Sandakan No. 8

Sandakan No. 8 or Sandakan hachibanshokan bohkyo (1974)

           

Director: Kei Kumai, original book by Tomoko Yamazaki and screenplay by Sakae Hirosawa

Studio: Haiyu-Za Film Production Company Ltd. and Toho, Co., Ltd

Release date: June 23, 1974 in Hungary, late 1976 in US

In color, aspect ratio of 2.35 : 1, running time of 120 min.

Genre: drama, history, war

Keiko Mitani (played by Komaki Kurihara): young female journalist researching prostitutes in Asian brothels in early 1900s
Osaki Yamakawa (as old woman played by Kinuyo Tanaka): tells her life story through flashback

Sandakan No. 8 fits in with regards to this course, because it is a historical drama that documents wartime atrocities in Japan. This theme was apparent in Seven Samurai and strongly alluded to in Godzilla. However, unlike The Burmese Harp and the other wartime films we watched, Sandakan No. 8 focuses on the experiences of Japanese women in war time. Although we have not watched a film directed by Kei Kumai in this course, we saw Kinuyo Tanaka’s moving performance as Takai (the young adult sister) in Sansho the Bailiff (1954).

Tanaka began starring in films at 14, and the Japanese studio system allowed her to act in many films; she became an international legend (Fujiwara).Tanaka actually became a director herself, a daring venture for a Japanese woman at the time. She directed six films in her career. After taking a trip to the US and seeing Hollywood, Tanaka was given a 16mm camera and film stock as a coming home present.  Like Sansho the Bailiff, Sandakan No.8 addresses the enslavement of the Japanese peasant class in order to bolster the empire’s economy and expansionist desires. In Sandakan No. 8, Tanaka plays the old karayuki-san, Osaki Yamakawa.

The sex trade and enslavement of women was a taboo subject in Japan, and Tomoko Yamazaki’s book entitled Sandakan hachiban shokan: teihen joseishi josh, opened up the subject for discussion. The recruitment of young, poor girls from their villages taken under false pretense of domestic work occurs all over the world; hence the book and film have international significance. Currently, 27 million people are enslaved, and the sex trafficking industry grosses $32 billion dollars a year (love146.org). According to Warren, “Sandakan Brothel No. 8 provides both a trans-historical and trans-cultural face for analyzing prostitution and trafficking in women and children, especially in the Asian-Pacific region at the end of the 20th century” (16).

In the previous century, Japan’s main exports were silk, coal, and women (Warren 4). Yamazaki’s book presents a personal account of a Japanese peasant girl who went to work in Sandakan, on the east coast of British North Borneo (Sabah, Malaysia today) (Warren 1). Girls sent abroad became sex slaves in the empire’s hope that these women could infiltrate foreign lands. The girls were told that it was their patriotic duty to remain in Borneo and/or the Asian mainland. Many sent money back home to support their poor families. In Yamazaki’s story, Osaki is forced into prostitution at age 13.

Warren states that Yamazaki’s 1972 book was awarded the Oya Soichi Prize for Non-Fiction Literature (2). The book quickly became a national best-seller, establishing Yamazaki as a leading writer on women’s issues. Her book depicts the ordeal of the Karayuki-san abroad at a time when the “flesh trade” was flourishing (Warren 2). The film version, Sandakan Brothel No. 8, was produced by Kumai Kei, and was nominated for an academy award in the Foreign Film category (Warren 2). Derus Uzala, by the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa, won the Oscar that year as the Soviet Union entry (Malysia.Dreab 4) In the 1975 Kinema Jumpo Awards, Sandakan No. 8 won Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Kinuyo Tanaka (Malaysia.Dreab 4). Tanaka also won the Best Actress Award at the 25th Berlin International Film Festival, and Kumai received a nomination for Best Director at the festival. Though the book was eventually translated into English, Sandakan No. 8 has not been commercially released on DVD in the U.S. (Malysia.Dreab 4). For its trans-national significance on sex-trafficking, which is a major issue abroad and in the U.S., I think that the DVD should be more accessible to non-Japanese audiences and students.

