Imamura Store (今村商店, 2011)

Aya Tsugehata (告畑綾, b. 1987) is an up-and-coming stop motion animator from Saitama Prefecture.  She graduated from Tamabi in 2010 and then continued to develop her puppet animation skills under the supervision of Yūichi Itō (伊藤有壱, b.1962) at Geidai.  The 5-minute short Imamura Store (今村商店 / Imamura shōten, 2011) was Tsugehata’s first film as a graduate student.  At Nippon Connection 2013, Prof. Mitsuko Okamoto (Geidai) called Imamura Store and Tsugehata’s latest film The Sakuramoto Broom Workshop (櫻本箒製作所, 2012) examples of “animation documentary” because of her use of documentary recorded sound. 

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An unseen first person female narrator (Masumi Takino) leads us back into the animator’s childhood memories of going to Imamura Store to buy candy.  The sense of nostalgia (natsukashii) is heightened by the sound of cicadas and the familiarity of the storefront.  Imamura Store is an example of what we in Canada would call a general store (or dépanneur in Québec).  The chain convenience store (konbini /コンビニ) has pushed out this type of family run store selling general merchandise in many places, but there are still many such shops that survive in tight knit communities with the customers valuing the atmosphere and local gossip to be acquired there.  The simple metal framed sliding glass doors on the front of the building and the old-fashioned wooden interior suggest that the shop has remained little changed for decades. 

We learn from the narrator that the central character, Toshiko, married into the Imamura family 60 years ago.  Unfortunately, her husband died of malaria he caught while overseas as WWII soldier and his mother passed away soon after.  Toshiko was left to run the family business on her own.  Only recently, Toshiko has lost her only son, whom she had raised by herself.  She tells people that when she dies, the shop will also cease to exist. 

The film alternates between narration telling us about Toshiko Imamura and quiet observations of the store itself.  The focus on the small details of the store from the few simple products displayed neatly on the shelves to the squeaky post box suggest that animator wanted to archive this special place which may soon disappear from the community.  Through the narrator, one senses Tsugahata’s admiration for Toshiko – a woman who follows a daily routine without complaint (sweeping the entrance first thing in the morning and again when closing at night), who enoys hard work, and appreciates the simple things in life such as the love and kindness of her community.  It is a slice of life animation made from the heart. 

The music and sound was directed by fellow Geidai student Miki Sakurai (櫻井未希).  Documentary audio of Toshiko Imamura and her friends/customers Chieko Tamba and Masakichi Furusho were recorded live at the Imamura Shōten.

Tsuguhata followed up Imamura Store with her graduate film The Sakuramoto Broom Workshop (櫻本箒製作所, 2012). It was awarded a Jury Selection Prize at the Japan Media Arts Festival 2013 and has played at many international festivals including Stuttgart and Fukuoka.  Keep an eye out at festivals for this excellent young stop motion animator’s work.

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2013

Imamura Store was featured in the Tokyo University of the Arts Animation screening at Nippon Connection 2013.  Many thanks to Prof. Okamoto for answering my questions about the making of this film.

#nippon13 #nc2013

Tokyo University of the Arts Animation at Nippon Connection 2013

At Nippon Connection 2013, a selection of works by graduate students from the Tokyo University of the Arts (aka Geidai) animation programme was presented by NHK producer and current director of the Geidai Graduate School of Film and New Media, Professor Mitsuko Okamoto. 

Although Geidai itself is one of the oldest art schools in Japan, starting off as the Tokyo School of Fine Arts in 1887, the Graduate School of Film and New Media was established in Yokohama in 2005 with its Department of Animation forming in 2008.  Although the animation programme is only 5 years old, they have quickly established themselves as one of the top places in Japan to study animation as students there are given the opportunity to learn from some of the best in the business including world renowned animator Koji Yamamura (Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor, Muybridge’s Strings) and i.Toon stop motion animator Yuichi Ito (Knyacki!, Winter Days).  Geidai’s students have already found acclaim at animation festivals around the world including Atsushi Wada (In a Pig’s Eye, The Great Rabbit), Saori Shiroki (MAGGOT, Woman Who Stole Fingers), and Ryo Okawara (Orchestra, A Wind Egg).

The Geidai graduate programme only accepts 16 students a year into its 2-year programme.  They have the lofty aim of developing a “new era of Japanese animation” and pride themselves on their dedication to new expression and experimental spirit.  They actively look for students who have originality, are highly motivated, and demonstrate strong themes in their work.  As it is a graduate programme, the students usually come with some animation experience under their belt.  In addition to honing their skills as animators, Prof. Okamoto uses her experience as a producer to teach the students about the business of filmmaking: how to present a plan, how to make a budget, how to create a workable schedule, how to promote one’s film, and so on.

The programme shown at Nippon Connection 2013 demonstrated Geidai’s wide range of styles from hand drawn to computer animation, from the sweet to the surreal.  In the coming weeks I hope to review some of my favourites for you including Aya Tsugehata’s stop motion animation Imamura Store and Ryo Okawara’s A Wind Egg which won the Lotte Reiniger Promotion Award at Stuttgart in June.

