Direct Address in the Work of Obayashi Nobuhiko

This thesis provides a cursory examination of the work of Japanese director Obayashi Nobuhiko by focusing on his early period, as well as his latest films. To introduce his body of work, the stylistic predilections of the early period are used to project forward onto his latest, anti-war films. The bulk of this thesis covers his anti-war films (Casting Blossoms to the Sky, Seven Weeks, Hanagatami, and Labyrinth of Cinema), exploring them through their presentation of direct address as it relates to anti-war messaging. In addition, this thesis applies theoretical writings on photography as a medium to the context of these films, as they are intensely preoccupied with the presence of the physical camera and photographs. Last, this thesis covers the position of these films within the scheme of Japanese atom bomb films as they relate to Deleuze's Cinema books.