One of the lead characters in Iwai Shunji's _Love Letter_ is a librarian
and, in addition to there being many library scenes, the act of writing
on the check-out cards is central to the narrative.
Other Japanese films that include librarians are Imamura Shohei's _Akai
satsui_, Honda Ishiro's _Gasu ningen dai-ichi go_, Yamada Yoji's _Otoko
wa tsurai yo Torajiro koiyatsure_, Fukuda Yoichiro's _Sayonara, konnichi
wa_, or Kitagawa Itsuya's _Pieta_.
There are many Japanese films that take advantage of the unique space of
libraries, particularly the spaces between aisles (peeking at others
between books, tracking shots perpendicular to the stacks, etc.). Recent
horror films seem particularly enamoured of libraries, as is evident in
Kurosawa Kiyoshi's _Kairo_.
Aaron Gerow
Associate Professor
International Student Center
Yokohama National University
79-1 Tokiwadai
Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501
JAPAN
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Phone: 81-45-339-3170
Fax: 81-45-339-3171
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