Kamei Fumio Retrospective [Post-War Documentary Films]
Children of the Base
(“Kichi no kotachi”)
1953 / B&W / 16mm / 29 min
Photography: Inoue Kan, Ushiyama Kunikazu, Yamagata Shu, Segawa Hiroshi, Sakazume Yasuo
Editing: Kamei Fumio, Tanaka Toru, Tomizawa Takao, Jinbo Harue, Yamazaki Seikyo
Sound: Katayama Mikio
Music: Hara Taro
Producers: Saito Mika, Ube Takashi
Production Company: Tokyo Kino Productions
Source: Japan Document Film
“Japanese Entry Prohibited”military bases have proliferated to more than 700, occupying an area equivalent to the island of Shikoku and completely encircling Japan’s children. The film depicts the situation at several bases through the eyes of children: Chitose in the north, a base in the mountain village of Tozawamura in Yamagata Prefecture, urban bases in Yokosuka and Tachikawa and Uchinada in Ishikawa Prefecture. This was Kamei’s first documentary film after a foray into feature filmmaking, so many scenes operate as in a narrative film. This is the first time Kamei worked with Kikuchi (a.k.a. Yamagata) Shu, who was in charge of the B camera unit. Kikuchi’s recollections, including some on the situation on the eve of the Korean War, are included in the separate Kamei Fumio Retrospective catalog.