ACF 895: Reminder - "The Sword of Doom" screens tonight at Japan Society (NY)

The Sword of Doom / Dai-bosatsu toge
Directed by Kihachi Okamoto
Japan, 1966, 119 minutes
When: Friday, February 18, 2011, at 7:30 PM
Where: Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street, New York, NY
(Between 1st and 2nd Avenues)

The soul is the sword.
Study the soul to know the sword
Evil mind, evil sword.
- Instructor and master swordsman Toranosuke Shimada (Toshiro Mifune)

Kihachi Okamoto's chambara classic The Sword of Doom, which stars Tatsuya Nakadai and features Toshiro Mifune in a significant role, will be shown tonight at Japan Society, NY.

For my review of The Sword of Doom which appeared earlier this week, click here.

Buy Tickets Online for Friday's screening or call the Japan Society Box Office at (212) 715-1258, Mon. - Fri. 11 am - 6 pm, Weekends 11 am - 5 pm.

And for a really good, recent New York Times article about samurai films written by Wendell Jamieson, in which The Sword of Doom looms large, click here.

ACF 892: Sword of Doom at Japan Society

The Sword of Doom / Dai-bosatsu toge
Directed by Kihachi Okamoto
Japan, 1966, 119 minutes
When: Friday, February 18, 2011, at 7:30 PM
Where: Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street, New York, NY
(Between 1st and 2nd Avenues)

The soul is the sword.
Study the soul to know the sword
Evil mind, evil sword.
- Instructor and master swordsman Toranosuke Shimada (Toshiro Mifune)

Kihachi Okamoto directed many jida geki (period films) that are well-known in the West and available on DVD, such as Samurai Assassin, Kill!, Red Lion, and Zatoichi Meets Yojimbo. But The Sword of Doom most certainly is the one with which Westerners are most familiar.

Set in the early 1860s, as the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate is about to fall, it is based upon an incredibly lengthy novel entitled Daibosatsu Toge ("Great Budda Pass") by Kaizan Nakazato. The novel, from which the film gets its name in Japanese, was serialized in newspapers for over three decades, starting in 1913! It remained unfinished at the time of Nakazato's death in 1944, by which time forty-one volumes had been published.

The film stars Tatsuya Nakadai as Ryunosuke Tsukue, the epitome of the anti-hero. He is cruel and evil, a man seemingly without conscience, and dedicated only to using his sword. Kicked out of the sword school where he studied, he is forced to leave his village after killing an opponent in a competition and then dispatching numerous of his associates who are seeking revenge. Ryunuske then joins a shinsengumi, an unofficial group of men supporting the Tokugawa shogunate, not out of political conviction but to earn money for saki and to use his sword to kill.

There have been several film versions of this story, usually in two or three parts. One that was done in three parts is Satan's Sword. This trilogy was directed by Kenji Misumi (Parts 1 and 2, both 1960) and Kazuo Mori (Part 3, 1961). It starred Raizo Ichikawa (the Shinobi no mono and Nemuri Kyoshiro series, as well as numerous other films) as Ryunoske. Okomoto's version also was to have been a trilogy, which may account for the now iconic freeze frame on which The Sword of Doom concludes. For whatever reason, the other films were not made.

I've now seen The Sword of Doom at least three times. It's only been with my recently watching it again to refresh my memory and write this post that I've come to realize what a great film it is. Previously I was thrown by some of the leaps in the narrative, which no longer bother me, and the feeling that the film doesn't end but seems to just stop. The gaps in the story line of the film probably didn't bother the Japanese filmgoers, since the massive original story was pretty familiar to them. And the "ending" was intended as a "cliff-hanger" in anticipation of the next installment, which as it turned out, never came to be.

I've now come to appreciate the film as it is, especially the three great set pieces, each of the one-against-many category. The first and last, an awesome finale, feature Nakadai; the one in the middle has Mifune decimating members of the shinsengumi who have mistakenly attacked him thinking he was someone else.

