Asahi: Oldest Japanese animation frames history from new angle
The oldest known Japanese animation has been found in Kyoto, and has film historians abuzz. Until now, the oldest animated work was thought to be one produced in 1917, during the Taisho Era (1912-1926). But Natsuki Matsumoto, 53, a lecturer of iconology at the Osaka University of Arts, said the new film, which he discovered, looks to be older. "Considering the manufacturing date on the projector that was preserved along with it, the film was made between 1907 and 1911 at the latest," he said. That would put it in the late Meiji Era (1868-1912). The 35-mm film shows a boy in a sailor suit writing "katsudo shashin" (movie) in kanji on a blackboard. The film has 50 frames, which when shown at 16 frames per second results in a three-second animation. The strip is connected in a loop in order to be played endlessly...more...
