Not the first anime, but one of the earliest surviving Japanese animation films is the short I have brought along today. It's "Namakura Gatana" ("The Dull Sword") from 1917.
The plot is told really quickly as the film only runs 4 minutes in the longest available version (there is a 5 minute version now).
A samurai is testing his sword for sharpness.
He goes to the swordsmith called "Dull Sword" where he even struggles to get his katana into the sheath. Not a very smart samurai.
On the way back, he decides to try it out on random people he meets (luckily he can't hurt them and gets his butt kicked instead) - first a blind man playing the flute (attacking a blind man from behind, shame on him) ...
... then a traveller who walks right over him after defeating him.
When he tries to get up leaning on the sword, it gets all bent which makes him so mad that he throws it away.
To an audience of today this looks like a very weird little film. Not just the idea of a samurai ready to use his sword on unsuspecting people is rather preposterous, but there's also a lot of comical eye rolling and the eyebrows go up and down.
Now, I said it more than once. This film is almost 110 years old.
According to a Reuters story about the find of this short and another one, US and European animation films were first shown in Japan around 1914.
I just don't get why there are always people trying to measure work from that time by modern standards.
Actually, I was surprised how smooth the animation is.
There were also people complaining that there isn't sound ...
Something I didn't know until now is that a standard practice in Japanese silent cinema was to have a "benshi" or film narrator which could be the reason that there are so few title cards. Who knows, maybe we're missing a hilarious exchange between the samurai and the swordsmith.
The film was thought to be lost, but in 2007 it was being sold at an antique market in Osaka together with another film. What a find!
You know how excited I can get about stories like this!
Sources and further reading:
1. Catherine Munroe Hotes: The Dull Sword (なまくら刀, 1917). On: Nishikata Film Review, March 13, 2017
2. National Film Archive of Japan: The Dull Sword. On: Japanese Animated Film Classics
The plot is told really quickly as the film only runs 4 minutes in the longest available version (there is a 5 minute version now).
A samurai is testing his sword for sharpness.
He goes to the swordsmith called "Dull Sword" where he even struggles to get his katana into the sheath. Not a very smart samurai.
On the way back, he decides to try it out on random people he meets (luckily he can't hurt them and gets his butt kicked instead) - first a blind man playing the flute (attacking a blind man from behind, shame on him) ...
... then a traveller who walks right over him after defeating him.
When he tries to get up leaning on the sword, it gets all bent which makes him so mad that he throws it away.
To an audience of today this looks like a very weird little film. Not just the idea of a samurai ready to use his sword on unsuspecting people is rather preposterous, but there's also a lot of comical eye rolling and the eyebrows go up and down.
Now, I said it more than once. This film is almost 110 years old.
According to a Reuters story about the find of this short and another one, US and European animation films were first shown in Japan around 1914.
I just don't get why there are always people trying to measure work from that time by modern standards.
Actually, I was surprised how smooth the animation is.
There were also people complaining that there isn't sound ...
Something I didn't know until now is that a standard practice in Japanese silent cinema was to have a "benshi" or film narrator which could be the reason that there are so few title cards. Who knows, maybe we're missing a hilarious exchange between the samurai and the swordsmith.
The film was thought to be lost, but in 2007 it was being sold at an antique market in Osaka together with another film. What a find!
You know how excited I can get about stories like this!
Sources and further reading:
1. Catherine Munroe Hotes: The Dull Sword (なまくら刀, 1917). On: Nishikata Film Review, March 13, 2017
2. National Film Archive of Japan: The Dull Sword. On: Japanese Animated Film Classics
What a fun little movie! I bet you're right that the samurai and the swordsmith were having quite the conversation. I also wonder what came out of his mouth when he was leaning on the sword!
ReplyDeletehttps://marshainthemiddle.com/
There was a lot of eye rolling during that conversation!
DeleteI'm thinking: is there a hidden meaning in the story of this movie? It kind of sounds like it. Maybe we just haven't found it yet?
ReplyDeleteFrom what I read the early Japanese movies were very gag-based, but who knows? I mean, we can't even be sure how much is really missing from the film.
DeleteNever sneak up on a flutist! I know since I am one. Thanks for sharing this little gem.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.kathrineeldridge.com
Oh my ... thank you for the warning, Kathrine! I'll keep it in mind 😉
DeleteIt's crazy to think that this film was almost lost altogether! I'm glad someone was astute enough to realize what they found at the antique market. Such a new thing for me to learn about...thanks for sharing it. Art is such a gift in any form.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many silent films that are sadly lost or thought to be lost.
DeleteThank you for stopping by, Lisa!
Very cool! I never understand judging a film by today’s standards. And if we all remember the Wile E Coyote and Roadrunner cartoons, they were pretty violent too. And I thought they were hilarious. Maybe the difference is that they were animals instead of humans?
ReplyDeleteI think people don't always bother to see the whole picture - time and culture, for example.
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