The Documentary Cinema of Haneda Sumiko

This is the first academic book to provide a comprehensive survey of the work of Haneda Sumiko (1926–), the first woman to regularly direct documentaries in postwar Japan, by examining her major documentaries among the extensive filmography she developed over 60 years.

Bringing together scholars from a range of disciplines—including film studies, gender studies, art history, eco-criticism and aging studies—this volume explores Haneda’s depiction of critical issues in Japanese society, culture, history and nature. It showcases how her cinema provides a personal and reflective view on Japan’s drastic transformations of the twentieth century, while her career also bore witness to changes taking place in the national cinema industry. It thus situates Haneda’s oeuvre within the history of Japanese non-fiction film while offering new perspectives on questions of authorship and representation.

Collectively, the chapters in this book make a case for Haneda to be recognized as a key figure in Japan’s postwar documentary scene. Bridging gaps in research on both documentary studies and women filmmakers, this will be a valuable resource to scholars and students of film studies, Japanese studies, gender studies and art history, as well as to film curators and programmers.