V-Cinema: canons of Japanese film and the challenge of video

Abstract

The cinema of Japan has long played a central role in the study of film. But its well-established canon of master directors and classic films obscures as much as it reveals. A case in point is video, arguably the most transformative technological change in cinema since the introduction of sound film. Yet, film scholars have long looked down on video as a substandard medium without scholarly interest. This has left a large gap in our knowledge and understanding of recent Japanese cinema.

“V-Cinema” was launched in 1989 at the confluence of a well-developed video market and Japan’s booming economy. A production and distribution strategy for movies released directly onto home video, it produced well over a hundred movies a year. Although a commercial distribution strategy for the domestic market with little or no artistic ambition, V-Cinema provided a platform for new auteur filmmakers, forms, and genres into the global film culture.

For both its unsung volume and its exceptional proponents that made it into international film discourse, V-Cinema challenges accepted notions of cultural value and what exactly constitutes the cinematic experience, providing insight into the formation of cinematic canons and inviting us to rethink what we mean by “Japanese cinema”.