Wheat Will Never Fall
(“Sunagawa no hitobito: Mugi shinazu”)
1955 / B&W / 16mm / 30 min
Photography: Aramaki Tadashi, Segawa Junichi, Segawa Hiroshi, Kagawa Yoshikazu
Editing: Kamei Fumio, Chiaki Shigeo, Teshigahara Hiroshi, Osanai Haruo, Yamazaki Seikyo, Kishi Tomiko
Sound: Maeda Tsugutoshi, Oya Tadao, Toyokawa Matsuyo, Katayama Mikio
Narrator: Akagi Ranko
Producer: Ono Tadashi
Production Company, Source: Japan Document Film
This is the second film of the Sunagawa series following The People of Sunagawa, which depicted the September conflicts. On November 1, local farmers and union people confronted a survey team with nonviolent resistance. On the 4th, protestors went all the way to Hakone to appeal directly to Prime Minister Hatoyama, but were denied a meeting. The next day, 1,000 union workers participated while 2,000 armed police appeared and the farmers appealed to them, saying: “Please go home. This is our land. We farmers grow the rice and vegetables you eat,” but the survey crew and armed police broke through and trampled the barley field. Finally, amidst the strong resistance, the police and survey workers retreated. After the struggle ends, farmers grasp trampled barley in their hands, dumbfounded. On the 9th, with union people absent, the local residents resisted 500 policemen as the survey team continued their survey regardless of people’s entreaties. Local residents could only stand by and cry. On the 21st, 1500 representatives of organizations opposed to military bases from around the country went to petition the American Embassy, the Prime Minister’s residence the Diet and other places. The demonstration in front of the American Embassy was the first since the time on MacArthur’s Occupation.