"Fukuda Village Incident", discrimination and exclusion [Doichiro Enoki's Akasatana Movie Vol.36]

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Great Kanto Earthquake. Numerous disaster prevention events and photo exhibitions have been planned, and television documentaries have been produced. The bookstore has a special corner. The timescale of 100 years is interesting. It's "history", but it's not something that can only be learned from books, but something that is both vivid and connected to the memories of one's family and town. For my generation, this happened two generations ago, during the time of my grandfather and grandmother. I also heard directly from my grandmother, ``It was midday, so all the houses were burning, and the fire started.''

On September 1st of this year, we put our hands together at the ``Azuma Jizo'' in Azumabashi Higashizume. Jizo statues were erected in Tokyo's downtown area to commemorate the deaths of many people due to two major disasters, the earthquake and war. For residents of downtown areas, the Great Kanto Earthquake and the upcoming earthquake directly hitting the Tokyo metropolitan area are very real. I'm afraid of a "fire whirlwind." The entire downtown area, which is densely populated with wooden houses, is engulfed in flames, and the sudden strong winds create what looks like a tornado of flames. At the time, the police were directing people to the clothing factory site in Yokoami-cho, Sumida Ward (currently Tokyo Metropolitan Memorial Hall and Yokoami-cho Park) as an evacuation site, but approximately 38,000 people were burnt to death there. This is real for me. It's a nearby area that you can walk through.

I'm scared of earthquakes anyway. Tremors, cracks in the ground, fires, and tsunamis are all scary. However, we must not forget one more thing: ``Fukuda Village Incident'' (23) depicts something extremely scary.

``Fukuda Village Incident'' is director Tatsuya Mori's first feature film, based on the tragedy that occurred in Fukuda Village (now Noda City), Chiba Prefecture, five days after the Great Kanto Earthquake. Tatsuya Mori is a documentary maker known for `` A '' (1998), `` A2 '' (2001), which takes a closer look at Aum Shinrikyo, and `` FAKE '' (16), which follows Mamoru Samuragochi, the composer involved in The Ghost Writer scandal. is not it. However, in the TV documentary ``Documentaries Tell Lies,'' he shows a skill similar to Shohei Imamura's `` Human Evaporation '' (67), ``using documentary methods to create a fake reality,'' and the ambiguity of fiction and nonfiction, truth and fiction. He is also someone who has shown difficulty in separation.

"The Fukuda Village Incident" is a fictional film starring actors such as Arata Iura, Rena Tanaka, Eita Nagayama, and Masahiro Higashide, but it depicts the tragedy that occurred in the village in a non-fictional manner. Well, I've been vague about the "tragedy" from the beginning, but the truth is truly terrifying.

At the time of the Great Kanto Earthquake, rumors such as ``Korean people are poisoning wells'' were thrown around, and many Koreans were killed by vigilante groups who believed this.The panic mentality caused by the earthquake is frightening. My generation grew up hearing that it was a thing. As I grew older, I learned through books that not only Koreans were killed, but also socialists and anarchists. Well, Sakae Osugi is famous. When I was a child, I was as afraid of ``panic psychology'' as I was of ``fire whirlwinds.'' I wondered what this ``panic psychology'' is that causes people to become aggressive to the point of killing them. The ``panic mentality'' that I had when I was a child was like hoarding toilet paper. It's true that he's frantic, but I don't feel any aggression.

The Fukuda Village Incident shows us how this happened. This is not a book. Actors will actually perform their roles. Although the details may be different from the actual incident that occurred in Fukuda Village 100 years ago, seeing is believing. Both ``rumours'' and ``panic psychology'' made me feel sad, thinking, ``Ah, this is what it actually looks like.'' It's scary, but it could happen.

“Fukuda Village Incident” © “Fukuda Village Incident” Project 2023

First of all, ``Ryugen Higo'' is actually discriminatory. Just as a major earthquake exposes invisible fault lines, the psychology of people in times of emergency exposes feelings of discrimination and hostility that were hidden during normal times. When we try to protect ``us'' excessively, we end up creating ``those people.'' Vigilante groups are formed to protect ``themselves'' from ``those people.'' That is justice. A notification from the Ministry of Interior's Security Bureau gives the seal of approval to ``rumourful words.'' They end up making an announcement saying, ``Futakusenjin is setting fires and going on a rampage.'' The Metropolitan Police Department also issued a similar notice to each police station within its jurisdiction.

Although ``Fukuda Village Incident'' also depicts the murder of Koreans, the main story is about the murder of a group of drug dealers and peddlers in Kagawa. In other words, it was the murder of Japanese people by Japanese people. There is a scene in which the vigilante group asks, ``Tell me 15 yen and 50 sen, 15 yen and 50 sen,'' which seems to have actually happened. The idea is to make the Koreans utter muddy sounds, which Koreans are not good at, in order to tell whether or not someone should be eliminated. People with accents, such as Tohoku and Okinawan people, are thought to be Korean and are killed. Well, it is possible to express it as ``I was killed by mistake even though I was Japanese,'' but the more fundamental question is: Is it okay for a Korean to be killed? Is it okay to exclude Koreans? is left behind.

I grew up moving around the country because of my father's work, so I know the atmosphere when a local child discovers something ``foreign.'' You're at school the same way, you're smiling the same way, but you're different. It comes to the surface through words or small incidents, ``like an invisible fault line being exposed,'' and it becomes contagious through the air. I'm scared. Fortunately, I was a big guy and had a strong fight, so I didn't get hurt too badly, but the ``Fukuda Village Incident'' vividly reminded me of how contagious that atmosphere was.

Eliminate "them" to protect "themselves." That variation was repeated in Japan, about 100 years later, during the coronavirus pandemic. I will never forget the series of events in which I organized a vigilante group to watch over and eliminate cars with out-of-prefecture license plates. That is justice. A person passionate about justice found an "outsider" and eliminated it. They posted signs saying "Go home," scratched the car's body, and punctured its tires. Now (after moving to Category 5), it may be the same person who is walking around without even wearing a mask.

Text: Ichiro Enoki

Born in 1959. Born in Akita Prefecture. Debuted in a commercial magazine with ``Takarajima'' in 1980 while studying at Chuo University. Since then, he has serialized columns and essays in various magazines, and continues to this day. Also active on radio and television. Twitter @ichiroenokido

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"Fukuda Village Incident"

Opening nationwide from September 1st (Friday) at Theater Shinjuku, Eurospace, etc.

Distribution: Uzumasa

© “Fukuda Village Incident” Project 2023