Princess Kaguya (1935 film)

Princess Kaguya (Japanese: かぐや姫, Hepburn: Kaguya Hime)[lower-alpha 1] is a 1935 Japanese musical drama film directed by Yoshitsugu Tanaka,[4] with cinematography and special effects by Eiji Tsuburaya.[5] Produced by J.O. Studios[6] (later Toho), it is based on the 10th century Japanese literary tale The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter.[7] In the film, Princess Kaguya was raised by a couple who spread rumors that she had ascended a mountain in order to deceive suitors and ran away with her son and the princess.[7] The film was considered lost until the British Film Institute found a 35mm cut in May 2015.[8][9][10][2][11][12]

Princess Kaguya
Theatrical release poster
Japanese name
Kanjiかぐや姫
Transcriptions
Revised HepburnKaguya Hime
Directed byYoshitsugu Tanaka
Screenplay byJ.O. Planning Department
Based onThe Tale of the Bamboo Cutter[1]
Starring
CinematographyEiji Tsuburaya[1][2]
Music byMichio Miyagi[3]
Production
company
Distributed byTowa Shoji Film Club[3]
Release date
November 21, 1935 (Japan)[3]
Running time
75 minutes[3]
33 minutes (shortened version)
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Cast

Production

Special effects

Famed special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya worked on the film's effects,[5] which are regarded as a major advancement in Japanese visual effects.[14] Miniatures and synthetic techniques were used to recreate the town of Kyoto.[1][5][7]

Kenzō Masaoka supervised the miniature effects for the film. He would later recall in Kinema Junpo: "We tried to create our own frame-by-frame shots for the oxcarts, which I think was the first time this [technique] was attempted in Japan. We shot about ten plaster figures of oxen in various stages of movement, and then animated them by replacing these static models frame-by-frame. These plaster figures were the masterpieces of Takefu Asano, and took a period of more than one month to sculpt."[15]

Release

The Japan Association of London organized a screening in 1936 for local subsidiaries, and requested the Embassy of Japan to "prepare a film about Japanese myths and legends."[12] In addition to not having a screening record since its release, the location of the film was also unknown.[9] The British Film Institute (BFI) received information in May 2015 regarding a flammable positive film of the film. A researcher at the National Film Archive investigated the film at the BFI Preservation Center in October of the same year and determined that it was a shortened version of the film.[9] The shortened version of the film was released in Japan on September 4, 2021,[16] after negotiations with the BFI for six years.[9]

See also

Notes
  1. Also known as Princess of the Moon.[1]

References
  1. Ryfle 1998, p. 45.
  2. "円谷英二監督が撮影の映画発見 ８５年ぶり、秋に一般公開｜全国のニュース". 佐賀新聞LiVE (in Japanese). July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  3. "かぐや姫". jmdb.ne.jp. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  4. "電通映画社のなりたち～終戦まで". www.kakio24.com. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  5. Ragone 2014, p. 193.
  6. "Collections Search | BFI | British Film Institute". collections-search.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved July 5, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. allcinema, 映画 かぐや姫 (1935)について 映画データベース - allcinema (in Japanese), retrieved 2021-07-04
  8. "円谷英二撮影の幻の映画「かぐや姫」イギリスから帰還 フィルムが渡った理由、発掘の経緯は？ : 映画ニュース". 映画.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-10-24.
  9. "円谷英二 生誕120年記念特別イベントレポート。失われた幻の映画『かぐや姫』85年ぶりの奇跡の凱旋上映決定! - SCREEN ONLINE（スクリーンオンライン）". screenonline.jp. Retrieved 2021-09-21.
  10. "Collections Search | BFI | British Film Institute". collections-search.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  11. "円谷英二による幻の映画「かぐや姫」約85年ぶりに上映、生誕120年の展示会で". 映画ナタリー (in Japanese). July 7, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. "若き日の円谷英二、幻の映画 １９３５年「かぐや姫」短縮版、英で発見 東京で９月上映：朝日新聞デジタル". 朝日新聞デジタル (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-07-16.
  13. "かぐや姫｜一般社団法人日本映画製作者連盟". db.eiren.org. Retrieved 2021-07-04.
  14. Ragone 2014, p. 27.
  15. Ragone 2014, pp. 26–27.
  16. "生誕120年 円谷英二展『かぐや姫』上映会 | 国立映画アーカイブ". www.nfaj.go.jp. Retrieved 2021-10-24.

Sources
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