Kinugasa at the National Film Centre, Japan

[Aaron Gerow]

First, about 1928: Matsuda Eigasha has several films from 1928 listed 
on their site:

Sakamoto Ryoma
Jitsuroku Chushingura
Horo zanmai
Kurama Tengu

All, I think, are available on video. Horo zanmai and Kurama Tengu are 
must sees!

As for other Japanese films shown abroad, the answer depends on your 
definition. Clearly, quite a number of Japanese films were distributed 
abroad from early on in areas with large Japanese immigrant 
populations. Then there were attempts to show films to non-Japanese as 
well. Depending on what you mean by "widely" (it would be hard to say 
that Jujiro itself was "distributed widely" since it only showed in a 
couple of theaters in Europe), one noted attempt was Murata Minoru and 
Mori Iwao taking Murata's _Machi no tejinashi_ (1925) to Europe and 
showing it in a number of countries. I think this was before Jujiro and 
I recall Kinugasa mentions it in his autobiography. The film was 
received badly, by the way.

Aaron Gerow
Assistant Professor
Film Studies Program/East Asian Languages and Literatures
Yale University
53 Wall Street, Room 316
PO Box 208363
New Haven, CT 06520-8363
USA
Phone: 1-203-432-7082
Fax: 1-203-432-6764
e-mail: aaron.gerow at yale.edu