JAPANESE FILMS

San Francisco, December 9, 1941

via Shorpy This is the photograph of Cafe Ginza at Buchanan Street in San Francisco on December 9 1941.  (The photograph is found at Shorpy, the ever-inspiring photograph archive site.) It speaks volumes, many different stories … the Japanese American Community of the prewar era, the strange calmness of the morning after Japanese attack on U.S. soil, the photographer who took this photograph (John Collier), and the demise that would fall upon the proprietor of the Cafe and the doctor next door in coming years. But for now, we would visit Bukkyo-Kai Hall (Buddhist Temple Hall) and Kinmon Hall (Kinmon …

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Bluebird Photoplays Ad

One of the reader of this site, Beth, gave me this tip for the full-page ad for Bluebird Photoplays in Internet Archive.  I like the use of minimum set of colors, abstract background and quiet, yet evocative typeface. As I discussed before, Bluebird Photoplays had a tremendous effect on early Japanese film-making. The accompanying text on the next page is interesting as well. “.. BLUEBIRD Photoplays (Inc.) was the first producer to buck the star system – the ruinous practice that has been responsible for the high-priced but low-grade features that have wrecked many an Exhibitor.” If this is true …

 
JAPANESE FILMS

Evangelion after Fukushima (Part 1)

“Right now, we are at the crossroad – until recently, Japanese public believed almost anything mass media said. However, they begin to distrust media, which failed to report the extent of nuclear fallout, didn’t disclose the SPEEDI data, and did nothing on food safety issues. There is a large gap between Japanese public and Mega-media. “Mega-media is not with us” – that’s how most of the public feel today. 3.11 started all. I have never seen the distrust of this magnitude before.” – Martin Fackler, the Tokyo bureau chief for the New York Times It was a rather slow tremor. …