Narrator and Musician Invited to TUFS Cinema Silent Film

August 23, 2016

On the 20th of June 2016 (Mon), TUFS Cinema invited a narrator and musician to a film screening of the silent film "Orizuru Osen" (Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi) here at TUFS.
Prior to the main screening, one of the specially invited guests, lecturer Iris Haukamp, of the University of London, SOAS gave an explanation of the film continuing on to say that this silent film is a valuable piece of cultural heritage and that showing this film in the present day holds significant importance.
Continuing from this, alongside the narration and accompaniment from the musician, the screening of Kenji Mizoguchi`s "Orizuru Osen" (1935) was held. The narrator chosen for this was Mr. Ichiro Kataoka who has worked all over the world including countries such as Japan, America, Germany and Czech. The skillful narration and the flowing piano accompaniment provided by the musician Ms. Ayumi Kamiya enchanced the visual beauty of the black and white of "Orizuru Osen". The film projected Osen`s later years alongside the live performances of the narrator and musician brought a fresh surprise and gave a deep impression on the guests who attended. In addition to this, the short comedy film "It`s a gift" was shown with accompaniment from both Mr. Kataoka and Ms. Kamiya after which Mr. Kataoka gave an explanation of the narration before the screening came to an end.
This screening took place as part of the Consortium for the Asian and African Studies Unit (CAAS) project which TUFS has been participating in since 2015. The CASS Unit invitation is a project made up of 7 vital parts of world class level Asia and Africa researchers which make up the consortium CAAS. By inviting top level foreign Japan study researchers and having them work together with Japanese researchers, CAAS aims to progress "International Japan Studies" from an international perspective. TUFS, as part of the CAAS Unit, aims to hold various events both nationally and internationally with the cooperation of Japan study researchers now and into the future.

Lecturer Haukamp giving an explanation

Silent film screening accompanied by narrator and musician

(from the left) Narrator Mr. Ichiro Kataoka, Lecturer Haukamp, Musician Ayumi Kamiya