http://lite-ra.com/2017/03/post-3011.html By Mitsuya Miyajima Last summer, on the internet there was the “Don’t bring politics in music!” controversy surrounding the Fuji Rock Festival. The incident caused a flamewar demonstrating the low level of internet discourse. Now one year later, again there has been controversy surrounding “culture” and “politics” that will make your head hurt. This […]

http://lite-ra.com/2017/03/post-3011.html

By Mitsuya Miyajima

Last summer, on the internet there was the “Don’t bring politics in music!” controversy surrounding the Fuji Rock Festival. The incident caused a flamewar demonstrating the low level of internet discourse. Now one year later, again there has been controversy surrounding “culture” and “politics” that will make your head hurt. This time, it is “Stop the political use of Takiji Kobayashi!”

Perhaps many people reading this are already thinking “What the hell!?” so I’ll explain step-by-step. Currently, a browser game called “Literary Masters and Alchemists” (Bungou to Arukemisuto) has become a big hit. In this game, literary masters are made into handsome 2D characters and made to fight. The character lineup ranges from the extremely famous Osamu Dazai, Ryuunosuke Akutagawa, and Kenji Miyazawa to lesser known writers such as Haruo Satou, Shigeharu Nakano, and Shuusei Tokuda, but among these, Takiji Kobayashi is particularly popular.

Sporting a hooded long coat and a slim physique, he wields a sword as his long hair flutters, striking a cool figure. He seems to have a contrarian personality, but when he relaxes his guard he shows a gentle side. In other words, he’s a character that emulates the “royal road” pattern typical of Shounen Manga.

This character from “Literary Masters and Alchemists” was presented in an article in the March 17 edition of Newspaper Akahata, saying that through internet games, increasing numbers of young people were becoming interested in Takiji Kobayashi and reading his works. (However, the proper name “Literary Masters and Alchemists” does not appear in the article, and the picture they published was not from the game, but from a secondary fan work.) Rather than vehemently pushing a particular political line, it was a light piece saying “Recently, it seems that through the influence of games, interest in the literary works of Takiji Kobayashi among young people has been increasing.”

However, in response, there has been a storm of posts from twitter and other sources criticizing the newspaper.

“This controversy started by certain newspaper has ruined my mood. Nothing good comes from getting caught up in politics. It’s your right to support whatever parties you like, but don’t bring the characters into it!” “Anyhow I wish characters weren’t mixed up with politics. When I go out drinking bringing up politics is a faux pas.” “Bun-aru (contraction of Bungou to Arukemisuto) is a normal game with no relation to politics, so it’s a problem when these people associate themselves with it. For Takiji to be inserted into that kind of newspaper and be used by people with those beliefs is disgusting” “Having left wingers interfere with our fun makes us uncomfortable.” “The only people who know Takiji as left wing are left wingers themselves right?”

 

I think it’s unnecessary to write this, but the writer Takiji Kobayashi, known for works such as The Crab Cannery Ship and Life of a Party Member, not only challenged the tyranny and oppression of authorities through his proletarian literature, but was also a member of the then illegal Japanese Communist Party and was involved in underground organizing. Furthermore, he was arrested by the Tokkou and was tortured until he died at the young age of 29. It goes without saying that the existence of Takiji Kobayashi is totally inseparable from politics. The writer’s works were born from his political ideals and activities and any way you look at them or Takiji himself, you can see politics form a core part. To adopt him as your own and make claims about “political usage” to the contrary is itself an insult to the existence of this writer.

Much like “Don’t bring politics into Fuji Rock Festival!”, this seems to be internet flaming unworthy of serious engagement, but the story doesn’t stop here.

The one who supplied the image and brought criticism upon theirself received attacks online and was driven to apology, but in the middle of their explanation on twitter, it was revealed that the company who made the game, DMM, requested that Akahata to cease publishing of the article.

“After material was gathered for the article, the newspaper sought permission from the official makers of the game to publish the image, but they replied that they reject publishing of any games, logos, or illustrations in a political medium in all cases.” “Again, the newspaper sought permission based on the law, but because there was no reply before deadline, it seems that the newspaper decided that there was no problem in relation to rules about gathering news from individuals and proceeded to publish the article.”

It seems that Newspaper Akahata tried to make contact with DMM in order to gain permission to publish an original illustration and seek comment regarding the influence of their adaptation of Takiji Kobayashi. But as a result of DMM’s rejection, the article took a slightly bizarre form: hiding the name of the game (though being journalism, I don’t see why simply using a proper name is a problem) and only using a secondary illustration.

Setting aside the political aspect, I doubt the recent tendency of only allowing features and criticism that align with your intentions to borrow material. Moreover, even if DMM rejects requests for comment, it’s not like they have the right to demand that journalistic articles not be published. Even more, their claim that they “reject publishing… in a political medium in all cases” doesn’t make sense because of the issue of their recent collaboration with an event connected to Yasukuni Shrine for their game Touken Ranbu.

Touken Ranbu, another browser game managed by DMM, colloborated with shrines in the Chiyoda neighborhood for a stamp rally, titled “Chiyoda Sakura Festival X Touken Ranbu ONLINE Edo Castle Tour”. Stamps were placed at five locations, Kanda Shrine, Hie Shrine, Tokyo Daijingu, Nankou Rest House, and Yasukuni Shrine, and by collecting at least three stamps, one could receive an original pin.

To not feel the political significance of Touken Ranbu, a game that revolves around personifying Japanese swords, and Yasukuni Shrine joining together is much more difficult. In fact, the Chiyoda City Tourism Association has already drawn much criticism for the stamp rally being held on the 25th of this month. If DMM is taking the inexplicably strong position of not only rejecting requests for comment, but also asking Akahata to not publish articles about them, then logically Yasukuni Shrine should be removed from the stamp rally.

However, although as a result of criticism some small changes to the event sites have been made, Yasukuni Shrine remains part of the event. This duplicity puts DMM claims in a new light. Their idea is of “political usage” is in other words, anything that opposes the tyranny of the Abe regime and the authorities, while historical revisionism and militarism that shouts “Abe ganbare!” is not included.

Possibly, there are a large amount of netuyo (online right wingers) and their ilk among game fans. Because DMM puts consideration into these fans from a marketing standpoint, the company has taken up this double standard. In summary, DMM’s commercial usage of Takiji Kobayashi in a way that is diametrically opposed to his ideals is much worse than Akahata’s “political usage.”

Either way, whether copyrighted materials are introduced for political statements, scholarly research, or criticism, all of these fall within the sphere of free speech, and are not violation of copyright. Whether by the right or left, people have this right. To the crazies that ignore historical fact to attack Akahata and those at DMM who make arbitrary statements in regards to their games, I suggest re-reading the Japanese constitution. Or perhaps Takiji Kobayashi’s works, such as The Crab Cannery Ship or, if you really want to know what motivated him, Life of a Party Member.