Naomi Kawase's Grand Prix at the 60th Cannes Film festival last week for "Mogari no Mori" put the Japanese film industry once again on the front page. Kawase's honor is another in a series of reminders about how rich and rewarding Japanese films can be. But at the same time, it is a reminder of how little known the film culture of Japan remains and how endangered the industry has become.

The pride in hearing of such prizes always ranks up there with baseball players, beauty pageant contestants (this year's Miss Universe is Japanese) and even poodles. Yet, after the first blush of pride, indifference often settles in toward complex works of art. Ironically, Japanese works of art, in particular film, are often better known abroad than at home.

Japanese films have always had a bit of a struggle for recognition. The booming interest in recent animation films should be welcomed, but the groundbreaking work of classic realist directors like Yasujiro Ozu or Akira Kurosawa (who won a Cannes prize in 1980) received greater appreciation outside Japan than at home. Other directors, with more provocative themes and ironic styles, such as Shohei Imamura (who won at Cannes in 1983 and 1997) are sadly even less well known.