The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On

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The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On
DVD cover to The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On
Directed by	Kazuo Hara^[1]
Produced by	Sachiko Kobayashi
Starring	Kenzo Okuzaki
Cinematography	Kazuo Hara
Editing by	Jun Nabeshima
Distributed by	Imamura Productions Shisso Production Zanzou-sha
Release date(s)	August 1, 1987
Running time	122 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (ゆきゆきて、神軍, Yuki Yukite Shingun^?) is an award-winning 1987 documentary by director Kazuo Hara. The documentary centers on 62-year-old veteran of Japan's Second World War campaign in New Guinea, Kenzo Okuzaki, and follows him around as he searches out those responsible for the mysterious deaths of several soldiers in his old unit.

Though Okuzaki ultimately holds Emperor Hirohito accountable for all the suffering of the war, he painstakingly tracks down former military officers and accuses them of specific war crimes, often abusing them verbally and at times physically in the process.

The movie was five years in the making.

One of the methods of Okuzaki, as seen in the movie, was to paint his car and home with political messages. Here is a picture of his carport.

[edit] Awards

Berlin International Film Festival (1987)^[2]
- Caligari Film Award (Kazuo Hara)
Blue Ribbon Awards (1988)
- Best Director (Kazuo Hara)
Kinema Junpo Awards (1988)
- Readers' Choice Award for Best Film (Kazuo Hara)
Mainichi Film Concours (1988)
- Best Director (Kazuo Hara)
- Best Sound Recording (Toyohiko Kuribayashi)
Rotterdam International Film Festival (1988)
- KNF Award (Kazuo Hara)
Yokohama Film Festival (1988)
- Best Director (Kazuo Hara)
- Best Film