The Japanese documentary film “A man named Kamejiro, who was feared most by the U.S. occupation”

I went to see the documentary film “A man named Kamejiro, who was feared most by the U.S. occupation” the other day.

The film is about a hero of Okinawa, Kamejiro Senaga, the only person who was against the U.S. occupation without fear of clampdown during occupation period
in Okinawa. Although I love Okinawa, I didn’t know that there was such a really great person in Okinawa. An Okinawan folk song group, Nenez even sings the song “Tell me, Kamejio”.

Originally, this film was a TV documentary program and broadcasted in August
last year and it produced a lot of reaction, despite it was a local one in the Kanto region. So the director Tadahiko Sako (53 years old) decided to make a film, collected from other sources, re-edited and completed the film. The film has been a hit since its advance screening in Okinawa. Ryuichi Sakamoto, who supported
the film’s purpose, wrote its original music and also an actor Ren Osugi narrated
in the film.

 [Repression on people]
Maybe there are only few people who associate this word with Japan. However, in Okinawa, where was under American military occupation after the war, people had been suffering from their tyranny. An former marine who was involved in the reversion of Okinawa to Japan said with a destressed look, keeping his tears back, “It was a dishonorable history of America. The U.S. Government was quite afraid of Okinawan people.”
In 1955, under the occupation, a rape murder of a young girl occurred in Kadena village in Okinawa. The victim, only six-year-old Yumiko died biting down on her lip and keeping a grip on a few grass. The criminal, a U.S. soldier got the death sentence by court-martial but he was commuted to a life sentence after all. And, crimes and accidents by U.S. military have been happened over and over again. Furthermore, on 13th of this month, a window of a large transport helicopter of the U.S.marine fell in the school yard of an elementary school in Futenma town.

In the film, I was impressed that Kamejiro, who became a Diet member and raised questions sharply and honestly to Eisaku Sato, Prime Minister of the time. Sato tried to answer diligently but I could see the difficult situation at the time.

The director, Sako said “I hope the film leads you to think about the shape of a future Japan through Kamejiro, who is the origin of Okinawa, beyond conservative and reformist.” （H.S)

The director, Tadahiko Sako, who visited a theater in Fukui City in advance of the screening. (From Fukui newspaper on November 24th)