Camera Japan Festival: Broken Commandment

In this adaptation of the classic and influential novel Hakai by SHIMAZAKI Toson from 1906, set during the Russo-Japanese War, the infamous caste system has been officially abandoned for some time. Still, minority groups are treated like second-class citizens, including people from the ‘burakumin’ group. One teacher hides his background as ‘burakumin’ from his colleagues, fearing discrimination, but when he starts reading the work of a fellow ‘burakumin’ poet, his vision on his identity slowly starts to change.  

It is 1906 and the infamous caste system has been officially abandoned. But the burakumin and other minority groups are still treated as second-class citizens. Fearing discrimination, one teacher hides his burakumin background from his colleagues, but when he starts to read the work of a burakumin poet, his views on identity slowly change. Adapted from the 1906 novel Hakai by SHIMAZAKI Toson.

In 1906, tijdens de Russisch-Japanse Oorlog, is het beruchte kastenstelsel al opgedoekt. Toch worden minderheidsgroeperingen nog steeds behandeld als tweederangsburgers, waaronder mensen van de burakumin-kaste. Een basisschoolleraar verbergt zijn achtergrond als burakumin voor collega’s, uit angst voor discriminatie, maar wanneer hij het werk van een burakumin-dichter begint te lezen verandert zijn blik op zijn eigen identiteit langzaam. Gebaseerd op de gelijknamige literaire klassieker van Toson Shimazaki uit 1906.

This film is part of Camera Japan Festival 2022.