Japanese Animated Film Classics / 日本アニメーション映画クラシックス

Japanese Animated Film Classics / 日本アニメーション映画クラシックス

http://animation.filmarchives.jp

The National Film Center in Tokyo is celebrating the centenary of Japanese animation this year.  While the exact date that the first animation was made in Japan is uncertain as many people were experimenting privately with cinematic technology in the early years, 1917 is the year that the first commercially produced Japanese animated films were publicly screened.  This included short works by Ōten SHIMOKAWA (下川凹天, 1892-1973), Seitarō KITAYAMA (北山清太郎, 1888-1945), and Jun’ichi KŌUCHI (幸内純一, 1886-1970).

Thanks to funding from Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs as part of the National Project for the Sustainability of Born-Digital Cinema, the NFC has selected 64 works released between 1917 and 1941 and made them available for screening online complete with fresh subtitles by Dean Shimauchi (Rosemary Dean and Tetsuro Shimauchi).  Other subtitling was done by Masa Yoshikawa (Burglars of Baghdad Castle, Nonsense Story) and Ayako Kawakita and Tim Olive (The Nation of Fish, A Wolf is a Wolf, Rascal Raccoon).   and Many of these works have never before been available on DVD with English subtitles, let alone in a digital online format. Several films, particularly the abstract works of Shigeji Ogino, have no titles.

The most exciting of these are the two earliest extant anime The Dull Sword (Namakura Gatana, 1917) and Urashima Tarō (1918) – films which were considered lost until copies were miraculously discovered in an antique shop in Osaka in 2008.  As the vast majority of pre-war films have been lost due to natural disaster, war, and general neglect, each of these 64 films is an important glimpse into early anime history and early 20^th century Japanese culture.  They represent a wide variety of genres including slapstick comedy, record talkies, documentary, propaganda, and experimental. 

As these films were made for the domestic market, they do not have official international titles.  Several titles have been translated in various ways over the years.  I have left the English titles as posted by the NFC.  On the Japanese Animation Filmography Project, I list alternate titles.  Some of the animations are of completely unknown origin as the films do not have credits.  Very little is known about the animator Hakusan Kimura apart from his films. 

The website information is currently mainly in Japanese only, but the NFC assures us that they are working on an English version that they hope will be available sometime in the next two months.  In the meantime, to help you negotiate the website, I have created links to the profiles of animators and a chronological list of the 64 films.  This is by no means all of the extant pre-war Japanese animation works, but it is a tremendous start and I hope that the NFC will be able to extend this project in the coming years. 

The website features profiles of the following early anime pioneers:

Ikuo OISHI (大石郁雄, 1902-1944), 1 film available

Shegeji OGINO (荻野茂二, 1899-1991), 7 films available

Hakusan KIMURA (木村白山, ????-19??), 2 films available

Mitsuyo SEO (瀬尾光世, 1911-2010), 4 films available

Yasuji MURATA (村田安司, 1898-1966), 23 films available

Noburō ŌFUJI (大藤信郎, 1900-1961), 11 films available

Seitarō KITAYAMA (北山清太郎, 1888-1945), 1 film available

Jun’ichi KŌUCHI (幸内純一, 1886-1970), 2 films available

Kenzō MASAOKA (政岡憲三, 1898-1988), 2 films available

Sanae YAMAMOTO (山本早苗, 1898-1981), 9 films available

In addition, the website features an extensive virtual exhibition of the career of Ōfuji, who was one of the first Japanese animators to achieve international recognition.

