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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Thanks, Jessica,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>I'm trying to recall where I read an account of the return
of material to Japan. It was surely something I read at the Library of
Congress, but I can't remember whether it was an internal document or a
published one. But I thought they got everything significant.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Interesting that the curator at the Tokyo NFC had reached
the conclusion that the source of the feature films was material removed from
the posession of Japanese-Americans (especially as it would dilute their title
to them, if the prints had originally been bought outright). I wasn't
told this by curators at the National Archives or the Library of
Congress in Washington - and, like Markus, have not seen this
asserted before.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>And, Jessica - what was the film ?, Did it represent the
only archive copy on its return ? Did it seem to have been returned in a
complete form, please ? Perhaps I can read this up ?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Roger</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=jessicalanger@googlemail.com
href="mailto:jessicalanger@googlemail.com">jessicalanger@googlemail.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A
title=KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, February 08, 2010 2:36
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: question regarding early
archives and Japanese film</DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT><BR></DIV>Hi all,<BR><BR>Had to jump in here
(sorry that it's from my BlackBerry; I hope my formatting holds up) as I spent
the summer a few years ago working on a film print from 1939 that had been
'captured' in the States and held in the Library of Congress, then 'returned'
to the NFC in Japan - though I don't remember if the archivist at the NFC used
those terms, per se. It was my impression from our conversation that the print
had indeed been imported for viewing in a Japanese film theatre in California
and then, most likely, confiscated from an interned American of Japanese
descent.<BR><BR>I wonder how many films had a similar journey - shipped to the
States or elsewhere pre-war, survived the war in an archive, then returned to
Japan. And I wonder why certain films are sent to the NFC or another archive
in Japan upon discovery and other films aren't. Food for thought,
maybe.<BR><BR>Jessica Langer
<P>Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network</P>
<HR>
<DIV><B>From: </B>Mark Nornes <amnornes@umich.edu> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Date: </B>Mon, 8 Feb 2010 09:20:41 -0500</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:
</B>KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu<KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu></DIV>
<DIV><B>Cc: </B>Mark Nornes<amnornes@umich.edu></DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject: </B>Re: question regarding early archives and Japanese
film</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Roger, I never thought about the issue of the provenance of the
prints in the "captured films" collection of the National Archives—or of the
substantially larger collection in the Library of Congress. But if, indeed,
the catalog records indicate that they were brought in before the tide of the
war turned 1942, then this strongly suggests that they were swiped from the
Japanese American theaters when everyone was rounded up and put into the
camps. Everyone has always pondered, "What ever happened to all those prints?"
Perhaps now we know. How depressing a thought.
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>An aside: the only captured print whose provenance I do know is Dawn of
Freedom, or Ano Hata o Ute. "Captured" is the wrong term in the case. The film
is about the battles of Bataan and Corregidor, and quite incredibly uses POWs
to recreate their own surrender. MacArthur, then in Australia, had heard about
the film and demanded to see it. So—the story goes—the resistance
<I>"kidnapped'</I> a print, smuggled it out of the country by donkey cart
and boat, and MacArthur got his screening. The film was thought lost for
decades, because the cinematographer burned all the prints as the Americans
landed in Japan (humliating POWs being a war crime and all). But I stumbled on
the Philippines version (English subs for the Japanese, no subs for Tagalog)
in the National Archives back in 1990. This is presumably MacArthur's print.
