Ever since the tragedies of the Second World War, apocalyptic visions have been an important part of Japan’s popular culture. In a sense, these visions reflect the psyche of the post-war Japanese, who see themselves defined in relation to the destruction of the Second World War. The great economic and technical advances in Japan during the latter half of the twentieth century are inevitable traced back to the enormous war losses that precede them; in effect, any new tragedy will refer back to the defining events of the 1940’s and will be examined in the light of Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and the fire bombing of Tokyo.

A key element in the feelings of progress shared by Japanese since the cataclysmic events of the war was the idea of control – that is, control in terms of stability in society, nature, government, and economy – in short, of the daily world around us. Once that sense of control weakens, as we have recently seen in a number of ways, these changes will bring back fears of loss and visions of cataclysm. In a sense we will be stepping into the frightening world of Akira and other anime visions of a future out of control. 

In a country that has long fought with natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunami, the issue of control has always been important. It also plays into the early modern explanations of earthquakes: the shakings of the earth were explained as the movements of a giant catfish positioned under the ground. The catfish was controlled by a god, Kashima, who keeps the fish stable by placing a large lodestone on it. If this stone became unloosened, then the element of control would be gone and the fish would be free to cause earthquakes through a series of violent movements. Images of catfish were pervasive in the popular culture of the time, as in the disaster movies of today, and the fish often depicted in roles that varied from the serious to parody. The anime of today and the catfish of the past are united in that they both play with the idea of disaster, and give us a sense of standing on the precipice of a great abyss – an abyss into which we have a real danger of falling if we lose control of lodestones or of worlds around us.

Links

16.03.2011 Kulturplatz SF TV: Japans Katastrophen. Die Angst vor der Gefahr tritt in der Populärkultur zutage.