Kashiko Kawakita
Encyclopedia
Kashiko Kawakita was a Japanese film curator. For decades she had a leading role in bringing Japanese film to the west and in introducing high quality western films to Japanese audiences.
when Kashiko was 12 and she entered the Ferris Girls' School, planning to study English. [...] Kashiko lost her father during the Great Kanto
Earthquake in 1923. Much affected by this event, she joined the Towa Trading Company in 1929 in order to support her family. The president of the company, Nagamasa Kawakita, was to later become her husband. Her first work at Towa was an encounter with cinema that would influence the rest of her life. It was a translation from Japanese to English of The Passion of a Woman Teacher directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
.
Kashiko first visited Europe in 1932, combining a film acquisition trip with her honeymoon with Nagamasa. It was during this time that the film Mädchen in Uniform by Leontine Sagan
fascinated her with its theme of "girls' claiming liberation under repression." She successfully persuaded a reluctant Nagamasa to distribute the film in Japan. It became an enormous hit, and its success at the box office proved Kashiko's discerning eye in selecting films. After this, Kashiko was always invited to accompany her husband to Europe to buy films. She selected and oversaw the distribution of a number of films directed by European master filmmakers, such as Jean Renoir
, René Clair
, Jacques Feyder
and Julien Duvivier
.
By introducing these films to the Japanese public, she greatly contributed to an appreciation of European culture. The Kawakitas strongly believed that cinema is the most powerful art form to bring about mutual understanding among the peoples of the world. Therefore it was with passion that they supported the entry of Japanese films to international film festivals. For example, Rashomon directed by Akira Kurosawa
, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival
in 1951; Five Scouts, directed by Tomotaka Tasaka
; and Children in the Wind directed by Hiroshi Shimizu
, both were screened at the Venice Film Festival in 1938."
. They formed a lifelong friendship. She introduced him to Yasujirō Ozu
and was his sponsor when he applied for permanent residentship in Japan. She helped him with many of his retrospectives of Japanese films.
in Paris as weIl as the British Film Institute
in London. As she collected prints and other film materials, Kashiko grew to appreciate films as "cultural properties" rather than as mere "commercial products".
She experienced the importance of "film libraries" for preserving and screening films that would otherwise be in danger of being lost forever. Inspired by the well-established European film archives, she became determined to establish a public film library in Japan.
Around that time, Henri Langlois
, founder and head of the Cinemathèque Française, proposed that they exchange retrospectives of French and Japanese cinema; presenting Japanese classic films in France, and vice-versa. In Japan, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo barely owned any prints back then. So Kashiko asked Masaichi Nagata of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan to call upon the Japanese filmmakers to establish The Japan Film Library Council. With the support of the film companies, the organization functioned effectively.
Kashiko made possible the screening of 131 Japanese classical films at the Cinémathèque Française in 1963."
's Wild Strawberries, Federico Fellini
's Eight and a Half and Satyajit Ray
's Pather Panchali.
ATG itself gradually began to produce Japanese artistie/experimental films. Many ambitious directors, such as Nagisa Oshima
, Masahiro Shinoda
, Yoshishige Yoshida
, Susumu Hani
and Shuji Terayama
, made fine films under the banner of ATG.
Kashiko greatly eneouraged film directors in their film-making. At the same time, she
considered it her mission to introduce little-known foreign masterpieces to Japanese
audience. Etsuko Takano, head of the art-house theater, Iwanami Hall, identified closely with Kashiko's policy. The two women teamed up and formed "Equipe du Cinema". It screened brilliant but little known Japanese and foreign films and became the pioneer art-house theater in Japan. To this day Etsuko Takano continues to pursue this activity."
Kashiko played a significant role not only by viewing latest films but by exchanging information and taking care of guests from Japan, by arranging meetings so that international film people could become acquainted with each other."
After Nagamasa's death in 1982, Kashiko transformed a volunteer organization, the Japan Film Library Council, into an incorporated foundation, the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute, for the purpose of securing its activities on a solid framework, and expanding its services.
The Japanese film tours grew into large-scale events through collaboration with the Japan Foundation and continued to so me nineteen series: "Twenty Contemporary Japanese Film Directors", "History through Cinema", "Women in Japanese Cinema", etc.
One of the most visible activities of the Institute is to support Japanese film selection for international film festivals. Kashiko was the key person in introducing Japanese films to foreign film festival programmers, with whom she became familiar at international film festivals.
This included arranging screenings, setting up meetings at the film warehouse. in Japan, and offering information. The Institute has augmented her network and continues this activity."
