Turning Point
1923-1933
Kuro Naygo - 1923
Ōfuji Noborō
In 1923 a major event would shake the history of Japanese film, the Kantō Earthquake on September 1st. The earthquake devastated the Tokyo region and almost all film studios were destroyed, except for Shōchiku Katama. Many films were lost due to the fires that started after the earthquake took place, and almost all animated films were destroyed. Rebuilding would take years, the benshi would be laid off in droves. Some companies relocated to the Osaka region. Despite the devastation the earthquake did help liberate filmmakers from tradition that was engrained into the early years of film.
In 1921 the film recognition System was established which marked cartoons as one of three areas of development. Because of this the Ministry of Education offered subsidies to animators for the production of educational films. The benefits of a government contract meant that there would always be a paycheck, however most early animations were hardly long enough to be their own attraction at the cinema, and as a result were often played before live-action films, and this ensued a “captive audience” meaning that these animations were seen even if people did want to go to the theatre to see this educational animation.
Kitayama was one of the leading educational animators at the time; during his early career he was able to produce an animation almost every month. His work achieved a lot of attention, and imperial praise. He was approached multiple times to produce various films, such as Kōkō Eisei (1923, Oral Hygine). It was an important film because it was neither meant for entertainment, advertising, or even education in the usual sense but as an instructional film. However it is unknown if the film was fully or partially animated, as it is a lost film, and it being referred to by the term senga eiga, which normally translates as animation, but also was used to represent graphics and intertitles.
Despite a majority of the animation being instructional and educational at the time the public face of cartoons still relied on narrative stories and folk-tales. The Children’s Film Day, a Tokyo Film Festival, sought to encourage the consumption of films and was set as an deadlines to submit films for children that could go on tours across the country. During this time the rise of sports in film was also rising, due to the fact that Japan increasingly was interested in the sports industry.
During the 1920’s the advent of sound and music started to be added into film. However many benshi and live musicians fought against this, as it meant the loss of their jobs but it didn’t stop the advent of sound in film and some of the benshi began finding outer outlets for their talent. The change in technology allowed for the flourishing of short films with music, rather than dialogue. As it could be played with a phonograph, this didn’t require the rewiring of the theatre and was much cheaper than alternative methods. This increased a new demand for cartoons, specifically those that could be related to certain records. Some such animation was Ōfuji Noborō’s Film Kuro Naygo (1928, Black Cat) which was synchronized to a jazz record via the eastphone sound system.
The National Anthem - 1931
Despite the advent of sound many animations continued to be ‘silent’ – but still required the participation of musicians and a narrator. Some even started to require the participation of the audience itself. Films like the Kearu Sanyūsha (1933, Three Frog Heroes), however it is difficult to discern what the filmmaker Ōfuji Noborō wanted the audience to perform the film, but it is also hard to know if he even wanted participation of the audience in any of his short films. The film Kokka Kimigayo (1933, The National Anthem: His majesty Reign) had the audience to participate in singing the national anthem, and it may have been the most widely seen film in japan as it may have played at most movie screenings. The development in sound in film continued to develop in much of the 1930s, eventually creating the norms that persist to this day in the film industry. The first ‘true’ talkie was created by Masaoka Kenzō and his animation studio (Masaoka Films) was the film Chikara to Onna no Yo no Naka (1933, In the World of Power and Women). It included its own fully embedded soundtrack, however this film no longer exists but many other films could swiftly build upon this technical achievements made by this animated film.
Kantō Earthquake - 1923
