A Grave for the King and His People: Documenting the Excavation of the Tsuki-no-wa Tomb (1953-1954)

In: Problemy dalnego vostoka, Issue 6, p. 167

Abstract

In the summer of 1953, the small village of Yukamura in Okayama Prefecture, Japan, became a major archeological site. The excavation of the Tsuki-no-wa tomb (created in late 4th — early 5th century) was initiated by the local residents with no professional training in archeology. The project became one of the most ambitious and successful endeavors of the People's History Movement (kokumin-teki rekishigaku undo) led by the Marxist historians in early 1950s in Japan. The "memory" of the excavation has been meticulously documented in scientific papers, tourist pamphlets, individual memoirs, as well as in the film. A short documentary, The Tsuki-no-wa Tomb (1954), was created at the behest of the people involved in the project. While the film was favorably received by the critics, the Minister of Education refused to grant it with an official "recommendation." Today the short documentary is considered a symbol of the political and cultural mainstream, which adheres to the ideas of social equality and democracy, the importance of a scientific approach, the concept of the "monoethnic" origins of Japan, and the symbolic status of the emperor. In this paper, the paradoxical role of the Japanese leftists in supporting the dominant worldview is examined though the study of The Tsuki-no-wa Tomb. Through analyzing the cinematic text, as well as the history of its production and reception, we come to a better understanding of the ideological and organizational underpinnings of the People's History Movement, illuminating the film's role in the development of historical science and documentary filmmaking in postwar Japan.