The Story of Yanagawa Waterways

“Why are there so many canals?” a narrator asks in Takahata’s contemplative live-action documentary about the picturesque waterways of Yanagawa, on Japan’s Kyushu. Not merely treating Yanagawa as the idyllic setting it is, Takahata also delves deep into the storied intersections of the geographic, ecological, and sociopolitical histories of living with water in the region, from the earliest Yayoi settlers over two millennia ago through the rapid growth of the 1960s, which polluted the canals seemingly beyond repair. Although Yanagawa was once deemed “mosquito city,” an immense, heroic cleanup project undertaken in the 1980s exemplifies one of Takhata’s own core philosophies: sustainable living over convenience.