The Sword of Doom is a classic, no ifs-ands-or-buts. So it not surprisingly earns an ACF Rating of 4 out of 4 stars, highest recommendation.

Buy Tickets Online for Friday's screening or call the Japan Society Box Office at (212) 715-1258, Mon. - Fri. 11 am - 6 pm, Weekends 11 am - 5 pm.

For those not in New York or who simply cannot make the screening, The Sword of Doom is also available on a DVD from The Criterion Collection. There are no extras on the disc, but a very informative, short essay by Geoffrey O'Brien is included with the DVD.

And for a really good, recent New York Times article about samurai films written by Wendell Jamieson, in which The Sword of Doom looms large, click here.

ACF 763: "Three Outlaw Samurai" at Asia Society, NY, Friday, November 12th

Three Outlaw Samurai
Directed by Hideo Gosha
Japan,1964, 95min, 35mm, B&W
Asia Society and Museum
725 Park Avenue at 70th Street, NYC
Showtime: Friday, November 12, 2010, 6:45PM
Price: FREE!!!!!

Three Outlaw Samurai is the second in Asia Society's FREE film series Japanese Cinema 1960s.This series is co-presented with Japan Foundation. This project is supported in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Tickets can be registered online and are available for pick-up on days of events. For more information, visit http://asiasociety.org/japanesecinema1960s or call (212) 517-ASIA.
Based on a popular television series of the same name also directed by Gosha, Three Outlaw Samurai features three ronin who found themselves accidentally entangled in the conflict between a group of peasants and their local magistrate. While initially reluctant to get involved, the three quickly make up their mind as to for which side they will fight. A dash of humor, attitude and style accompanies this action-packed picture. Janus Films.

“The result is cinematic magic, the perfect blend of blood and tears, a film worth watching over and over again.” -Mike Street, The Asian Reporter

“[Gosha is] a genius at staging action.”-- Stephen Hunter, The Washington Post

ACF mini-review and rating: There are elelments of two famous Akira Kurosawa films here. One, obviously, is Seven Samurai, in which several ronin protect some villagers from bandits. Here it's only three ronin and the villagers are being victimized by the high taxes imposed by local magistrate, who refuses to address their concerns.

The other film is Yojimbo. Any time you say a dog wandering around early in a samurai movie, you just can't help thinking of Yojimbo, even if as it is here, the dog is in the background and isn't carrying a human hand in its mouth. Another similiarity is the escape by Sakon Shiba (Tetsuro Tanba, probably most recognized by westeners for his role in the James Bond flick You Only Live Twice) from the magistrate's clutches.

Still one shouldn't make to much of these similarities. Three Outlaw Samurai stands and deserves to be judged on its own, and in this regard it does very well. There's enough innovation to make the story line interesting and chambara action galore. Considering it's not often shown, and that Asia Society is presenting it for free, it's a no-brainer that it's well worth seeing. ACF rating is 3 out of 4 stars, a good, solid film.

ACF 505: Two chambara flicks screening at Japan Society NY today

Just a brief reminder that two more chambara (swordplay) films will be showing at Japan Society today. They are part of The Double-Edged Sword film series that continues through May 14th, 2010.

First up is Zatoichi On the Road: Fighting Journey, starring Shintaro Katso as the blind masseur and master swordsman. This time around Zatoichi is tasked with returning a lovely young woman to her family. I found this to be one of the best films in the series that I've seen so far. The movie is set to begin at 5:00 PM. Info and/or order tickets here.

At 7:00 in the evening, Scar Yasoburo, starring Raizo Ichikawa, will be shown in a separate screening. It's the tale of an actor (Ichikawa) whose face is slashed by a band of yakuza after he is caught with the mistress of the gang's boss. Info and/or order tickets here.

Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues, New York, NY.

ACF 479: Destiny's Son at Japan Society

Destiny's Son
Directed by Kenji Misumi
Japan, 1962, 71 min, color

Japan Society's current film series The Double Edged Sword: The Chambara Films of Shintaro Katsu & Raizo Ichikawa continues tomorrow night, Friday, February 19th, 2010 at 7:30 PM with this rather unusual swordplay film. In it Ichikawa plays Takakura Shingo, a young man who has been raised as the son of a low ranking samurai, but whose actual origins are far different.

