Latest news with #Matsushige
Asahi Shimbun
03-06-2025
- General
- Asahi Shimbun
VOX POPULI: Rare photos of Hiroshima A-bombing show grim aftermath
The event 'Hiroshima 1945: Special Exhibition 80 Years after Atomic Bombing' opened at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum on May 31 with many foreign visitors in attendance. (Photo by Koichiro Yoshida) There are few photographs left today that show what Hiroshima looked like immediately after the U.S. bomber Enola Gay dropped its nuclear payload on the city on Aug. 6, 1945. Of the pictures taken that day to graphically record the horrendous fate met by Hiroshima's citizens, only five film negatives still survive. They are all the works of Yoshito Matsushige (1913-2005), a photographer with the local daily newspaper The Chugoku Shimbun. Matsushige, who was 32 at the time, lived 2.8 kilometers from ground zero. Blown off his feet by the nuclear blast and bleeding from shards of broken window panes, he grabbed his camera and headed to the city. A toddler clung to its mother who could not move. A woman kept shouting her child's name. Faced with hordes of people with burnt skin and hair, Matsushige hesitated to release the shutter. 'Please forgive me,' he murmured in his heart as he steeled himself to do his job. The results are five black-and-white photographs that can be seen today. The silent witnesses show us a perspective that is decisively lacking from any aerial photo of the mushroom cloud taken from above. Matsushige's photos embody the 'suffering Hiroshima' its citizens gazed up at from under the mushroom cloud, not the Hiroshima as seen from the sky by the people who dropped the bomb. Some people may wonder about the scarcity of photos that remain. But far too many lives were wiped out by the bomb. The Chugoku Shimbun lost one-third of its workers—or 114 people. After World War II, the military incinerated many pictures, the disposal of some was regulated by the General Headquarters for the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (GHQ). At the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum, an exhibition of rare, valuable photos opened on May 31. Titled 'Hiroshima 1945: Special Exhibition 80 Years after Atomic Bombing,' it highlights these weighty words of one of the photographers: 'As a record, may our photographs remain final forever.' —The Asahi Shimbun, June 3 * * * Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
Korea Herald
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Solo diner's global vision
Yutaka Matsushige, star of Japan's beloved culinary series, introduces his directorial debut to Korean fans There is a certain epicurean joy in eating alone. The right to dine without anyone bothering you applies equally to all, especially to those who work hard to make ends meet. "The Solitary Gourmet" is a work that embodies precisely that ethos. At Thursday's press conference at CGV Yongsan in Seoul, Yutaka Matsushige — star of the beloved Japanese TV franchise that has run for 11 seasons since 2012 — sat before Korean reporters to discuss the film adaptation, his directorial debut. "I can feel how much Koreans love this work even when walking the streets here," Matsushige told reporters. "Young people in Korea seem to enjoy it much more than in Japan." The show's premise has remained disarmingly simple: Middle-aged businessman Goro Inogashira (played by Matsushige), in suit and tie, wanders city streets until his stomach growls. He then enters random local restaurants, typically modest mom-and-pop establishments, and enjoys a meal all by himself. "What's so captivating about watching a middle-aged man eating alone?" one might ask. There are no frills — no company, no Instagram posts, no talking (the narration consists entirely of internal monologues), no theatrical displays of delight. He simply sits and savors his food. The show maintains an almost religious contemplation of the act of solitary dining, letting food take center stage against the protagonist's stoic observations and musings. Inogashira's modest journeys preceded — perhaps even heralded — the explosive rise of mukbang in Korea and its eventual global spread. Even as food porn went on to produce its own excesses, he became an unlikely icon for lone diners, amassing a considerable Korean fanbase well before the food-content hype. This time, the film moves beyond one man's solitude and offers a sweeping romp through varied locales and characters. Here, Goro's culinary odyssey begins in Paris, where an elderly friend of his — the father of his late ex-girlfriend — asks him to find the ingredients for a nostalgic soup from his childhood. This curious errand leads him to Japan's Goto Islands and onward to Korea, a journey fraught with unexpected detours and mishaps. For many familiar with the show's trademark realism, seeing Goro jump headfirst into such a grandiose quest on a whim might seem out of character. Matsushige shared a personal story that inspired this imaginative leap. "Recently, I found a painting from my late grandfather and asked about restoration," he said. "When I inquired about payment, the specialist said they only charge transportation costs and accept whatever clients feel like giving. They follow their heart— just like Goro, who undertakes this journey with no material reward in mind." "I wanted to convey joy and surprise through this film," Matsushige added. "Though it might seem impossible in reality, creating a believable fiction is the mission of filmmaking. You could say I'm boldly playing with the medium." Setting aside its far-fetched premise, the film is first and foremost a love letter to Korean viewers. It features extensive shootings on Geojedo, Gyeongsang Province, and incorporates a uniquely Korean ingredient as a key plot element. Veteran Korean actor Yoo Jae-myung features prominently in a supporting role. "I saw Yoo in 'Voice of Silence' (2022) and thought, he's the one," Matsushige said. "So I sent him an invitation, and he accepted. He understood our creative intentions even better than we expected." Matsushige, who said he was deeply moved by the warm reception at last year's Busan International Film Festival, revealed he initially asked "Mickey 17" director Bong Joon-ho to helm the film before taking it up himself. "I wanted to make something that transcends being just a Japanese film," he said. "I thought Bong could bring something special to this material. Our schedules didn't align, but he sent a warm message wishing us success." Food brings people together, and Matsushige seemed a true believer in its uniting force. He recently appeared on Netflix's reality show "K-Foodie Meets J-Foodie" with Korean singer Sung Si-kyung to explore cuisines from both countries. "Japan and Korea must cooperate as neighbors," Matsushige said. "We don't know what challenges the future holds, so we need to face them together. If this film helps maintain that connection, I'll happily consider it my life's mission." "I'm not just trying to show food tasting good," he added. "I want to share those delicious moments with viewers. Eating connects people across cultures with shared emotions. That's why a show about an old guy eating alone somehow clicks with so many different people."
Japan Times
06-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
Can a meal make you besties? ‘K-foodie meets J-foodie' says yes.
Food brings people together. So do fandoms. That's the premise behind ' In its premiere, 'K-foodie meets J-foodie' follows Sung and Matsushige as they tackle spicy Chinese food in Tokyo's Ikebukuro neighborhood and devour decadent cheesecakes in the seaside city of Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture. They swap food takes, trade tidbits on their respective culinary cultures, and even share the word for 'crazy' — as in, this soup is crazy good — in both Japanese and Korean. But beyond the meals, the show offers something sweeter: The chance for these two food-obsessed entertainers to actually become friends.
