Tsuge, Yoshiharu

A disturbing, thoroughly captivating depiction of masculinity in postwar Japan.

While the opening chapters deliver a portrait of an artist’s ennui, later scenes depicting Sukesawa’s interactions with the owner of a bird store and a bookseller in his village reveal that Tsgue’s (Nejishiki) actual interest lies in a withering dissection of male entitlement in a rapidly changing society.