After wandering around Japan to gain life experience, Shingo returns to his father and sister with unexpected skills as a swordsmen. These include a formidable stance that was inspired by a lute player. Shingo's victory over a talented swordsman incurs the wrath and jealousy of another low ranking samurai whose own son was defeated in the contest. This sets Shingo off on a search for revenge and further wanderings.

Shingo demonstrates the stance inspired by a lute player

Director Kenji Misumi was born in 1921 in Kyoto, Japan. Most of his films were made for Daiei, where he was a contract player until it went bankrupt in 1971. He wnet on to make a few more films before his death in 1975. Many of his movies are available on DVD. These include several of the films in the Zatoichi series, including the first one, which appeared the same year as Destiny's Son. He also directed films in the Lone Wolf & Cub (a.k.a. Baby Cart) series and in the Sleepy Eyes of Death series, in which Ichikawa also starred.

Destiny's Son has been referred to as "a forgotten masterpiece" in some of the promo material. Personally, I think is a bit more praise than the film merits. There is a lengthy expository scene in which Shingo's "father" tells him the truth about his birth. For me, this scene brought the film to a grinding halt for awhile. Too much "telling" and not enough "showing."

There were also a few minor things that didn't make much sense. For example, at one point a government official for whome Shingo has been working says that they've been together for about three years. However, the story at that point seems to indicate that he's been in the official's employ for a far shorter time. Of course, this might be just a problem with the subtitles, or a misreading on my part.

Still, while I don't regard this very short film (at 71 minutes it probably just qualifies as feature length) as a masterpiece, I think it's a good film that is definitely worth seeing. This is especially so because it does not appear to be available on a Region 1 DVD.

So if you can, make it to Friday's screening of Destiny's Son, which will take place at Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street (beteween 1st and 2nd Avenues), NYC.

Buy tickets online or call the Japan Society Box Office at 212.715.1258, Mon - Fri 11 am - 6 pm.

ACF 431: Samurai Vendetta lobby cards

In anticipation of tonight's screening of Samurai Vendetta at 7:30 at Japan Society, here are some screen captures of lobby cards that were on my screener DVD.

ACF 428: Samurai Vendetta kicks off new series at Japan Society this Friday, Dec 11th

All images © 1959 Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.

Samurai Vendetta / Hakuoki

(a.k.a. A Chronicle of Pale Cherry Blossoms)

Directed by Kazuo Mori

Japan, 1959, 109 min

In Japanese with English subtitles

The Double-Edged Sword: The Chambara Films of Shintaro Katsu & Raizo Ichikawa is the name of Japan Society's new monthly film series. It kicks off this Friday, December 11th at 7:30 PM with a screening of Samurai Vendetta (Hakuoki). This 1959 film stars both actors as expert swordsmen from rival schools.

This rivalry has resulted in numerous duels. To end the bloodshed, each are sacrificed by the heads of their schools by kicking them out. The two are also rivals who each love the same woman. But both are highly honorable, sort of a samurai version of "frenemies."

I first encountered Raizo Ichikawa in his title role in the Nemuri Kyoshiro series, a.k.a. Sleepy Eyes of Death. (The fourth film in that series will also be screened as part of The Double-Edged Sword). In fact, I still have several films in the series on VHS tapes that AnimEigo put out under their Samurai Cinema brand. Ichikawa died a tragically early death from cancer in 1969, just shy of his 38th birthday.

Raizo Ichikawa is probably best known for his roles as Zatoichi and as Hanzo the Razor. It's terrific seeing him paired off with Ichikawa in this epic swordplay variation on the story of the 47 Ronin.

I had the opportunity to watch a screener of Samurai Vendetta and really enjoyed it. So much so that I'm going to the opening night screening and see it again!

