On Feb. 21, 1996, Akiko Koyama, the actress wife of renowned film director Nagisa Oshima, received a phone call at her home in Kugenuma Kaigan, Kanagawa Prefecture. It was from an official at the Japanese Embassy in London.
"Is this the home of director Nagisa Oshima? ... Mr. Oshima has had a stroke."
Koyama, who was in the kitchen preparing lunch, collapsed in shock.