A Hundred Years of Japanese Film: A Concise History, with a Selective Guide to DVDs and Videos

Revised

ond Updoted

"What Boswell was to Johnson, what Gibbon was to ancient Rome, Donald Richie is to the Japanese cinema."

A HUNDRED

A

YEARS

ESE

A Concise History, with a Selective Cuide

to DVDs and Videos

DONALD RICHIE Foreword by

Paul Schr ader

KODNSHA INTERNATIONAT Tokyo

. New York . London

OF

Dedicated to the memory of Kawakita Kashiko

(1gos-rgg3)

Nors: Penonal names

re rcmanizedin

their original order: family names fint.

Still captions list actors left to right.

Distributed in the United States by Kodansha America, Inc., and in the United Kingdom and continental Europe by Kodansha Europe Ltd. Published by Kodansha Intemationalltd., 17-14 Otowa l-chome, Bunlryo-ku, Tokyo 112-8652, and Kodansha America, Inc.

Copyright @ 2001 and2005 by Donald Richie. All rights reserved. Printed inJapan. ISBN- I 3 : 97

*77

0v2995-9

ISBN-l0: L7700-29954 Fint edition,

2001

Revised edition, 2005

05 06 07 08 og 10 Lib rary of Con gress

C

tr12

10 g s 7

65 432r

atalo gin g- i n- Publication D ata av ailable.

w w w . ko

dan s ha- intl.

co

m

CONTENTS

Foreword by Paul

Introduction

I

-A

tr

Schrader

7

9

CONCTSE HISTORY OF IAPANESE FTLM

Beginnings and the Benshi

17

Film, Theater , andActors 22 Realism and Western

Reality

Influences

25

27

Tactics

Shingeki andNew Narrative The

H

Gmdnigeki

29

32

Taisho Democr acy

andshochiku

43

The New Gmdnigeki: Shimazu, Gosho, The New Jidaigeki: Itami, InagalY-t'z

=J-rt,tXtrta;ft

T I l2-ll(,-52 4irjifiliXiilx. ii'J,

t'[,ifr (]3-39++-6-t93 rff

t-tz-t+

fli;Tli)

)l-3e++-6-te2 t l;;; 'ft ;l;3' ya t:fr iili) fr -z.x- r-.' ww\\/ kocl:rnsh:r-intl corrr (

fittEU.lltArirr

1

1 1

,fttllJldtJf,l.,rt

2;ll:

{i)',1;.illJ',,}:tJllt';l.,rl,,ii'f,t|)l;lo>ii.4.ll.yt#;:vjl|{ll!t_tijlrl(/jIu.

jIf,l4.ll:I,t

fllt:(*j4(ffiL*f rr*;.:o)4't;-;r.,