Orderly behaviour and rigid conformity have long been part of Japan’s work culture. Discipline and the “right” attitude promote reliability and drive economic miracles – which is probably why we’ve never had one. Tanaka Tetsuro was an engineer at Oki Denki, a Tokyo corporation, who believed in the work policies that had brought success to him and his employer. But when a new management structure was implemented, Tanaka rebelled. The revised corporate mindset demanded unswerving loyalty that amounted to submission. Tanaka said no, refusing to participate in compulsory calisthenics. He argued against other stupid company policies and stood up for unfairly dismissed workers. The firm responded by ordering his transfer to a distant regional facility. Again Tanaka said no and was sacked. For almost 25 years he has mounted a vigil outside the factory gates, demonstrating his individuality as an inspiration to others whose right to democracy within the workplace is being compromised. One determined man can make a difference.

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Daniel Bloom [ TVFIX 7 March 2010 ]

This documentary illustrates just how difficult one man’s struggle for truth and understanding can be.

If you’ve ever tired of the mindless drone of the nine-to-five, then Tanaka Tetsuro may just appeal to your anarchistic sensibilities. As a successful engineer for one of Japan’s many global corporations, Tanaka refused to take part in daily calisthenics classes that were deemed necessary by his corporate bosses. Furthermore, he was given the option (read: ultimatum) of moving from his current position to a position in a rural factory.

Tetsuro refuses to move and is subsequently sacked. What transpires after this is the story of how one man has the guts to question the corporate world — and in doing so begins a 25-year crusade to have his story heard at the company’s annual shareholder meeting. Tetsuro also manages to spend his days picketing his former employer’s building; this is something he has been doing for the past 25 years.

What makes this doco compelling viewing isn’t really the fact that one man has decided to challenge the status-quo in a country known for its strict and conservative ways. What’s more important is the journey into the human soul and how one man has never given up (despite the fact that he’s fighting an insurmountable battle). If there’s one thing we can learn from his battle it is simply this: the human soul is a mighty tool when utilised to its full potential.

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EnhanceTV [ http://www.enhancetv.com.au/ March 2010]

Tanaka-san Will Not Do Callisthenics, is a moving narrative that captures the courage and willpower of one remarkable man who believes that he can make a difference.

Tanaka Tetsuro was a successful engineer at a powerful corporation in Tokyo. The young man seemed to have had it all: a promising career with a dependable company, a loving wife and family, and a vibrant spirit that could not be trumped. That is, until the corporation he worked for acquired new management, fiercely forcing company loyalty and submission from their employees. Deep down, Tetsuro knew that his life would never be the same.

In his remaining days at Oki Denki, Tanaka Tetsuro stood for what he believed in. He supported unfairly dismissed workers, spoke against company policies and refused to perform mandatory stretches before beginning his work day. Finally fed-up with his antics, the corporation ordered Tetsuro to transfer to a far away location. When he refused, he was fired.

Since that fateful day, Tetsuro has been a human rights activist, standing outside the company gates each morning as employees mindlessly flow in. He prays, delivers speeches and sings songs all with the hope that more individuals will refuse to be controlled by their employers. It is his dream that one day democracy will be restored to the nation, and he firmly believes that he is making a difference.

This emotional documentary follows Tetsuro’s life as an activist for human rights in Japan. Cameras capture his struggle as he stands outside the factory each day, discusses human rights with his peers, attends Oki Denki’s annual shareholders meeting, and rallies support for his life’s mission. Intimate interviews with Tanaka’s wife and son’s reveal their admiration and support for his cause, yet also unveil their worries about his emotional and physical health as he refuses to give up on his dream.

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The week’s best TV: Kerrie Murphy [ The Australian 6 March 2010 ]

Tanaka Tetsuro was an engineer at Tokyo’s Oki Denko until he refused to participate in the company’s mandatory callisthenics programs, becoming a champion of employees’ rights. After refusing a transfer, he was fired and has since protested daily at the company gates for almost 25 years. That’s some hardcore windmill tilting. Australian filmmaker Maree Delofski explores his story within the bigger context of employee rights in a culture built on conformity.

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Jonathan Frey: All Movie Guide

Tanaka-San Will Not Do Calisthenics is a testament to the incredible power of the individual. Tesuro Tanaka, a man whose day job requires him to work at the Japanese Oki Electric Manufacturing Company but whose true passion is singing, decides to react to the news of the impending militarization of his job with what’s in his heart. Every day for 28 years, Tanaka stood outside his factory and, as a form of protest, sang. This documentary shows how Tanaka’s simple act exposed the corruption of an entire business.

Like a Drop of Water on a Stone

Q: Can you tell us your frank opinion about Tanaka-san’s method of resistance?