First encounters with cinema
"Kashiko Kawakita was born on March 21, 1908, in Osaka, the eldest among three sisters. She transferred primary schools no less than 10 times because of her father's business. The family settled in YokohamaYokohama
is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...
when Kashiko was 12 and she entered the Ferris Girls' School, planning to study English. [...] Kashiko lost her father during the Great Kanto
Earthquake in 1923. Much affected by this event, she joined the Towa Trading Company in 1929 in order to support her family. The president of the company, Nagamasa Kawakita, was to later become her husband. Her first work at Towa was an encounter with cinema that would influence the rest of her life. It was a translation from Japanese to English of The Passion of a Woman Teacher directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His film Ugetsu won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll in 1962 and 1972. Mizoguchi is renowned for his mastery of the long take and mise-en-scène...
.
Kashiko first visited Europe in 1932, combining a film acquisition trip with her honeymoon with Nagamasa. It was during this time that the film Mädchen in Uniform by Leontine Sagan
Leontine Sagan
Leontine Sagan was an Austrian actress and theatre director.Born in Budapest, Sagan trained with Max Reinhardt. The first and most widely known of her two films is Mädchen in Uniform...
fascinated her with its theme of "girls' claiming liberation under repression." She successfully persuaded a reluctant Nagamasa to distribute the film in Japan. It became an enormous hit, and its success at the box office proved Kashiko's discerning eye in selecting films. After this, Kashiko was always invited to accompany her husband to Europe to buy films. She selected and oversaw the distribution of a number of films directed by European master filmmakers, such as Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s...
, René Clair
René Clair
René Clair born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker.-Biography:He was born in Paris and grew up in the Les Halles quarter. He attended the Lycée Montaigne and the Lycée Louis-le-Grand. During World War I, he served as an ambulance driver. After the war, he started a career as a journalist...
, Jacques Feyder
Jacques Feyder
Jacques Feyder was a Belgian actor, screenwriter and film director who worked principally in France, but also in the USA, Britain and Germany. He was a leading director of silent films during the 1920s, and in the 1930s he became associated with the style of poetic realism in French cinema...
and Julien Duvivier
Julien Duvivier
Julien Duvivier was a French film director. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930-1960...
.
By introducing these films to the Japanese public, she greatly contributed to an appreciation of European culture. The Kawakitas strongly believed that cinema is the most powerful art form to bring about mutual understanding among the peoples of the world. Therefore it was with passion that they supported the entry of Japanese films to international film festivals. For example, Rashomon directed by Akira Kurosawa
Akira Kurosawa
was a Japanese film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema, Kurosawa directed 30 filmsIn 1946, Kurosawa co-directed, with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajiro Yamamoto, the feature Those Who Make Tomorrow ;...
, which won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
in 1951; Five Scouts, directed by Tomotaka Tasaka
Tomotaka Tasaka
was a Japanese film director.-Career:Born in Hiroshima Prefecture, he began working at Nikkatsu's Kyoto studio in 1924 and eventually came to prominence for a series of realist, humanist films made at Nikkatsu's Tamagawa studio in the late 1930s such as Robō no ishi and Mud and Soldiers, both of...
; and Children in the Wind directed by Hiroshi Shimizu
Hiroshi Shimizu (director)
was a Japanese film director, known for his silent films with detailed depictions of Japanese society.-Career:Shimizu was born in Shizuoka and attended Hokkaidō University but left before graduating. He joined the Shochiku studio in Tokyo in 1921 and made his directorial debut in 1924, at the age...
, both were screened at the Venice Film Festival in 1938."
Donald Richie
In 1948 Kasiko Kawakita met Donald RichieDonald Richie
Donald Richie is an American-born author who has written about the Japanese people and Japanese cinema. Although he considers himself only a writer, Richie has directed many experimental films, the first when he was 17...
. They formed a lifelong friendship. She introduced him to Yasujirō Ozu
Yasujiro Ozu
was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...
and was his sponsor when he applied for permanent residentship in Japan. She helped him with many of his retrospectives of Japanese films.
Film library
"In 1955, Kashiko moved to London for two years while her daughter, Kazuko, studied there. While researching and purchasing European films, Kashiko paid frequent visits to the Cinémathèque FrançaiseCinémathèque Française
The Cinémathèque Française holds one of the largest archives of films, movie documents and film-related objects in the world. Located in Paris, the Cinémathèque holds daily screenings of films from around the world.-History:...
in Paris as weIl as the British Film Institute
British Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
in London. As she collected prints and other film materials, Kashiko grew to appreciate films as "cultural properties" rather than as mere "commercial products".
She experienced the importance of "film libraries" for preserving and screening films that would otherwise be in danger of being lost forever. Inspired by the well-established European film archives, she became determined to establish a public film library in Japan.
Around that time, Henri Langlois
Henri Langlois
Henri Langlois was a French film archivist and cinephile. A pioneer of film preservation, Langlois was an influential figure in the history of cinema...
, founder and head of the Cinemathèque Française, proposed that they exchange retrospectives of French and Japanese cinema; presenting Japanese classic films in France, and vice-versa. In Japan, the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo barely owned any prints back then. So Kashiko asked Masaichi Nagata of the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan to call upon the Japanese filmmakers to establish The Japan Film Library Council. With the support of the film companies, the organization functioned effectively.