Keiko Mitani is a married woman researching the history of Japanese women who were forced to work in Asian brothels during the early 20th century. She happens upon Osaki Karasawa in a café and realizes that Osaki was a karayuki-san. Keiko decides to stay with the old woman, in the hopes of hearing her story. At first, Osaki is reluctant to share story. That is until a neighbor man sneaks into their house naked, and Keiko gets a small taste of what it is like to be violated. “You can’t trust men. Don’t fall in love, no matter what. When you’re in love you’re blind. All men are the same,” Osaki tells Keiko. The only audible sound is that of the wind howling, and Osaki begins to tell the story of Sandakan.

Attempting to raise money for her poor family, Osaki takes a jobs as a maid in the port of Sandakan at the prompting of Tarozo, a rich business man in all white suite, top hat, walking stick, and mustache who appears quite menacing (Malaysia.Dreab 1). The house is actually a brothel called Sandakan 8, the eighth out of nine brothels in the port. Osaki works for two years as a maid, but is forced by Tarozo to become a prostitute.

Before she leaves, Osaki’s mother sews her a kimono to take with her. Osaki ends up taking apart the kimono to make a mattress; the same one Keiko sees her use as an old woman. The object takes on a presence, its significance reminiscent of the objects in Ozu films that appear to gaze upon the actors. Ozaki’s pipe is also of significance throughout the film. Her leaving it in a café is the incentive for Keiko to walk with her. Furthermore, the old woman smokes it throughout the telling of her story. Both the kimono and the pipe serve to link cuts between the past and the present, providing some form of continuity to Sandakan No. 8.

Eventually, Osaki falls in love with a young, kind, handsome Japanese rubber farmer who was also lured to Borneo for work. Osaki even ends up paying for him to stay the night with her. When a Japanese warship anchors in the port, this means big business for the brothel. The troops literally storm Sandakan No. 8, saluting to the woman and yelling, “I’m first.” Afterwards, Osaki is traumatized, cannot look at her lover, and he deserts her. Soon thereafter, the Showa era begins and Japan becomes increasingly modernized. The karayuki-san business dwindles as human trafficking is banned by the government. Osaki then returns to Japan, only to have her brother say that having karayuki-san in the family is considered shameful. Though the brother’s house was built with the money Osaki sent home, she has not rights to it and leaves.

Upon leaving Japan, Osaki goes to Manchuria and marries a Japanese man. Unfortunately, they lose all their property during WWII and the husband dies. They have one son who sends Osaki away, because he is ashamed to introduce her to his bride. After hearing Osaki’s story, Keikyo must leave and return to her husband and daughter in Tokyo. She tries to give Osaki money, but Osaki asks for her towel as a token to remember her by instead. This reminds me of Noriko’s gesture to her mother-in-law in Ozu’s Tokyo Story. It is also an inter-generational offering with the understanding that the pair will most likely never meet again. As her final gesture to Osaki, Keikyo visits the cemetery erected for the Japanese women who died in Sandakan. The scene is shot with still images of the gravestones. This is followed by black and white, blue-tinted still frames of Sandakan being destroyed during the war and bodies piled on the ground. The brush is cleared, and Keikyo sets up a memorial for the women definitively deciding to publish Osaki’s story.

The cinematography at the beginning of the film shows East Malaysia as modern place, with airports, automobiles, and a high rise building where the brothel used to be. Typically, the room is lit by a single electric hanging bulb, then in Osaki’s brothel room by the lone kerosene lamp. There are certain reoccurring shots throughout the film: profile two shot of the two women, tracking aerial shots of women walking outside, slow zoom in on women seated indoors. The most innovative shots are those with a blacked out background and a close up on one woman’s face while she speaks.

The film’s editing transitions from the present day to about 50 years ago through the use of flashbacks. One of the very first shots is that of a plan landing in Malaysia. Like shots of trains in the 1950s, the plane and cityscape shots are symbols of modernity. In contrast, the flash back scenes appear more indoors, in a stage-like setting. The camera slowly zooms in on the characters in darkly lit scenes, making the flashbacks seem dream-like. The shots of modern Malaysia are contrasted by the mise-en-scene of Osaki’s dingy, falling apart house filled with stray cats contrasted by the lush greenery that surrounds it.

