is a 1987 live-action animated documentary directed by Isao Takahata and originally broadcast on NHK. The film details the history of the city of Yanagawa, Fukuoka and its inhabitant's struggle to preserve its signature canals from the devastating effects of water pollution.
Funded using the profits from Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the film marks a number of significant firsts for Studio Ghibli. It was Takahata’s first directorial feature for the studio, which he co-founded with Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki in 1985. Furthermore, the film remains the first and only majority live-action Studio Ghibli film to date, aside from a select instance in Pom Poko. The film also has the added feature of being the only Studio Ghibli to be produced independently, with the majority of financing and distribution being handled by Miyazaki’s personal office.
Synopsis
At its heart, the film traces the history of the canal system, the restoration of Yanagawa, and the science behind it, as well as its impacts on the following generations. It explores the day-to-day lives of the community of Yanagawa and their struggle to preserve the famous canal system from water pollution and falling into disuse. Beginning with the canal’s origins from the 16th century to the 1970s, a great emphasis is placed on the mantra of ‘Living with Nature, disposing of waste by recycling,’ which became a central focal point in the community's struggle to preserve the waterway system.
The central figure of the documentary is Tsutae Hiromatsu, the head of the local water supply division, who is initially tasked with overseeing the canal’s removal and repurposing, but upon hearing of its importance to the local community decides to mobilize them and the local government into supporting his “Water Clean-up project” to restore them to their former glory.
The film itself is divided into eleven chapters and a prologue that follows the efforts to repair the canal systems. Each chapter features a mixture of talking heads, observational shooting, and explanatory narration interspersed with Miyazaki’s animation:
Prologue
Chapter 1 Horiwari is alive --Waterway pointillism--
Chapter 2 Water Pumping Station and Moat Edge - Characteristics and Utilization of Waterway Network- Chapter 3 Yanagawa 3rd Year Higo March --Mechanism of Waterway- Chapter 4 Fukuoka Prefectural Ordinance Drinking River Control Regulations-When the waterways were clean- Chapter 5 The Age of Archipelago Remodeling-The Devastation of Waterways- Chapter 6 Plains Created by the Sea ――The Nature of Horiwari ―― Chapter 7 "Making Water" --Completion of Water Use System-- Chapter 8 A Drop of Water Is A Drop of Blood-Yabe River Water Conflict- Chapter 9 Direct Appeal and Decision-Toward Waterway Regeneration- Chapter 10 Living Together by Making the Most of Nature-Shirobori Waterfall- Chapter 11 Solidarity between Residents and Government --History of Waterway Regeneration—
Production
After the success of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, attention immediately turned to another collaboration between Miyazaki as director and Takahata and Suzuki as producers. Tokuma Shoten, the production company behind Nausicaä, had originally pushed for a sequel to the film but Miyazaki resisted, citing tiredness and frustration with the project. Miyazaki was inspired to work on another project by an old childhood visit to Minamata Bay on the west coast of Kyushu, whose waters had been polluted by various chemical toxins and resulted in the local population feeling unwell.
Miyazaki traveled to Yanagawa – the “Venice of the East” - in order to find inspiration for his next animated feature film along with lifelong collaborator Takahata. Miyazaki had considered the tranquil setting of Yanagawa suitable for a story about young school children and man’s relationship with the natural world, similar to his previous work.
Takahata was enlisted to serve as a location scout for the project and spent the months following his arrival exploring not only the waterways themselves via donkobune (narrow riverboats) but also the surrounding areas and people to whom the canal was a sense of unity and civic pride. When Takahata met Tsutae Hiromatsu, the head of water supply in the region, he decided to focus his attention on making a documentary about the community’s efforts to preserve the waterways, dropping the animated aspects almost entirely.