A FILM BY ANNE-SOPHIE CHAUMIER LE CONTE (60 MIN) COPRODUCED BY CC&C ET NHK WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF FRANCE 2 LOGLINE A blend of boldness and tradition, Empress Michiko of Japan succeeded in doing what no other Japanese empress had done before her: taking control of her life despite her lack of official power. She transformed the timid respect shown by an entire nation to its emperor into a real and sincere attachment. Installed at the heart of Japanese society when the country was in a state of collapse after World War II, and then launched on a frantic course to achieve modernity, over a period of 60 years, Michiko followed an unexpected path: that of encouraging the Japanese people to indulge in greater introspection in order to build a united, peaceful and enlightened Japan.

SYNOPSIS No empress had ever shown or expressed herself so much. Since her marriage to Crown Prince Akihito in 1959, Michiko was constantly in the spotlight and the public eye on account of her deeds, her love of the arts and her words. She also gained attention through her use of waka, traditional Japanese poems that Michiko, while still a young fiancée, learned to use to echo her thoughts, feelings and deepest convictions.

Yet, as a commoner, she should never have sat on the Chrysanthemum Throne, the symbol of a legendary dynasty. Born in 1934 in imperialist and warmongering Japan, Michiko Shōda experienced the brutal collapse of a codified and hierarchical world that she believed to be imperishable. The destruction of Tokyo in 1945, the suffering of the entire population and the American military occupation together turned the projected life of this young girl from a good family upside-down.

After refusing several marriage proposals from Crown Prince Akihito, why did Michiko finally accept to place herself at the service of her country, sacrifice her freedom and leave her family behind her? It was not an arranged marriage as the aristocracy and her future mother-in-law, Empress Nagako, were fiercely opposed to this marriage to a commoner. Far from being simply a “tennis-court romance”, as it was presented by the Japanese press, it was the coming together of two convinced pacifists who had received both a Japanese and a Western education. Their marriage was above all a partnership to serve peace and the Japanese people.

Following the end of the war, General Douglas MacArthur understood that he needed to keep Emperor Hirohito at the head of the country and save his honour so that Japan could become a future trading partner of the United States. However, the new constitution established in 1946 turned the power relationship between the emperor and his people inside-out, with the population becoming sovereign and the emperor losing his supremacy. From then on, the Emperor’s only duty was to symbolise the state and the unity of the Japanese people. This new role was so broad and elusive that it had to be invented. When Emperor Hirohito – who evaded trial in Tokyo for war crimes – was unable to find his new place in post-war Japan, Akihito and Michiko were pushed to the fore to represent the country’s democratic renewal and Western-style modernity. This marked the first step taken towards, what will become for Akihito, being the Symbol of the state. From the time of their marriage in 1959, which was beamed all over the world and was responsible for the sale of millions of television sets in Japan, Akihito and Michiko became – and would remain for the following 60 years – the ambassadors of a new and pacifist Japan.

Unlike what occurred in Germany after WWII, Japan made no official admission of guilt, which remains

1 a source of tension for China and South Korea. As the crown prince and crown princess, and then emperor and empress, Akihito and Michiko communicated many messages of solace and reconciliation to their neighbouring countries and the Japanese people who had suffered so much during the war. Akihito went so far as to express his deep personal remorse, though he is not authorised by the government to apologise officially on behalf of the country.

Akihito and Michiko voiced a new message that encouraged the Japanese people to reflect on the country’s militarist past and perhaps too on a collective responsibility that the history books barely touch on. In their own way, both subtly encouraged the Japanese people to shoulder their newly created sovereignty and to make their voices heard at the urns, especially when Shinzo Abe’s government was considering revising Japan’s pacifist constitution. After WWII, almost all the governments followed the same pacifist line as the emperor but the arrival in power of Shinzo Abe radically altered the government’s priorities.

Michiko received little credit for her achievements, which is disconcerting for a Westerner. Officially, she remains in her husband’s shadow but in fact she attracts all the light. Only males in direct line to the Chrysanthemum Throne are considered important, but Akihito has helped develop the role of the empress by offering his wife a broader range of activities and greater visibility. It would be misleading to attribute to Michiko the ambition to share the emperor’s power or to give specific instructions from the side-lines. She guided him in a very subtle way, never overstepping the bounds of her role. She has definitely modernised the image of the imperial family at a moment when it was in a very delicate situation. Paradoxically, the imperial household, which some people thought would disappear after the war, found in Michiko a unique opportunity to transform itself and to assume a new respectability.

Besides, Michiko has never ceased to focus her attention on the well-being of the Japanese people, which has given her role a more meaningful and personal character. She has developed a direct relationship with the Japanese that has led the emperor to become one with them and understand them. As Akihito stresses, his solitary and stiff childhood education with private tutors never allowed him to have a personal relationship with ordinary Japanese. Wishing to bring radical changes, he wanted his wife to accompany him on this new path, and together the imperial couple embarked on this adventure within a few months of their marriage. She rapidly became the darling of the press and her style was imitated by all Japanese women. She was the “Grace Kelly” of Japan and her popularity stimulated the “Michi Boom”. She was immensely popular with the Japanese but unpopular in the palace and with the aristocracy, who would not pardon her for daring to marry the crown prince. Her daily life is far from being as ideal as the photos show her in the press. She has suffered humiliation, permanent pressure and a lack of psychological support. She dealt with it all alone while accompanying her husband on his activities, that were a real breath of fresh air, along with the time she spent with her children, whom she chose to raise without the help of palace tutors. Her children are the first within the imperial family who have studied at schools open to the public. In spite of adversity, that has led her once to loose her voice for four months, she heroically managed to keep active and positive with the moral support of her husband and her children.

