Meet the Visionary Behind Japan’s Film Legacy: A 89-Year-Old Scholar Redefines Cinema in New York
At 89, Shiguéhiko Hasumi — hailed as Japan’s most revered film scholar — is finally stepping into the spotlight in the United States. This month, New York’s Japan Society is hosting a groundbreaking series titled Another History of the Movie in America and Japan (October 9–18), a meticulously handpicked collection of films timed to coincide with the release of the English translation of Hasumi’s seminal book, Directed by Yasujiro Ozu (https://www.ucpress.edu/books/directed-by-yasujiro-ozu/paper). This event marks not just a personal milestone for Hasumi, but a pivotal moment for global cinema discourse.
For decades, Hasumi’s writings have been a treasure map for Western filmmakers and cinephiles, yet his ideas remained locked away in translation. Now, with a personal curation in New York, his voice is finally reaching U.S. audiences — a belated but vital rebalancing of Japan’s cinematic narrative. The traditional canon of Japanese cinema, especially postwar masterpieces, has long been shaped by Western critics, leaving little room for Japanese thinkers to define their own legacy. As critic Chris Fujiwara once noted, ‘Ozu’s reputation in the West was built on the perspectives of three writers: Paul Schrader, Donald Richie, and David Bordwell.’
Hasumi’s impact extends far beyond academia. In the 1970s, his rigorous lectures at Tokyo’s Rikkyo University sparked a generation of Japanese indie filmmakers, including Kiyoshi Kurosawa and Shinji Aoyama. Even today, Ryusuke Hamaguchi — Japan’s recent Oscar winner — calls Hasumi his spiritual mentor. His influence stretches across continents, as he forged bonds with icons like Jean-Luc Godard, Pedro Costa, and Wim Wenders.
‘Hasumi, in one sense, made contemporary Japanese cinema,’ Hamaguchi once said. ‘His work, especially after the studio system’s collapse, reshaped how we see Japanese film.’ For this New York showcase, Japan Society granted Hasumi complete creative freedom — a rare honor previously reserved for figures like Susan Sontag and Hiroshi Sugimoto. The result? A daring blend of American and Japanese cinema, pairing Michael Mann’s Collateral with Seijun Suzuki’s Tokyo Drifter, or Richard Fleischer’s The Boston Strangler with Kenji Mizoguchi’s The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum. Rare shorts from Kurosawa and Aoyama sit beside John Ford’s silent Kentucky Pride, while Sho Miyake — one of Hasumi’s latest disciples — will debut his boxing drama during the closing weekend, sparking a free discussion on Ford’s enduring influence.
For New York cinephiles, this isn’t just a chance to meet a legendary critic — it’s a living demonstration of his method. The lineup includes a final screening of John Ford and Throwing — Complete Edition, a co-directed montage film from Hasumi and Miyake in 2022. But here’s where it gets controversial: Should the canon of Japanese cinema be defined by Western voices, or does Hasumi’s work prove that Japanese scholars can shape the field just as profoundly?
And this is the part most people miss: Hasumi’s approach isn’t just about comparing films, but about redefining what cinema means. As the series unfolds, viewers will witness how a single critic can bridge continents, eras, and genres — and maybe even change the way we see the world through the lens of a film. What do you think? Is the canon of Japanese cinema truly representative of its creators, or is it shaped by outsiders? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
