I caught an interesting note in the Mainichi Shinbun recently. The article reports that Tokyo yakuza have moved into the Viagra trade in order to extend their influence in local communities. The punchline is that the Viagra is grossly overpriced, but the markup considered a form of protection money.
In my book, Tokyo Lives, The Snake and Pig Face don’t have this problem. Until Megumi’s murder unravels everything, they simply show up at neighborhood businesses monthly and, without even asking, expect an envelope full of money to be handed over. However, I would love to incorporate this new marketing channel into any sequel that comes out!
With the presentation of the coveted Palme d’Or just a few days a way, the focus of the cinematic world turns to the legendary Cannes Film Festival. The event is a showcase for established actors and directors, and a proving ground for the next generation.
A man who’s proven himself time and time again is Takeshi “Beat” Kitano, star and director of numerous Japanese hits over the past several decades. Noted for his trademark black sunglasses, Beat established his early name in yakuza-themed films. His Cannes entry, Outrage, is his first yakuza vehicle since Brother in 2000.
I share two interesting notes about Brother, which starred Beat as a tough gangster who took over the Los Angeles crime scene after being expelled from his gang family in Japan. Point one is that a young Omar Epps, currently known as Dr. Foreman on House (a show I adore), played a supporting role of a friend of Beat’s American half-brother. In a classic Kitano scene, Beat stabs Epps in the eye with a broken liquor bottle. (Violently shoving chopsticks into eyes and noses is another Beat method of torture.)
More relevant to our discussion, however, is that I drew on several elements from Brother as inspiration for Tokyo Lives. A prominent instance is Chapter 4, in which the gang convenes a formal ceremony to hear an address from the Governor. I borrowed quite liberally the ritual of the monk blessing the fish. Later in the meeting, Shark Tooth stabs himself as a show of toughness after being challenged by Ice. This is also pulled from a later scene in Brother. Below you’ll find passages from Tokyo Lives, and the corresponding clip from Brother.
The men file into an elegant conference room and sit cross-legged on the tatami floor. A black-robed monk arrives and kneels at the head of the assembly. Before him lies a pure white plate with ceremonial chopsticks resting horizontally. Clutching the chopsticks with both hands, the monk stabs at the air several times to bless the room, then waves the chopsticks over a stuffed fish to christen the meal. A recited prayer ensues, after which the seated men bow in unison.
A commotion among the gangsters interrupts the repartee as The Snake and the hostess turn to see Ice and Shark Tooth standing toe-to-toe locked in argument. “You’ve never been reliable,” Ice challenges. “I’ve been through the wars!” Shark Tooth retaliates. “With such a pretty face and no scars?” Ice begins to caress Shark Tooth’s face before Shark Tooth slaps away his hand. “Do you challenge my loyalty?” “You would have to have loyalty for me to challenge it,” Ice chides. Shark Tooth steps toward Ice but fellow gangsters restrain him. “I bleed for our family!” “But you’ve never shed blood.” “Bring me a knife,” Shark Tooth turns and shouts at a junior gangster. “Now!” A fresh-faced recruit scampers off and returns with the sushi paring blade. Shark Took throws his jacket to the floor and rips open his dress shirt. He seizes the knife and stabs his stomach, tearing through his abs. He remains silent until the pain overtakes him and emits gurgles of agony; blood streams onto the tatami. Staring Ice in the eyes, Shark Tooth clings to his adversary to support himself. Ice pushes him away and Shark Tooth crumples to the floor. Ice takes a step backward and orders, “Get me a towel.” He peels the blood-stained shirt from his body and throws it on the floor.
(Jump to about the 2:35 mark for the stabbing scene)
In a touching gesture that is many, many years overdue, several West Coast universities have begun awarding honorary degrees to Japanese-American students from the 1940s whose educations were interrupted when they were sent to internment camps. My two alma maters, UCLA and SDSU, recently conducted ceremonies honoring the former students. Read about UCLA here and SDSU here; below is a video clip detailing how SDSU went to great lengths to identify who was involved.
Anyone who’s spent time in Japan knows that the TV variety shows are a rollicking collection of hilarity. Typically, a TV personality or comedian plays host to a revolving cadre of celebrities, who serve as "peanut gallery" commentators. Feats of unparalleled human achievement are favored topics.
This one combines two of Japan’s great passions: Samurai swordplay for the traditionalists, and baseball for the modernists. As you’ll bear witness in the clip below, the swordsman bisects a pitched baseball. (Check out the reaction of the host in the red blazer!)
You Only Live Twice, the fifth movie in the James Bond series, has been showing up on T.V. lately, so I figured it was time to offer a proper review and some commentary on mid-1960s Japan. The plot, mind you, really has nothing to do with Japan--it just happens to be the location from which arch-enemy Ernst Stavro Blofeld is launching ships into space that gobble up American and Soviet spacecraft in the hopes of provoking the two super powers into another world war.
