2024年 08月 27日
First public disclosure of some facts
Due to Harada's unstable health condition, we have decided to document some matters.
Death Lullaby
Death Lullaby was originally meant to include live action scenes of extremist factions (called sects) within the New Left at the time.
At the time, right-wing and New Left factions often held street demonstrations in the cities.
When Harada started to film them with his camera, he was surrounded by sect members wearing helmets and masks.
The sects were committing various acts of violence, including murder and internal conflicts.
Harada became scared and ran away as fast as he could.
Harada felt that if his live action footage of them was included in the film, he would be attacked by the sects, so unfortunately the filmed footage was not included in the main story. (There are cases in which sects have actually attacked films.)
Instead, scenes of events such as the Sanrizuka protests, filmed on television with an 8mm camera, were inserted.
At the time, right-wing and New Left factions often held street demonstrations in the cities.
When Harada started to film them with his camera, he was surrounded by sect members wearing helmets and masks.
The sects were committing various acts of violence, including murder and internal conflicts.
Harada became scared and ran away as fast as he could.
Harada felt that if his live action footage of them was included in the film, he would be attacked by the sects, so unfortunately the filmed footage was not included in the main story. (There are cases in which sects have actually attacked films.)
Instead, scenes of events such as the Sanrizuka protests, filmed on television with an 8mm camera, were inserted.
MIDORI
case1
The following matter has been Kiryukan's top secret until now. Several staff members were involved in this matter, and the staff members begged Harada not to make this matter public.
The only person who covered this matter was writer Higuchi (now the owner of the atelier), and at that time Harada spoke about it to Higuchi, being careful about his expressions. Higuchi also mentioned it briefly, being careful about his expressions. https://www.tinami.com/x/report/13/
This time, we will hide proper nouns and write it in a way that will not cause trouble to the staff.
The only person who covered this matter was writer Higuchi (now the owner of the atelier), and at that time Harada spoke about it to Higuchi, being careful about his expressions. Higuchi also mentioned it briefly, being careful about his expressions. https://www.tinami.com/x/report/13/
This time, we will hide proper nouns and write it in a way that will not cause trouble to the staff.
The biggest challenge in making MIDORI was that it was based on an existing MISEMONO(sideshow/freak show ).
These MISEMONO were run by people called TEKIYA, who were close to the yakuza.
These MISEMONO were run by people called TEKIYA, who were close to the yakuza.
When depicting such a world, it was customary to go and greet them with alcohol and gain their trust before making a film.
There were several staff members at MIDORI who were involved in this issue. They were Mr. A, a veteran entertainment critic, and his assistant Mr. B (initials are pseudonyms).
When Mr. A had previously published an article about sideshows, he had been threatened by underlings in the tekiya, who said, "We're going to tie you up and drown you in the sea!"
So Mr. A strongly urged Harada to go and greet the tekiya.
For the tekiya, shows and festival stalls were serious issues that could affect their life or death.
So they felt a strong resentment at the idea of outsiders handling their livelihood for fun.
The person in charge of MIDORI's promotion was Mr. N, an anarchist who used to work at Hara Kazuo Productions and is a documentary director.
Harada and Mr. N discussed the issue.
Mr. N said, "I'm against going to greet the yakuza. There should be freedom of expression."
In the end, MIDORI was released independently without permission from the people involved.
A few years later, Mr. B had the opportunity to meet the boss of a tekiya group.
Mr. B casually asked the boss about MIDORI.
"I'm fine with it, but I can't guarantee how the belligerent low-level yakuza will react." That was the boss's response.
Yakuza bosses are all good-natured, but in the end, it's the young people at the bottom who always take extreme actions.
There were several staff members at MIDORI who were involved in this issue. They were Mr. A, a veteran entertainment critic, and his assistant Mr. B (initials are pseudonyms).
When Mr. A had previously published an article about sideshows, he had been threatened by underlings in the tekiya, who said, "We're going to tie you up and drown you in the sea!"
So Mr. A strongly urged Harada to go and greet the tekiya.
For the tekiya, shows and festival stalls were serious issues that could affect their life or death.
So they felt a strong resentment at the idea of outsiders handling their livelihood for fun.
The person in charge of MIDORI's promotion was Mr. N, an anarchist who used to work at Hara Kazuo Productions and is a documentary director.
Harada and Mr. N discussed the issue.
Mr. N said, "I'm against going to greet the yakuza. There should be freedom of expression."
In the end, MIDORI was released independently without permission from the people involved.
A few years later, Mr. B had the opportunity to meet the boss of a tekiya group.
Mr. B casually asked the boss about MIDORI.
"I'm fine with it, but I can't guarantee how the belligerent low-level yakuza will react." That was the boss's response.
