[KineJapan] Tokugawa Musei

[Roger Macy]

Thank you Adrian, Jasper and Aaron for yourinterest.
Adrian, I've been incontact with the Royal Archives and the Royal Collections Trust in Windsor, the archives at Buckingham Palace and the Queen's private office, as well asthe Imperial Household Agency. From the lower depths of London, where I come from, we would say I've hadmore royal brush-offs than you've had hot dinners ;>)
In truth, Rachel Peat of the Royal Collections made useful suggestions and they have allresponded. The BFI is a hopeless black hole. They've been sitting on the printfor 70 years but have no knowledge how they got it and no interest in it. I wastold six years ago that it was not on the list of Palace acquisitions.  Ieven asked for the list, a couple of months ago to check, but, as usual, havehad no response.
But I don't thinkit got to the Palace.  The plans of Prince and Princess Chichibu werecurtailed by their illnesses and, one can hazard, other developments in 1937.The Princess wrote a memoir, which even name-drops a birth-family connection tothe Princess Elizabeth, but which doesn't mention a princess Kaguya.
Nevertheless, a second, 1937print did get to London.  There had to be some ambition. It's tantalizing.  What weretheir plans as they set sail ? I'd like to hear from Japan's No. 1 film explainer, who was there onhand.
So, thank you, Aaron and Jasper, I'll take up your suggestions.Roger



    On Wednesday, 8 September 2021, 13:13:38 BST, Adrian- Restoration Asia <adrian at restorationasia.org> wrote:  
 
 
Dear Roger,

  

When you say the Royal Archives are you speaking about the British Royal Family’s archives at Windsor Castle?

  

>From what I know then the film materials, especially nitrate based elements as I assume these to be, are on deposit with the BFI National Archive. If you need contact details then feel free to ask.

  

Best regards,

  

Adrian Wood

  

From: KineJapan On Behalf Of Roger Macy via KineJapan
Sent: 08 September 2021 20:14
To: KineJapan discussion forum <kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu>
Cc: Roger Macy <macyroger at yahoo.co.uk>
Subject: [KineJapan] Tokugawa Musei

  

Dear KineJapaners,

I’m writing to ask whether anyone has done work on Tokugawa Musei, or knows where his archives are.

I am interested in what he did in his trips to the UK, and, in particular, in 1937. I see from a newspaper cutting that he was on the ship with Prince and Princess Chichibu, bound for the coronation of King George VI, traveling via Canada and New York.

My quest, still, is to try and nail down any history of the Kaguya print in the UK. I have a provenance without a surviving print – the one sent to the Japan Society in Nov>Dec ’36 and kept in London, but lost films are not, alas, news – and the second one sent in early ’37, which is the one that survives (from the Imperial censorship stamp). My best guess, still, is that it was on that ship.

María José has kindly looked at his published reminiscences but they have not revealed anything relevant.

I’ve already tried all the Royal Archives and the Imperial Household Agency. Even if I can’t connect the print to Tokugawa, I’d still like to know something of what he did in the UK.  He has no mention in the ten volumes of Britain and Japan – Biographical Portraits.

Roger

  
  
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