Nagisa Ōshima’s Essayistic Exploration of Japan’s “Korean Problem”

Abstract

Japanese New Wave filmmaker Nagisa Ōshima repeatedly tackled Japan’s cultural and systemic discrimination toward Koreans in his films. The “Korean problem” is a complex issue that stems from a storied history between the two countries. However, Ōshima was undaunted at the task of confronting his Japanese audience with challenges to their potential biases. Ōshima incorporated essay film techniques in his films Forgotten Soldiers (1963), Diary of Yunbogi (1965), Death by Hanging (1968), and Three Resurrected Drunkards (1968) to disrupt the illusion of film and encourage self-reflection among the audience.