Yakuza bosses are all good-natured, but in the end, it's the young people at the bottom who always take extreme actions.
Some time later, when they were promoting MIDORI as a performance in the downtown area of Shinjuku, a yakuza told Harada, Mr. N, and performer Mr. K to "stop and go home quietly."At that point, the three of them discussed it and decided to call the performance off.(The fashion magazine "Lay" covered the scene just before this and the photos were published in the magazine. If the magazine is found, we will upload the photos to this blog.)
case2
A materialist, Harada always kept meticulous diaries and production journals.
However, he was so scared that he didn't record the date of this incident.
It probably happened in the early 2000s.
Harada received information from an acquaintance that unauthorized and illegal videos of MIDORI were being sold in the Kansai region.
Harada was okay with friends copying and handing his work from friend to friend, but he protested against selling it for profit.
Harada thought about the original author, staff, and cast, and decided to consult with an expert.
However, Harada was always poor, so he could not afford the luxury of hiring a legal expert like a large company.
Furthermore, lawyers and free legal consultations on the street were not specialized in copyright matters.
Harada found the copyright consultation desk at the Tanashi Police Station in his area and went there to consult.
When he arrived at the police station, the detectives told him to enter the interrogation room where criminals are interrogated.
Harada had a bad feeling and refused, but the detectives half-forced him into a room and closed the door.
There were four people in the room: a detective around 42 years old, a large, athletic detective around 38 years old, an older detective, and a younger detective who was taking notes on a computer.
However, he was so scared that he didn't record the date of this incident.
It probably happened in the early 2000s.
Harada received information from an acquaintance that unauthorized and illegal videos of MIDORI were being sold in the Kansai region.
Harada was okay with friends copying and handing his work from friend to friend, but he protested against selling it for profit.
Harada thought about the original author, staff, and cast, and decided to consult with an expert.
However, Harada was always poor, so he could not afford the luxury of hiring a legal expert like a large company.
Furthermore, lawyers and free legal consultations on the street were not specialized in copyright matters.
Harada found the copyright consultation desk at the Tanashi Police Station in his area and went there to consult.
When he arrived at the police station, the detectives told him to enter the interrogation room where criminals are interrogated.
Harada had a bad feeling and refused, but the detectives half-forced him into a room and closed the door.
There were four people in the room: a detective around 42 years old, a large, athletic detective around 38 years old, an older detective, and a younger detective who was taking notes on a computer.
The detectives saw the MIDORI flyer that Harada had brought with him and threatened him.
"What is this!"
"It's outrageous that a middle-aged man and a young girl are shown side by side!"
"MIDORI is an outrageous movie."
"This movie is more of a problem than copyright issues!"
"We need to monitor your room regularly!"
Harada was thinking of a way to escape from the locked room.
Harada repeatedly pleaded with the detectives, "I'm going to stop consulting you about copyright issues," and about 25 minutes later, he was able to escape from the locked room at the police station.
A young detective recorded the interrogation.
After that, police officers made regular patrols of Harada's apartment.
The police continued to patrol Harada for a while even after Harada moved out.
One day, a police officer visited Harada's room and tried to find out about his social circle and contact information.
The police's activities calmed down around 2020.
Harada encountered various troubles, such as MIDORI's films being confiscated at Narita and Charles de Gaulle airports.
Why did such things happen to Harada so much?
Perhaps it's because Harada is a former member of the Japanese Communist Party and still subscribes to the party's newspaper. In that case, he would be blacklisted by the police.
Perhaps it's because the promoter of MIDORI has ties to a New Left group. (He was wrongfully arrested once before.)
"Maybe the detectives bullied me because I was short and looked weak," Harada says.
Since it was the police who harassed Harada, he had no one to talk to. Harada also did not imagine that something like this would happen, so he did not prepare in advance to secretly record the situation in the closed room.
"What is this!"
"It's outrageous that a middle-aged man and a young girl are shown side by side!"
"MIDORI is an outrageous movie."
"This movie is more of a problem than copyright issues!"
"We need to monitor your room regularly!"
Harada was thinking of a way to escape from the locked room.
Harada repeatedly pleaded with the detectives, "I'm going to stop consulting you about copyright issues," and about 25 minutes later, he was able to escape from the locked room at the police station.
A young detective recorded the interrogation.
After that, police officers made regular patrols of Harada's apartment.
The police continued to patrol Harada for a while even after Harada moved out.
One day, a police officer visited Harada's room and tried to find out about his social circle and contact information.
The police's activities calmed down around 2020.
Harada encountered various troubles, such as MIDORI's films being confiscated at Narita and Charles de Gaulle airports.
Why did such things happen to Harada so much?
Perhaps it's because Harada is a former member of the Japanese Communist Party and still subscribes to the party's newspaper. In that case, he would be blacklisted by the police.
