Tokyo Story

I've been attempting to improve my Japanese listening skills by watching various Japanese programs and movies online. When there's translation it makes it much easier to confirm that I heard what I thought I heard. When the speaking is rapid fire, I have to stop, go back, listen again, and gradually discern what was said.

Tokyo Monogatari (Tokyo Story) ranks consistently in the top 10 or so films in the history of cinema. It has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and Yasujiro Ozu, the director, was born and raised in our neighbourhood in Tokyo, and is considered by film industry insiders to be one of the greatest directors ever. The youtube copy has English subtitles, (click on the box at the bottom right) so you can follow along. The depiction of early postwar life in Japan is amazing.

You'll see the theme of intergenerational differences in postwar Japan, the decline of a sense of connectedness and neighbourhood as affluence begins to take hold, and the contrast of contentment with ambition. In 1953, when this movie was released, Japan left its postwar reconstruction phase and began its dramatic economic climb. Electric rice cookers, washing machines and televisions became three sought after items and the list lengthened as time went on. 1953 is also the time that the postwar widespread openness to the Gospel in Japan began to decline.