Plot aside, it’s also clear the producers wanted to explore some of the mystery and intrigue of the Land of the Rising Sun. Released in 1967, You Only Live Twice is the first Bond film with an Asia-centric setting. A 27-year remove from World War II provided enough historical distance for old wounds to heal. Unbeknownst to the rest of the world, a game-changing revolution was underfoot. Viewers were introduced to brands like Toyota, Sony, and Toshiba that, within 10 years, would come to dominate the consumer landscape...and never really look back.
The producers also did everything possible to play up cultural peculiarities. Sumo wrestling and ninjas are both featured prominently (though not in direct combat!), and there seems to be an overabundance of kimono and yukata wearing among females.
Here are some of my favorite moments, followed by the original theatrical trailer.
John Barry’s beautiful soundtrack and title song (by Nancy Sinatra--enjoy here). Even better is the way Barry mixes the melody into the movie soundtrack.
Bond asksing Ling, his first love interest, “Why do Chinese girls taste different from all other girls,” followed by, “Peking Duck is different from Russian caviar, but I love them both.”
Yukata-clad spies, priceless scenes of mid-1960s Tokyo, a genuine sumo match, and Aki’s Toyota 2000GT “Bond Model”—one of only two built as a convertible
Henderson, Mi-6’s man in Tokyo, getting stabbed to death through a paper wall. Shouldn’t a man of such high profile live in more secure environs?
Tiger Tanaka, head of the Japanese intelligence agency, shuttling under Tokyo in a private subway car and assuming that M has similar accommodations in London. When Bond says he prefers his sake served at the correct temperature--98.4 degrees Fahrenehit--Tiger compliments, “For a European, you are exceptionally cultivated.”
Tiger stating, “In Japan, men always come first. Women come second,” and Bond replying, “I might just retire here.”
Aki saying to Bond, “I think I will enjoy very much serving under you.”
The Hotel New Otani being retrofitted to serve as Osato Chemicals HQ.
Ninjas! Tiger’s showpiece agents train at classical swordplay and the art of deception, while the modern ninjas practice indoors with guns and other Q-branch inspired gadgets.
Bond-san getting plastic surgery so he can go undercover as a local in a small fishing village. An all-female surgical team (conveniently dressed in swimsuits) performs the procedure.
Aki getting poisoned, which I guess proves that you only live once, after all.
Tiger saying that Bond’s new wife has “the face of a pig.”
Kissy Suzuki, Bond’s new Japanese wife. (In the pantheon of ridiculous Bond Girl names, this is an all-timer, but I still give the nod to Chu Mi, who Bond encounters seven years later in Thailand in The Man With the Golden Gun).
Bond refusing a plate of oysters once Kissy informs him their mock marriage will be all business, including separate beds. (Don’t worry, they’re sucking face by the next morning.)
ESPN’s Outside the Lines examines Japanese-American internment through the sports prism: Santa Anita Park near Los Angeles was used as a sort of way station where internees were housed before being dispatched to points East. To add to the indignity of being rounded up like criminals and losing their homes, businesses, and property, the internees were forced to sleep in the Santa Anita stables. However, to prove that everything comes full circle, the piece concludes with a mention of jockey Corey Nakatani, whose grandfather passed through Santa Anita in 1942. Corey has won more than 900 races at Santa Anita. In addition to watching Corey race, many former internees conduct period reunions at Santa Anita.
Several other sources offer more perspective on Japanese-American internment. There is of course the standard Farewell to Manzanar, which most Californians read in school sometime between seventh and ninth grade. For a fictionalized account of one family’s experience, there is Julie Otsukua’s stirring and moving When the Emperor was Divine. (The title alone caught my interest.) Finally, if you’re ever in Washington, DC, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has a comprehensive internment exhibit within “The Price of Freedom: Americans at War” wing. If you can’t make it to DC, take this virtual tour.
This story first broke a few years ago—I read it in the L.A. Times in 2008. But last fall 60 Minutes decided to hop in with a feature story. The synopsis is that a yakuza boss, Tadamasa Goto • Paid about a million bucks for a liver transplant at UCLA • Jumped to the front of the transplant queue because of his financial largess • Avoided pesky visa problems by becoming an FBI informant.
Needless to say, the story created much outrage and consternation—especially among those awaiting liver transplants. Can’t say that I blame them. And, to no one’s surprise, Goto didn’t provide the inside dirt he promised.
The clip below gives some neat insights into the yakuza and suggests it’s just as prominent and thriving as ever.
And, finally, this story, and other accounts, make it clear that the yakuza have a hit order out on Jake Adelstein, the journalist who essentially broke this story. CBS reports that Adelstein lives under virtual police protection in Japan. Well, Adelstein should be the first to realize that if he’s relying on the Japanese police to stand up to the yakuza and protect him, then he should be very, very worried!