This series has been curated by Chris D. (a.k.a. Chris Desjardins), author of Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film (a fine book that I'm about half-way through), and is an updated version of a series he presented in Los Angeles in 2002. He's slated to be present for the opening night festivities, which will include a reception and book signing in addition to the screening.

For more information, go to my November 24th post, or to this page at the Japan Society website.

ACF 422: Double Edged Sword

Raizo Ichikawa in Samurai Vendetta
© 1959 Kadokawa Pictures, Inc.

Japan Society's Monthly Classics Film Series Delivers 9 Slices of Rare '60s Samurai Cool with a Duel Dose of Masculine Mystique

The Double-Edged Sword: The Chambara Films of Shintaro Katsu & Raizo Ichikawa

Opening Screening: Samurai Vendetta on Friday, December 11, 2009, 7:30 PM
Introduced by curator Chris D. with reception and book signing

Japan Society just announced their new Monthly Classics film series and it looks like it's oging to be a super-blast! Expect advance reviews of many of the films here at AsianCineFest. In the meanwhile, here's extensive info about the series.

New York -- Japan Society's latest Monthly Classics film series The Double-Edged Sword: The Chambara Films of Shintaro Katsu & Raizo Ichikawa pays tribute to two Japanese screen legends in their most respected, representative and stylish chambara (sword fighting) films. Curated by film expert and author Chris D. (Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film), the series features 9 films slated to be screened monthly from December 2009 through May 2010. The opening night screening Samurai Vendetta takes place Friday, December 11 at 7:30 pm, and is followed by a reception and book signing. (Opening night tickets including reception are $15/$10 members, students & seniors; all subsequent screenings are $11/$7.)

Macho cool had two faces in Japanese cinema from the 1960s: Daiei Studios’ cult stars Shintaro Katsu (1931-1997) and Raizo Ichikawa (1931-1969). The actors dominated postwar genre films in Japan, projecting a disparate duality of masculine mystique. The earthy Katsu played the affable anti-idol rogue, unpredictable onscreen (and off), while ethereal, coolly enigmatic Ichikawa was considered the "James Dean of Japan." Beyond their differences, both stars instilled in their roles a poisonous poetry and existential angst that lifted their art into genre-transcending territory.

The Double-Edged Sword film series offers seminal works from each actor's arsenal chambara epics. Popular films such as Samurai Vendetta and three choice selections from the Zatoichi series are coupled with the surreal Destiny’s Son and art house film Scar Yosaburo. The series also presents Nemuri Kyoshiro's At Bay: The Sword of Seduction and Kenji Misumi's little known masterpiece The Devil’s Temple for the first time in 35 mm on the big screen with English subtitles.

With 2009 marking the 40th anniversary of Ichikawa’s death, The Double-Edged Sword series also anticipates the centennial of legendary director Akira Kurosawa in 2010. Samuel Jamier, newly appointed film programmer at Japan Society, notes, "While the Kurosawa/Mifune collaborations have long been consecrated as examples of ultimate samurai films, this retrospective series gives the occasion to unearth cinematic treasures that are too often overlooked, exposing an entire movement that took place parallel to Kurosawa and Cie."

Chambara designates a category of films that involve swordplay. Alternately romanized as chanbara, the label is an onomatopoeia, mimicking the "chan-chan, bara-bara" sound of clashing swords. The origin of chambara can be traced back to dramatized sword fights in kabuki dramas. Some of the earliest silent films in Japan were chambara with elaborate, balletic fight scenes. The genre reached maturity in the 1960s (many critics and fans describe that period as the golden age of chambara). The central figure in chambara films is the swordsman, who could be a samurai (often a ronin–a masterless samurai), ninja, or yakuza, always armed and dangerous. Chambara is part of the jidai-geki genre (period drama) and includes the matatabi sub-genre (wanderer or drifter that becomes a gambler).

