Green Jail
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Green Jail is a documentary directed by Huang Yin-yu in 2021. It explores the historical event of Taiwanese people traveling to the Japanese island, Iriomote in Okinawa, to work in the coal mines before World War II. This film is the second work of the director's trilogy titled "Wild Mountains Over the Sea," which focus on the Taiwanese in Yaeyama.[1]
Synopsis
Before World War II, the Iriomote Coal Mine on Iriomote Island in the Yaeyama Islands of Okinawa, Japan, was known as the "Green Jail."[2] It recruited miners from various regions, including Kyushu, Okinawa, Taiwan, and Korea, to labor in the coal mines to support Japan's wartime demands. The miners faced the risk of contracting malaria in the humid and confined environment of the island. They were forced to work, inject morphine, and consequently get addiction. They endured high-pressure management and inhumane treatment, and many could not escape and lost their lives.[2][3]
The main character, Yoshiko Hashima (橋間良子, 1962-2018), whose maiden name was Jiang Shi-duan, was born in Keelung, Taiwan. At the age of around 10, she was taken to Iriomote Island as a foster daughter by her adoptive father Yang Tian-fu, who was a contractor for the miners and a labor broker.[3][4] She spent most of her life in White Beach Village on Iriomote Island, only briefly returning to Taiwan for two years after the war ended. She continued to live on Iriomote Island until her passing at the age of 92. [3]
The director began interviewing Yoshiko Hashima in 2014 until her passing. She was one of the few individuals who could provide firsthand experiences of the history of Taiwanese immigrants and their lives in the coal mines.[3] Besides the film, the director also collected the information from his field research, publishing a book titled the same name.[5]
Awards and festivals
Reference[6]
| Year | Award | Category | Name | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | Taipei Film Awards | Best Documentary | Green Jail | Nominated |
| Best Sound Design | Green Jail | Nominated | ||
| Best Music | Green Jail | Nominated | ||
| International New Talent Competition | Green Jail | Nominated | ||
| Osaka Asian Film Festival | Indie Forum | Green Jail | Nominated |
Book
| Name | Author | Publisher | ISBN | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Green Jail: Taiwan's Memories Buried in the Iriomote Island Coal Mines《綠色牢籠：埋藏於沖繩西表島礦坑的台灣記憶》) | Huang Yin-yu | Avanguard Publishing House (前衛出版社) | 9789578019393 | [5] |
References
- ↑ "【娛樂透視】《綠色牢籠》7年攝製 黃胤毓揭台礦工移民黑歷史". 鏡週刊 Mirror Media. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 聯合新聞網. "八重山物語（四）：西表炭坑，戰爭解放的綠色監獄". 轉角國際 udn Global. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "以人為本，探入台日歷史暗角的曖昧：《綠色牢籠》專訪導演黃胤毓". 放映週報. 2021-05-04. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ↑ Festival, Taiwan Film (2022-08-25). "GREEN JAIL - A HIDDEN STORY FROM THE PAST". Taiwan Film Festival. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 聯合新聞網. "紀錄片《綠色牢籠》同名書 揭鏡頭外點滴及底層臺灣礦工史！". 琅琅悅讀. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
- ↑ "Green Jail". Taiwan Docs. 2020-08-20. Retrieved 2023-11-11.
External links
This article "Green Jail" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles taken from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be accessed on Wikipedia's Draft Namespace.