Pic permissions

[Mark Schilling]

I agree with Markus's point about probably not needing to hassle with
permissions for such old material. Also, as he mentioned, Shochiku is
usually willing to give permission, for a fee. 

One caution, however -- they are very protective of their Tora-san
franchise. When I went to them to get permissions to use a Tora-san still
for the cover of my Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture, they at first
flatly refused, saying that they would only give permission for a cover
shot of Tora alone. They explained that they would not allow the cropping
of a Tora-san still or the use of even an uncropped still in a composite
design. 

I managed to get my way finally, because I had a long-standing relationship
with the company, but they made me understand that they were reluctantly
granting me a big favor. Also, I had to shell out Y10,000 for one Tora-san
still -- about one-tenth of the book's entire illustration budget.  

Toho -- well, don't get me started on Toho or I'll be here all afternoon.  

Mark (schill at gol.com)