Читать книгу A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors - Alexander Jacoby - Страница 7

A book such as this naturally incurs so many debts that I hardly know where to begin. I do not have space to list the many friends and family members whose affection and encouragement has helped me to find the energy to finish it; they know who they are, and I am grateful to them all. I must however mention my parents, Michael Jacoby and Ann Jacoby, and my stepfather Gus Baker, who tolerated my sometimes obsessive passion for Japanese cinema, supported my initial decision to live and work in Japan, and assisted financially with the expenses involved in writing this book. Beyond that, I want to thank them for their immeasurable emotional support, encouragement, and love.

My heartfelt thanks go to Beth Cary for her tireless editorial work, which has saved me from more than a few errors (needless to say, in the old phrase, any that remain are entirely my own responsibility). I thank, too, everyone at Stone Bridge Press, especially Peter Goodman for his patience with a project that has taken rather longer to complete than I anticipated. I should also acknowledge the patience of Alastair Phillips, my Ph.D. supervisor at the University of Warwick, who has displayed a supreme tolerance and understanding as time that should have been devoted to my studies was absorbed instead by this book.

The completion of this project was made possible by a generous grant from the Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation, which enabled me to fund a vital research trip to Japan in the summer of 2006. I thank Marie Conte-Helm and all her colleagues at Daiwa for their faith in my abilities and their support for my work.

Much of the research for this book was done at the Tokyo office of the Japan Foundation, whose staff displayed a generosity beyond the call of duty in allowing me extensive access to their collection of subtitled prints over a lengthy period, at some inconvenience to themselves. I am grateful especially to Yūko Murata, Marie Suzuki, Aiko Yatsuhashi, Mirai Itsutsuji, and Kiyo Seike. I was able to conduct supplementary research at the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute and at the Film Center of the Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo. At the former institution, my thanks are due to Masayo Okada and Atsuko Fukuda; at the latter, to Akira Tochigi and Hisashi Okajima.

The production of filmographies in Romanized Japanese and English would have been impossible without the dedication of my two teachers, Etsuko Takagi and Maiko Miyoshi, to both of whom I am deeply grateful. Hiroshi Komatsu of Waseda University made me the beneficiary of his formidable knowledge of Japanese film and his unerring accuracy in factual matters, and was especially helpful in providing correct readings for some of the most obscure titles. With his wife, Ritsuko, he was also a welcoming host while I conducted my research in Tokyo in 2006. For their hospitality during that trip, I also thank Jonathan Cant, Ben Rowlett and Kazuhito Yamada, Richard Smart, Shōtarō Yamauchi and family, Mitsukazu Yoshida, and especially Cathy Lambshead, who was my host for longer than I had any right to ask.

I owe a particular debt to Richard Chatten, who as a film historian sadly has yet to achieve the recognition he deserves. He made me a generous loan to cover the cost of photographs included in the book, and read the entire manuscript in draft, offering many useful suggestions, spotting various errors, and sharpening numerous turns of phrase. Michael Walker, a model teacher, also read the whole book in draft and commented perceptively on matters both factual and critical. Others who read and commented on portions of the manuscript include Aaron Gerow, Mark LeFanu, Arthur Nolletti, Bob Quaif, and James Quandt. Jasper Sharp gave generously of his considerable expertise and knowledge of the byways of Japanese film, and put his extensive collection of DVDs at my disposal. Johan Nordström shared the pleasure of viewing a good few of the films discussed in this book, helped to shape my thoughts on them, and was a constant source of enthusiasm. Stephen Wan assisted with the transliteration of Cantonese in the titles of Hong Kong-made films. For their help, advice, and encouragement, I should also thank Kevin Brownlow, Michael Campi, Michelle Carey, Roland Domenig, Mika Kō, Michael McCaskey, Abe Mark Nornes, Steve Pickles, and especially Glynford Hatfield and Franco Picollo, whose assistance to this project was invaluable.

For giving me permission to reproduce and supplying the many beautiful still photographs which illustrate this book, I must thank the following: At Shochiku, Junko Kawaguchi and Shin’ya Watanabe; at Nikkatsu, Shinako Matsuda and Noritoshi Nakano; at Kadokawa Pictures, Yukka Seki and Akiko Takahashi; Ikkō Kawamura at Toei; Osamu Minakawa at Kokusai Hōei; Kumi Kamimura at Bitters End; Shōko Kimizuka at Wowow; Naomi Osada at Nippon Eiga Shinsha; and Kijū (Yoshishige) Yoshida for supplying a still from one of his own films as director. A double thankyou for permission to use stills without charge is due to Miyuki Fukuma at TV Man Union; Gō Hirasawa at Wakamatsu Pro; Shintaro Horikawa at Altamira Pictures; Toshimi Kawasaki at Opus; Kiyo Joo and Ryō Ikeuchi at Goldview; Mu­tsuko Kumagai at Argo Pictures; Jōji Nishiyama at Hitachi; Yūko No­mura and Akira Yamashita at Pony Canyon, Inc.; Miki Ōi at PIA; Mikako Otani at Athenée Français; Kazunao Sakaguchi at Stance Company; Hanayasu Shi­zuka at Kindai Eiga Kyokai; Sakiko Yamagami of Siglo; Yoshio Yasui at Planet Bibliothèque de Cinéma; Hayao Yamamoto at Dokuritsu Pro; and Katsumasa Morita of Seido Productions. Some stills no longer in copyright were supplied by the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute, and I thank the staff of that institution again here.

Lastly, I must acknowledge two men whose combined involvement in film culture stretches over more than a century. David Robinson, one of the world’s most thorough and knowledgeable film historians, commissioned my first piece of published writing on film, and, since I met him in 2001 at the Pordenone Festival of Silent Film, has been an unfailing source of wise advice and encouragement in all my projects. Donald Richie, pioneer and pathfinder in the Western appreciation of Japanese film, encouraged me to write this book, submitted it to Stone Bridge Press on my behalf, smoothed my way at the Japan Foundation, Kawakita Institute and Film Center, read and commented in detail on successive drafts, and kindly consented to write the Foreword. I owe these two gentlemen more than I can repay. I dedicate this book, with love, to them both.