Last week marked the first anniversary of the transgressive Chinese photographer and poet Ren Hang’s death. Hang, who rose to international fame for his controversial, choreographed images of sexually liberated bodies, gained notoriety in his conservative home country for his explicit and stirring photographs. In a 2014 interview with the British Journal of Photography, he spoke about his visceral admiration for the avant-garde Japanese filmmaker and poet Shuji Terayama: “Terayama’s photos and movies bring me orgasms … Like the pleasure of cumming but without masturbation.” In honour of Ren Hang, we take a look at this highly influential visionary, who still remains little known outside of Japan, in order to find out what made his work so exciting for the late provocateur.
“Butterfly Dress Pledge” (1974)
Shuji Terayama was born in 1935 in Hirosaki City, Aomori. Throughout his lifetime he established himself as a polymath, working across a variety of mediums, including film, theatre, literature, a stint as a sports announcer and poetry — the medium in which he first made his name writing surrealist versions of traditional Japanese tanka. In 1967 he formed the experimental theatre troupe Tenjo Sajiki, which became known for its provocative, erotic and political productions, remaining active until Terayama’s death in 1983. He also simultaneously established a progressive cinema and gallery space, going on to make his first major film, a subversive short entitled “The Emperor Tomato Ketchup” in 1971. “The Emperor” shocked audiences for its audacious storyline involving a group of children planning to overthrow dictating adults in a largely improvised production. That same year, he made his first feature-length film “Throw Away Your Books, Let’s Go into the Streets”, a metaphorical meditation on Japan’s growing materialism. Such films lend obvious comparisons to the work of Ren Hang, as both artists sought to challenge authority and overthrow convention in radical and boundary-pushing ways.
“Pastoral: To Die in the Country” (1974). Image: Art Theatre Guild/Unifilms
Terayama’s diverse creative projects were often interconnected: his writing and films fed into another, and he referenced his main inspirations – including Jean Cocteau, Luis Buñuel and “Casablanca”– across his work. He frequently made autobiographical inferences within his films too; most notably in “Pastoral: To Die in the Country” (1974), a fragmented coming-of-age tale, filled with dreams of erotic fantasy and escape. His last major work was “Video Letter”, in which he exchanged visual ephemera compiled in video with fellow poet Tanikawa Shuntaro.”Video Letter” is a cryptic and hybrid work that tackles questions of identity and biography in a vague, dreamlike and poetic form, expressing many of the key attributes of his work.
In an another interview, Ren Hang stated that Shuji Terayama was the artist most deserving of our respect. Terayama’s surreal and fragmented films – potent with desire and radical in their experimentation and deviation from the norm – served as a springboard for Hang’s images of juxtaposing bodies and sexual fantasy. These 10 provocative Shuji Terayama films are a must-watch for any Ren Hang fan — and any fan of groundbreaking cinema.
“The Emperor Tomato Ketchup” (1971)
“Emperor Tomato Ketchup”. Image: Daguerreo Press
In his first major film, Terayama questions the hypocrisy of mainstream society, where sexuality is perceived as immoral and perverse, but war and genocide are acceptable. In ludicrous pink-tinged frames, the film cuts between pornographic images, shots of leaders and thinkers, and young soldiers determined to overthrow the existing order. “The Emperor Tomato Ketchup” is a graphic and anarchic political satire that shakes convention right to its core.
“Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets” (1971)
“Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets”. Image: Art Theatre Guild
Terayama’s first feature length film foregrounds one of his key themes: escape. A down-on-his-luck teen becomes weary of his family’s reluctance to escape their poor social and economic standing. Told through magnificent, psychically-charged vignettes, “Throw Away Your Books” is a spellbinding exploration of independence, ambition and disillusionment.
“Butterfly Dress Pledge” (1974)
An intoxicating fever dream of technicolour and shadow, “Butterfly Dress Pledge” is a luminous short located in a theatrical dressing room-like setting. Figures are frequently obscured and gender norms are overturned in this sensual cinematic orgy of colour and form.
“Pastoral: To Die in the Country” (1974)
“Pastoral: To Die in the Country”. Image: Art Theatre Guild/Unifilms
“Pastoral” is a one-of-a-kind take on cinematic autobiography. Set in the film-maker’s native Aomori Prefecture, the film depicts a young Shuji struggling to cope with the backward ways of his traditional town and domineering mother. He fantasises about the woman next door and dreams about escaping the customs and conventions of his homeplace. Told in a non-linear and startlingly fragmented format, “Pastoral” is the director’s attempt to reformulate his past.
“Trial” (1975)
“Trial”. Image: Jinriki Hikoki Sha
This avant-garde adaptation of Kafka’s famous novel begins with a man hammering nails into the street. The short is intended to be a live-action installation, where the audience is invited to relinquish its spectator status and participate in the action by hammering nails onto the screen.
“Labyrinth Tale” (1975)
“Labyrinth Tale”. Image: Jinriki Hikoki Sha
“Labyrinth Tale” is a green-tinted surrealistic short exploring a new gateway into the world of the imagination. It is an experimental cinematic exercise in space and dimension, expanding the parameters of the mind.
“The Eraser” (1977)
“The Eraser”
Saturated with dreamy images of lapping Pacific waves, “The Eraser” is a characteristically poetic portrayal of a vague relationship between a woman and a naval officer. Photographs are torn and sewn together in this puzzling slice of cinematic poetry.
“Shadow Film: A Woman with Two Heads” (1977)
“Shadow Film: A Woman with Two Heads”
Although only sixteen minutes long, this short film is an affecting example of a cinematic essay. As a family goes about their daily routine, the shadows playing on the wall represent what has been lost and left behind.
“Grass Labyrinth” (1979)
“Grass Labyrinth”. Image: Toei Company
Terayama is the master of mysterious dreamlike shorts, and this one is particularly impactful. As a young man enters into a quest to recover the lullaby that his mother sang to him as a child, he descends into a disjointed journey through his subconscious and childhood memories.
“Video Letter” (1982)
“Video Letter”
In his last major work, Terayama returned to his original medium: poetry. Through a series of video exchanges with the poet Tanikawa Shuntaro, personal images, newspaper cuttings, notes and Polaroid snapshots are shared. The result is a disparate and lyrical investigation into the myriad makings of identity.