(A Japanese print surfaced a few years later and is now on video; if you want
to learn more about this insane story check out the article I wrote for a
Japan Foundation symposium): <A
href="http://www-personal.umich.edu/~amnornes/Dawn.pdf">http://www-personal.umich.edu/~amnornes/Dawn.pdf</A>). </DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Markus</DIV>
<DIV><BR>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
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<DIV><BR>
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<DIV>_________________________________</DIV>
<DIV><B>A. M. Nornes</B></DIV>
<DIV><B>Chair</B></DIV>
<DIV><B>Department of Screen Arts and Cultures</B></DIV>
<DIV><B>University of Michigan</B></DIV>
<DIV><B>202 South Thayer St., Suite 6111</B></DIV>
<DIV><B>Ann Arbor, MI 48104-1608</B></DIV>
<DIV><B>Phone: 734-647-2094</B></DIV>
<DIV><B>FAX: 734-647-0157</B></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV></SPAN></DIV></DIV></SPAN><BR
class=Apple-interchange-newline></SPAN><BR
class=Apple-interchange-newline></DIV><BR>
<DIV>
<DIV>On Feb 8, 2010, at 8:49 AM, Roger Macy wrote:</DIV><BR
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The main account on West Coast Japanese cinema
circuits of the period still seems to be<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><EM>The Exhibition of Films for
Japanese Americans in Los Angeles During the Silent Era</EM><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN>by Junko Ogihara, 1990 in<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><EM>Film History<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></EM>4: pp81-87. I seem to
recall that Junko herself was able to answer a similar query on this list a
few years back. I would love to hear that more work had been
done. We are talking of California !</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>The literature persistently refers to 'captured
Japanese films'. But, as Markus has raised, captured from
whom, when and where ? The numerous accounts I have read on
Capra's outfit just refer to the films' arriving. Rotha, in his
appendix to the 1952 (3rd edtn.)<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><EM>The Documentary Film</EM>,
gives an account of Iris Barry (she, again) as the central figure, providing
much information to him, and it is possible that a trawl of the Rotha
papers might pull something in. But given the total lack of Asian
focus of </FONT><FONT face=Arial>either writer, and that I haven't had
a sniff of Japanese films coming through New York, it hasn't seemed worth a
transatlantic trip to prove another negative. In the brief time I had
at the National Archives in Washington, it didn't seem difficult to find
inventories and correspondence on captured German and Italian films, but I
drew a blank on the provenance of Japanese films. They appeared very
soon after Pearl Harbor, when the allies were far from capturing or
liberating any Japanese-held territories. Some may have acquired from
hastily-abandoned Japanese institutions in the west, but I have seen no
evidence that such organisations were propagating or widely exhibiting
information films, let alone feature films. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>So does 'captured' mean 'not paid for' ?
Were some, or most of these confiscated from Americans who entered camps
? I suppose it would matter whether the films were rented, or owned
outright by their contemporary holders, as to a fair
categorisation. Impounded or looted ?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>And the other U.S place to do research is Hawaii
...</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Quentin, I am inferring from your posting that there
was no pre-war Japanese-Australian community. But has<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><U>anyone</U><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN>looked at the possibility of
Japanese film exhibition in South America ?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial>Roger</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>----- Original Message -----</DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="BORDER-LEFT: rgb(0,0,0) 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: rgb(228,228,228); FONT: 10pt arial; -webkit-background-clip: initial; -webkit-background-origin: initial"><B>From:</B><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><A
title=Quentin.Turnour@nfsa.gov.au
href="mailto:Quentin.Turnour@nfsa.gov.au">Quentin Turnour</A></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><A
title=KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu
href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</A></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN>Monday, February 08, 2010 7:56
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN>Re: question regarding early
archives and Japanese film</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><BR><FONT size=2 face=sans-serif>How established was the US
West Coast Japanese cinema circuit before the War? Were prints come in via
that and staying in the US - and who outside of the Japanese-American
community was seeing them pre-1941 - or afterwards?</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><BR><FONT size=2
face=sans-serif>I remember asking a few US film archivists and historians
about this some years ago, when I doing some research on extensive Greek,
Italian (and to a lesser extent Chinese ) immigrant cinema circuits
that existed down here and was curious about equivalent US migrant cinema
circuits. I was a bit surprised that (at least then) there didn't seem to
be much of a literature on this history. I could have not been looking in
the right places (this was in the early days of the Web) and wouldn't
surprise me if much more work had been done since. Be curious to
know.</FONT><SPAN class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><BR><FONT
size=2 face=sans-serif>Quentin Turnour, Programmer,<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR>Access, Research and
Development<BR>National Film and Sound Archive,
Australia<BR><BR><BR><BR></FONT><BR><BR><BR>
<TABLE width="100%">
<TBODY>
<TR vAlign=top>
<TD width="40%"><FONT size=1 face=sans-serif><B>Mark Nornes <<A
href="mailto:amnornes@umich.edu">amnornes@umich.edu</A>></B><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></FONT><BR><FONT size=1
face=sans-serif>Sent by:<SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><A
href="mailto:owner-KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu">owner-KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</A></FONT>
<P><FONT size=1 face=sans-serif>08/02/2010 02:37 PM</FONT>
<TABLE border=1>
<TBODY>
<TR vAlign=top>
<TD bgColor=white>
