In 1965, director
Takechi decided to square off against the government censors with this
adult-themed hot potato. It's the story of a maladjusted son of a prostitute.
The boy is impotent unless he's stroking a loaded pistol while making
love. It's easy to see some quirky psychological problems here. But in
reality, he's unconsciously reacting to his hatred for Americans, a deeply
rooted hostility charged by the victimization of his mother at the hands
of hungry soldiers on the military base in Yokota. Eventually, the young
psycho shoots a black GI and is immediately taken and executed by American
MPs.
The Japanese government
retaliated against Tetsuji Takechi and his film. He was arrested on public
indecency charges, the first such case of censorship in Japan. The resulting
trial was a Media circus, not unlike the famous U.S. trial [also in 1966]
against William S Burroughs and Grove Press for the publication
of Naked Lunch. Renown authors and notorious filmmakers
(including Nagisa Oshima and Seijun Suzuki) testified in court. The trial
became a war zone, pitting the avant garde intellectuals against the conservative
government machine. Takechi won his day(s) in court, which essentially
opened the floodgates for 'total narrative freedom,' but the authorities
still maintained strict laws against any depiction of genitalia, a law
that remained in effect until 1994 with the release of Bannei Takahashi's
NEW
LOVE IN TOKYO.
A side story:
In 1983, Takechi helmed a hardcore (XXX) fantasy film called Koya
Hijira (Scared Koya) which he refused to cut, censor or fog. It
was never shown in Japan. Instead, he took advantage of America's more
liberal porn laws and premiered the film in Guam, a US providence. The
movie ran for more than two years, playing mostly to Japanese tourists
who visited the island. The film was not permitted back in Japan and it
is believed that Customs Officials destroyed all prints. Tetsuji Takechi
died of natural causes in 1988 at age 75.
A Japanese
film with English subtitles; widescreen format (16:9), (89 minutes),
DVD encoded for ALL REGION NTSC WORLD FORMAT;
extras include selected theatrical trailers.