MD: I thought it was very individualistic, very unusual and fascinating. Such an interesting example of how a very small action for a very long time can have some effects. It’s like a drop of water on a stone. I admire his tenacity. It’s not the way I would do it, but he has made it into his life. And he seems to be a very happy man.

Q: Did you go through the entire filming without any interpreters?

MD: Yes. I didn’t try to raise any money because I didn’t want anybody telling me how to make the film. So I had very little money and I couldn’t afford to pay for an interpreter. Therefore I developed a method with Tanaka-san for interviews. I would ask him the questions in English and he would answer in Japanese and then in English. I would choose which one I would use in the editing. Interestingly, sometimes the English version was better to use because he had told his story before, so it would come out very mechanically in Japanese. In his answers in English, he would be struggling to find the words. I wouldn’t recommend it as a system, except not having an interpreter actually meant there was no barrier. We just had to struggle and find a way of communicating, and it meant that we developed a particular relationship and a lot of humor in the relationship.

Q: Did you have any conflict with Tanaka-san during the filming?

MD: Not real conflict, but it was difficult because Tanaka-san is a very bossy man. He doesn’t really know anything about filmmaking, but he would think that he did. So I had to be very strong with him. I said, “Tanaka-san, I am the director. I know. You don’t know about these things.” Sometimes I would get things wrong technically because it was my first time to use the camera. So I think he initially thought maybe I was an amateur. But he would laugh and accept it when I would say to him, “No, I know about this. You have to trust my skill.”

Q: What do you think about Oki, the company that fired Tanaka-san?

MD: I really didn’t want to focus on Oki. It just happens to be Oki. Tanaka-san focuses on Oki, of course, but I didn’t want to make a film that was a big polemic about Oki. That wasn’t my interest. My interest was in this man who keeps doing this thing outside this particular place for a very long time.

Q: How did the Australian audience respond when seeing this film?

MD: Very interesting. They tell me when the film begins they think Tanaka-san is a bit strange. They wonder if he is OK. And then as the film goes on, they grow to know him and to like him very much. I think they like him because a lot of Australians don’t like authority. They also say they like it because they see a side of Japan that they don’t normally see; it’s outside the stereotype. Some of them say if they were in Tokyo on the 29th of the month (when Tanaka-san does sit-in protest), they would go and meet him.

(Compiled by Murakami Yumiko)

Interviewers: Murakami Yumiko, Hozumi Maki / Interpreter: Goto Taro
Photography: Abiko Harue / Video: Morito Satoko / 2009-10-13

• Opening Sequence
• Tanaka-san receives Human Rights Award
• Buddhist Ceremony
• Singing at the Factory Gate
• Invitation to sit-in day
• Hiroyuki Tanaka: Song for Father
  

A poem by Hiroyuki Tanaka ©2006 Hiroyuki Tanaka

Now I’m living the life I dreamed of
There was not the warmth here which I hadn’t noticed at that time.
I notice a lot of things after I left home.
I became a little more adult when I passed 19.
I find my self being supple.
You hold three uncontrollable children
sweating barked at by the dogs
One sheet of flier
Including your heart your anger
You continued to shout
You over came
You have strong mind against unacceptable matter.
I inherited it
You dragged your tired body
And cradle us, spoilt children.
You hold us warmly with your wrinkled workers hands
You forgave me though I resisted you and repeated stupid behavior, even I felt your feeling

This song written by Tanaka-san’s son Hiroyuki plays a key part in the film where it is used three times

A poem by Hiroyuki Tanaka ©2006 Hiroyuki Tanaka

夢にまで見たこの生活になれてきた
今はこう思う
Now I’m living the life I dreamed of

あのころ気付かなかったぬくもりはここにはない
There was not the warmth here which I hadn’t noticed at that time.

あなたを離れて気付くことなどいっぱいあって
I notice a lot of things after I left home.

１９を過ぎて少し大人になり
I became a little more adult when I passed 19.
ナイーブな自分を見つける
I find my self being supple.

手を焼く子供３人かかえ
You hold three uncontrollable children

汗流し犬に吠えられて
sweating barked at by the dogs

一枚のビラに込めた
One sheet of flier
あなたの心あなたの怒り
Including your heart your anger

無意味にでも叫び続けた
You continued to shout

あなたは打ち勝った
You over came

許せぬ事に意志を持ち
You have strong mind against unacceptable matter.

怒りを持つこと
受けついでしまいました
I inherited it

疲れたからだひきずって
You dragged your tired body

わがままな僕らをあやした
And cradle us, spoilt children.

