Seeing 'The Ghost of Yotsuya' in 35mm!

The National Film Archive of Japan's film program honoring movie figures who died in the last two years. Photo by Brett Homenick.

The Nagisa Oshima retrospective isn't the only thing happening these days at the National Film Archive of Japan. Also taking place is a film program entitled In Memory of Film Figures We Lost in 2021-2022. The first half of the program runs from July 4 through September 3, and the second half will take place from October 10 through the 22nd. 

Recognize any of the faces here? Photo by Brett Homenick.

To be honest, most of the selected films don't appeal to me all that much, but one title in particular intrigued me -- Nobuo Nakagawa's The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959). Composer Chumei Watanabe passed away last year, so this film was chosen to honor his memory.

A poster for Nikkastu's Two for Ginza (1967), starring the lovely Masako Izumi. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Not only was The Ghost of Yotsuya shown in 35mm, but it was actually shown with English subtitles! Suffice it to say, it was an opportunity I couldn't pass up, especially since (believe it or not) I'd never seen it before.

A poster for Princess from the Moon (1987), celebrating the career of the late SFX director Teruyoshi Nakano. Photo by Brett Homenick.

As expected, I enjoyed the film. It was effectively creepy with many great visuals. This film proves just how great a director Nobuo Nakagawa was at horror, a genre he truly excelled at. The print was in excellent shape, and the subtitles were well written and easy to read. 

It was a great afternoon at the movies. I'm not sure I will check out any of the other films on offer, but, if I do, it will be tough -- to say the least -- to top today's offering.

Odds and Ends

Yotsuya Station. Photo by Brett Homenick.

I was at Yotsuya Station, but didn't see any ghosts! What gives?

Oh, well, at least I had fun!

M11, you say? Photo by Brett Homenick.

Say, that number sounds a bit familiar! 

Um, the less said about it, the better!

Legendary Tokusatsu Composer Chumei Watanabe Passes Away at Age 96

Chumei Watanabe at his home in July 2018. Photo by Brett Homenick.

Maestro Chumei Watanabe, a tokusatsu composer whose work runs the gamut from Shintoho's Starman (a.k.a. Super Giant) series to the ground-breaking Super Sentai series Himitsu Sentai Gorenger (1975-77),  passed away at 4:00 a.m. on June 23 of heart failure at a hospital in Tokyo. He was 96. A private funeral has already been held, organized by his son, Toshiyuki, the composer of the Heisei Mothra trilogy.

Born Michiaki Watanabe in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, on August 19, 1925, Mr. Watanabe would get his start in the film industry in the mid-1950s, working for Shintoho Studios. At Shintoho, Mr. Watanabe would compose the scores for the first four Starman films: Super Giant (1957), Super Giant Continues (1957), Super Giant: The Mysterious Spacemen's Demonic Castle (1957), and Super Giant: Earth on the Verge of Destruction (1957). The first two films would be edited together in the U.S. as Atomic Rulers of the World, and the third and fourth films would become Invaders from Space. 

Mr. Watanabe would also collaborate with celebrated horror director Nobuo Nakagawa on such films as The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959) and Hell (1960). In the late 1960s, he composed the scores to two of the three classic yokai films from Daiei, 100 Monsters (1968) and Along with Ghosts (1969). That said, he is much better known around the world for his various TV tokusatsu and anime scores, which began in the 1970s.

I was fortunate to meet Mr. Watanabe several times between 2017 and 2019. I was privileged to interview him in July 2018, which you can read here. Mr. Watanabe was eager to speak in depth about his early life in the interview, which you can read for yourself. My translator and I spent hours at Mr. Watanabe's home in Shibuya for the interview.

Afterward, he ordered dinner for us, which was delivered to his home. As my translator and I were leaving his home after the delicious eel dinner, my translator expressed concern about the cost of such a meal. Mr. Watanabe replied, "Don't worry, I'm rich!" 

Rest in peace, Watanabe-san.

AN EVENING WITH CHUMEI WATANABE! The Great Film Composer Meets His Fans!

Chumei Watanabe. Photo by Brett Homenick. 

Tonight, I had the privilege of spending the day with film and TV composer Chumei Watanabe (whose real name is Michiaki Watanabe) at a private gathering. Among Watanabe-san's film compsitions are: several entries of the Starman (a.k.a. Super Giant) series, Black Cat Mansion (1958), Ghost of Yotsuya (1959), Hell (1960), 100 Monsters (1968), and Along with Ghosts (1969). However, Watanabe-san is much more famous for his anime and TV tokusatsu scores, which are too numerous to list here. Film also composing runs in his family, as his son is Toshiyuki Watanabe, the composer for the '90s Mothra trilogy.

Watanabe-san began his film composing career at Shintoho in 1956, and at age 92 years old, he is still active writing music to this day. Watanabe-san was curious about American culture and how tokusatsu movies and TV programs are received in the West, and naturally I was happy to answer his questions.

Suffice it to say, it was a great evening!

YOTSUYA AT NIGHT! No Ghosts to Be Seen Anywhere!

I made a brief stop tonight in Yotsuya and decided to snap a few photos. It certainly was a nice view of the skyline, especially from the Marunouchi Line platform.

Sadly, I still haven't seen the Ghost of Yotsuya (as seen in various Japanese horror movies over the years). I sure would like to see the apparition in person!

Anyway, it was a fun evening exploring an area I usually don't visit. Gotta do it again soon!

SEARCHING FOR THE GHOST OF YOTSUYA! I Ain't Afraid of No Yurei!

On Saturday night, I made a stop at Yotsuya Station. Whenever I come to Yotsuya, I can't help but to think of the famous Japanese ghost story "The Ghost of Yotsuya." This tale has been made into feature films several times over many years, though the 1959 version directed by Nobuo Nakagawa is widely considered to be the best.

Unfortunately, I didn't see any ghosts, yurei, spirits, or anything else hanging out in either the JR or Marunouchi train platform, but it was nonetheless a fun thing to do.

While there, I noticed that the next station on the Marunouchi Line, Yotsuya-sanchome, had an interesting designation. It must be a station whose popularity could conquer Asia. Well, maybe not.