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Documentary Films
By Tadasi lizima
It is indeed far from easy to set down on paper exactly how far the production of documentary film has developed in Japan. The reasons are to be found, first of all, in the scarcity of films to which the term “documentary” may he applied in its true sense, and, secondly, in the fact that in so far as this particular field is concerned, conceiv¬ ing the scale as well as planning every detail in the process of film production, with large sums of capital at disposal and under the direction of a competent staff of technical ex¬ perts, is an undertaking which belongs yet to the future. The truth of this statement becomes more evident when it is noted that of the 213 documentary films produced in 1936, more than half were those still of the silent picture category. What is more, these films were never shown to the ordinary theatre-goers but only to select groups of people. Such a state of affairs, however, is only detrimental to the development of documentary film production and, consequently, the question of saving the industry from this state has become one of grave concern for at least the conscientious members of the intelligentsia.
And yet, the year 1936 may be said to have been, in a sense, epoch-making. For, though, unfortunately, during it no tangible fruits could reasonably be said to have been borne, certain steps were taken which gave the industry assurance of rapid future pro¬ gress. It was in 1936 that the two great motion picture companies of Nikkatsu (Nippon motion picture Co.) and Shochiku inaugurated their respective Documentary Film Departments and that the Dai Nippon Eiga Kyokai (The Japan Motion Picture Founda¬ tion), encouraged by the Department of Home Affairs, urgently advocated, through the pages of its organ “Nippon Eiga”, the starting of the movement whose object is to make the showing of documentary films in the theatres an obligatory matter. Simultaneously with this advocacy, the organ sponsored and duly led the way to the holding on June 16 of the All Japan Documentary Film Concourse. Among those present at the event were individuals connected with the Departments of Education and Home Affairs, also such specialists as Professor Shuichi Sasaki of the Tokyo Higher Normal School, Profes¬ sor Yoshio Taniguchi of the Tokyo College of Engineering, Mr. Yoshio Fujioka of the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research, Mr. Hyota Manako, Chief of the Motion Picture Section of the Tokyo Asahi Shimbunsha, and Mr. Yasuo I to, Chief of the Motion Picture Section of the Tokyo Nichinichi Shimbunsha.
With the assistance of these patrons who acted as judges on the merits of the films brought together, the Concourse, as the first of the kind held in Japan, proved to
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