March 3, 2026Open Access

Shadows of the Sun: Hasegawa and the End of Post-War Japan in 1970s Japanese Cinema

Key Points

The film critiques consumerism, revealing a disconnect from political activism prevalent in the 1960s.
It utilizes blockbuster tropes to express the main character's unease within a mass consumer society.
Observational analysis of selected scenes elucidates the self-reflexive nature of the film's narrative.
Highlights the transformation of masculinity in the context of Japan's post-war society, marking a cultural turning point.

Abstract

In the article I will focus on Taiyō o nusunda otoko (The Man who Stole the Sun, 1979) by Hasegawa Kazuhiko to analyze how it exploits blockbuster tropes to critique the growing mediatization of the Japanese society and its progressive distancing from politics in order to embrace consumerism. Referencing several scenes from the movie, I will draw some comparison with the 1960s and its political activism, to highlight the sense of unease for the mass consumer society the main character lives in and his impossible quest for an ‘outside’. My final point will be how the movie constitutes a self-reflexive example of ‘counter-narratives of masculinity’ in the post-high-growth period, symbolically marking the end of post-war Japan.

Shadows of the Sun: Hasegawa and the End of Post-War Japan in 1970s Japanese Cinema

Key Points

Abstract

Cite This Study