The World a Young Man Dreamed Of

Today, January 25th, is said to be the anniversary of Director Eiji Tsuburaya's passing.
Leading up to this, on Saturday (the 22nd), I went to see a legendary film associated with Director Eiji Tsuburaya.

Princess Kaguya

It seems this was screened when the "Eiji Tsuburaya Exhibition" was held in Tokyo, and I had actually seen a small portion of this archival version at that exhibition as well.

However, it was only about five minutes of footage from a digest of a digest, so it was truly fragmentary.

Princess Kaguya is a work that is introduced at the very beginning of classical literature in junior high school (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter), but since the exhibition description mentioned it "concludes with a happy ending," I watched it with great excitement.
The synopsis below is excerpted from the "Work Information" distributed at the venue.

The main cast members reportedly had the following careers.

$$
\def\arraystretch{1.5}
\begin{array}{l|l|l}
\textbf{Role}&\textbf{ Performer}& \textbf{Overview}\\ \hline
Princess Kaguya &Kazuko Kitazawa& Student at Bunka Gakuin\\ \hline
Tsukimaro &Ichiro Fujiyama &Exclusive singer for Victor\\ \hline
Bamboo Cutter &Yo Shiomi& Actor active from 1920 to 1964. Known for works such as the New Tange Sazen series.\\ \hline
Bamboo Cutter's Wife& Hideko Higashi& Active as an actress at the early Imperial Theatre.\\ \hline
Prime Minister Abe& Deamio Yokoo& A famous supporting actor who was active in comedy films at Shochiku Kamata Studio and Toho.\\ \hline
Takemaro &Ren Tokuyama& A Japanese vocalist and popular singer active from before to during the war.\\ \hline
Hosomi &Kinji Fujiwa &A famous supporting actor active from 1924 to 1947. After the war, he appeared in films like "Her Statement" at Shochiku Ofuna.
\end{array}
$$

Talkie Film

It was produced by J.O. Studio, and the film, which used all-talkie techniques, was released in 1935.
In the first place, the very concept of a "talkie film" might be something our generation doesn't quite understand.

A talkie is a film that uses new technology compared to the "silent films" that came before it.
Nowadays, it's natural for films to have sound, but since silent films appeared in 1888 and talkies in 1927, it means J.O. Studio was adopting new technology from an early stage.

Perhaps that is why.
There is dialogue, of course, but for some reason, there are "so many songs!" 🎵

It's just like a "Japanese-style musical."
The "Princess Kaguya" song that the cast sings is also an original piece using the "yonanuki scale" (a musical scale consisting only of do, re, mi, so, and la, often used in Japanese children's songs), which might be why it felt that way even more.

Tsuburaya-esque Qualities

In this work, Mr. Tsuburaya participated as a cameraman under director Yoshitsugu Tanaka.
However, the points on how to film women beautifully (Princess Kaguya's expressions) and the way shadows were used made it a work where one could feel the "Eiji Tsuburaya" touch throughout.

Also, I was impressed by how much "cherry blossoms" were used.
The photo in the pamphlet is a scene where she is boating with her childhood friend (fiancé) Tsukimaro, but in the movie, they are boating while admiring the cherry blossoms.
Of course, this was a black-and-white film at the time, but the sight of cherry blossom petals dancing in the wind must have given the impression of "Oriental mystery" even to the people in the UK where the film was discovered.

Furthermore, what I felt was Tsuburaya-esque was the final scene of Princess Kaguya's ascension (or rather, her escape from the mansion disguised as one).
The lunar eclipse, showing the moon waning, was a very easy-to-understand element to express the anxieties of the people at the time.
In the end, while the Prime Minister, the soldiers he sent, and his two sons were flustered and watching the ascension scene, the princess and her group escaped the mansion in an ox-drawn carriage. The film also included the "illusions of the people under the onmyoji's magic" from the perspective of those left behind.
The figures of the celestial beings seen in the illusion were also expressed as shadow-like forms without showing their faces clearly.
I think this is typical of Director Tsuburaya's "low-key lighting $${※１}$$".

Budget No Object

Before this film screening, there was a talk by Bin Furuya, who served as the suit actor for Ultraman.
Director Tsuburaya was apparently very particular about pursuing realism, and it is said that one of the reasons Ultraman ended after two cours (calculated as 13 episodes per cour) was because special effects took so much time and money.

That dedication can be glimpsed in "Princess Kaguya" as well. Even if it wasn't solely Director Tsuburaya's will, the ox-drawn carriage, the princess's costumes, and the set for the ship crossing to the continent (which ends in failure 😅) all show this.
The pursuit of realism and the lack of concern for cost were conveyed even through the monochrome screen.
After all, that might have been the dedication of a craftsman.

There Are Things to Learn Across Generations

Opportunities to see Director Tsuburaya's work from his youth are rare, so I felt it was truly worth making the time to go see this film.
There is no doubt that Director Tsuburaya laid the foundation for Japanese special effects films.

However, that was not built in a day; he must have accumulated various experiences during his childhood and youth, honing and sharpening his powers of observation.

This time, it was a special loan film from the UK, so it is unclear if there will be any opportunities for it to be screened in the future.
But if there is another chance to see it, I would like to.
It was that kind of work.

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