japanese
Islands / I Lands
—Cinemas in Exile
  • The Sorceress of Dirah
  • Meta Ekologi
  • Foreign Sky
  • each film . . . an island?
  • Accentuation
  • The Place Where I Live—and touch me
  • Reflection
  • Amami Film: In Memory of Miho-san
  • dolce . . .
  • Puppet Shaman Star
  • Promised Paradise
  • Order
  • Life on Distant Islands
  • The Struggle Against Endemic Diseases
  • At the End of the Arc: Yaeyama Islands

  • Theresa Hak Kyung Cha
  • Maria Rosalie Zerrudo
  • Life on Distant Islands

    (“Shin nihon chiri eiga taikei: Hanarejima no seikatsu—Tsushima, Hachijojima”)

    - JAPAN / 1961 / Japanese / B&W / Video (Original: 35mm) / 20 min

    Director, Script: Naeda Yasuo
    Photography: Hiraki Yasushi
    Sound: Kimura Katsumi Music: Takeda Shunichi
    Commentary: Shinto Fumio
    Production Companies: Nihon Eiga Shinsha, The Asahi Shimbun Company
    Source: Nichiei Archive, Toho Stella Ltd.

    This film focuses on the islands of Tsushima and Hachijojima to examine the unique living conditions and the pursuit of prosperity on remote islands. On Tsushima, it depicts the ferry service, elementary school students commuting by boat, slash-and-burn agriculture, and coastal fishery; and on Hachijojima, the advent of a thermal power plant and direct flights to Haneda Airport. The film introduces distinctive customs of the islands, as well as new possibilities opened up by support from the mainland. Whether these “improvements” in living conditions are really relevant to the islands remains an open question.