Imaginary Line

Mei Kanematsu (Cultural anthropology)

‘Imaginary line’ is a term used in filming to describe the line that runs between the two protagonists in a conversation and the camera has to remain on one side of this in order to avoid confusion among the audience regarding the actors’ relative positions. After the Meiji Restoration (1868) the regional feudal governments of the country were dissolved and the central government strengthened, but in recent years there has been a call for the decentralization of authority and an increase in local autonomy. However, after the Great Tohoku Earthquake and the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant we have been forced to reconsider the relationship that exists between central government and local authorities. I would like to look afresh at the position of Tokyo through the ‘imaginary lines’ that connect it to various places, and the transition of the viewpoint defining these relationships.

Language: Japanese
Recording date: November 15th (Thurs)