Ikaino
2025 · 99m · Documentary · History
‘Ikaino’ refers to a neighborhood in Osaka, Japan, home to a large community of Zainichi Koreans. Though erased from official records over fifty years ago, its name still carries memories and stories.
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2014
Osaka Korean High School has provided education for the past six decades to the children of pro-North Korean residents in Japan. This school is located only about 20 minutes away from Hanazono Stadium, the mecca of Japan’s high school rugby, but it was not until 1994, 18 years after the foundation of a rugby team at the high school, that the Japanese education ministry approved the team’s entry into the official league. Since then, the team has run in the national league as a representative of the Osaka area and been considered a front-runner ever since. The team has strong players and passionate supporters, but it faces difficulties just before winning the league.
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Reclaiming Our Names
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Matsuda Shunji, a freshman of Amagasaki High School in Osaka faces a difficult decision regarding the revelation of his Korean name, Lee Jun-Chi. The teenager is aware of the difficulties of living in Japan with a Korean name, and so dreads the day when he is supposed to make this decision. He ultimately meets a loneliness whereby we are left to witness the outcome of his dilemma.
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