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I bought the DVD of this film when I noticed it was a collaboration between two of Japan's giants of animation: Isao Takahata and Hayao Miyazaki. I was not disappointed. This documentary originally aired on NHK, the Japanese public television network, in 1988. Technically, I need to issue a spoiler warning as it discusses the outcome, but it shouldn't ruin the first viewing experience if this is read beforehand.
Yanagawa is a city in far western Japan with an incredibly complex system of canals and waterways hundreds of years old. As it is in many places in the developed world, Yanagawa had succumbed to the allure of modernization. As a result, its system of waterways gradually fell into disuse and neglect. The canals stagnated and became overgrown with plant life. Eventually the neglect became abuse as a convenient dump for those unneeded trappings of modernization, such as electrical appliances. The people of the city got fed up with the assault on the senses and set out to cover them over.
The mayor assigned an engineer to study the task at hand. Instead of coming up with a plan to cover the waterways over, however, the engineer had a different idea: he proposed the waterways be revived to their full historic splendor. It was a hard sell, but he eventually managed to get the town enthusiastic. Now, the entire town devotes considerable time and effort keeping the canals clean and viable. There's even an annual festival where the canals are drained and cleaned out. The payback, though, has been phenomenal. The city is now a tourist spot, drawing visitors from around the country when the canals are open and volunteers when they're being cleaned. The people now have beautiful canals and a sense of unity and civic pride.
This documentary was thoroughly fascinating. It described the mechanics of feudal Japanese waterway construction in simple terms. It documented the extraordinary efforts the engineer took to sell his idea to the town. Most importantly, it provided a convincing argument that not all things modern are necessarily improvements over the old ways. Even if the work is harder, the rewards can be far greater. I give it a ten.