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October 1903: Japan's First Cinema
By 1902, the Yoshizawa Shoten company had imported enough films from the west to enable it to present two months of screenings at one location. They opened the country’s first cinema, the 240-seat Denkikan (Electric Theatre), an X-ray clinic in Akakusa, the entertainment quarter of Tokyo. The Denkikan hired actor Somei Saburo to become its narrator, but rather than simply narrate the films, Somei brought them to life with his impassioned interpretations, becoming the characters on the screen and giving them each a distinct personality. Thanks largely to Somei’s contribution, the Denkikan was immediately successful and a number of movie theatres were quickly opened in the area. [ADD]
(Sources: A New History of Japanese Cinema: A Century of Narrative Film by Isolde Standish; Continuum International Publishing Group
The American School in Japan, www.community.asij.ac.jp
Matsuda Film Productions, www.matsudafilm.com)
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