The artistic concept of the tatara image in modern Russian and Japanese cinematography and the projection choreographic show “Tatara – the heritage of Eurasia”

Abstract

The object of our research is the feature film “Tatara Samurai” (“Samurai the Blacksmith”, directed by Yoshinari Nashikori, 2016), the documentary film “The Birth of the Sword” (the exhibition project “Samurai: The Art of War” (2016) – producer Georgy Aistov, curator Steven Seagal) and the projection choreographic show “Tatara – the Heritage of Eurasia” (stage director Tufan Imamutdinov (2020), director Katsumi Sakakura (2021)). The subject of this study is the images of a samurai blacksmith and a tatara oven. In the light of Turkic-Japanese contacts, the article systematizes our knowledge about the unique tatara technology and the stove of the same name, preserved in Japan. We discuss the specificity of the artistic interpretation of this theme given by modern cultural figures of Japan and the Republic of Tatarstan and prove that Yoshinari Nashikori, Sakakura Katsumi, Tufan Imamutdinov and Syumbyul Gaffarova have created a romantic plot about the confrontation of an epic hero with a dragon in the name of saving his beloved one. The main story is about initiation, while the love story plays a supporting role. Japanese and Tatar screenwriters focus on the features of the protagonist’s internal conflict with himself. While director Yoshinari Nashikori strives for authenticity in interpreting national features, directors Sakakura Katsumi and Tufan Imamutdinov gravitate toward stylization. Although the Tatar variant of the projection show is more like a fairy-tale-fantastic generalization, the symbolic form of the Japanese variant tends to be mythological.