Tokyo Reels: Archival Film Collection Reveals 1970s-80s Japan-Palestine Solidarity Through Cinema
In 2016, artist Mohanad Yaqubi, originally from Gaza, received a set of twenty film reels from Aoe Tanami of Hiroshima City University. These reels, which document Japan-Palestine solidarity during the 1970s and 1980s, are associated with the PLO's Tokyo office and feature films such as 'The Road to a Palestinian State' (1974) and Ryuichi Hirokawa's 'Beirut 1982,' complete with Japanese subtitles for local audiences. Inspired by this collection, projects like 'For an Imperfect Archive: Tokyo Reels' at KASK and Yaqubi's documentary 'R21 aka Restoring Solidarity' (2022) emerged. The installation at documenta fifteen in 2022 sparked controversy due to accusations of anti-Semitism, while the reels underscore Japan's political evolution and connections to local activism.
Key facts
- Tokyo Reels is a collection of twenty film reels documenting Japan-Palestine solidarity from the 1970s-80s.
- Mohanad Yaqubi received the reels in 2016 from Aoe Tanami, who stored them in a Tokyo archive.
- The films originated from the PLO's Tokyo office, which opened in 1977.
- Projects include research at KASK in Ghent, a documenta fifteen installation, a film festival, and Yaqubi's documentary 'R21 aka Restoring Solidarity' (2022).
- The collection includes NHK's 'The Road to a Palestinian State' (1974) and 'Beirut 1982' by Ryuichi Hirokawa.
- Films feature Japanese adaptations, such as subtitles or voice-overs, for local distribution.
- The installation at documenta fifteen in Kassel in 2022 faced controversy and calls for termination.
- Yaqubi's documentary approaches the archive as an incomplete, dialogic resource, scanning reels with their material degradation intact.
Entities
Artists
- Mohanad Yaqubi
- Aoe Tanami
- Masao Adachi
- Koji Wakamatsu
- Motoharu Jonouchi
- Nagisa Oshima
- Ryuichi Hirokawa
- Tetsuo Nunokawa
- Mineo Mitsui
- Ghaleb Shaath
- Yuzo Itagaki
- Noriaki Tsuchimoto
- Shinsuke Ogawa
- Susumu Hani
- Kazuo Kuroki
- Sumiko Haneda
- Kazuo Hara
- Fusako Shigenobu
- Michiko Kanba
- Akira Ishino
- Farouk Qaddoumi
- Yasser Arafat
- Matsuda Masao
- Mamoru Sasaki
- Norio Nagayama
- Haruo Wakō
- Naeem Mohaiemen
- Elisa Adami
- Adeena Mey
- Go Hirasawa
- Alexander Zahlten
- Eisuke Naramoto
- Jeremy Randall
- Yuriko Furuhata
- Takuya Tsunoda
- Eiji Tamura
- Gareth Harris
- Jörg Heiser
- Nick Aikens
- Reem Shilleh
- Ukichiro Nakaya
- Fujiko Nakaya
Institutions
- Afterall
- Hiroshima City University
- Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK)
- Subversive Film
- documenta fifteen
- IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam)
- Van Abbemuseum
- Image Forum
- Hübner areal
- PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization)
- PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine)
- NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation)
- VAN Film Science Research Centre
- Wakamatsu Production
- Zengakuren (All-Japan Federation of Students' Self-Governing Associations)
- Cinesell Japan, Inc.
- Hiroshima Screening Committee
- Ogawamachi Cine Club
- Iwanami Productions
- NUNOKAWA Productions
- Nihon Documentarist Union (NDU)
- United Nations
- National Film Archive of Japan
- Planet Bibliothèque de Cinéma
- Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival
- Contour Biennale
- The Art Newspaper
- Griot Magazine
- e-flux
- Archivio Aperto
- L’Internationale Online
- Collaborative Cataloging Japan
- Bunshun online
- Duke University Press
- Leiden University
- Yale University
- Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East
- Japan Quarterly
- The Journal of Japanese and Korean Cinema
- ruangrupa
- Taring Padi
- Liberal Democratic Party
- Israel Defense Forces
- Lebanese Forces
- Al-Mourabitoun
- Palestinian Cinema Pro
- Permanent General Mission of Palestine
- New Scientific Advisory Panel
Locations
- Tokyo
- Japan
- Brussels
- Belgium
- Gaza
- Palestine
- Hiroshima
- Shibuya
- Ghent
- Kassel
- Germany
- Ramallah
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands
- Lebanon
- Hague
- North Korea
- Cuba
- Nagano
- Asama-Sansō
- Sanrizuka
- Narita
- Shinjuku
- Bangladesh
- Lod Airport
- Israel
- Amman
- Jordan
- Marka refugee camp
- Schneller camp
- Nabatieh
- Osaka
- Eindhoven
- Mechelen
- Austria
- Egypt
- Iraq
- Kuwait
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Tunisia
- Qatar
- Durham, NC
- New Haven, CT
- Leiden
Sources
- Afterall —