Japanese New Wave
| Years active | Early 1950s-1970s |
|---|---|
| Country | Japan |
| Major figures | Shohei Imamura, Nagisa Oshima, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Masahiro Shinoda, Seijun Suzuki, Susumu Hani, Koreyoshi Kurahara, Yasuzo Masumura, Yoshishige Yoshida, Shūji Terayama |
The Japanese New Wave, ヌーベルバーグ (Nūberu bāgu?) in Japanese, is a blanket term used to describe a group of loosely connected Japanese filmmakers during the late 1950s and into the 1970s. Although they did not make up a coherent movement, these directors shared a rejection to the traditional conventions of classical Japanese cinema, favoring more challenging works—both thematically and formally. Coming to the fore in a time of national social change and social unrest, these films dealt with taboo subject matter, including sexual violence, radicalism, youth culture and deliquency, Korean discrimination, and the aftermath of World War II. They also adopted an unorthodox and experimental approach to composition, editing and narrative.
The trend borrows its name from the French Nouvelle vague, a concurrent movement that similarly scrapped the established traditions of their national cinema. However, unlike its French counterpart the Japanese New Wave originated within film studios, as companies sought to invigorate the local cinema—which was undermined by the television productions—with new ideas from younger directors. Failing to thrive within the studio system, these filmmakers eventually formed independent production companies. Most notably, Art Theatre Guild significantly boosted the movement by producing and distributing several of the most renowned New Wave titles.
David Desser in his Eros plus Massacre places the marginal comment:
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