Where has she found the resources for 60 years to modernise and humanise her role and to nudge Japanese society in the direction of greater introspection and altruism? Having raised her son Naruhito, the current emperor, in the most human way possible, has she not brought about a revolution in the imperial household? With a dash of humour, Akihito likened the emperor to a robot as his slightest gesture or word is codified. Michiko did away with this system and succeeded in establishing a warmer

2 and more generous education for her children, one that is also more open to the world. She has helped establish safeguards to prevent the Japanese people from falling back into errors of the past, and she has encouraged her children and people of Japan not to give others power over their lives. Each has to accept and bear responsibility for their actions and future. Could this be her most important message? It seems simple but how very burdensome it is, especially in Japan.

NOTE ON THE TREATMENT

“Michiko, the Strength of the Reed” is aimed at engaging the interest and emotions of a non-Japanese public. In order for Michiko’s extraordinary life to appeal to the broadest audience, and for the archive images to illustrate the complex nature of this committed woman, her battles and her beliefs, but also the history of Japan and its changes during her husband’s reign, her story needs to be presented in chronological and thematic chapters, thereby clearly identifying the topics and intentions. Each chapter will represent an important period of Michiko’s life and will contain the classic components of an archive-film history but also much more personal ingredients that will help create a warm and informal portrait. This necessary contrast will make it possible to investigate this iconic woman by placing her deeds, choices and declarations in a historic and international perspective.

 Archive videos and photos: the wealth of images coming from the Imperial household and Japanese media, never published outside Japan, are one of the strengths of this documentary. Personal photo albums and official films that have escaped the notice of History provide numerous sources.  The voice and words of the empress: while Michiko is a well-known and recognised person, it is difficult to know what she really thinks. She rarely speaks publicly and her right to do so officially is extremely limited. In order to get around this imposition of silence, Michiko has made many speeches (annual press conferences, speeches abroad) and published personal testimonies and literary texts: an article for the press while she was a student, a children’s book and, above all, hundreds of waka, the short and forceful traditional poems that are very popular in Japan. Containing 31 syllables, waka are characterised by remarkable power and restraint while expressing strong feeling and allowing a more emotional interpretation of the situations alluded to.

These numerous and direct sources will be used at regular intervals in the documentary to give a voice to this emancipated woman. Some people would like to reduce her to complete silence, while others would like to portray her as a woman forced to live constantly in the shadow of her husband. We would like to listen carefully to what Michiko has to say between the lines. Her voice is like a reed that rustles, and is sometimes drowned out by the noise of the world.

3  Unpublished accounts by selected contributors to extend the dialogue: our coproducer, NHK, has been able to interview people close to the empress, who for the first time accepted to discuss the life of their childhood friend, pupil or empress they served. These personal views will be added to by international contributors so as to decipher the messages hidden behind Michiko’s words. For example, the American Kenneth Ruoff is a specialist in modern Japan and will help to explain the country’s background against which Michiko’s destiny has played out. Muriel Jolivet is a French-Japanese sociologist and academic who has lived in Japan for 40 years; she will explain points that mystify Westerners regarding the changes that have taken place in the country’s society and the role that Michiko has played in the development of the woman’s role in Japan. The historian Pierre-François Souyri will shed light on the political and international issues raised by Japan’s flirt with nationalism, to which the imperial figure seems to offer the only opposition. The journalist Midori Watanabe can help us understand the subtlety of meaning behind the silent language of the gestures, bows and clothes worn by the empress. A French journalist who specialises in monarchies, Stéphane Bern, will explain the protocol of the Japanese imperial family and highlight points that differ from or are shared by European royal families.

- An original graphical design: as some of the purposes of a documentary of this nature are to transport viewers into a remote world, and to eliminate the distance between the Western and Japanese visions of the world (which have nothing in common), we have decided to create a world that is unique to this documentary, created by Marie-Amélie Tek. She uses watercolours to freeze a moment in time and convey an emotion. The precision of her design and her highly personal visual universe are capable to intensifying the archive images and accentuating what cannot be said. - The depiction of contemporary Japan will be the subject of a specific shoot in cinematic style. It will be an almost timeless depiction that will emphasise the continuity of the symbolic role of the imperial family and set the portrait of Michiko in a millenary history while bringing out the modern aspects of the imperial role that she embodies. - An original soundtrack: special care will be given to the composition of the soundtrack and to the musical world of this portrait of the empress, who is also a semi-professional pianist. Invited to participate in master classes, and having played alongside great musicians throughout her reign, Michiko uses music as another means to connect with the world, and to express her feelings and emotions where words are forbidden.

