Minbo
Encyclopedia
is a 1992
Japanese film
by filmmaker
Juzo Itami
. It is also known by the titles Minbo: the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion, The Gangster's Moll and The Anti-Extortion Woman. The film was widely popular in Japan and a critical success internationally. It satirizes
the yakuza
, who retaliated for their portrayal in the film by assaulting the director.
between important international officials. Unfortunately, the yakuza have taken a liking to this hotel as both a hangout and a target for extortion
. In order to win the contract, the owner realizes, he must rid the hotel of the yakuza. Fearing to confront them himself, he deputizes a hotel accountant, Suzuki (Yasuo Daichi) and a bellboy and former college sumo
-club member, Wakasugi (Takehiro Murata). The hapless pair are no more daring than their employer, however, and their tentative attempts to address the problem fail until they meet Mahiru Inoue (Nobuko Miyamoto
), a lawyer who specializes in dealing with the yakuza. With Inoue's direction, the hotel staff comes together to face down the yakuza ruffians, who are portrayed as craven, outwardly-threatening-but-inwardly-weak, fools.
, were angered by their portrayal in Minbo as common thugs and bullies. Three knife-wielding members of the Goto-gumi
yakuza gang attacked director Juzo Itami near his home on May 22, 1992, six days after the movie opened. Itami was beaten and had his face slashed. The brutality of the attack, combined with Itami's popularity and the success of Minbo, led to a public outcry and a government crackdown against yakuza activity. Itami's 1997 death is alleged to have been murder disguised as suicide, carried out to prevent him making a further film about the Yakuza.
1992 in film
The year 1992 in film involved many significant films. -Top grossing films:-Awards:Academy AwardsGolden Globe AwardsNational Film Awards...
Japanese film
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
by filmmaker
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Juzo Itami
Juzo Itami
, born , was an actor and a popular modern Japanese film director. Many critics came to regard him as Japan's greatest director since Akira Kurosawa. His 10 movies, all of which he wrote himself, are comic satires on elements of Japanese culture....
. It is also known by the titles Minbo: the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion, The Gangster's Moll and The Anti-Extortion Woman. The film was widely popular in Japan and a critical success internationally. It satirizes
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
the yakuza
Yakuza
, also known as , are members of traditional organized crime syndicates in Japan. The Japanese police, and media by request of the police, call them bōryokudan , literally "violence group", while the yakuza call themselves "ninkyō dantai" , "chivalrous organizations". The yakuza are notoriously...
, who retaliated for their portrayal in the film by assaulting the director.
Plot summary
The owner of a high-class Japanese hotel, the Europa, hopes to win a prestigious and lucrative contract for the hotel as the site of a summit meetingSummit (meeting)
A summit meeting is a meeting of heads of state or government, usually with considerable media exposure, tight security and a prearranged agenda.Notable summit meetings include those of Franklin D...
between important international officials. Unfortunately, the yakuza have taken a liking to this hotel as both a hangout and a target for extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
. In order to win the contract, the owner realizes, he must rid the hotel of the yakuza. Fearing to confront them himself, he deputizes a hotel accountant, Suzuki (Yasuo Daichi) and a bellboy and former college sumo
Sumo
is a competitive full-contact sport where a wrestler attempts to force another wrestler out of a circular ring or to touch the ground with anything other than the soles of the feet. The sport originated in Japan, the only country where it is practiced professionally...
-club member, Wakasugi (Takehiro Murata). The hapless pair are no more daring than their employer, however, and their tentative attempts to address the problem fail until they meet Mahiru Inoue (Nobuko Miyamoto
Nobuko Miyamoto
is a Japanese actress. She was born in Otaru, Hokkaidō, and raised in Nagoya. She was married to director Jūzō Itami from 1969 until his death in 1997, and regularly starred in his films....
), a lawyer who specializes in dealing with the yakuza. With Inoue's direction, the hotel staff comes together to face down the yakuza ruffians, who are portrayed as craven, outwardly-threatening-but-inwardly-weak, fools.
Attack against Juzo Itami
The yakuza, who prefer to think of themselves as something akin to modern-day samuraiSamurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
, were angered by their portrayal in Minbo as common thugs and bullies. Three knife-wielding members of the Goto-gumi
Goto-gumi
The was a Japanese yakuza organization founded by Tadamasa Goto. The gang was originally formed in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture, but moved its activities east in 1991 when it merged with a gang in Hachiōji, Tokyo...
yakuza gang attacked director Juzo Itami near his home on May 22, 1992, six days after the movie opened. Itami was beaten and had his face slashed. The brutality of the attack, combined with Itami's popularity and the success of Minbo, led to a public outcry and a government crackdown against yakuza activity. Itami's 1997 death is alleged to have been murder disguised as suicide, carried out to prevent him making a further film about the Yakuza.
Cast
- Nobuko MiyamotoNobuko Miyamotois a Japanese actress. She was born in Otaru, Hokkaidō, and raised in Nagoya. She was married to director Jūzō Itami from 1969 until his death in 1997, and regularly starred in his films....
as Mahiru Inoue - Yasuo Daichi as Suzuki the accountant
- Takehiro Murata as Wakasugi the bellboy
- Akira TakaradaAkira Takaradais a Japanese film actor who is most known in the west for his roles in the Godzilla film series.-Overview:Takarada was born in Japan-occupied Korea, and lived for a time in Harbin, China. His father worked as an engineer on the South Manchuria Railway...
as Kobayashi the general manager - Hosei Komatsu as Hanaoka
- Noboru Mitani as the yakuza boss
- Hideji OtakiHideji Ōtakiis a Japanese actor. He won the award for Best Supporting Actor at the 1st Hochi Film Award for Brother and Sister, Kimi yo fundo no kawa o watare and Fumō Chitai.-Filmography:*Brother and Sister *Kimi yo fundo no kawa o watare...
as the hotel owner
External links
- The New York Times Movies on Minbo
- Minbo at the Japanese Movie DatabaseJapanese Movie DatabaseThe , commonly referred to as JMDB, is an online database of information about Japanese movies, actors, and production crew personnel. It is similar to the Internet Movie Database, but lists only those films originally released in Japan. The site was started in 1997, and contains movies from Meiji...