Photos: The Story of Yanagawa Waterways

Yanagawa Horiwari Monogatari, which translates to The Story of Yanagawa Waterways, is a 1987 live-action documentary film directed by Isao Takahata and produced by Hayao Miyazaki. It details a region in southern Japan populated by hundreds of canals, waterways and bridges. It looks like a rural Venice, and is endlessly fascinating. The movie chronicles the complex system of waterways, its history and evolution, and the tribulations of surviving the pollution and Westernization of post-war Japan, including the destruction and eventual restoration of the natural environment.

Yanagawa is blessed with cinematography that is beautiful, wonderfully saturated with rich color tones. Every shot is glorious and you just want to soak it all in. Takahashi Somai is credited as the man behind the camera, but nothing is known of him apart from this film project. More investigation is needed.

I snapped these screenshots of the DVD playing on the family Sony Bravia HDTV, and captured using an iPad. I've been taking screenshots this way for an ongoing series of Sega Saturn essays on NeoGAF, and it's a nice change of pace. I almost always took photos directly from the computer via VLC or another media software program.

I'll have to capture more screenshots of this excellent documentary, which remains largely unknown even by dedicated Ghibli Freaks. The DVD and Blu-Ray (as part of the Isao Takahata Blu-Ray collection) were never released outside of Japan. That needs to change. GKIDS or Criterion should pick up this title for a North American release.

Medium Discusses The Story of the Yanagawa Canals

Medium has an excellent article on the making of the most unique film in the Studio Ghibli catalog: the 1987 live-action documentary The Story of the Yanagawa Waterways. This movie was directed by Isao Takahata over a span of three years, with Hayao Miyazaki serving as producer.

In its own way, this movie was directly responsible for the founding of Studio Ghibli. I can't recall if I ever shared that story, but this article does tell the tale very nicely, and there's little that I could add. What I can share with you is that this movie is sublime, miraculous and visually astonishing. It is a detailed and nuanced examination of a region of Japan with a long history of cooperation between humans and nature.

The musical score was provided by Michiyo Mamiya, who worked on four Isao Takahata films: Horus, Prince of the Sun, Gauche the Cellist and Grave of the Fireflies. You will also catch a glimpse of a Joe Hisaishi melody from Castle in the Sky. The cinematographer was Takahashi Somai. Veteran Ghibli animators Atsuko Tanaka (one of the geniuses behind the legendary 1984 Nemo pilot film) and Makiko Futaki provide several short animated scenes depicting daily life of the region and demonstrations of the region's complex network of canal systems.

The Blu-Ray is available in Japan as part of the Isao Takahata Blu-Ray box set. The DVD is available separately, is reasonably priced and includes both English subtitles and an English-language dub track that perfectly matches the Japanese script. The movie runs three hours, but is broken into ten chapters, enabling you to either watch in fits and starts or all at once.

Please, GKIDS, bring this movie to the US! Pay whatever amount you have to pay in order to make the NHK Network happy. This movie is a must for all fans of Studio Ghibli and documentaries.

Photos - The Story of the Yanagawa Canals

 

The Story of the Yanagawa Canals is the 1987 live-action documentary directed by Isao Takahata and produced by Hayao Miyazaki (the first project under his production company, Nibariki). It aired on Japan's NHK network and has appeared on VHS, LaserDisc, DVD and Blu-Ray, the latter as part of the excellent Isao Takahata Blu-Ray Box package. This is a lesser known work in the directors' canon, but no less brilliant or compelling.

Yanagawa features a number of short animation clips, describing details of the vast and complex system of waterways, sluices, gates and canals that developed and evolved over centuries. Some segments show moments of daily farming life, and there are even a couple comical bits like frogs swimming about. All of these were animated at Studio Ghibli, although the studio wasn't technically credited for the production, which began in 1984.

Earlier this year, Toshio Suzuki revealed a fascinating story about the early days of Studio Ghibli. After the box office success of Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind, Hayao Miyazaki's fortunes (which suffered through the difficult years of 1977-83) dramatically turned around, and he found himself with real money for the first time in his career. Suzuki suggested that Miyazaki-san serve as producer of Takahata's Yanagawa documentary project, and so Nibariki was founded.

Unfortunately, as nearly always happens, Paku-san found himself behind schedule and over budget. Miyazaki became exasperated as his money steadily drained away. In a panic, he turned to Suzuki-san, who offered some sly advice: Why not direct another feature film? With the financial backing of publisher Tokuma Shoten (the publishers of Animage Magazine, of which Suzuki was in charge), the decision was made to found a new animation studio.

Hayao Miyazaki would dub this new home Studio Ghibli, based on the Italian word for a hot wind. He, Takahata and Suzuki would be its founding fathers. Miyazaki set to work on Ghibli's inaugural movie, Laputa: Castle in the Sky. Paku-san would serve as producer, as he did on Nausicaa. Suzuki would serve as the Svengali, the power behind the throne. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Story of the Yanagawa Canals was finally completed in 1987, after a very long three-year production schedule. Miyazaki finally hit the brakes and cut off Paku-san's budget. "That's it! End of story! Go to bed!"

These screenshots come courtesy of Generacion Ghibli, everyone's favorite Studio Ghibli website from Spain. Be sure to visit them and follow them on Twitter. And don't forget to purchase the new book, Antes De Mi Vecino Miyazaki.

Poster - The Story of the Yanagawa Canals

Behold, Studio Ghibli's only live-action feature film!  The Story of the Yanagawa Canals (Yanagawa Horiwari Monogatari) is a 1987 documentary directed by Isao Takahata and produced by Hayao Miyazaki (who financed the project with revenues from his Nausicaa comic).  It aired on Japanese television (NHK, I think), and has been released on home video.  It has never been seen outside of Japan, and I doubt many Westerners even know it exists.  In that sense, this is the great "lost" Ghibli film.

The Story of the Yanagawa Canals is a three-hour documentary that chronicles the vast and immensely complex network of waterways and canals in Japan's Yanagawa region.  Takahata explores the region's history, the evolution of the canal system, its importance to the ancient culture, and the symbiotic relationship between man and nature.  In the 20th Century, these waterways fell to disrepair and pollution, as post-war Japan quickly embraced a new, Western mindset.  Do you remember that scene in Spirited Away when a polluted water spirit gushes out an immense pile of trash and debris?  Yeah, this is the real-life version.

Indeed, this is a Studio Ghibli movie in thought, word and deed.  The environmental themes are obviously present, as are the many questions about the modern world and its values.  What has become of ancient Japan, and what has been lost in this mad rush to embrace the modern, Industrialized world?  This, I believe, is THE central theme to the Ghibli movies of Takahata and Miyazaki, a nostalgia that sharply questions modern cultural values.

Despite the length of the movie, Yanagawa Canals is broken into concise chapters, which makes this a perfect movie for watching in segments.  I could easily see PBS airing it in three, one-hour segments.  I really wish they would, in fact.  This is a terribly fascinating subject about a part of Japan few Westerners know about.  We're captivated by the canals of Venice; how about this?  The cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, the stories of life among the rivers and canals are captivating, and there's the drama of a modern town learning to repair the connections to its past.  There are also several animated sequences in the film.

I bought the DVD some years ago, and this is one of my favorite Studio Ghibli films.  The disc not only includes English subtitles, but a complete English-language soundtrack as well!  This was a real surprise for me, and whoever was responsible did a perfect job.

I'm happy that I was finally able to find a movie poster after all these years; I wasn't sure if one was ever made.  Where can we buy a copy for our collections?  I have no idea.  We'll have to keep searching the Google and the eBay, and keep our fingers crossed.