 

The available films in order of release are:

1917 The Dull Sword / なまくら刀 / Jun’ichi KOUCHI

1918 Urashima Taro / 浦島太郎 / Seitarō KITAYAMA

1924 The Hare and the Tortoise / 教育お伽漫画　兎と亀 / Sanae YAMAMOTO

1925 Ubasuteyama / 教育線画 姨捨山 / Sanae YAMAMOTO

1925 The Pot / 線畫 つぼ / Sanae YAMAMOTO

1926 A Story of Tobacco / 煙り草物語 / Noburō ŌFUJI

1926 Burglars of “Baghdad” Castle / 馬具田城の盗賊 / Noburō ŌFUJI

1926 The Story of the Monkey King / 切紙細工 西遊記 孫悟空物語 / Noburō ŌFUJI

1926 Film Address "Ethicization of Politics" by Shinpei Goto, 1926 / 映画演説 政治の倫理化 後藤新平 1926 / Jun’ichi KOUCHI

1926 Diseases Spread / 病毒の伝播 / Sanae YAMAMOTO

1927 A Ship of Oranges / みかん舩 / Noburō ŌFUJI

1927 Monkey and the Crabs / 猿蟹合戰 / Yasuji MURATA

1928 The Nation of Fish / 漫畫 魚の國 / Hakusan KIMURA

1928 The Blossom Man / 漫画 花咲爺 / Yasuji MURATA

1928 The Animal Olympics / 動物オリムピック大會 / Yasuji MURATA

1928 Momotaro, Japan's No.1 / お伽噺 日本一 桃太郎 / Sanae YAMAMOTO

1929 The Golden Flower / こがねの花 / Noburō ŌFUJI

1929 Taro’s Train / 太郎さんの汽車 / Yasuji MURATA (review)

1929 Two Worlds / 漫画 二つの世界 / Yasuji MURATA

1929 The Lump / 漫画 瘤取り / Yasuji MURATA

1930 At the Border Checkpoint / お関所 / Noburō ŌFUJI

1930 Nonsense Story, Vol.1: Monkey Island / 難船ス物語 第壱篇 猿ヶ嶋 / Kenzō MASAOKA

1930 My Ski Trip / 漫画 おい等のスキー / Yasuji MURATA

1930 The Donkey / 漫画 驢馬 / Yasuji MURATA

1931 National Anthem, Kimigayo / 國歌 君か代 / Noburō ŌFUJI (review)

1931 Spring Song / 春の唄 / Noburō ŌFUJI (review)

1931 Will Power / 心の力 / Noburō ŌFUJI

1931 Electrical Telegraphy, Electric Bells and Telephones / 電信 電鈴 電話 / Yasuji MURATA

1931 Animated Revue "Spring" / 漫画レビュー 春 / Yasuji MURATA

1931 A Wolf is a Wolf / 漫画 狼は狼だ / Yasuji MURATA

1931 Momotaro in the Sky / 漫画 空の桃太郎 / Yasuji MURATA

1931 At the Circus / 漫画 見世物見物 / Yasuji MURATA

1931 Old Man Goichi / 五一ぢいさん / Sanae YAMAMOTO

1931 The Candy Man’s Raccoon Dog Dance / 漫画 あめやたぬき / unknown

1932 Detective Felix in Trouble / FELIXノ迷探偵 / Shigeji OGINO

1932 ?/Rhythmic Triangles/Fighting Cards / ? 三角のリズム トランプの爭 / Shigeji OGINO

1932 Momotaro Under the Sea / 海の桃太郎/ Yasuji MURATA

1932 Tonpei and Sarukichi / 漫画 豚平と猿吉 / Yasuji MURATA

1932 Sports Day / 体育デー / Yasuji MURATA

1932 The Ugly Duckling / あひるの子/ Yasuji MURATA

1932 The Development of the Train / 汽車の發達 / Yasuji MURATA

1932 The Cat Purr Dance / ニヤゴダンス/ Yasuji MURATA                                          

1932 The Bear Brothers / 兄弟こぐま / Sanae YAMAMOTO

1932 Armies of the World / 漫画の列国陸軍 / unknown

1933 The Three Fearless Frogs / 蛙三勇士 / Noburō ŌFUJI

1933 A Day after a Hundred Years / 百年後の或る日 / Shigeji OGINO

1933 Yoshichiro Salutes / まんが劇 與七郎の敬禮 / Hakusan KIMURA

1933 Rascal Racoon / 漫画 紙芝居 いたづら狸の卷 / Yasuji MURATA

1933 Private Norakuro in Boot Camp / Private Norakuro in Training / のらくろ二等兵 教練の卷 / のらくろ二等兵 演習の卷 / Yasuji MURATA

1933 Preventing Tuberculosis / 結核豫防 / unknown

1934 Spring Comes to Ponsuke / ポン助の春 / Ikuo OISHI

1934 Sankichi and Osayo: A Genroku Romance / 元禄恋模様 三吉とおさよ / Mitsuyo SEO

1934 Corporal Norakuro / のらくろ伍長 / Yasuji MURATA

1934 Kamishibai Kintaro / 漫画 紙芝居 金太郎の卷 / Yasuji MURATA

1935 An Expression / AN EXPRESSION(表現) / Shigeji OGINO

1935 Rhythm / RHYTHM(リズム) / Shigeji OGINO

1935 Propagate / PROPAGATE(開花) / Shigeji OGINO

1935 The Hare in Inaba / いなばの国の兎さん / Mitsuyo SEO

