From March 1st (Fri) to March 3rd (Sun) , Global Japanese Studies Model Unit and UCLA co-organize the performance titled “The Art of the Benshi” at UCLA.
3 Benshi will provide live narrations for one silent films. This event also provides voice explanations that can be realized rarely in Japan, together with the academic symposium titled “Talking Silents” as events jointly operating project called “The Tadashi Yanai Initiative for Globalizing Japanese Humanities”. This event is open to students, faculty, staff and the general public.
The Art of the Benshi
Event schedule
March 1 (Fri), 2019 from 7:30pm at the Billy Wilder Theater
1．Blood Spattered Takadanobaba (Japan, 1928) – Ichiro Kataoka
2．The Sword that Slashes Human and Horse (Japan, 1929) – Kumiko Omori
3．A Diary of Chuji’s Travels (1927) – Raiko Sakamoto
March 2 (Sat), 2019 from 7:30pm at the Billy Wilder Theater
1．Blood Spattered Takadanobaba (Japan, 1928) – Kumiko Omori
2．Blood Spattered Takadanobaba (Japan, 1928) – Raiko Sakamoto
3．Liberty (1929) – Kumiko Omori
4．Dragnet Girl (Japan, 1933) – Ichiro Kataoka
March 3 (Sun), 2019 from 3:00pm at the Billy Wilder Theater
1．Chameko’s Day (Japan, 1931） – Kumiko Omori
2．The Sword that Slashes Human and Horse (Japan, 1929) – Raiko Sakamoto
3．Silence (1926） – Ichiro Kataoka
4．Not Blood Relations (Japan, 1916) – All benshis
March 3 (Sun), 2019 from 7:00pm at the Billy Wilder Theater
1．Tokyo March（Japan, 1929) – Raiko Sakamoto
2．The Upstart (Japan, 1921) – Ichiro Kataoka
3．The Cheat (1915) – Kumiko Omori
4．Jiraiya the Hero (Japan, 1921) – All benshis
■For more detailed information and registration, visit the website below.
https://www.yanaiinitiative.org/the-art-of-the-benshi
Symposium: Talking Scilents
March 2 (Sat), 2019 at the Billy Wilder Theater
9:30–10:30
Machiko Kusahara (Professor Emeritus, Waseda University) “Utsushi-e: A Narrative Screen Practice in the 19th Century Japan”
Ryūichi Kodama (Professor, Waseda University) “無声映画と歌舞伎研究”
11:00-12:00
David Desser (Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois) “Narration and Narrativity in Kurosawa’s Nora inu (Stray Dog)”
Kazuto Kondō (Postdoctoral researcher, Waseda University and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) “映画館における「声」と「文字」：1910～20年代の都市空間における興行モード”
12:00-12:30
Discussion
1:30pm-3:00pm
Kyoko Omori (Associate Professor, Hamilton College) “The Soundscapes of Benshi”
Kōtarō Shibata (Research Associate, Tsubouchi Memorial Theatre Museum) “Various Standardizations of Film Sound/Music Practice in Japanese Movie Theaters during the 1910-20s”
Keiko Sasagawa (Professor, Kansai University) “活弁LOVE：ネオスーパー・トーキーと1930年代日本映画産業”
3:30pm-4:30pm
Fumito Shirai (Postdoctoral researcher, Kyoto University and Japan Society for the Promotion of Science) “Transpacific exchange and arrangement of silent film music in Japan: Imported Scores in the Hirano Collection from the 1920s”
Dong Hoon Kim (Associate Professor, University of Oregon) “From Benshi to Byeonsa: The Transcoloinal Practice of Benshi and the Formation of Film Culture in Colonial Korea”
4:30pm-5:00pm
Discussion
■For more detailed information and registration, visit the website below.
https://www.yanaiinitiative.org/talking-silents
Contact information
■Contact the Faculty of Letters, Arts and Sciences: 03-3203-4381