Perhaps it's because the promoter of MIDORI has ties to a New Left group. (He was wrongfully arrested once before.)
"Maybe the detectives bullied me because I was short and looked weak," Harada says.
Since it was the police who harassed Harada, he had no one to talk to. Harada also did not imagine that something like this would happen, so he did not prepare in advance to secretly record the situation in the closed room.
Police have several laws for arresting leftists on separate charges.
One of these laws allows police to arrest people if they are found to be carrying a knife or other knife when they go out.
(However, if it is illegal to carry a knife outdoors, we cannot buy knives in stores.)
However, in the past, people who have been arrested under this law have been civic activists and labor union members. Harada's anarchist friend was also wrongfully arrested under this law.
In 2000, MIDORI was scheduled to be screened in Nagoya for the first time in a long time.
A large amount of thin pink washi paper cherry blossom petals were needed to scatter around the theater.
On the train to Nagoya, Harada cut a large piece of pink washi paper into small pieces with scissors.
This time, too, Harada did the work in hiding so as not to be arrested.
Japanese police and prosecutors do not arrest or prosecute ruling party politicians and other powerful people, no matter how bad their crimes, but they repeatedly make wrongful arrests against weak citizens.
We have to create and exhibit our works while moving through those gaps.
One of these laws allows police to arrest people if they are found to be carrying a knife or other knife when they go out.
(However, if it is illegal to carry a knife outdoors, we cannot buy knives in stores.)
However, in the past, people who have been arrested under this law have been civic activists and labor union members. Harada's anarchist friend was also wrongfully arrested under this law.
In 2000, MIDORI was scheduled to be screened in Nagoya for the first time in a long time.
A large amount of thin pink washi paper cherry blossom petals were needed to scatter around the theater.
On the train to Nagoya, Harada cut a large piece of pink washi paper into small pieces with scissors.
This time, too, Harada did the work in hiding so as not to be arrested.
Japanese police and prosecutors do not arrest or prosecute ruling party politicians and other powerful people, no matter how bad their crimes, but they repeatedly make wrongful arrests against weak citizens.
We have to create and exhibit our works while moving through those gaps.
Horizon Blue
There was a scene in Horizon Blue that showed the exterior of a police station.
Harada filmed the exterior of the police station with a MiniDV camera at night.
Immediately afterwards, a police officer came out and took Harada inside the station.
It was later discovered that the police had been monitoring the entrance with a hidden camera.
The police officer told Harada, "You're not allowed to film at police stations. (We've never heard of that.)
If you release this film, we'll sue you."
At this point, Harada gave a vague answer and ran away from the police station.
The exterior of the police station that Harada filmed was included in Horizon Blue.
Harada also inserted photos of the inside of a police station and a police car that he had taken on a different day.
In the past, Harada had been involved with the police and rode in a police car due to trouble with his partner in his private life.
These events were recreated in the film.
Harada wanted to express the fear of suddenly facing a serious incident in your daily life and coming into contact with the police, so he really wanted to show this using live action and photographs rather than drawings.
But in the end the police did not take action against Harada.
This may have been because Harada was moving house frequently at the time, but the police surely never imagined that it would take 20 years to complete the film.
Harada filmed the exterior of the police station with a MiniDV camera at night.
Immediately afterwards, a police officer came out and took Harada inside the station.
It was later discovered that the police had been monitoring the entrance with a hidden camera.
The police officer told Harada, "You're not allowed to film at police stations. (We've never heard of that.)
If you release this film, we'll sue you."
At this point, Harada gave a vague answer and ran away from the police station.
The exterior of the police station that Harada filmed was included in Horizon Blue.
Harada also inserted photos of the inside of a police station and a police car that he had taken on a different day.
In the past, Harada had been involved with the police and rode in a police car due to trouble with his partner in his private life.
These events were recreated in the film.
Harada wanted to express the fear of suddenly facing a serious incident in your daily life and coming into contact with the police, so he really wanted to show this using live action and photographs rather than drawings.
But in the end the police did not take action against Harada.
This may have been because Harada was moving house frequently at the time, but the police surely never imagined that it would take 20 years to complete the film.
Some independent film directors fight against obstruction and interference with physical strength or direct confrontation, but Harada is not that type of person.
Harada believes that he would not be able to paint or make music if both his hands were broken, and many precedents teach us the way in which people are treated if arrested, with their human rights being ignored.
So, if there are any creators or artists who are struggling with similar problems, please take these cases as a reference point.
Harada believes that he would not be able to paint or make music if both his hands were broken, and many precedents teach us the way in which people are treated if arrested, with their human rights being ignored.
So, if there are any creators or artists who are struggling with similar problems, please take these cases as a reference point.
by kiyubaru2020
| 2024-08-27 13:10
| Life and history
