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Shingeki (the “New Theatre”) and the Cinema
By Kunio Kishida
The Cinema of Japan began with the filming of the Kabuki drama in its original form. Consequently, it is characterized today by the formation of two schools which are singularly inconsistent with each other.
One is the “ Jidai Eiga ” (literally, the “Period Film”). This school has been unable to cut loose from the influence of the Kabuki which served an immediate purpose during its formative period, and consists in the presentation of the thoughts and feelings of the feudal era through the impersonation of men and women of those days. By no means is this a “historical drama”, or yet a “costume play”. For the most part it is made up of imaginative portrayals of affairs and circumstances of the latter half of the Tokugawa Era (1603-1867). Neither in the matter of dress nor of dialogue does it observe a strict fidelity to the realities of the time.
The other is the “Qendai Eiga ” (literally, the “Contemporary Film”), which undertakes to present the various aspects of the life of the present day. In so far as our own times are concerned, however, the subject of this type of film has little to do with mental or intellectual matters, being chiefly preoccupied with morals and manners and the peculiarities of atmosphere. One might say that none of the pictures produced by this school contained anything in the way of thought or idea, and one would not be far from the truth. Seldom, moreover, is even feeling portrayed with any degree of clarity. Never¬ theless, it is possible to comprehend from the “ Qendai Eiga ” at least the outward aspects of the life of the Japanese people today. It came into existence as something expressing a revolt, completely in both form and substance, against the traditional Kabuki drama.
This phenomenon of the co-existence of two schools of the Cinema within this country may be said to constitute no more than the fact that the inconsistencies which have manifested themselves in various fields of the culture of Japan as a result of the introduction of Western civilization, have taken root, as a matter of course, in the Cin¬ ema too. But in the present case, there are other considerations involved in the problem which do not justify our dispensing with the issue with this generalized statement.
To be sure, the “Jidai Eiga ” is being produced today in order to appeal to the feudalistic sentiments which are still extant today among patrons of the “movie” thea¬ tre of comparatively low cultural standards. But the wise screen authors within this group are deliberately utilizing the disinterested sentiment for the old era as a means of expressing, vicariously, their views regarding the present situation — views which they
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