The Historical Background of the Landscape Trilogy
Japan in the early 1970s was approaching the end of its period of rapid economic growth. The oil crisis of 1973 began to break the myth of uninterrupted expansion, and the optimism that had permeated society gave way to an unstable, constricted mood. Population concentration in cities accelerated while rural areas rapidly lost residents, placing Japan's traditional landscapes and cultures in danger of disappearing.
At precisely this time, director Koichi Saito released three films in quick succession: The Rendezvous (1972), The Journey (1972), and Tsugaru Folksong (1973). Later known as his “Landscape Trilogy,” they happened to capture Japan at a historical turning point in its most delicate form.
The Japanese film industry itself was also undergoing a major transition. The spread of television reduced cinema attendance, and major studios cut their output. Young directors, meanwhile, broke away from established studio systems and formed independent production companies in search of freer expression. Saito was one of them, setting out on his own path to pursue his ideal of visual beauty.
Another important factor lay behind the trilogy: Saito's strong desire to record and preserve on film the archetypal Japanese scenery being engulfed by urbanization and modernization. For a former still photographer, preserving what was disappearing forever was also a mission as a filmmaker.
The 1970s were also an era when youth culture bloomed. A generation that had experienced the failure of student movements turned its interest away from political idealism toward inward self-exploration. The idea of a “journey to find oneself” emerged, and many young people left cities for rural areas or traveled overseas. The trilogy's protagonists embody precisely this image of youth in the period.
This was also when the genre of the youth film became established in Japanese cinema. The creation of the Art Theatre Guild, or ATG, generated one experimental film after another free from commercial constraint, earning the sympathy of younger generations. Saito's Landscape Trilogy can likewise be positioned among the works born from this new cinematic movement.
Three Landscapes, Three Experiences of Youth
Each of the three films uses a different Japanese landscape to portray a young person's inner journey. They share a structure in which protagonists travel from a city into the provinces and reconsider themselves through encounters with a place and its people.
The Rendezvous is set in the Hokuriku region along the Sea of Japan. A female prisoner on temporary release, played by Keiko Kishi, and a fugitive young man, played by Kenichi Hagiwara, meet by chance on a train and spend only three days together. The rough winter waves of the Sea of Japan, a snow-covered coastline, and bleak fishing villages function as mirrors of two lonely souls.
Their destination is the northernmost end of the Noto Peninsula. Their flight toward the edge of the Japanese archipelago symbolizes the ultimate loneliness of people alienated from society. At the same time, the emotional contact between them in the desolate landscape emphasizes the preciousness of human warmth. Against the severe winter coast, Saito portrayed essential human solitude and the possibility of love.
The Journey is set in summer on Shikoku. A 16-year-old girl, played by Yoko Takahashi, runs away from home and grows through encounters with many people as she follows the pilgrimage route of Shikoku's 88 temples. Green mountains, clear rivers, and farmland under the midsummer sun create a life-filled nature that watches over the girl's growth in contrast to the winter landscape of The Rendezvous.
The Shikoku pilgrimage signifies a spiritual journey rather than mere tourism. Through contact with a troupe of traveling performers and people in many circumstances, the girl learns life's joys and sorrows. Saito delicately portrayed one girl's inner growth against Shikoku's rich nature and traditional pilgrimage culture.
Tsugaru Folksong is set in the Tsugaru region of Aomori Prefecture. A woman who worked in a Tokyo bar, played by Kyoko Enami, reunites in her Tsugaru hometown with a young man pursued by the yakuza, played by Akira Oda, and they continue their flight together. The snowbound Tsugaru Plain, Mount Iwaki in a blizzard, and the freezing winter Sea of Japan evoke a more indigenous and elemental force than the winter setting of The Rendezvous.
The melancholy sound of the Tsugaru shamisen runs through the entire film. The folk song “Tsugaru Jongara Bushi” is the soul music expressing every joy and sorrow of the region's people, and it resonates deeply with the protagonists' emotions. The sight of two people who fled the city confronting their own roots amid harsh nature evokes nostalgia for an archetypal Japanese landscape disappearing under modernization.
Memories of an Era Inscribed on Film
The Japanese scenery portrayed by the trilogy is more than a background; it is a portrait of the era itself. Koichi Saito's keen eye permanently inscribed on film the archetypal Japanese landscapes disappearing in the shadow of rapid economic growth.