1936 My Big Emergency / おいらの非常時 / Sanae YAMAMOTO

1937 The Making of a Color Animation / 色彩漫画の出來る迄 / Shigegi OGINO + Noburō ŌFUJI

1939 Monkey and Crabs / マングワ 新猿蟹合戰 / Kenzō MASAOKA

1940 The Quack Infantry Troop / あひる陸戰隊 / Mitsuyo SEO

1941 Ari-chan the Ant / アリチャン / Mitsuyo SEO

1941 The Lazy Fox / なまけぎつね / Sanae YAMAMOTO

Cathy Munroe Hotes 2017

The Last Air Raid Kumagaya (最後の空襲くまがや, 1993)

In 1978, Renzō and Sayoko Kinoshita, made the powerful ground-breaking film Pica-Don (ピカドン, 1978) which depicts the bombing of Hiroshima on the 6^th of August 1945 from the perspective of the victims of the atrocity.  An early example of an animated documentary, the Pica-Don was based on the testimonies and drawings of the survivors.  This use of animation to depict the unimaginable was done with the intent of educating people around the world about the horrors of war in effort to bring about world peace.  It is this same desire for “love and peace” that led the Kinoshitas to become involved in the founding of the Hiroshima International Animation Festival in 1985 (Source: hiroanim.org)

With The Last Air Raid Kumagaya (最後の空襲くまがや / Saigo no Kūshū Kumagaya, 1993), Renzō and Sayoko Kinoshita continue to drive home the message about the futility of war.  As they did with Pica-Don, they based this 29-minute long animated film on historical records, interviews with witnesses/survivors, and the documents belonging to survivors. 

The first part of the film is critical of domestic propaganda.  A female narrator says that the common people of Japan were ignorant of the “evils of war”, such as the atrocities’ committed by their military in the South Pacific and Okinawa.   The film suggests that people believed the propaganda, which hid from them the fact that the Japanese were fighting a losing battle.  The narrator says that in the closing days of the war, the general populace believed the myths of their country’s victories abroad and were oblivious that their emperor was on the verge of surrender. 

It is in this context that the story of the last American air raid on Japan unfolds.  The central character is a 7 year old girl called Sachiko.  She has just lost her immediate family in the firebombing of Tokyo and takes the train to her uncle’s family in Kumagaya in Saitama Prefecture.  She is not out of danger yet, for the train gets shot at by a plane along the journey.  Her uncle meets her at the station and he and his whole family welcome her with open arms.  With her cousins, Sachiko explores the beauty of the natural landscape around Kumagaya. 

Sadly, these beautiful days of late summer are not to last.  The final movement of the film depicts the final air raid of the war.  The city descends into fear and chaos and Sachiko gets separated from her family with tragic results.  This film has no happy ending, for war brings no happy endings except in schmaltzy Hollywood features.  Just when you think the film has served up more sadness than you can bear, the shock ending is a real kick in the gut.  Along with Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies (火垂るの墓, 1988), this film not only has a strong anti-war message, but it also the highlights the suffering of children in times of war.   

