Production Year 1993
The little School on the Island
DC239309
あっくんの島の学校 [KRY]
|Length : 27min. |Year : 1993 |
What's it like to be the only kid in Grade Three? Just two hundred people live on the island of Ushima off Yamaguchi, and when this program was taped, there were only two children of elementary school age: Akihiro Nakamura and his sister Yumiko. The children's relationship with their teacher Mr.Uchiyama is naturally a special one. One can imagine how they feel when the time comes for their teacher to leave. It's a heartwarming story about a life that is fast disappearing.
Fuko’s Lunch
DC239310
ふうちゃんのお弁当 [ABS]
|Length : 27min. |Year : 1993 |
Not all Japanese families fit the traditional mold. Fuko's family is a good example of a modern trend. Tenth-grader Fuko's mother works outside of the home and all members of the family, including the two daughters and their father, share the housework. The girls are being raised to be independent; they go on trips by themselves and are paid for each chore they do, which in Fuko's case means preparing lunches for her mother and sister everyday. It's a busy - but happy - family.
From the Philippines with Love
DC249308
フィリピーナの贈り物 おおくら村の国際結婚 [TBC]
|Length : 30min. |Year : 1993 |
With so many young people going to the cities, life has proven hard for the men of Okura, a village in Yamagata. Mostly farmers and laborers, they have been unable to find Japanese women to marry them. When the local government organized a tour to the Philippines to find wives, a few of the men were able to come back with Filipina brides. However, as this interesting program indicates, international marriages are never easy: they require much hard work and a lot of love.
On the Edge of Life
DC259310
いのちの水際をささえて 新生病院の試み [SBC]
|Length : 45min. |Year : 1993 |
Although most Japanese doctors will not tell cancer patients that they are terminally ill and are firm believers in institutional care, Dr.Toru Uchisaka and his doctor wife, Yumiko are of a different opinion: they believe in a patient's right to know what his or her condition is and that the best place for a terminal cancer patient is usually right at home. This moving documentary tells us as much about the meaning of life as it does about the terrible reality of death.
The Roots of the Awa-Odori – A Journey of Discovery to the Southern Islands –
DC279304
阿波踊り発見!南の海に源流を求めて [JRT]
|Length : 26min. |Year : 1993 |
In this fascinating study of the roots of Japanese cultural diversity, dance researcher, Eiji Hinoki, journeys south to investigate the dances of Kyushu. While the famous Awa-Odori folk dance of his native Tokushima in Shikoku has much in common with the folk dances of Japan's southern islands, its three-beat rhythm is unique. Hinoki believes that the Awa-Odori probably originated in the Amakusa region of Western Kyushu through contacts with fishermen and merchants.