First to note is the presence of railways. Trains along the Sea of Japan in The Rendezvous, lines around Shikoku in The Journey, and the Ou Main Line in Tsugaru Folksong all play important roles. In the early 1970s, Japanese National Railways still functioned as the main transportation artery connecting the country. At the same time, advancing motorization placed unprofitable rural lines one after another in danger of closure.
The stations, trains, and views through the windows shown by Saito are now valuable records of a Showa-era railway culture that has disappeared. Particularly striking are the wooden station buildings standing in small communities and local trains crossing peaceful farmland. They were more than transportation; they functioned as cultural systems connecting Japan's landscapes with people's lives.
There are also the regional cities, fishing villages, and farming communities in the films. In the early 1970s, traditional Japanese houses remained widespread, and streets lined with tiled roofs could still be found across the country. Urbanization, however, was steadily reaching the provinces, and concrete buildings were beginning to change the landscape. Saito vividly captured scenery in transition.
The fishing villages on the Sea of Japan in The Rendezvous still practiced traditional fishing, and the fishermen retained old ways of life. The rural Shikoku of The Journey was dotted with terraced rice fields and thatched-roof homes, spreading out in a scene that could be called archetypal Japan. Tsugaru Folksong directly records the lives of people coexisting with the severe natural environment of Tsugaru.
The films also document many Japanese traditions that were disappearing. The troupe of traveling performers in The Journey conveys the figures of popular entertainers who once toured throughout Japan. In Tsugaru Folksong, performance scenes by masters of the Tsugaru shamisen reveal the essence of the region's musical culture.
Equally important are the people's expressions, gestures, and speech captured by these works. The everyday sensibility, values, and relationships of Japanese people in the 1970s are condensed into the characters' casual lives. The sound of dialects, differences in values between generations, and cultural gaps between cities and rural areas vividly present cross-sections of a rapidly changing society.
Saito did more than record beautiful scenery. His images contain the atmosphere of the era, the texture of people's lives, and the tension of a moment when Japan was about to change dramatically. The trilogy retains precious value as living testimony to Japan in the 1970s.
Memories of Place That Resonate Today
Half a century has passed since Koichi Saito's Landscape Trilogy was released. Japan's scenery has changed dramatically, and many landscapes portrayed in the films no longer exist. Yet the significance of these works seems only to deepen with time.
Contemporary Japan has reached unprecedented levels of homogenization and standardization. Station districts in regional cities look similar throughout the country, and traditional streetscapes have nearly disappeared except where some have been developed as tourist destinations. Convenience stores and fast-food outlets cover the country, while distinctive regional cultures and customs are rapidly being lost.
Under these conditions, the Japan of the 1970s recorded by the trilogy makes us recognize anew the scale of what has been lost. This is more than nostalgia. The films ask contemporary viewers about the unique value of place, the deep connection between environment and people, and the importance of cultural diversity.
The meaning of the journeys embodied by the trilogy's protagonists can also be reinterpreted today. High-speed transportation has made physical movement vastly easier. Yet the distinctiveness of places has been lost, and travelers often encounter the same scenery wherever they go. Deep encounters with local environments, chance meetings with others, and journeys of self-discovery like those in the trilogy may actually have become more difficult.
The vision of youth portrayed by these films also carries contemporary meaning. The confinement and loneliness felt by young people in the 1970s remain familiar to young people today in changed forms. Alienation from society, loss of identity, and the search for meaning in life continue as universal concerns across eras.
The trilogy is important as an anthropological record as well as for its place in film history. Its landscapes, ways of life, language, and music form a valuable archive of Japanese culture. For researchers and preservationists, the images are first-class materials for understanding a lost Japan.
Finally, the gaze toward local environments that Koichi Saito demonstrated in the trilogy continues to exert a strong influence on contemporary filmmakers. His faith in the power of place and treatment of landscape as an important element rather than mere background continue in the work of contemporary directors including Hirokazu Kore-eda, Naomi Kawase, and Koji Fukada.
The archetypal Japan of the 1970s portrayed by the Landscape Trilogy now belongs to the past. Yet the films' message—the deep bond between place and people, the importance of a place's memory, and the universal radiance of youth—has special meaning today. The memories of Japan that Koichi Saito inscribed on film are an irreplaceable guide as we walk toward the future.
