Two of Japan’s oldest anime films, considered national treasures, had been assumed lost for all time, but thanks to the keen eye of film lecturer Natsuki Matsumoto of Musashino Art University, they were spotted in a second-hand shop, or what in America would be called a Pawn Shop. The pre-1920 treasures have been brought to safety by the National Film Center of Modern Art in Tokyo where they have been digitally restored.
The two films, “Namakura Katana” (The Fine Sword) and “Urashima Taro,” will be shown alongside 94 other old and rediscovered movies at a film festival titled “Hakutsu sareta Eiga tachi (Unearthed Films) — 2008,” scheduled to run at the film center in April, according to a report in The Hollywood Reporter.
“Namakura Katana,” tells the story of a samurai duped into buying a blunt sword. It was drawn by Junichi Kouchi and released in June 1917 by the Kobayashi Shokai production company.
“Urashima Taro,” a version of a classic Japanese fairy tale, was illustrated by Seitaro Kitayama, first seen in February 1918 and produced by Nikkatsu.
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