Archive

Pioneers of Japaneses Animation: From Tekobo to Momotaro

Long Live Japan

Kazugorou ARAI

Japan1943 9min 16mm B&W

Synopsis

It is before the Pacific War. Natives that are exploited or persecuted in the old southern colonies of Britain and the Netherlands are depicted in silhouette animation, while Roosevelt, Churchill, Chiang Kai-shek and other leaders of hostile countries are caricatured. In the war scenes, news films and other documentary films are inserted. Although it is a film made to raise the fighting spirit of the Japanese citizen, the silhouette animation is beautiful.

Diretor

Kazugorou ARAI

While working as a dentist, Kazugorou Arai made a 9.5mm silhouette animation with his friend Nakaya Tobishi as a pastime. The Golden Hook,a magnificent silhouette animation made in 1939, marked his start as a professional animation producer. Among his main works are The Fantasy of Madame Butterfly(1940), Jack and the Bean Stalk(1941), Princess Kaguya(1942), and Thumbelina(1947).