“The chambara genre… was one of the central vehicles by which Japan would reexamine its culture and values in light of its new postwar, post-imperial role," notes Allen White, in his essay “A Man, a Blade, an Empty Road: Postwar Samurai Film to 1970” (GreenCine). "Chambara not only recycled and redefined Japanese history; it also used it as a thinly-coded metaphor for present-day struggles." Today, with anime reaching a peak of popularity in the U.S., many of the most popular series among young Americans--from Samurai Champloo to Afro-Samurai—are based on and inspired by old chambara movies.

THE DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD Screening Schedule:

Friday, December 11, 2009, 7:30 pm
Samurai Vendetta (A.K.A A Chronicle of Pale Cherry Blossoms)
**Opening screening with curator Chris D., reception and book signing

Friday, Jan. 22, 2010, 7:30 pm
Zatoichi, the Fugitive

Friday, Feb. 19, 2010, 7:30 pm
Destiny’s Son

Saturday, March 20, 2010
5:00 pm Zatoichi On the Road (A.K.A Zatoichi and the Scoundrels)
7:00 pm: Scar Yosaburo

Saturday, April 24, 2010
5:00 pm: New Tale of Zatoichi
7:00 pm: Nemuri Kyoshiro At Bay: The Sword of Seduction (A.K.A. Sleepy Eyes of Death 4)

Friday, May, 2010
5:00 pm: The Lone Stalker (A.K.A. Lone Wolf Isazo)
7:00 pm: The Devil’s Temple

THE DOUBLE EDGED SWORD Screening Details & Descriptions:

Samurai Vendetta (Hakuoki)
Friday, December 11, 2009 at 7:30 pm
**Opening screening introduced by series curator Chris D., with reception and book signing.
1959, 109 min., 16mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Kazuo Mori. With Raizo Ichikawa, Shintaro Katsu, Chitose Maki.

A unique take on the 47 Ronin story, this epic film propelled Shintaro Katsu to superstardom alongside then-reigning Raizo Ichikawa. Betrayal, dishonor and death imbue this tragic tale of two swordsmen whose clans are embroiled in a blood feud and who vie for the same woman. The film is also known as A Chronicle of Pale Cherry Blossoms.

Zatoichi, the Fugitive (Zatoichi kyojo-tabi)
Friday, January 22, 2010 at 7:30 pm
1963, 86 min., 35 mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Tokuzo Tanaka. With Shintaro Katsu, Miwa Takada, Misayo Banri, Junichiro Narita, Katsuhiko Kobayashi.

As the iconic blind masseur Zatoichi, Katsu enters this fourth--and one of the most acclaimed--episode of the saga with a bounty on his head. Soon he is up to his neck slicing and dicing through a throng of yakuza thugs, fending off a long-lost love and battling a ruthless rogue samurai for hire.

Destiny’s Son (Kiru)
Friday, February 19, 2010 at 7:30 pm
1962, 71 min., 16 mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Kenji Misumi. With Raizo Ichikawa, Eijiro Yanagi, Yoshio Inaba, Masayo Banri.

In director Kenji Misumi’s breakthrough film, Ichikawa seeks revenge and redemption after his family is murdered by a rival clan. An astonishing, dreamlike samurai film written by Kaneto Shindo, Destiny’s Son is a demonic masterpiece--designed with quasi-expressionist artistry, awash with surreal landscapes, and subsumed in an otherworldly beauty that fuses Zen and sword.

Zatoichi On the Road: Fighting Journey (Zatoichi kenka-tabi)
Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 5:00 pm
1963, 87 minutes, 35mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Kimiyoshi Yasuda. With Shintaro Katsu, Reiko Fujiwara, Shiho Fujimura.

Also known as Zatoichi and the Scoundrels, chapter five of the Blind Swordsman saga, Zatoichi encounters a dying man who asks him to deliver the maiden O-Mitsu to her family. Feeling honor-bound to fulfill the request, the canesword-wielding masseur goes on a perilous journey and soon finds himself caught between rival gangs competing to kidnap his beautiful protégée for a ransom.

Scar Yosaburo (Kirare Yosaburo)
Saturday, March 20, 2010 at 7:00 pm
1960, 94 min., 35mm, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Daisuke Ito. With Raizo Ichikawa, Manami Fuji, Keiko Awaji.