The terrible irony of what happened in Kumagaya on August 15, 1945, was that as the people were reeling in shock in the ashes of the attack, Emperor Hirohito’s speech announcing Japan’s defeat came on the radio.  It is hard to imagine how the people of Kumagaya, and other cities bombed that final day (Osaka, Tokoyama, Isesaki) felt about the futility of their suffering at that moment.

This short film, animated beautifully with handmade cutouts, can be screened at the Peace Museum of Saitama (埼玉県平和資料館).  It is a useful educational film, but I would not recommend it for children under the age of 14.  It has deeply distressing imagery and raises some important political debates that require careful guidance by educators.  Although we do glimpse the American planes responsible for the air raids, I would argue that the film actually points the blame for the suffering of the Japanese people during the war on the Japanese government itself.  It is not easy material, but certainly useful when taught in the greater context of propaganda and war.

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2014

Olympic Games on Dankichi Island (ダン吉島のオリムピック大会, 1932)

 The most popular heroes of the Fifteen Year’s War (1931-1945) in Japan were boy heroes like the comic strip figure Mābō and the folk tale legend Momotarō.  One of the most loved was Daring Dankichi (冒険ダン吉/Bōken Dankichi) from the comic strip series of the same name by Keizō Shimada (島田啓三, 1900-1973).  The comic appeared in the magazine Boy’s Club (Shōnen Kurabu) and the tales were also edited into a children’s picture book as well as adapted into a series of animated shorts.   

It is believed that the adventures of Dankichi were inspired by the real life tales of the exploits of Koben Mori (森小弁, 1869-1945), the colonist who was one of the early Japanese settlers in Micronesia.  The International Institute for Children’s Literature in Osaka, on its web archive One Hundred Japanese Books for Children (1868-1945) summarizes the plot of Shimada’s picture book Bōken Dankichi thusly:  “In this story, a boy protagonist drifts to a southern island in his dream.  He becomes king of the island.  On one hand, this work tells a story about creating a pastoral utopia on an island, however, on the other hand, it can be read as the embodiment of the idea to conquer Southeast Asia at that time.” (See: IICLO for more details and scans of the book).

The animated short Olympic Games on Dankichi Island (ダン吉島のオリムピック大会/ Dankichi-jima no Orimpikku Taikai, 1932) is one of a handful Dankichi animations extant.  The animator and director are currently unknown.  It seems likely that the film was made to coincide with the Games of the X Olympiad which was held in Los Angeles in 1932.  One of the few Asian nations represented at these games, Japan sent almost as many athletes as Germany – although their team was still only a quarter of the American contingent that year.

The animation sets the Olympic games on Dankichi Island, hosted by the king of the island Dankichi himself.  A variety of animals, both wild and domestic, compete against the native peoples of Dankichi Island, who are portrayed using Jim Crow blackface stereotyping.  The “natives” wear grass skirts to denote the Pacific islands – an area of great strategic concern to the Japanese government at this time.  The spectators and athletes are depicted as being segregated, with the animals on one side and the “natives” on the other in any scene in all crowd scenes.  The races are full of gags and pratfalls, with contestants winning more by accident than design.  Dankichi himself even participates in a log-carrying race and wins because of the misery of another.  The “natives” toss him into the air in celebration at the end of the film.   

The animation is quite rudimentary, made with cut-outs and simple designs.  Following the common practice of the silent era, “close-ups” are done using irises.  The relationship between comic strips and animation can be seen in the use of speech bubbles in addition to inter-titles.  Other common motifs of comics – such a as stars and swirls to denote dizziness – abound. 