The programme that screened at NC2013:

Fully Cooked For You (Onishime otabe, Yuka IMABAYASHI, 2011, 3’44”)

Promise (Yakusoku, Aki KONO, 2011, 8‘27“)

A Wind Egg (Kara no tamago, Ryo OKAWARA, 2012, 10’30”)

The Tender March (Yasashii March, Wataru UEKUSA, 2011, 4’48”)

Imamura Store (Imamura shoten, Aya TSUGEHATA, 2011, 5’16”) read review

Specimens of Obsessions (Hyohon no to, Atsushi MAKINO, 2011, 12’08”)

Flower and Steam (Hana to yome, Eri KAWAGUCHI, 2012, 4’06”)

Maze King (Hakhyun KIM, 2013, 7’01”)

Recruit Rhapsody (Shukatsu kyosokyoku, Maho YOSHIDA, 2012, 7’27”)

Hide-and-Seek (Kakurenbo, Keiko SHIRAISHI, 2012, 7’51”)

Sunset Flower Blooming (Yugesho, Yuanyuan HU, 2012, 10’19”)

It's Time for Supper (Yoru gohan no jikoku, Saki MURAMOTO, 2013, 8’28”)

Some of these shorts and many more can be found on the Geidai University DVD collections for 2011, 2012, and 2013.

#nippon13 #nc2013

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2013

The National Anthem: Kimigayo (国歌 君か代, 1931)

In 2010 Kinokuniya released a DVD dedicated to the works of animation pioneer Noburo Ofuji (大藤信郎, 1990-61).  At 161 minutes, this is only a selected works of this early master of chiyogami and silhouette animation.  Many more of Ofuji’s films have been preserved and the animated short The National Anthem: Kimigayo (国歌 君か代/ Kokka Kimigayo, 1931) appears on Digital Meme’s Japanese Anime Classic Collection with subtitles in English, Chinese, and Korean.  This release of the film includes a soundtrack of Kimigayo performed by Joichi Yuasa.

The national anthem, Kimigayo, is believed to be one of the oldest – and lyrically among the shortest – national anthems still in use today.  At the time at which this animated short was made, it was the national anthem of the Empire of Japan (1867-1947).  As such, the film’s key motif is the chrysanthemum.  The emperor’s throne has been known as the Chrysanthemum Throne for centuries with the Imperial Seal of Japan being a yellow chrysanthemum.  One encounters the chrysanthemum regularly in Japan as it appears on everything from 50 yen coins to traditional cloth.

Ofuji depicts the chrysanthemum using his trademark chiyogami cutout animation style.  As he only had black and white film stock to work with in 1931, the result is not nearly as striking as his postwar films such as Whale (1952) and The Phantom Ship (1956), but his techniques are still very impressive in this film. 

The chrysanthemum chiyogami sequence is followed by a mysterious silhouette animation sequence bathed in mist which depicts the famous dripping spear scene from the Japanese creation myth.  The gods Izanagi and Izanami are said to have stood on a floating bridge of heaven and stirred in the sea with a spear.  The brine that dripped from the spear formed into the first island, followed by the other islands which created the Japanese archipelago (Kuniumi). 

The film appears to have been designed to accompany a performance or a recording of the national anthem. This is made clear by a sequence in the middle of the film where the song`s lyrics appear on the screen character by character in traditional Japanese writing order (up→down, right→left).  At this time, Ofuji was making many animated sing-along films for children including the chiyogami record talkies The Village Festival (1930), which employs a follow-the-bouncing ball technique, and Song of Spring (1931).

After the sing-along section, Ofuji returns to symbolic national symbols and stories.  In another beautiful silhouette animation sequence he depicts part of the legend of the sun goddess Amaterasu who, after a deadly attack on her property and attendants by her brother, hides inside the Ama-no-Iawato (heavenly rock cave) which causes the sun to be blocked out.  Ofuji depicts the moment when Amaterasu is persuaded to leave the cave, returning the sun to the world. 

 This is followed by a sequence depicting symbolism associated with Emperor Jimmu – the legendary first emperor of Japan.  Although the imperial house of Japan has traditionally claimed its descent from Jimmu in about 60 BC, most researchers see his tale as being based more in myth than in historical reality.  According to Shinto belief, Jimmu is said to be a direct descendant of the sun goddess Amaterasu.  In addition to the continuing to use the sun motif, this sequence adds symbolism associated with Jimmu: his emblematic long bow and the famous three-legged crow yatagarasu which is said to have been sent from heaven to guide Emperor Jimmu. 

I was struck by the similarity of the dark bird with spread wings to the eagle which is the national symbol of Germany.Of course, Japan and Germany were not yet military allies in 1931 – the National Socialists were not yet even in power; however, film was already being used as a medium to further nationalist ideology in both countries.  During the Meiji period, the government proclaimed 11 February 1966 as the foundation day of Japan and in the 1930s Kigensetsu (Era Day) was celebrated annually as the day that Jimmu ascended the throne.   This was halted for a time when Japan lost the war but since 1966, the date continues to be observed as National Foundation Day but with less fanfare than the overt nationalism of the 1930s and 40s.   According to the Japanese Movie Database, Ofuji’s Kimigayo was released on May 1^st, 1931.  Nationalist propaganda was pretty prevalent in Japan at this time because Japan during the run up to the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in September 1931.  

In a much more positive connection to Germany, this is the earliest film by Ofuji that I have seen where the influence of Lotte Reiniger (1899-1981) is obvious.  Reiniger started making silhouette animation shorts in the 1910s and her feature film The Adventures of Prince Achmed was released in 1926.  Her films were shown in Japan in the 1920s inspiring both Ofuji and another early animator Wagoro Arai (1907-94), to try their hand at silhouette animation.  The results are simply astonishing, with their films additionally demonstrating the influence of traditional Japanese traditions of kirigami /kiri-e (paper-cutting art) and silhouette/kage-e (影絵/shadow art).

The National Anthem: Kimigayo was made by Ofuji at his independent studio Chiyogami Eigasha. To learn more about Ofuji, check out my reviews of his other films and my ongoing series about the films awarded the prize named in his honour.          

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2013

Other Ofuji reviews:  Whale (1952), Song of Spring (1931), The Village Festival (1930)

Ofuji on DVD (JP only):

NIPPON NO ART ANIMATION OOFUJI NOBUROU

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