Movie

Maple Leaf Viewing (1899)

• November 28, 1899
• 6m

• Action
• Fantasy
• Music
• Horror

“Taira no Koremochi defeats the Kijo Momiji.”

Overview

A reel of the Noh drama Momiji-gari, in which Danjuro Ichikawa played opposite Onoe Kikugoro V as an ogress who has disguised herself as the Princess Sarashina. Filmed by Shibata Tsunekichi in the open air on a windy day in November 1899, Danjuro would allow only the one take, so that when his fan blew away in mid-performance the scene had to stay. The film re-emerged at the Kikikan theatre in 1907 where it was a great success and inspired a wave of fiction filmmaking based on traditional Japanese narratives.

Director

Tsunekichi Shibata

Starring

Danjuro Ichikawa, Kikugoro Onoe V