The was a trend in

film criticism Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outle ...

and

filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, cast ...

in 1910s and early 1920s Japan that advocated what were considered more modern and cinematic modes of filmmaking. Critics in such magazines as '' Kinema Record'' and '' Kinema Junpo'' complained that existing Japanese cinema was overly theatrical. They said it presented scenes from

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought ...

and

shinpa (also rendered ''shimpa'') is a form of theater in Japan, usually featuring melodramatic stories, contrasted with the more traditional ''kabuki'' style. It later spread to cinema. Art form The roots of ''Shinpa'' can be traced to a form of agi ...

theater as is, with little cinematic manipulation and without a screenplay written with cinema in mind. Women were even played by onnagata. Filmmakers were charged with shooting films with long takes and leaving the storytelling to the benshi in the theater instead of using devices such as close-ups and analytical editing to visually narrate a scene. The novelist Jun'ichiro Tanizaki was an important supporter of the movement. Critics such as Norimasa Kaeriyama eventually became filmmakers to put their ideas of what cinema is into practice, with Kaeriyama directing '' The Glow of Life'' at the Tenkatsu Studio in 1918. This is often considered the first "pure film," but filmmakers such as Eizō Tanaka, influenced by

shingeki was a leading form of theatre in Japan that was based on modern realism. Born in the early years of the 20th century, it sought to be similar to modern Western theatre, putting on the works of the ancient Greek classics, William Shakespeare, Moli� ...

theater, also made their own innovations in the late 1910s at studios like

Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio, founded in 1912 during the silent film era. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally ...

.Richie, p. 8. The move towards "pure film" was aided by the appearance of new reformist studios such as

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not al ...

and Taikatsu around 1920. By the mid-1920s, Japanese cinema exhibited more of the

cinematic techniques This article contains a list of cinematic techniques that are divided into categories and briefly described. Basic definitions of terms ;180-degree rule :A continuity editorial technique in which sequential shots of two or more actors within ...

pure film advocates called for, and ''onnagata'' were replaced by actresses. The movement profoundly influenced the way films would be made and thought about for decades to come, but it was not a complete success: benshi would remain an integral part of the Japanese film experience into the 1930s.

References

Bibliography

* * * * Available online at th
Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan
Movements in cinema History of film of Japan {{filmmaking-stub