Makino Collection Finds a New Home

[Mark Nornes]

Googling around the internet, I stumbled on the following link:

http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/news/libraries/ 
2006/2006-09-19.makino.html

I didn't realize that they had announced this publicly, but have seen  
this sale in the works for something like a decade. Makino tried hard  
to find a buyer in Japan, but the libraries and archives there only  
wanted bits and pieces. However, like all collectors, he wanted it  
all in one pot—with his name attached. A few deals came close, but  
collapsed. In the end, he got his wish thanks to Columbia.

Although most people wanted to see the collection remain in Japan,  
Makino himself liked the idea of planting the it in a foreign land as  
a way of stimulating the study of Japanese cinema outside of the  
country. I have to agree with James Schamus, who's quoted as saying,  
“Under Columbia’s care, the Makino Mamoru archive will no doubt  
become the springboard for entirely new ways of understanding the  
history of Japanese cinema and twentieth century culture. For film  
scholars and movie enthusiasts, the bringing to light of this archive  
is something akin to the discovery of a new galaxy.”

Having had the privilege of rummaging around Makino's oshiire-like  
rooms, I can confidently say the collection is less like Fibber  
Magee's closet and more like Doraemon's Dokodemo Door. This is a  
remarkably rich archive, and it is going to enable countless new  
avenues of study. While it's nothing like the archive for American  
cinema, it will certainly rival that of most national cinemas out  
there. The good thing about the move to America is that it will be  
extremely easy to access. When Makino started making noise about  
selling the collection, even the people who wanted the collection to  
stay in Japan were worried that it would end up in a library that  
would make it impossible to use. We can only hope that Columbia moves  
it swiftly through cataloguing, which will be a ridiculously  
complicated task.

Makino's family will be so, so happy to have their home back.

Markus
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