Landscape theory: post-68 revolutionary cinema in Japan

Hirasawa, G. (2021)

Doctoral Thesis

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the "landscape theory" (Fukei-ron), which has given rise to much debate. This theory was proposed by the anarchist film critic Matsuda Masao at the end of 1969 and developed by the director Adachi Masao, the screenwriter Sasaki Mamoru and the photographer Nakahira Takuma, among others. She wishes to re-study this theory of landscape not only to re-evaluate it from an artistic point of view or within the framework of the history of cinema, but also to bring out its political and revolutionary value. The "landscape theory" was born following the film A.K.A. Serial Killer (1969), co-directed by Matsuda, Adachi and Sasaki. This work is a documentary about Nagayama Norio, a nineteen year old man who never appears in the film although he was the author of a series of indiscriminate shootings in the cities of Tokyo, Kyoto, Hakodate and Nagoya between October 1968 and April 1969. This documentary is entirely composed of all the landscapes that Nagayama is said to have seen during his wanderings from his birth to his arrest. This thesis attempts to demonstrate the context in which the term and concept of "landscape" (fukei) was introduced into Japan to translate the Western word "landscape" into Japanese during the modernization process of the Meiji Restoration in the late 19th century, as well as the peculiarity of the "landscape theory" developed by Matsuda and Adachi in a totally different approach from the existing one.

• History of Japanese Cinema
• Japanese Film Theory, History of Media Theories
• World Cinema Studies, World Cinema
• Art History of the Postwar Japanese Avant-Garde
• Theory of Revolutions in the Post 1968 Era
• History of Japanese post-war movements
• History of Japanese Landscape Theory
• Modern Japanese History, Theory of Modern Culture
• Theory of 1970s politics, theory of nation state

• All authors: Hirasawa, G.
• Supervisor: Brenez, N.; Smits, I.B.
• Committee: De Baecque, A.; Domenig, R.; Lammes, S.; Verstraten, P.W.J.
• Qualification: Doctor (dr.)
• Awarding Institution: Leiden University Institute for Area Studies (LIAS), Faculty of Humanities, Leiden University and Université Sorbonne Nouvelle - Paris 3
• Date: 2021-09-28