Jūzō Itami and Japan in the 80s/90s

I am always fascinated by the bubble period in the Japan of 1980s. Most people who look at modern Japan see it as a place with a culture vastly distinct from most other civilizations that they’ve seen or experienced. While that is true in many ways, peel off a few layers and Japan is as human as the rest of us – the same moral questions, greed, corruption and cronyism show their face in many aspects of daily life that most of us, living outside Japan, are used to. Look no further than recent news clippings in leading Japanese news dailies and you’ll know what I mean. That said, the scale of these scandals and corruption is far smaller than we see in many countries outside of Japan and there is a certain sense of responsibility and societal accountability that is nowhere else to be seen.

No postwar era exemplifies Japan’s “human” nature more than the bubble era of the late 1980s – immense wealth, corporate power and its nexus with politics, intricate dealings with the underworld and not doing right by society – traits easily visible in other cultures. If I could put it in one sentence, Japan was probably at its most individualistic in this period, putting somewhat into the background its image as a collectivist society.

And if art is a reflection of society, then no art is a better representative of this era than Juzo Itami’s creations encompassing biting satire and the very human vulnerabilities of the constituents that make up Japan. I haven’t watched his most celebrated works, “Tampopo” and “The Funeral” yet but having stumbled upon “Marusa no Onna” (both parts), “Supa no Onna” and “Minbo no Onna”, I have been very, very impressed by these highly entertaining masterworks of satire.

One of the most famous among these, “Marusa no Onna”, where Ryoko Itakura, a tax inspector (played by the impeccable Nobuko Miyamoto, Itami’s wife and lead in most of his movies), leaves no stone unturned on the path to bringing in the dough from tax-evaders, is a delight to watch. The subtle, often comic, interactions between the protagonist and what you could call an antagonist are amazing and fulfilling. I won’t reveal too many details here as the movie is worth experiencing on your own. The sequel goes deeper into other rotten parts of the system and is just as well-executed. Pricey and shady land deals in Tokyo being a pivotal plot point couldn’t have portrayed bubble-era Japan better. There is an interaction between Itakura’s boss and an elected official which would resonate amazingly well with those familiar with politics elsewhere.

“Minbo no Onna” satirizes the underworld – an act for which Itami had to suffer some grave consequences in real life. It is just as ably crafted as his other works and again puts the spotlight on things perhaps others had been glorifying. Given the real-life consequences for Itami, it just shows that nothing weakens the powerful as satire does. “Supa no Onna” is among his lighter fare and would count as a comedy but again, a fun-to-watch movie about a beaten up supermarket’s revival by our omnipresent “Onna”.

All said and done, it was a privilege to have discovered Itami’s work, whose life was cut short, perhaps too soon, in 1997. If you love good slice-of-life movies, you’d love Itami’s unique perspective on the failings of his own society at the peak of its economic power. And if you love Japanese culture, as I do, and its melting-pot nature in the 1980s (think “Maison Ikkoku”, if you want a manga reference), then just go ahead and watch these cinematic gems!