The propagandistic nature of this film is made clear from the outset with the first shot being of Japanese flag flying from a tropical tree.  Dankichi is clearly delineated as being “other” than the natives of the island with his “whiteness” and round-faced “kawaii” look.  The native peoples are affable fools, who bumble about good-naturedly in contrast to the direct action of Dankichi.  The not-so-subtle message of the film is that the Japanese (Dankichi) are superior to the Pacific Islanders (Jim Crow stereotypes).   Indoctrinating children into the myth of the cultural superiority of Japan was crucial at this time to the colonial aims of the ruling class.

It is fascinating to see that the Japanese adopted racist black stereotyping from the West.  I have not looked into how far back the use of this imagery goes in Japanese culture, nor do I know from whence it came, but my educated guess would be that they were influenced by American popular culture.  American films, cartoons, and comics were readily available in Tokyo at the time that Shimada created Dankichi.  Minstrel themes were very common in American silent films – in fact, Warner Brothers’ had just had a smash “talkie” hit a few years earlier with The Jazz Singer (Alan Crosland, 1927) starring Al Jolson doing the blackface routines for which he was famous.  The Jazz Singer (ジャズ・シンガー) was first shown in Japan on 21 August 1930 so there is the possibility that it was seen by Shimada and the animators of this film.  Unfortunately, at this time in U.S. history, Jim Crow imagery was the norm.  To learn more about its pervasiveness, I recommend Ferris State University’s Jim Crow Museum.  Examples of Jim Crow imagery in animation from the 30s and 40s include United Artists’ Censored Eleven and MGM’s Mouse Keeping (1948) starring Tom and Jerry.

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2014

Notes:

This  film is silent, with a soundtrack composed and performed by Jōichi Yuasa (湯浅ジョウイチ) for the DVD release.

This film appears on disc 4 of Digital Meme’s box set Japanese Anime Classic Collection.

A discussion of Dankichi in comics and animation used to promote imperialism can be found in Chapter 2 of Michael Baskett’s The Attractive Empire: Transnational Film Culture in Imperial Japan, Honolulu: U of Hawai’i P, 2008. 

Related Posts:

Mabo’s Big Race (1936)

Mabo as Tokichiro Kinoshita (1938)

Little Black Sambo and the Twins (1957)

Momotaro’s Sea Eagle (1942)

Ducktators (1998)

Mabo as Tokichiro Kinoshita (マー坊の木下藤吉郎, 1938)

The early animated talkie Mabo as Tokichiro Kinoshita (マー坊の木下藤吉郎, Mābō no Kinoshita Tōkichirō, 1938) brings together a popular cartoon figure of the 1930s, the young boy hero Mābō (マー坊), and a legendary figure of Japanese history, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), who in his youth was known by the name  Tōkichirō Kinoshita.

Hideyoshi was a great daimyō of the turbulent Sengoku Period.  He was the second of three men known as the great “Unifiers of Japan” because of his role in bringing peace and stability to the region which was at the time in a state of constant civil war.  Hideyoshi was an ideal hero for Japanese propaganda of the Fifteen Years’ War (1931-45), not only for his role as a unifier but also because of his hard stance against foreign religion.  He notoriously ordered the execution by crucifixion of 26 Christians in Nagasaki in 1597, known as The 26 Martyrs of Japan. 

As this is propaganda aimed at children, the unknown filmmakers have chosen to focus on the adventures of Hideyoshi’s youth when he was known as Tōkichirō Kinoshita.  He is played by Mābō – a popular figure of the time in comics and animated shorts.  It is not clear how many Mābō films were made – at least one other film that survives, Mābō’s Big Race (1936) shows Mābō competing for Japan at the Berlin Olympics.  The makers of both films are currently uncertain, but it is clear that Mabo as Tokichiro Kinoshita is a more sophisticated short (either a different animator, or the animator has improved his skills in the intervening years) than the earlier film.  Mābō looks very different in 16^th century garb, but his face is recognisable with his snub nose, big ears, large eyes, slightly jutting chin and small, high eyebrows. 

