Tag: Ofuji
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1947: MASAOKA’S POWERPLAY
The list of companies selected to make propaganda for the Occupying Forces in 1947 was very short. Alongside Daiei, Shochiku and Toho was a much smaller name: Nihon Manga Eigasha. And that was MASAOKA Kenzō’s firm.
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1946: KUMAKAWA’S MAGIC PEN
It also wasn’t a shock to learn that OFUJI Noburo made it into the studio in 1946 too. His cartoon was the first animated version of any work by “the father of the Japanese short story”, AKUTAGAWA Ryunosuke.
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1943: MASAOKA, OFUJI AND THE LOST
The next animated film to come out in Japan – that still survives, of course – baffled me before I watched it, because I didn’t see how it could have been made.
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1939: WHEN DIPLOMACY FAILS
Japan gets outmaneuvered, as World War II starts in Europe. Thankfully, a few people are still making animation.
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1937 – THE BEGINNING OF THE END
There are only three pieces of animation from Japan in 1937 that have made it to the present day. But I’m still very happy with what I can talk about.
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1936: MURATA’S END
On February 26th 1936, a group of young military officers, convinced that their brand of ultranationalism was correct and losing the internal struggle for the ear of the Emperor, attempted to overthrow the Japanese government; a coup d’etat.
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1934: FOUR DIRECTORS
Masaoka Kenzō gets unlucky, Ofuji Noburo uses another name, Seo Mitsuyo monkeys around, and an unknown director drives his characters mad.
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1933: MASAOKA, OFUJI, AND TEAM GODZILLA
MASAOKA was the first Japanese director to make a talking animated picture. Unless he wasn’t and it was OFUJI instead. Elsewhere, Godzilla’s owners shake a claw or two.
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1932: OGINO, OFUJI & THE UNKNOWNS
OGINO Shigeji was a skiving fuel store owner, someone’s whose name is lost was working for the Japanese War Department, and TEIZO Kato was making science fiction. They all directed cartoons from 1932.
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1931: OFUJI NOBURO
The first completely original record talkie – unless new evidence emerges – was made by Ofuji Noburo fill a demand from movie theatres, for a National Anthem.