The story of Japanese film from its silent foundations to contemporary blockbusters, condensed into thirty-six essays about thirty-six different films.

A group of samurai assemble to defend a small village from thieves. A giant monster crashes through the streets of a bustling metropolis. Two young girls go on a ride inside a bus that’s also a cat. Someone watches a weird videotape, and exactly seven days later they die under mysterious circumstances. Your experience of Japanese cinema can begin any number of ways, but it’s more than likely that such an experience made a lasting impression.

In 1831 the legendary Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai completed an iconic set of colour woodblock prints entitled Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji. The titular mountain appears in all 36 prints. It is depicted in the far distance from the ocean, or behind a bridge, or from high vantage points. It is a striking and beautiful series of images that, aside from focusing on Mount Fuji from every conceivable angle, provide a visual insight into Japanese society in the early 19th century.

Instead of Mount Fuji this book has Japanese cinema: each essay focuses on a different Japanese film. The earliest dates from 1921. The most recent from 2011. Over 90 years the development and changing fashion of Japanese cinema, and Japanese culture at large, are laid bare.

Thirty-Six Views of Japanese Film explores the history of one nation's cinema, and through that cinema explore the tumultuous history that Japan and Japanese filmmaking have shared.

The Thirty-Six Films

1. Jiraiya the Hero (1921, d. Shozo Makino.)
2. Flunky, Work Hard (1931, d. Mikio Naruse.)
3. Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937, d. Sadao Yamanaka.)
4. The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945, d. Akira Kurosawa.)
5. The Empress Yang Kwei-Fei (1955, d. Kenji Mizoguchi.)
6. The Mysterians (1957, d. Ishiro Honda.)
7. Rusty Knife (1958, d. Toshio Masuda.)
8. Ohayo (1959, d. Yasujiro Ozu.)
9. The Naked Island (1960, d. Kaneto Shindo.)
10. The Warped Ones (1960, d. Koreyoshi Kurahara.)
11. Three Outlaw Samurai (1964, d. Hideo Gosha.)
12. Kwaidan (1965, d. Masaki Kobayashi.)
13. Daimajin (1966, d. Kimiyoshi Yasuda.)
14. Branded to Kill (1967, d. Seijun Suzuki.)
15. It's Tough Being a Man (1969, d. Yoji Yamada.)
16. Golgo 13: Assignment Kowloon (1977, d. Yukio Noda.)
17. Empire of Passion (1978, d. Nagisa Oshima.)
18. Tampopo (1985, d. Juzo Itami.)
19. Laputa: Castle in the Sky (1986, d. Hayao Miyazaki.)
20. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989, d. Shinya Tsukamoto.)
21. Sumo Do, Sumo Don't (1992, d. Masayuki Suo.)
22. Godzilla versus Mothra (1992, d. Takao Okawara.)
23. Pom Poko (1994, d. Isao Takahata.)
24. Gamera: Guardian of the Universe (1995, d. Shusuke Kaneko.)
25. Ring (1998, d. Hideo Nakata.)
26. Audition (1999, d. Takashi Miike.)
27. Battle Royale (2000, d. Kinji Fukasaku.)
28. Uzumaki (2000, d. Higuchinski.)
29. Avalon (2001, d. Mamoru Oshii.)
30. Suicide Club (2001, d. Sion Sono.)
31. A Tree of Palme (2002, d. Takashi Nakamura.)
32. Bashing (2005, d. Kobayashi Masahiro.)
33. Paprika (2006, d. Satoshi Kon.)
34. Summer Wars (2009, d. Mamoru Hosoda.)
35. Confessions (2010, d. Tetsuya Nakashima.)
36. Bunny Drop (2011, d. Sabu.)