Director Koichi Omiya managed to make The Sketch of Mujo, a 75 minutes film on Tohoku in Tsunami's aftermath, in 50 days.
The tight schedule was motivated by his desire to keep memories of what happened fresh in people minds.
Kaori Shoji in First Tohoku documentary captures tsunami aftermath (Japan Times, June 24) notes that "53-year-old filmmaker who was born in Kuji in Tohoku's Iwate Prefecture and spent his childhood moving around in Iwate and Yamagata prefectures, says that this disaster struck him with particular force, partly because the northeast is the land of his birth and largely because his parents still live there."
Kaori Shoji explains 'Mujo' for us:
"Mujō is a Buddhist concept, meaning "transience" or "impermanence." From time immemorial, the Japanese have deployed it to explain tragedies great and small, to alleviate the sadness of separation and death and to remind themselves that after all, this world is but a stepping stone on the path to achieving nirvana."
The movie opened at Auditorium Shibuya in Tokyo on the date marking 100 days since tsunami.
The theater offers some screenings with English subtitles for non-Japanese speakers.
Memories of Tohoku for Tokyo Thursdays # 196
Previously: Adventure Calls, Japanese Albums by Felice Beato, Photographer on Eastern Road
(* some of the links are to mostly Japanese language sites)