Isamu Hirabayashi’s Noburo Ofuji Award-winning animated short 663114 (2011) offers a creative response to the devastation wrought by the Tohoku earthquake, the nuclear fallout at Fukushima and other catastrophic disasters throughout Japan’s history. The work conveys the problematic relationship between mankind and the environment through the story of a 66-year-old cicada who crawls slowly up a vertical surface.

The work’s numbered title has been used to represent a handful of calamities throughout Japanese history. 66 is the number of years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki were destroyed by Little Boy and Fat Man in 1945. Three and 11 represent the date of the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, which was followed by a terrible tsunami. Four is the number of reactors emitting radiation from the Fukushima Daichii plant.

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The Plot of 663114

663114 Husk

Viewers are introduced to a cicada who informs them of his purpose and species' lifecycle. As the creature climbs slowly yet steadily, up a "tree that is tall, sturdy and won’t shake that much," he discusses how the environment is ideally suited to his kind’s needs. Whether it’s the soil, water, sap or lack of strong pesticides, the cicada is clearly proud of the country he lives in and appreciative of all the things that it provides.

Once every 66 years,

I emerge from the ground, leave offspring and die.

Before mating,

I shed my hard shell at the risk of my life.

Our ancestors have continued this cycle countless times.

The soil of this country is very fit for us to live in.

It is free of strong pesticides and there are no landmines.

The water is delicious so the sap is delicious as well.

I will climb as high as I can.

Aiming higher and higher.

It is our natural instinct.

To survive and leave offspring.

Since the moment of shedding skin is life risking.

We choose a tree that is tall, sturdy and won’t shake that much.

Our ancestors have continued this cycle countless times.

Through the various hardships.

The insect’s journey is one that he’ll never return from. His instinct has tasked him with emerging from his 66-year slumber to find a mate, leave offspring so that the next generation can continue this important cycle and eventually die. After traveling for some time, the cicada stops and begins to shed his skin, a "life-risking" process for his species. At this crucial moment, an earthquake strikes and causes the tree he’s resting on to dramatically move. The cicada, being a resilient creature, manages to survive this natural disaster by clinging to his shed skin. However, before he’s able to recover from the incident and stretch his wings, a tsunami strikes.

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663114 Radiation

The great waves, like wet hands, claw at the insect's body in what appears to be a purposeful attempt to remove him from his position. Nonetheless, the cicada determinedly announces that he won’t die and will accomplish his mission of leaving offspring. As the creature continues to cling onto his now shriveled husk, a black smog approaches and suddenly, the screen fades to black.

I am a 66-year-old cicada.

Once every 66 years,

I emerge from the ground, leave offspring and die.

66 years ago, when I was born

I’ve heard that there was a big earthquake and a big tsunami.

There was also a big accident.

I will risk my life to shed this hard shell before mating.

Our ancestors have continued this cycle countless times.

The soil of this country is very fit for us to live in.

I love this country.

After a short credit sequence, viewers return to a similar scene and sequence of text. However, the being that speaks no longer has the reassuring or wise voice that was heard previously, but instead, a gurgled and garbled mash of tones. A horrifying creature that is beyond recognition from the cicada that was seen previously enters the picture and crawls sporadically up a tree.

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The Themes of 663114

663114 Mutation

The dominating motif within Hirabayashi’s short is the rippling consequences of human decision-making. The cicada has been chosen to represent not only its own kind but all living creatures in Japan. The horrors that it experiences throughout the short are a stark reminder of how even the smallest of things have suffered and been altered beyond repair. In these moments, the director attempts to hold up a mirror to society and asks each viewer to question their role in the catastrophes that have occurred.

However, this has not been done in a manner that aims to shame the individual but instead emphasizes the cause-and-effect relationship that humans have with each other and the natural elements that surround them. The inkan (印鑑), red stamps that are used in lieu of signatures in Japan, that decorate the tree the cicada climbs are indicative of the bureaucracy and rules that govern society. These signatures represent the corruption that has taken place within civilization and how decisions have been made without consideration for the issues that they may cause.

Hirabayashi told me that the inkan are a metaphor for contracts [of the kind we would call "red tape" in English]. He went on to explain that after the war in Japan, contracts have been given preference over the feelings of people. In the aftermath of Fukushima, he feels that this bad attitude has risen to the surface. - Cathy Munroe Hotes, Nishikata Film Review, 2012.

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Nuclear Bomb Hiroshima and Nagasaki

However, there is still hope to be found within this work. While the cicada may have suffered from human hands, they remain a symbol of reincarnation, longevity and the light that summer brings. Although the dramatic effects of radiation have harmed a generation, this creature's lifecycle continues, and with it comes the potential for a brighter future. Even the most terrible of circumstances must eventually come to pass. The pollution and devastation of the disasters that have ensued will sooner or later disperse or be repaired. A new era will dawn, in which humankind will have learned an important lesson from their ancestors and no longer be burdened by bureaucracy.

Instead, a new system will arise that takes into account all living creatures, the environment of each land and the power that humankind wields. This vision, while utopic, remains self-aware. Like the cicada’s path up the tree, things will be difficult. Humanity will struggle to realize its place in the world or have the strength necessary to reach the pinnacle of its potential. Regardless, it’s a journey that humankind is forced to take if people wish to continue their own cycle of life and death.

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Fukishima

663114 highlights the resilience of nature and the Japanese people, even in the face of catastrophe. Despite the struggles that have had to be endured, the country’s people have persisted, and so too has their culture. While each creature has adapted to the circumstances that have been forced upon them, it’s this very trait that inspires hope that future generations will be able to make better decisions.

Children are being exposed to dangerous radioactivity a year after the earthquake. It is our responsibility as Japanese adults to protect the children. - Isamu Hirabayashi.

However, Hirabayashi’s work also offers a warning to the current generation of Japanese adults: that their children must be protected at all costs. While the wounds from the disasters that have wrought Japan may heal over time, if they continue, there will be little that can be done to wind back the clock. The negative effects of radioactivity have tangled themselves, quite literally, into the DNA of life within Japan. It will now take the collective effort of the country’s people to route the illnesses that have spread and ensure that such devastation never occurs again.