No Regrets For Our Youth

It had been a beautiful spring day. The sun was out. The clay earth was muddy and getting soft. I pruned a tree and moved a few bulbs around to the front of the house. I don't remember what they are but the design on them in the garden will look good.

Coco and I went to the park for a walk. And to the grocery store and the library. I picked up a Japanese film called, "No Regrets For Our Youth." It was an incredibly relative, beautifully filmed movie, inspired by historical events. I have heard of the Kyoto Agreement. I think that's what it is. And I recognized it sounded Japanese and I think it was a good thing. Like a Pulizer Prize. Maybe it's a group of learned people who agree on something important. I wasn't sure. Still don't know. But as I write this I'm going to do some research and share what I learn with you. Feel free to explore the links I share, as they will give you more information that my statements could possibly reflect.

"No Regrets For Our Youth," was directed by Akira Kurosawa. And I'm not going to say much more about the specifics of the film because finding out some of the details of its making were such a pleasure as they unfolded that I'll leave that treat to whoever might check this movie out.

I just saw the most interesting film. No Regrets For Our Youth. It's a Japanese film made in 1946. And it was an amazing movie to experience. It is subtle. It is contemplative. A few times either the acting or the point and the flow weren't in complete harmony, but those were maybe a few seconds throughout the whole movie. It had some really inventive camera angles and the handling of light and dark, the way life happens and then how we find our way to what we're going to do about it... man, I haven't seen anything more true in many ways. I've studied eastern philosophy for most of my life. And in most respects it feels completely natural. A story told, an historical story told, like a living flute, breathed by its owner. It's some how a knowing thing. Anyway, I think you might get into it.

It's a story that is about the human condition and the struggles and aspirations of youth and the ultimate understanding that when we chose to take responsibility for our own lives and as a result affect our families and communities in an hopefully positive way, we will find our way to a meaningful existence.

After seeing this movie I decided to do some research about when Manchuria was taken from China...

I had no idea how complex and the relationships between Russia, Japan and China and even the USA were.

I'll provide a few very informative links but in a nutshell, Japan decided to go to war with China for her ports and to get access to farmland. The Chinese did not want them there. They wanted to be autonomous. The Russians and Japanese built a railroad across China. They used it for trade and to have the ability to move soldiers to a given area quickly.

There were lots of promises made, lies told and deceptions invented. At times the Chinese went to the world community for help. Some really good suggestions were made and agreements were signed but nothing was apparently enforced. Atrocities were commited and decades passed. And all kinds of conflicts and misery ensued. I did not know how long these problems had existed or and how many generations of people had been affected by the resentment and hatred during that time.

Yoshizawa Tatsuhiko

History of Manchuria

History of Manchuria Part 2

Manchuria Bibliography

Manchuria ~ WWII

After reading these papers and book excerpts I am left with a feeling of sadness.

I wonder how long we will go on trying to bully or oppress or commit atrocities against each other in order to silence those who say something we don't like or don't want to hear.

The truth is usually pretty simple. It seems reasonable to believe that Japan wanted to expand to allow for its growing population. To do this some of the people decided to begin by taking control over ports for trade and then continued to move north and eventually widen its path for farmland and rail routes.

Terrible crimes against humanity have occured whenever one group of people decided to take something that didn't belong to it. Suffering beyond measure has been woven through of all of our histories. And perpetrators invariably have denied their crimes and have shown little or no remorse. In fact, when they are not held accountable for their crimes they become even more arrogant and brash.

So now back to the movie, "No Regrets For Our Youth." This film adds another voice to this time of history. It has an honest ring to it. And at this time of my life, when I have been studying the importance of negotiations in a functional democracy; I find my feelings are even more focused on this point.