Archive

Pioneers of Japaneses Animation: From Tekobo to Momotaro

Sakura (Spring Fantasy)

Kenzou MASAOKA

Japan1946 8min 16mm B&W

Synopsis

​In Kyoto, two personified butterflies are dancing and fluttering around. In a storm of falling cherry blossoms, ballerinas in graceful sashes are passing by. A puppy playing with the petals, a pleasure boat ship coming and going on the clear waters of Arashiyama and other images appear one after the other. The background music is Weber’s Invitation to the Dance. Maybe due to its artiness, this work was not released in theaters, but it is a masterpiece, often referred to as the Japanese version of Fantasia.

Diretor

Kenzou MASAOKA

Kenzou Masaoka was studying Japanese and Western painting when he started filming. He produced his first animation Nonsense Story: Island of Monkeys in 1930. In 1932, he made the first talkie animation The World of Power and Woman at the request of Shochiku, and in 1934 he used cel animation on a full-scale in The Dance of the Chagama’s to produce a higher quality of work. Among his main works are Forest Baseball Team(1934), Forest Fairy(1935), Benkei vs. Ushiwaka(1939), and Sakura (Spring Fantasy)(1946).