Kashiko made possible the screening of 131 Japanese classical films at the Cinémathèque Française in 1963."
The Japan Art Theatre Guild (ATG) and the Equipe du Cinema
"In 1960 Kashiko was a leading figure in forming the Japan Art Theatre Guild which screened quality art films from foreign countries that otherwise would never be commercially released in Japan. The organization began with the screening of Jerzy Kawalerowicz's film, Mother Joan of the Angeles and continued to introduce splendid works one after another. These included such masterpieces as Jean Cocteau's The Testament of Orpheus, Ingmar BergmanIngmar Bergman
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was a Swedish director, writer and producer for film, stage and television. Described by Woody Allen as "probably the greatest film artist, all things considered, since the invention of the motion picture camera", he is recognized as one of the most accomplished and...
's Wild Strawberries, Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI , was an Italian film director and scriptwriter. Known for a distinct style that blends fantasy and baroque images, he is considered one of the most influential and widely revered filmmakers of the 20th century...
's Eight and a Half and Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray
Satyajit Ray was an Indian Bengali filmmaker. He is regarded as one of the greatest auteurs of 20th century cinema. Ray was born in the city of Kolkata into a Bengali family prominent in the world of arts and literature...
's Pather Panchali.
ATG itself gradually began to produce Japanese artistie/experimental films. Many ambitious directors, such as Nagisa Oshima
Nagisa Oshima
is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. After graduating from Kyoto University he was hired by Shochiku Ltd. and quickly progressed to directing his own movies, making his debut feature A Town of Love and Hope in 1959....
, Masahiro Shinoda
Masahiro Shinoda
is a Japanese film director, originally associated with the Shochiku Studio, who came to prominence as part of the Japanese New Wave in the 1960s.-Career:...
, Yoshishige Yoshida
Yoshishige Yoshida
is a Japanese film director and screenwriter.-Career:Graduating from Tokyo University, Yoshida entered the Shōchiku studio in 1955 and debuted as a director in 1960 with Rokudenashi...
, Susumu Hani
Susumu Hani
is a Japanese film director, and one of the most prominent representatives of the 1960s Japanese New Wave. Born in Tokyo, he has directed both documentaries and feature films....
and Shuji Terayama
Shuji Terayama
was an avant-garde Japanese poet, dramatist, writer, film director, and photographer. According to many critics and supporters, he was one of the most productive and provocative creative artists to come out of Japan. He was born December 10, 1935, the only son of Hachiro and Hatsu Terayama in...
, made fine films under the banner of ATG.
Kashiko greatly eneouraged film directors in their film-making. At the same time, she
considered it her mission to introduce little-known foreign masterpieces to Japanese
audience. Etsuko Takano, head of the art-house theater, Iwanami Hall, identified closely with Kashiko's policy. The two women teamed up and formed "Equipe du Cinema". It screened brilliant but little known Japanese and foreign films and became the pioneer art-house theater in Japan. To this day Etsuko Takano continues to pursue this activity."
International Film Festivals
"Starting in Berlin in 1956, Kashiko served as a jury member at various film festivals. She served as a juror 26 times, inc1uding the Cannes (France), Chicago (USA) and Montreal (Canada) film festivals. While an international film festival jury member, she met filmmakers from around the world and discovered many new film talents. She attended some 200 film festivals during her life.Kashiko played a significant role not only by viewing latest films but by exchanging information and taking care of guests from Japan, by arranging meetings so that international film people could become acquainted with each other."
The Japan Film Library Council and the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute
"By the early 1970s the National Film Center was routinely exhibiting c1assie films for the Japanese public. So the Japan Film Library Council switched directions, and started exhibiting Japanese films abroad. While assiduously collecting and preserving film materials, Kashiko organized film tours, mainly retrospectives of great Japanese film makers. The retrospectives inc1uded "Kenji Mizoguehi", "Japanese Young Talented Filmmakers" and "Akira Kurosawa". She made substantial efforts to perfect the events, including providing English subtitles on prints, negotiating venues in foreign countries and arranging the shipping.After Nagamasa's death in 1982, Kashiko transformed a volunteer organization, the Japan Film Library Council, into an incorporated foundation, the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute, for the purpose of securing its activities on a solid framework, and expanding its services.
The Japanese film tours grew into large-scale events through collaboration with the Japan Foundation and continued to so me nineteen series: "Twenty Contemporary Japanese Film Directors", "History through Cinema", "Women in Japanese Cinema", etc.
One of the most visible activities of the Institute is to support Japanese film selection for international film festivals. Kashiko was the key person in introducing Japanese films to foreign film festival programmers, with whom she became familiar at international film festivals.
This included arranging screenings, setting up meetings at the film warehouse. in Japan, and offering information. The Institute has augmented her network and continues this activity."