Fish is our Life! is a 25-minute exploration of the world of the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo. Successfully capturing the seeming chaos of daily market activity, the film offers a revealing look at several aspects of the lives of people involved: (1) the auctioneers and their feelings about the changing work environment; (2) fish wholesalers, their feelings about their family businesses and the impact of their schedules on family life; (3) actual market activity and auction footage; (4) relationships between husbands and wives; and (5) declining interest on the part of young people towards work in such a rigorous environment.
Snapshots of personal experience are interspersed with facts that give the activity presented context for consideration within the scope of the market.
This film can be used for educational purposes at the middle school level and above. To do so will require supplementary materials about Japanese society tailored to the purpose the educator intends. Examples include: information on Japanese society for middle school and above that allows the lives of the people in the film to be used to demonstrate how some Japanese people feel about their society and their work; background on the fishing industry in Japan for economics majors and/or graduate students to provide more information about the local, national and international frameworks in which Tsukiji operates; and background on the workings of other fish markets worldwide so students have a basis for comparison. In addition, this film could be used in Japanese language classes as an example of good translation work.
The quality of film content was no doubt positively influenced by the advisory committee put together by Mr. Beckman. The quality of filming was somewhat shaky at the beginning of the film but quickly improved and remained steady thereafter. Videotape format allows for easy classroom use in virtually any setting.
