Masahiro Takiguchi, President of Shonan Takiguchi Co., Ltd., is a prominent Hiratsuka businessman. The Takiguchi family are long-time supporters of the Tanabata Festival. Shigeru interviewed him in the video.
*AMATEUR FILM
A film made by a friend of Mr. Takiguchi's father in 1963. The film shows Mr. Takiguchi's father as he gets his inspirations for, plans, and creates his award winning decorations for the Tanabata Festival.
*SON TAKES OVER HIS FATHER'S BUSINESS
In the Japanese tradition, the son must inherit the family business. Mrs. Miyagawa relates that her husband, Ichiro, was an only son, but his father thought that it would be better for him to do what he liked, to make his own choice.
"My husband had always liked reading and experimenting, so he chose to go to school, to study physics. He became an Assistant Professor at Tokyo University. I was working at the shop, and people who did not know the Miyagawa family thought I was the daughter, because my husband was never in the shop."
Corky reacts to Uncle Hiroshi's story:
"Hiroshi, like so many small shopkeepers and tradesmen, took over his father's business. It is still common for a son to do so, or if no son is available or willing, a daughter will bring in a husband who might be adopted into the family, take the family name, and carry on the business.
"Especially in smaller cities and towns, it is expected that there will be family continuity in the area, and indeed, in the rural areas, 65% of the older residents have been there all their lives. Younger people may leave for the urban areas, but generally one or more children may return to the hometown when their parents become dependent elderly."
*SHOWA 35
*SHOWA 20
*SHOWA 37
*SHOWA 24
Since the beginning of the Meiji period (1868), the Japanese year corresponds to the living emperor. When there is a new emperor, the year changes, as it did with the death of Showa emperor Hirohito in 1989 when the Heisei emperor Akihito took over.
During emperor Hirohito's reign, the years began with the name SHOWA. When the current emperor Akihito's reign began, the years begin with the name HEISEI. Heisei 1 was also Showa 64 because the Showa emperor died in January of Showa 64. There was no New Years Day for Heisei 1. Heisei 1 was also Showa 64 because the Showa emperor died in January of Showa 64. There was no New Years Day for Heisei 1.
Before 1868, the calendar was based on "era" names, but they had no relation to the Emperor, who was not always a well-known figure across Japan. Rulers constructed a name from two ideographs and the era lasted until a major event, such as a natural disaster or political upheaval, caused them to choose a new name, hoping for better luck.
To convert:
add 1925 to Showa year to get western year.
add 1988 to Heisei year to get western year.
*CONVENIENCE STORE
Convenience stores are very popular in Japan. In addition to those in large cities, every small town has at least one convenience store which is open twenty-four hours a day. Single people and students depend on them, and the busiest hours are between 9:00 PM and 3:00 AM. A wide variety of fresh foods and other merchandise is available.
*BENTO
A bento is a kind of boxed lunch--a box with compartments containing rice and a variety of other foods. They are sold nearly everywhere in Japan, and the ingredients are always fresh.
*AMERICAN MOVIES
The popularity of American movies in Japan was particularly high in the 1950's and 1960's, and is now matched by Japanese and Chinese made films. The Japanese film industry makes both pop and art films.
The general audience flocks to American movies, topped by the blockbusters. The Japanese films we see in the US tend to be "art" films, which in Japan would mainly appeal to film buffs. Since the mid-1970's there has been a craze for American 1950's culture, and James Dean, Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis Presley have their own "industries" of goods and labels popular among the young in Japan.
*MIZOGUCHI
Kenji Mizoguchi (b. May 16, 1898, Tokyo, Japan - d. Aug. 24, 1956, Kyoto), Japanese film director. Known for their realism and visual beauty, his films are concerned with the clash between traditional and modern values, the nature of reality, and the effect of a woman's love. Zangiku monogatari (The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums, 1939) was the first in a series of historical dramas about the Meiji period (1868-1912). Ugetsu monogatari (1953) examines the nature of reality and is considered Mizoguchi's masterpiece.
A series of important postwar films were dramas about women: The Love of Actress Sumako (1947), Women of the Night (1948), and Street of Shame (1956).
*KUROSAWA
Akira Kurosawa (b. March 23, 1910, Tokyo, Japan). Japanese film director. Rashomon (1950), the first Japanese film to win international acclaim, was an account of a crime given from four viewpoints. Ikiru (1952), is a masterful depiction of postwar Japan, a moral tale of a terminally ill government official who ultimately finds peace in serving the poor.
The Seven Samurai (1954), his greatest commercial success, was inspired by his love of American westerns. Shakespearean themes are developed with distinct Japanese style and settings in Ran (1985), based on King Lear, and Throne of Blood (1957), based on Macbeth. He used other stories from Western sources, as well as historic Japanese material, combining the aesthetics of Japanese art with a Western sense of drama and action. More than any other Japanese filmmaker, his work attracts the acclaim and interest of the West.
*OZU
Yasujiro Ozu (b. Dec. 15, 1903, Tokyo, d. Dec. 12, 1963, Tokyo), film director. From his sterling silent comedies, I Graduated, But... (1929), I Was Born, But... (1932), he studied relationships within the lower-middle-class Japanese family, originating the shomin geki (common-people's drama). His first big success was The Toda Brother and His Sisters (1941).
After a hiatus from 1942 to 1947, he created increasingly stylistic films, nearly abandoning plot and camera movement -- Early Summer (1951), The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice (1952), Tokyo Story (1953). His later films, like Early Autumn (1961) and An Autumn Afternoon (1962) featured the decorative use of color. Of all the Japanese directors, he was more highly acclaimed than any other in his own country.
