Translated Masterworks

Foreword

Films such as Tokyo Story and Late Spring by well-known director Yasujiro Ozu began to receive international acclaim some 20 years ago. At that time, I could not fathom how such distinctly Japanese films as these could garner such acceptance overseas. I felt absolutely convinced that one would have to be Japanese to appreciate Ozu's visual world; a world viewed from fixed low camera angles barely above the tatami floors in traditional Japanese houses where the actors engage in ordinary, matter-of-fact conversations about everyday subjects. And yet, it is this director who is internationally acclaimed as one of the representative film makers of Japan.

By some chance, I remember talking with my father about the films of Ozu. My father was not all that interested in movies, but he had seen two or three of Ozu's films and said something that deeply impressed me. I'll never forget his word.

"What is understood and valued overseas, things such as Kabuki and Noh, is in the final analysis that which is true to the Japanese spirit. It is those things most distinctly Japanese that are understood in foreign countries. Imitations of foreign culture that flood the scene are, after all is said and done, worthless. What is uniquely Japanese might be termed individuality or originality. Originality is the only thing that speaks to foreigners."

My father's work enjoys a large following that crisscrosses the generations. It is my deepest wish that my father's message, thanks to the adept translation by Mr. Tim Jensen, will be reveived in the same way Ozu's films have and touch the world.

November 5, 1996
Mitsuo Aida Museum
Director, Kazuhito Aida