Having popular cartoon characters take on other roles is something that began early in animation.  For example, Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, the precursor to Mickey Mouse, often takes on other roles.  He’s a fire fighter in Fiery Fireman (1928) and in Yanky Clippers (1929) he’s a barber.  One of my favourite examples of a popular cartoon character taking on another role is the much later film Mickey and the Beanstalk (1947) with Mickey replaying Jack in the famous English fairy tale.  It’s a clever way to bring together the popularity of a character with a proven storyline.  In the case of Hideyoshi, his exploits as a child had taken on a legendary status through retellings over the centuries. 

Summary of Mabo as Tokishiro Kinoshita:

Part I – In Search of a Lord to Serve

A beautifully painted intertitle tells us that Mābō /Kinoshita is in search of a lord to serve.  He encounters a fortune teller who offers to tell Mābō’s fortune using a mirror.  The soothsayer is shocked to see a premonition that the boy will one day be the great ruler of them all and he comically falls onto his behind.  Mābō is unfazed.  He pulls the man up using an invisible rope, scratches his back, and promises the man that he can be his servant when he becomes lord.  The fortune teller bows and thanks him, but after Mābō has left he realizes that he forgot to charge for his services. 

Part II – Serving Nobunaga Oda

It is winter and snowing heavily.  Mābō hugs himself to keep warm as he paces back and forth what appears to be the outer hallway of a traditional Japanese building in sandals.  He takes a pair of sandals out of his robe and warms them with his breath before putting them back under his clothes.  A large man announces the approach of the Shōgun (Nobunaga Oda, 1534-82).  Mābō bows as low as he can in front of the sandals he has placed for the Shōgun.  As soon as the Shōgun realizes the sandals are warm he imagines that Mābō must have been sitting on them and becomes enraged and begins to strike the boy.  Mābō apologizes and shows the marks on his chest where the sandals had been kept warm.  The Shōgun’s rage quickly turns to gratitude for Mābō’s thoughtfulness.  He predicts that Mābō will rise high in the ranks. 

Part III – Battle Against Tatsuoki Saitō

The Shōgun sits in a large room filled with his advisors.  Shibata Katsuie (1522-83) sits before him and swears to complete his mission.  An upside-down window-washer wipe to a scene in which a series of workers in costume betting the period are building a castle.  One young man is busy hammering, a large man tills a field, a small man stands upon a giant block of wood working a Japanese saw (one pulls back to saw rather than pushing the saw forward), while yet another man works with stone.   The scene works from close shots of the tradesmen at work towards the bigger picture, finally showing us at the end of the scene that a castle is being built. 

It is night and a man on a hillside is waving a torch like a signal.  Tatsuoki Saitō (1548-73) sits astride his horse and orders his men to crush Nobunaga’s castle.  Saitō’s men attack and set the castle ablaze.  Cut to the Shōgun, who is angry at Katsuie’s failure and asks who will build his castle now.  Mābō begs for the opportunity to prove himself.  He even promises to finish in only 3 days. 

Mābō asks a samurai (not sure who this is but they have clearly met before) and his clan for assistance building the castle.   The film then makes a startling jump into modern imagery.  A sign indicates that the Kinoshita Company building is now building the castle.  They are using modern technologies such as parachutes delivery supplies, nails being fired into place with a machine gun, mechanical arms paint and stamp shapes – in seemingly no time at all the castle is already three stories tall. 

Saitō attacks again but this time he is met with resistance.  Mābō walks confidently into the action, seemingly unaware of a man with a sword hiding behind a tree.  The man attacks, but Mābō ducks laughingly out of the way.  He is spun onto the giant lap of the great warrior Mābō has at his command, who spanks the man thoroughly.  A line up of what looks like tanks with legs line themselves up to await the attack of Saitō’s men on horseback.  Mābō’s men shoot at them like WWI soldiers in trenches – I am not sure how realistic this is.  While the Japanese did advance quite a bit in their use of guns during this period, their matchlock guns would not have been able to reload with such speed (See: Note 1).  They certainly would not have been able to shoot dead a whole field of horses and riders as they do in this scene. 

