The Global Times' tribute to Hayao Miyazaki on his 75th birthday

[Randy W]

The Global Times' Facebook tribute to Hayao Miyazaki on his 75th birthday

including The Wind Rises, about WWII from the Japanese viewpoint, and Grave of the Fireflies about a family's struggle to survive after WWII, by some accounts one of the best (and most depressing) wartime pictures ever made.

 

Which of his works is the most memorable?

Hayao #‎Miyazaki just celebrated his 75th birthday on Tuesday. The Japanese animator and his animation film studio, Studio Ghibli, have created many classic cartoon images during his career. Warm-hearted Totoro in My Neighbor Totoro, brave Sheeta in Castle in the Sky, magic Kiki in Kiki's Delivery Service, and others. Which one is your favorite? (Photos: mtime.com)

 

 

 

 

From Wikipedia -

Grave of the Fireflies received acclaim from film critics. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times considered it to be one of the best and most powerful war films and, in 2000, included it on his "Great Movies" list

Edited January 6, 2016 by Randy W (see edit history)

[Allon]

I am reading Shanghai 1937 by Peter Hamsen right now. It's about the battle of Shanghai that led to the eventual Rape of Nanking and the entire involvement of Japan in China.

 

The author devotes no small amount to the efforts of the Japanese from the their point of view. He also shows how much of that invasion was not really planned, it just happened as a reaction to China's actual invasion or pre-emptory strike as we would call it today, on land in China that was then considered to be owned by Japan (and Britain and Germany and France, et ali.)

 

He also makes the remark that a lot of present day literature tries to rewrite what both sides did during the war. A lot of art and literature is trying to revise what actually happened then.

 

Maybe that's the way to go. Getting over the divide between countries will take a lot of time.