4 Anne-Sophie CHAUMIER LE CONTE Author-Director

After studying History and Political Science at Paris X as well as taking a two-year training course at the Institute of Journalism in Paris, she was awarded the Jean d’Arcy grant and joined the editorial staff of France 2 in 2004. She spent years doing fieldwork and investigating around the world in order to understand and decipher her subjects better, as in “The incredible story of the stock market crash”, which won the Dauphine Prize. Her love of history gradually returned and she decided to explore this domain through documentary.

She decided to focus on the murkier side of the Second World War. Thanks to the opening and declassification of archives that had been kept secret for decades, she chose to work closely with archives and historians, not only in France but also Great Britain, Germany and Eastern Europe countries. She worked with the conviction that documents combined with rigorous investigation can illuminate certain moments in history that we often consider to be textbook.

She wrote and directed “The Children of Buschdorf” (45’ for France 2), a finalist in the Franco-German Prize 2018 which explains how Nazi engineers were brought to France just after the war to establish and work on a secret space programme. She recently wrote and directed “Struthof, the Forgotten Camp” (52’ for RMC Découverte) which was a ratings success. She has also been the editorial producer of a collection of historical documentaries called “Forbidden History” recognized for the quality of its investigations.

Her historical sensitivity has led her to work on a new collection combining architecture and history for France 5 (broadcast in summer 2019). Lastly, she has just completed a documentary series mixing art, crime and history for Arte.

Anne-Séverine des Longchamps Producer

After studying Anglo-American Literature and Civilisation at Brooklyn College (New York) and Audiovisual Communications at University Paris X, Anne-Séverine de Longchamps specialised in the production of documentary films. She joined CC&C in 2010 to work on the Apocalypse collection. She is particularly interested in projects that are either co-directed or co-produced with international partners, and in the development of new forms of documentary writing. Examples of the films she has produced: The 100 days of Normandy (by F. Lumière, 20', shown on 9 screens, Arromanches 360) in 2013; Tokyo Phoenix, The Rise of Modern Japan (by O. Julien, 90’, 52’, Arte/NHK) in 2017; Seaplanes, a New Era (by J.L. Gunst, 52’, RMC Découverte) in 2018. Forthcoming (2019-2020): - The Voyages of Matisse, Searching for Modernity (by Raphaël Millet, 1x52’) for Arte France, RTBF, Centre Pompidou, in co-production with Man’s Films Productions and Nocturnes Productions. - Michiko, the Strength of the Reed (by Anne-Sophie Chaumier Le Conte, 1x60’ and 1x52’) for France 2, in coproduction with NHK.

5 CC&C CC&C Clarke Costelle et Cie (Mediawan Group) is a production company that specialises in history documentaries based on archive materials.

- APOCALYPSE La Guerre des Mondes by D. Costelle and I. Clarke (6x52’, France 2) 2019 - APOCALYPSE La Paix Impossible by D. Costelle and I. Clarke (2x52’, France 2) 2018 - LA LEGENDE DES HYDRAVIONS by J.L. Gunst and C. Séveillac (1x52’, RMC Découverte) 2018 - LES AMERICAINS DANS LA GRANDE GUERRE 1917-1918 by S. Bégoin and T. Marlier (52’, France 5) 2017 - TOKYO, CATACLYSMES ET RENAISSANCES by O. Julien (90’, 2x45’ and 55’, Arte France, NHK) 2017 - APOCALYPSE Verdun by I. Clarke, D. Costelle, K. Accart, Michiko. Gamrasni (90’, France 2) - APOCALYPSE Staline by I. Clarke and D. Costelle (3x52’, France 2) - APOCALYPSE la 1ère Guerre mondiale by D. Costelle and I. Clarke (5x52’, France 2) 2014 - SACRIFICE, du Débarquement à la Libération by Paris by D. Costelle, I. Clarke and F. Lumière (88 min, TF1) 2014 - LES 100 JOURS DE NORMANDIE by F. Lumière, I. Clarke and D. Costelle (19’ on 9 écrans, Cinéma Circulaire Arromanches 360° - Mémorial by Caen) 2013 - CHIRURGIEN DANS LA GUERRE D’ALGERIE by D. Costelle, I. Clarke, Kevin Accart and Mickaël Gamrasni (70’, Planète) 2012 - APOCALYPSE Hitler by D. Costelle and I. Clarke (2x54’, France 2) 2011 - L’OCCUPATION INTIME by D. Costelle and I. Clarke (80’, TF1) 2011 - JUIN 1940: LE GRAND CHAOS by Christophe Weber (52’, France 2) 2010 - DE GAULLE AND LES SIENS by D. Costelle and I. Clarke (52’, Histoire) - 2010 - LA BLESSURE - LA TRAGEDIE DES HARKIS by D. Costelle and I. Clarke (90’, France 3) 2010 - APOCALYPSE la 2ème Guerre mondiale by J.L Guillaud, H. de Turenne, I. Clarke and D. Costelle (6x52’, France 2) 2009

For more information on CC&C: www.cccprod.com

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