness that lies between life and death" ("Inamura Jane Special! Keisuke Kuwata Talks - A Story of Wind, Waves, and Music"), and that since it was set in Kamakura, he wanted to express "the sense of distance where yokai sometimes influence everyday life" (ibid.).
Ami: That scene is when the antique shop owner dies, right? I feel like that's where the wave of the master's generation subsided after 20 years. And it's like the wave of Hiroshi's generation, who said, "It's just like the master's big wave," started to rise...
Professor: Those waves that came and went over those two generations were actually Namiko, and Jane's true identity.
Oz: You did it, Professor! You made it!
Ami: Great job everyone!
Professor: Well, next summer has begun. I will now announce the assignment.
Both: What?! Are we doing something again?!
*This story is a work of fiction.
In conclusion, like Jane, who ebbs the tide.
While I was writing this article, the new departure melody for JR Sagami Line Chigasaki Station, "Umi Sono Ai" (The Sea, That Love), which was produced by Shonan Rock 'n' Roll Center AGAIN, where I serve as representative, actually began playing on the station platform.
Although it's a song by Yuzo Kayama, thanks to this series, I've come up with a new interpretation of the lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani, which begin with "Embraced by the Sea."
If we consider the afterlife to be the ocean (waves), then it is possible to think of it as "all life." To be "embraced by the ocean" means to be sustained and kept alive by "all life," which has existed in the past and continues to exist today. And one day, I too will return to that great ocean.
The ebb and flow of life's story. I am grateful to be a part of this continuous history. It is a miracle that I am alive in 2021, the year that Yuzo Kayama and Keisuke Kuwata released new songs! It's the best.
Thank you, Kuwata-san, for showing us, the Heisei generation, the movie "Inamura Jane," and for making us say, "It was hot, but summer was short, wasn't it?!"
Written by: Junsei Shaku (Chairman of Shonan Rock 'n' Roll Center AGAIN, Buddhist scholar)
Born in 1989 in Chigasaki City, he specializes in Japanese Pure Land Buddhism and the history of Japanese thought. To commemorate the 40th anniversary of Southern All Stars, he published "Our Chigasaki Story: The Genesis of Japanese Pop Music - Chigasaki Sound History" from Shinko Music, a book compiling the Chigasaki sound culture of artists such as Keisuke Kuwata, Yuzo Kayama, Kunihiko Kase, and Kiyohiko Ozaki.
Currently, he is the main DJ for "Shonan Rock 'n' Roll Center RADIO" on Kamakura FM every Monday from 10:10 PM.
Official website: https://www.srcagain.com/
Editorial assistance:
Ami Tasaki
Daiki Ozawa
(Researcher at Shonan Rock 'n' Roll Center AGAIN)
Wanting to ride Inamura Jane (1) - In search of Kuwata Keisuke's "Summer" - Click here
Wanting to ride Inamura Jane (2) - In search of Kuwata Keisuke's "Summer" - Click here