A band of yakuza ruffians mutilate the face of an actor after he is caught with the gang boss’ mistress. A misty, moonlit tale from the kabuki repertoire and a stirring classic of the most artful category of samurai films, zankoku jidai-geki (cruel historicals).

New Tale of Zatoichi (Shin Zatoichi monogatari)
Saturday April 24, 2010 at 5:00 pm
1963, 91 min, 35mm, in English with Japanese subtitles. Directed by Tokuzo Tanaka. With Shintaro Katsu, Mikiko Tsubouchi, Seizaburo Kawazu.

Returning to his hometown in the hope of laying down his cane-sword and renouncing the wayward ways of his hack-and-slash life, Zatoichi reunites with his former sensei in the throes of his own moral dilemma. Trouble ensues as a mysterious gang of marauders ravages the town, a fellow drifter thirsty for revenge lurks in the shadows, and a forbidden love threatens to stand between Ichi and his beloved mentor.

Nemuri Kyoshiro At Bay: The Sword of Seduction (Nemuri Kyoshiro Joyo Ken)
Saturday April 24, 2010 at 7:00 pm
1964, 87 min., 35mm, in Japanese, presented for the first time in the U.S. with new digital subtitles. Directed by Kazuo Ikehiro. With Raizo Ichikawa, Michiko Ai, Akira Amemiya, Shinjiro Asano, Saburo Date, and Tomisaburo Wakayama.

Widely considered to be the strongest entry in the wonderfully perverse and violent samurai Nemuri saga, The Sword of Seduction finds the shadowy outcast mixed up in a labyrinthine intrigue involving persecuted Christians, opium smuggling, a drug-addled princess, and a search for a holy Madonna. Also known as Sleepy Eyes of Death 4, half-breed warrior Kyoshiro Nemuri (“Sleepy-Eyed”), the other most popular swordsman of all time alongside Zatoichi, and the self-proclaimed "Son of the Black Mask," was the archetypal anti-hero: dark, romantic and desperate.

Lone Wolf Isazo (Hitori Okami)
Friday, May 14, 2010 at 5:00 pm
1968, 83 min., 35mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. Directed by Kazuo Ikehiro. With Raizo Ichikawa, Isamu Nagato, Mayumi Ogawa.

Also known as The Lone Stalker, the epitome of the matatabi (samurai gambler) movie, Lone Wolf Isazo ranks as one of Ichikawa’s most spectacular performances. Employing flashbacks within flashbacks and a brooding romantic style poised somewhere between Budd Boetticher and early Sergio Leone, director Kazuo Ikehiro charts Isazo’s descent from chivalrous naïf to vengeance-obsessed cynical wanderer, giving a definitive chronicle of the loneliness the character faces.

The Devil's Temple (Oni no Sumu Yakata)
Friday, May 14, 2010 at 7:00 pm
1969, 76 min., 35 mm, in Japanese, presented for the first time in the U.S. with new digital subtitles. Directed by Kenji Misumi. With Shintaro Katsu, Hideko Takamine, Michiyo Aratama, Kei Sato.

In this little known Kenji Misumi masterpiece, an abandoned temple nestled in the mountains is the scene of a fateful encounter between a Buddhist monk, two women in love with the same man, and a fallen samurai (Katsu, at his most ferocious). As destinies collide, it appears that not just the lives of the quartet are at stake, but their very souls.

~

Chris D. (aka Chris Desjardins) is the author of Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film (2005, I.B. Tauris), which features essays and interviews with Japanese genre film directors from the '60s to the '90s. He recently completed work on two forthcoming books: an exhaustive study of yakuza films titled Gun And Sword – An Encyclopedia of Japanese Gangster Films 1955-1980, and an anthology of prose and poetry entitled A Minute to Pray, A Second to Die (New Texture Books, due Dec. 9). Chris worked as a film programmer at The American Cinematheque in Los Angeles 1999-2005 and was the main programmer of the Cinematheque’s Egyptian Theatre from 2006-09. Chris was also a singer/songwriter/producer for The Flesh Eaters and Divine Horsemen between 1978 and 2003. As an actor, Chris has appeared in Border Radio (1987), No Way Out (1987), Tweeked (1999) and Double Deception (2001). I Pass For Human (2004) was his feature film debut behind the camera. Japan Society's presentation of The Double-Edged Sword is an updated edition of a series he presented in Los Angeles in 2002.

