This year, the NHK Taiga drama is based on “The Tale of Genji”. so the classics are in the spotlight. The fact that works written over 1,000 years ago are still popular with many people shows the richness and depth of Japanese culture. Even older works such as the “Kojiki” and “Nihon Shoki,” which were published as official historical documents by the Imperial Court during the Nara period, and the “Man’yoshu,” a collection of waka poems written in Man’yōgana, are familiar to modern people. And even after the Heian period, there are countless ancient works that are called “classics” and remain in the present day, such as “The Tale of the Heike,” “Hojoki,” and “Oku no Hosomichi,” which are taught in Japanese language classes in junior high and high schools.

So, are “classics” that will be remembered for future generations being created in the present day?

I had the opportunity to think about modern content from this perspective the other day. It was a screening to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the broadcast of the popular anime “Space Battleship Yamato,” held at Shinjuku Picadilly in Tokyo on the 6th. The event was organized by Hideaki Anno, an anime and film director who is highly acclaimed for his work on “Evangelion” and “Shin Godzilla,” and was also shown live at movie theaters nationwide. The first episode was shown at 7:30 p.m. on October 6, 1974, exactly 50 years after the original series first aired. The event also included a screening of the now-defunct 8mm film trilogy, and a talk show featuring Anno, who organized the event, Izubuchi Yutaka, general director of the first remake, “Space Battleship Yamato 2199,” and anime and special effects researcher Hikawa Ryusuke. Tickets for the Shinjuku Piccadilly event were sold out in a day, so the author attended the live viewing at MOVIX Kyoto.
The film was the catalyst for Japanese animation to be recognized as a content culture, and the talk show also provided specific examples to illustrate this point. Anno asserted that if he had not watched “Yamato” as a boy, he would not have followed this path. All three agreed that without this work, the anime would not have been able to break away from its status as a “television cartoon for children.”

Currently, a remake of Yamato is being produced under the direction of Harutoshi Fukui, a writer known for works such as “Aegis of the Empire” and “Mobile Suit Gundam UC.” However, it seems that a new project is underway, as Anno has also received permission from the rights holder to produce a new anime based on Yamato. In a statement on his company’s website, Anno mentioned that in the 50-year history of Yamato, various creators have created diverse worldviews through not only the original anime series, but also comic book adaptations, novelizations, games, and remakes of the anime, and stated, “We are committed to making the new Yamato into a series of works that are likely to continue into the next 100th anniversary.”

He once again expressed his hope that “Space Battleship Yamato” is a work that represents the 20th century, and will be passed down for a long time as a “classic” to future generations.

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