Program 3
The Unforgivable Atom Bomb: The Singing Voice of 1954 Japan
(Genbaku yurusumaji: 1954-nen Nihon no utagoe)- 1954 / B&W / 16mm (Original: 35mm) / 28 min
Directors: Noda Shinkichi, Takeuchi Shinji, Michibayashi Ichiro, Kanke Mari
Photography: Miyajima Yoshio
Planning: The Singing Voice of Japan Planning Committee
Executive Producer: Seki Akiko
Producers: Yoneyama Kyo, Onuma Tetsuro, Kouno Tetsuji
Production Companies: Documentary Film Production Council, Ongaku Center
Source: Kyodo Eiga
This film documents a large-scale event organized by the Utagoe (Singing Voice) working class choral and musical movement that took place over the course of three days in Tokyo on November 27, 1954 at Kyoritsu Auditorium and Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium. Tens of thousands of people from factories and farming villages across Japan take part. Folk songs from different local regions of Japan are sung and laborer choruses perform. Choruses and songs and dances from Korea and China are heard. The finale is a mass choral performance of “The Unforgivable Atom Bomb.”
The Matsukawa Incident: Seeing the Truth Through the Wall
(Matsukawa jiken: Shinjitsu wa kabe o toshite)- 1954 / B&W / 35mm / 58 min
Photography: Uematsu Eikichi, Miyajima Yoshio, Ryujin Takamasa, Irisawa Kichigoro, Takayama Amane, Okojima Kaichi, Segawa Jun’ichi, Fujii Yoshitaka, Kawamura Hiroshi, Shimamoto Yoshimasa
Image from the Collection of National Film Archive of Japan
Editors: Noda Shinkichi, Kono Tetsuji, Mamiya Norio
Sound: Katayama Mikio, Kagara Jiro
Music: Dan Ikuma
Planning, Production: Matsukawa Incident Strategy Committee
Producers: Ube Takashi, Akama Hiroshi, Taniguchi Toyokazu, Yoneyama Kyo, Moriya Gen
Source: National Film Archive of Japan
A passenger train derailment occurred on August 17, 1949. In the aftermath, it was suspected that Communist sympathizers were responsible and people involved in an ongoing labor dispute were rounded up and put on trial. Starting from the premise that unjust verdicts were handed down in both the initial trial and on appeal, this film sets out to investigate the truth. A new print will be screened.