しわのよった働く手で
You hold us warmly with your wrinkled workers hands
温かく僕らを抱きしめて

横目で感じてたあなたの思いやりにはむかって

バカなことばかりしていた僕を
You forgave me though I resisted you and repeated stupid behavior, even I felt your feeling .
優しく許してくれましたね

This song written by Tanaka-san’s son Hiroyuki plays a key part in the film where it is used three times

The wind asks “Haven’t you forgotten?”
The wind asks, “Haven’t you give up?”
Your sadness isn’t yours alone.
Your anger isn’t yours alone.
It blows against the wall of history.
Even if you can’t see it now the wind moves the trees.

Let’s be the wind.
Let’s live as the wind.
Over the sea. Over the hate.

Your peaceful mind flies up to the blue sky.
It blows down the old leaves of oppression.
The wind is brought by your struggle.
The wind broadens your compassion.
It blows enveloping pain and efforts in vain.
Even if you can’t see it now the wind will live again.

Let’s be the wind.
Let’s live as the wind.
Over the sea. Over the hate.

My desire and my anger are contained in this flier.
My voice and my life are contained in this flier.
The iron gate lined with barbed wire tears workers solidarity.
One sheet of flier is a small chain linking the inside to outside the gate.

I fold in half. I fold in quarter. from small to secret.
hand it over hand it over hand over the fliers.
Please take it. I wish you’d take it.
I shout deep-felt words in my heart.
Please take it. I wish you’d take it.
hand it over hand it over hand over the fliers.

I’ll never forget I’ll never forget.
my friends hands taking the fliers with smiles.
I’ll never forget I’ll never forget. The delight of that day.
I’ll never forget I’ll never forget.
My friend’s cold shoulder passing by.

I will never cover it up. I will never cover it up.
The sadness of that day. my feeling of sorrow
I feel delight because I am struggling.
I feel sadness because I am struggling.

Naoyama is a very good tennis player.
He plays tennis every afternoon at the company’s tennis court.
Then one day no one returned his service ball. Not even his good friend

Could you return the shot? Could you return the shot? My shot?
Could you return the shot? Could you return the shot? My shot?

A friend of Yamamoto will have a wedding.

The friend came to his house with a bottle of whiskey and said.
I want to you to attend our wedding party, but if I invite you, I will lose my job.

I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry. Mr Yamamoto.
I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry. Mr Yamamoto.

Kawabata performed his experiment in the lab.
One day his work was thrown in to the garbage can.
When he protested all his remaining work was thrown in to the can as well.

Why did you. Why did you. Why did you throw it away
Why did you. Why did you. Why did you throw away my work.

I was the leader of the mandolin club.
We had been playing the instruments in togetherness.
The members quit the club one by one.
Because their bosses threatened them to quit.

Please don’t quit. Please don’t quit. Please don’t quit
Our mandolin club.
Please don’t quit. Please don’t quit. Please don’t quit
Our mandolin club.

The Harassment
One sheet of flyer
The Wind

Etude at the Gate

Tremolo in front of the gate

Hiroyuki Tanaka, one of Tanaka-san’s sons, wrote a song:
Song for Father

more links

Tanaka Tetsuro website
Tetsuro Tanaka Guitar School

“I realised as it started that I had a very one-dimensional picture in my mind of Tanaka, so it was terrific to see his personality fleshed out by your film. His story became so more complex as you revealed more about his personal and public lives.

I thought moments like the father trying to translate lyrics written by his son were so moving. And the rehearsals for the annual general meeting were hilarious.

Thanks again for a great film. We talked about it for a long time after seeing it, and I always think that that’s the sign of an insightful, provoking work”.

………………………….

“I really enjoyed the film; it offered a very different perspective on Japan, one far removed from both geisha-like cliches and economic success stories. I liked seeing a Japan of outer suburbs, unremarkable housing, public transport, ordinary streets and factory/office gates.

But what I think I admired most of all was the way you opened the film out to include family members and fellow non-conformists, and thereby give us a perspective that was more than an individual mission. I thought this was masterly because Tetsuro for all his rhetoric about society seems rather self-focused, so these other voices were a wonderful counterpoint”.

………………………….

“I had a wonderful night last night. For me the film was as much about your life’s work as Tanaka-San’s.

I loved seeing Mark play his banjo and rehearse his pronunciation, the poignancy of Tanaka-san reading his son’s poem, the funny little asides – how he failed the tea – making ceremony because he questioned the rules! and the bit about the man and wife cutting the wedding cake together – he laughs at this , then his wife quietly says “yes, we did that!”

Maree, I haven’t see any of your other films fully yet, but I really likes the way you let them (the subject) talk.

Fantastic editing too”.

………………………….

“Your film was funny and clever and cheeky – just like you lot”.

………………………….

“This should have been sent the minute I arrived home from your incredible movie.
I can’t even try to imagine how you even made the decision to make his story live for us, let alone trace the events at such a distance from home. Under those circumstances the result is miraculous and just has to be released to a very broad public. Of course I immediately thought of trade unions and political avenues but it should just go out into … like … everywhere”.