Matsushiro Headquarters by Felice Hapetzeder (25p full HD video 12:07 and 36:30 2010)
WWII Matsushiro Imperial Headquarters is an enormous subterranean system of tunnels in three mountains in Matsushiro close to Nagano in Japan. The construction began in 1944 and was planned to be a final stand for the Japanese government and military command at the inevitable invasion by the Allied forces. It would have housed the broadcasting facilities, communications, state apparatus, war command (IHQ) and the emperor. The system was built during nine months and about 90% of the facilities were prepared at the day of the Japanese capitulation. Would the war have gone on for days longer, the emperor would have moved into the perimeter and the mainland decisive battle would have had to take place, more devastating than anything imaginable according to tunnel- and peace activist Mr. Shigeo Agata.
Just one of the tunnel systems measures 5850 metres of length. The tunnels were built in enormous haste and under terrible hardships of the work force consisting mainly of Korean prisoners of war (around 7000 of the total workforce of 10000). Somewhere between 60-1000 human lives were lost. All documents on the tunnel construction were burnt after the capitulation. Therefore any exact figure remains to be established. There was also a so-called Comfort Station, or Ianjo, a brothel, set up for the soldiers and privileged workers. The four women were taken there from Korea against their will and have been missing since the end of the war.
The Matsushiro Imperial Headquarters remain a neglected part of history, enormous ruins in decay. The tunnel systems were closed and abandoned until the 1980’s and are still only open to the public by a fraction. Peace groups have been active to build a peace memorial and a museum. But every time construction comes close, protests block the plans. Many people seem to want this negative national history to remain forgotten.
In 2002, the year of the World Cup organized by South Korea and Japan, the artist Hitoshi Kimura first organized his art festival, Matsushiro Contemporary Art Festival, part of which was held in the tunnel system, as a symbol of peace, hope and remembrance. The invited artists are mainly from Japan and Korea. The artists somehow all relate to the site-specific events in their works for the annual festival.
Felice Hapetzeder’s video work interprets both some of the artist's personal stories about why they create in relation to the war theme and the location and architecture with its unique history.
The works Matsushiro Headquarters (12:07, 2010), Matsushiro Headquarters interview version (36:30, 2010) and multiple channel installations are created with support from IASPIS, Scandinavia-Japan Sasakawa foundation and Helge Ax:son Johnson foundation.
I want to thank Tomoko Aoyama, Shigeo Agata, Hitomi Hirasawa, Sakai Hiroyuki, Makiko Izu, Hitoshi Kimura, Chika Kitajima, Soni Kum, Hideku Kuribayashi, Kuniko Kuribayashi, Valdemar Tatarczuk for the generous contributions.
More information about the festival and tunnel systems can be found in these links. Matsushiro Contemporary Art Festival's website: http://mcaf.jp
Yamasa institute on MIHQ: http://www.yamasa.org/japan/english/destinations/nagano/tunnels.html
On the peace memorial movement: http://www.shinmai.co.jp/oly-eng/tomorrow/tomorrow67.htm
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matsushiro_Underground_Imperial_Headquarters
On the so called Comfort Women: http://www.japanfocus.org/site/view/2373