The Japan Society Film Program offers a diverse selection of Japanese films, from classics to contemporary independent productions. Its aim is to entertain, educate and support activities in the Society's Arts & Culture programs. The Film Program has included retrospectives of great directors, thematic series and many U.S. premieres. Some original film series curated by Japan Society have traveled to other U.S. venues in tours organized by the Film Program. Since 2007, the Program has presented the annual summer JAPAN CUTS Festival of New Japanese Film in collaboration with the New York Asian Film Festival. The Monthly Classics series are yearly events inviting guest curators to organize film series with once-a-month screenings.

Established in 1907, Japan Society has evolved into North America's major producer of high-quality content on Japan for an English-speaking audience. Presenting over 100 events annually through well established Corporate, Education, Film, Gallery, Language, Lectures, Performing Arts and Innovators Network programs, the Society is an internationally recognized nonprofit, nonpolitical organization that provides access to information on Japan, offers opportunities to experience Japanese culture, and fosters sustained and open dialogue on issues important to the U.S., Japan, and East Asia.

Tickets for regular screenings in The Doubled-Edged Sword series are $11/$7 members, students & seniors; the Dec. 11 opening night screening including reception is $15/$10. Japan Society is located at 333 East 47th Street between First and Second avenues (accessible by the 4/5/6 at 42nd Street-Grand Central Station or the E and V at Lexington Avenue and 53rd St.) For reservations visit www.japansociety.org or call the box office at 212-715-1258. For further information call 212-832-1155 or visit the website.

Japan Society 2009-10 Film Programs are generously supported by the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Endowment Fund. Additional support is provided by the Globus Family, Yoshiko and Tim Schilt, David S. Howe, Dr. Tatsuji Namba, Joshua S. Levine and Nozomi Terao, and the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency.

ACF 070: Chambara Action & Adventure

Animal Sumo

Hyoe and Heibe's Tengu Hunt

Tonight the Globus Film Series - Dawn of Japanese Animation begins at Japan Society with Part 1: Chambara Action & Adventure. Twelve animations and the live action film Fighting in Ashura Town will be shown. The approximately 95 minute-long program begins at 7:00 PM and will be followed by a reception.

For info about this program, click here.

Photos copyright Matsuda Film Production, Digital Meme

ACF 066: Dawn of Japanese Animation

Japan Society is presenting a four part program of Japanese animations from the 1920s-40s, plus live-action add-ons for each program.

Part 1 : Chambara Action & Adventure
- Twelve animations and Fighting in Ashura Town (Program approximately 95 min.)
- Live benshi narration of some animations!
- Reception to follow screenings!
- Wednesday, February 13 at 7:00 PM

Part 2: Horror & Comedy
- Six animations and Kid Commotion (Program approximately 80 min.)
- Live benshi narration of some animations!
- Thursday, February 14 at 7:00 PM

Part 3: Propaganda
- Eleven animations and Mother of the Nation (Program approximately 75 min.)
- Live benshi narration of some animations!
- Friday, February 15 at 7:00 PM

Part 4: Music & Dance
- Nine animations and Singing Lovebirds (Program approximately 115 min.)
- Saturday, February 16 at 5:00 PM

Special Screening - Orochi (1925, 75 min.)
- An epic film about an innocent samurai falsely accused of a crime
- Live benshi narration in English by New York-based theater director & actor Leon Ingulsrud!
- Saturday, February 16 at 7:30 PM

All screenings will be at Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street, New York, NY 10017

For further information or to order tickets online, go to www.japansociety.org/film, or call 212.715.1258.