Maple Leaf Viewing (1899)

Taira no Koremochi defeats the Kijo Momiji.

• Action
• Fantasy
• Music
• Horror

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.

Rating

5.9 / 10 (18 votes)

Release date

November 28, 1899

Runtime

6m

Language

Japanese

Director

Tsunekichi Shibata

Status

Released