The acting in this film is very much about the dynamic between the two women. There is narration by both Keiko and then Osaki, making Sandakan No. 8 a story within a story. Kurihara plays Keiko in a very sweet and polite manner. Though she grimaces at the bugs in the house, she plays with the cats lovingly and is always extending a hand to help Osaki. She is from Tokyo, and this is evident by her modern clothes and hair style. On the other hand, Tanaka plays Osaki as a worn out old woman by hunching over, wearing less modern clothes, and being very polite in her gestures. However, the old woman shows exuberance and delight over Keiko’s interest in her story. She is more fidgety, rocks back and forth, and devours her food. She literally hops up and down and rolls on the floor when Keioko helps fix up the house. At the same time, Osaki often has a far off look, like she is trying not to think about her past. Close ups on the women show a variety of facial expressions, small “tells” of how Keioko and Osaki relate to one another.

Sound-wise, the film takes a conservative approach. Only in flash-backs is there non-diegetic music. It is usually light, swelling orchestral arrangements. Otherwise, there is only the voice-over narration and sounds from the environment like cats meowing and the bell tolling. In regards to the audience, the attention is not focused on what one hears, but the facial expressions and postures of the two women as they navigate through the story and grow in their friendship.

            The scene I found most cinematically important was when Osaki becomes a prostitute for the brothel. At first Osaki refuses to “pay her debts” by selling herself, but Tarozo slaps her with the back of his hand several and chases her around the house, tearing at her clothes. Tarozo grabs a stick and the two of them disappear behind a wall. The next shot is an aerial view of a dark, empty staircase. The shadowed figures of two women appear. The next shot is of Osaki dressed in white make-up and a colorful dress, ascending the stairs as an karyuki-san. Osaki stops mid-way, as if she cannot physically move, but she is led up the stairs by the hand for her first night. When she is placed in a room, Osaki’s face lifts up slowly, and the light is completely blacked out around her. What she was looking at is the following shot: the camera begins at the feet of a man and follows him as he stands up and unfolds his arms, revealing muscles and many tattoos. There is a close up of his eyes, and soon he forcefully throws her on the bed. The only sound the audience hears is of the coins he pays her with rattling to the floor. As the man rapes her, the sole noise comes from key to the room that the man wears as a necklace. The key jingles and swings in Osaki’s face. The lights go dim, and orchestral music begins, followed by an upside down shot of her tormented face. Orchestral music is now playing in full force. This is followed by a shot of the pouring rain outside. Osaki collapses in the rain, draped in her robe. The beginning of the subsequent scene is Osaki in her plain clothes again, lying curled up, exhausted and drained on the floor. Tarozo comes in to tell her that prostitution is her only viable option. His final gesture is to rip off the shirt sleeve of Osaki’s precious kimono.

            Overall, Sanadakan No. 8 enlightens its audience on a hidden part of culture and Japanese recent past. If the extent of sex trafficking is not researched, how can it be stopped, prevented, and reparations given to the victim\? Many call Yamazaki a feminist writer, but I certainly did not see the film as having a feminist agenda. The blame was not put on the patriarchal society and Japanese government, rather the susceptibility of impoverished families to give up their children into forced labor. The critique on Japanese culture comes mainly in the banishment of these women when  they tried to return to the homes that sent them away in the first place, the homes they supported with their wages. Though Sandakan No. 8 is not a pleasant film to watch, the message is of grave importance, told in a respectful manner that does not blame or degrade the exciled karayuki-san.

For more information on sex trafficking and how to help to end it, visit http://love146.org/

Works Cited

Warren, James F. “New Lands, Old Ties and Prostitution: A Voiceless Voice. A review essay of Sandakan Brothel No. 8 (book).” Intersections: Gender, History and Culture in the Asian Context 4 (September 2000).  http://intersections.anu.edu.au/issue5/sandakan.htmlMalaysia.Dreab. http://malaysia.dreab.com/p-Sandakan_No._8

Fujiwara, Chris. “Love Letter: A centenary valentine to Japanese screen legend Kinuyo Tanaka.” Museum of the Moving Image (October 2009). http://www.movingimagesource.us/articles/love-letter-20091023