Cut to Mābō standing regally and fanning himself, delighting in his victory.  The newly built castle still stands – with even its scaffolding untouched.   The scaffolding is removed and marching band music begins to play.  Mābō’s warrior stands with his troops – all in traditional gear but standing on guard like a modern army.  Mābō raises his arm and shouts “Okey dokey!”, the men salute him back by raising their arms and shouting “Oh!” thrice. 

Then, another surprise – the camera suddenly shifts right and we see a cameraman and director filming the action.  “Okay!” shouts the director.  Mābō looks straight at the camera and removes his wig to reveal his real hair.  “Minna-san, sayonara!”, he bids the audience farewell and bows his head. 

Discussion:

The first two-thirds of Mabo as Tokichiro Kinoshita is a perfectly delightful jidaigeki (period piece) for kids, with slapstick comedy elements such as fortune teller’s whiskers slapping him in the face or Tokichiro pulling a pretend rope to set the fortune teller back on his feet.  It abruptly changes into propaganda the moment Mābō’s plan to build the Shōgun’s castle.

It seems to me that the third section of this film is very loosely based on the tale of the building of Sunomata Castle in 1566 on the banks of the Sai River opposite Saitō territory in what is today the city of Ōgaki in Gifu Prefecture.  The castle is popularly known as Sunomata Ichiya-jō – “Sunamata one night castle” because the castle was reputedly built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi over the course of one night.  Historians have suggested that it is more likely that a façade of the castle was built facing the river to give the impression that the castle was already built.  Strategically, Hideyoshi wanted to surprise the enemy and to strategically place his men at a high vantage point where they could spot the advance of Saitō’s forces (See: Note 2).

The change from jidaigeki to modern propaganda is not only signalled by the change in technology, but also by the music.  During the first two-thirds of the film, the music is traditional but it abruptly changes to military music of the marching band variety.  The main propagandistic aims of the film are multifold: to have children emulate Japanese heroes and their samurai warrior spirit, to promote the “boy hero” image (see: Note 3), to promote the war effort on both the home and war fronts, and to emphasize the greatness of modern Japanese technology. 

The film fascinatingly does not even bother to hide its propagandistic nature; in fact, it even emphasizes it with that reveal of the cameraman and the director.  If the audience had any doubt that this message is aimed at them, it ends when Mābō breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience directly at the end. 

There are some subtle linguistic clues that America is not yet the official enemy at this point in the Fifteen Years’ War.  These take the form of Americanisms used by Mābō addressing the soldiers with “okey-dokey” and the director saying “okay” instead of “cut” at the end.  It made me wonder when Japanese director’s starting using the word “cut” (カット/katto).  The 1930s were a time when terminology for cinematic technology was still in flux, but I’m pretty sure “cut” was adopted fairly early. 

This film appears on disc 4 of Digital Meme’s excellent box set Japanese Anime Classic Collection.

Notes:

1.  Perrin, Noel.  Giving Up the Gun: Japan’s Reversion to the Sword, 1543-1879.  Jaffrey, NH: David R. Godine, 1979.

2.   Harada, Minoru 原田実.  "Toyotomi Hideyoshi Built Mino-Sunomata Castle in One Night!! 豊臣秀吉は美濃墨俣に一夜城を築いた!!" in The Truth of Outrageous Japanese History and Lectures on Falsified History in Academia トンデモ日本史の真相　と学会的偽史学講義.  Tokyo: Bungeisha, 2007, pp. 29–42.

Turnbull, Stephen. Toyotomi Hideyoshi: Leadership, Strategy, Conflict.  Oxford: Osprey Publishing, 2010.

3.  A discussion of boy heroes in comics and animation used to promote imperialism can be found in Chapter 2 of Michael Baskett’s The Attractive Empire: Transnational Film Culture in Imperial Japan, Honolulu: U of Hawai’i P, 2008.