<DIV align=center><FONT size=1 face=sans-serif>Please respond
to<BR><A
href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</A></FONT></DIV></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR></P></TD>
<TD width="59%">
<TABLE width="100%">
<TBODY>
<TR vAlign=top>
<TD>
<DIV align=right><FONT size=1
face=sans-serif>To</FONT></DIV></TD>
<TD><FONT size=1 face=sans-serif>"<A
href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</A>"
<<A
href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu">KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</A>></FONT></TD></TR>
<TR vAlign=top>
<TD>
<DIV align=right><FONT size=1
face=sans-serif>cc</FONT></DIV></TD>
<TD><FONT size=1 face=sans-serif>Mark Nornes <<A
href="mailto:amnornes@umich.edu">amnornes@umich.edu</A>></FONT></TD></TR>
<TR vAlign=top>
<TD>
<DIV align=right><FONT size=1
face=sans-serif>Subject</FONT></DIV></TD>
<TD><FONT size=1 face=sans-serif>Re: question regarding early
archives and Japanese film</FONT></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR>
<TABLE>
<TBODY>
<TR vAlign=top>
<TD></TD>
<TD></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><BR><BR><BR><FONT
size=1>Frank Capra and Ruth Benedict were watching Japanese feature films
shortly after Pearl Harbor. Where did the prints come from? It's an
interesting question. And as Roger indicates, the alternative universe
where a powerful programmer got behind Asian film could have altered the
bedrock of "international cinema" long before Rashomon.</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT
size=3><BR>Markus</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><BR><FONT size=3>On Feb 7,
2010, at 7:26 PM, Roger Macy wrote:</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><BR><FONT size=3
face=Arial>Dear William,</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT size=3 face=Arial>This
is a crucial point that you have hit.</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT size=3 face=Arial>Iris
Barry is one of a very small number of people who, if they had any Asian
focus, would have radically changed the preserved landscape of film
history.</FONT><SPAN class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT
size=3 face=Arial>Presumably like you, I found very little to go on at
MoMA. So, I followed the money to the Rockefeller Foundation.
The short answer is yes, its collection activities were limited to
the United States and Europe, including the Soviet Union, and there was no
failed rescue attempt for Japan. But there is a slightly longer
story which is likely to be told soon.</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT size=3 face=Arial>Is
there any chance we could meet at KinemaClub X ?</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT size=3
face=Arial>Roger</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT size=2 face=Arial>-----
Original Message -----</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT size=2
face=Arial><B>From:</B><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></FONT><A
href="mailto:ReelDrew@aol.com"><FONT color=blue size=2
face=Arial><U>ReelDrew@aol.com</U></FONT></A><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT size=2
face=Arial><B>To:</B><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN></FONT><A
href="mailto:KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu"><FONT color=blue size=2
face=Arial><U>KineJapan@lists.acs.ohio-state.edu</U></FONT></A><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT size=2
face=Arial><B>Sent:</B><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN>Sunday, February 07, 2010 10:52
PM</FONT><SPAN class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT size=2
face=Arial><B>Subject:</B><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN>question regarding early archives
and Japanese film</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><BR><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I
am right now working on the final draft of my forthcoming book, "The Last
Silent Picture Show: Silent Films on American Screens in the 1930s."
Presently, I'm doing the revisions for a chapter on the archival
movement and the Museum of Modern Art in the '30s.</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT size=2
face=Arial>Relating this to Japanese film, I point out that MOMA in the
Iris Barry years (1935-1951) limited its collection of early cinema--and
the programs of early films it featured--to the historical development of
filmmaking in the United States, Western Europe and the Soviet Union.
What I'd like to find out from knowledgeable people here is does
anyone know if my information is accurate? Has anyone here, for
example, seen any correspondence or other documents indicating that Iris
Barry was planning a program on the history of Japanese cinema (and those
of India and China as well) in say, 1939 but that the outbreak of WWII
halted this project? Or am I correct in my assumption that the
standard view of the historical development of cinema in those days, as
set forth at MOMA, completely omitted the early contributions of Latin
America, the Middle East and Asia, including Japan?</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I
should point out that in the 1930s and 1940s, the Museum of Modern Art
Film Library, contrary to Peter Decherney's tendentious assertions in
"Hollywood and the Culture Elite," was not a national film archive and, in
fact, many important areas in early American film history were neglected
due to Iris Barry's international focus. Many at the time, in fact,
felt it was her preoccupation with the European art film that caused her
to overlook so much of the American cinema. Or perhaps in fairness
to her, she was trying to balance America and Europe in the collection she
built up. However, what I think was clearly left out of the film
history programs established by Barry at MOMA was the entire historical
production of cinema in Asia, the Middle East and Latin America during the
first half of the 20th century. I am not aware that Barry made any
effort in the 1930s and 1940s to obtain examples of filmmaking from those
countries beyond Hollywood and Europe. If anyone here, however, has
information to the contrary, specifically, of course, with respect to
Japanese cinema, I would very much like to know. I wish my analysis
to be as accurate as possible.</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT size=2
face=Arial> </FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><FONT size=2
face=Arial>William M. Drew</FONT><SPAN
class=Apple-converted-space> </SPAN><BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></SPAN></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV><BR></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>