Roppa [ISBN Numbers]

[Stephen Cremin]

There are five volumes to Kinema Junpo's 1990s "Illustrated Who's Who of 
Japanese Cinema", a belated update to the volumes they published in the 
early 1970s (on actors/actresses) and 1988 (directors) which were obviously 
a little out of date.  And it had become extremely difficult to track down 
second-hand copies of the directors volume: I certainly had no success.

In August 1995, the first two volumes on actresses were published: around 
?20,000 for the set.  Two volumes on actors followed twelve months later, 
similarly priced.  A single volume on directors came out in late 1997 to 
mark the centenary of Japanese film: around ?12,000.  Each hardback volume 
runs around 900 pages, with biographical essays and filmographies.  
Important TV work and OVs (original video releases) are mentioned in the 
biographical text.  There are various indices in the back which don't seem 
particularly useful unless you want to find out who you share a birthday 
with or who was born in your prefecture...

Publisher is Kinema Junpo-sha.  Tel: +81 3 3815 7131; Fax: +81 3 3815 7139.  
Japanese title of the series is "Nihon Eiga Jinmei Jiten", but also titled 
in English as "Illustrated Who's Who of Japanese Cinema".  Volumes are 
predictably subtitled "Joyu-hen: Jokan" (ISBN4-87376-140-9),  "Joyu-hen: 
Gekan" (ISBN4-87376-141-7), "Dan'yu-hen: Jokan" (ISBN4-87376-188-3), 
"Dan'yu-hen: Gekan" (ISBN4-87376-189-1) and "Kantoku-hen" 
(ISBN4-87376-208-1) for Actresses (I-II), Actors (I-II) and Directors 
respectively.

So, total cost of all five volumes is over ?50,000 (US$400?).  But I think 
well worth it.  Its not complete, there are of course errors in a project so 
large, but still a magnificent reference work.  Valerie Dhiver (on the list) 
has praised the quality of the essays.  Anybody else who reads Japanese have 
an opinion?  Yes, the whole thing is in Japanese.  Of course, you really 
need the Kinema Junpo yearbooks to read up on any of the films mentioned 
which will set you back a few thousand yen per volume...

Stephen Cremin
The Asian Film Library

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