Princess Kaguya (Japanese: かぐや姫, Hepburn: Kaguya Hime)[lower-alpha 1] is a 1935 Japanese musical drama film directed by Yoshitsugu Tanaka[4] and produced by J.O. Studios (later Toho),[5] based on The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, a 10th century Japanese literary tale.[6] In the film, Princess Kaguya was raised by a couple who spread rumors that she had ascended a mountain in order to deceive suitors and ran away with her son and the princess.[6] The film was considered lost until the British Film Institute found a 35mm cut in May 2015.[7][8][9][2][10][11]

Princess Kaguya
Theatrical release poster
Japanese	かぐや姫
Hepburn	Kaguya Hime
Directed by	Yoshitsugu Tanaka
Screenplay by	J.O. Planning Department
Based on	The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter[1]
Starring	Ichirō Fujiyama Hyō Kitazawa Hideko Higashi
Cinematography	Eiji Tsuburaya[1][2]
Music by	Michio Miyagi[3]
Production company	J.O. Studios[1]
Distributed by	Towa Shoji Film Club[3]
Release date	November 21, 1935 (Japan)[3]
Running time	75 minutes[3]
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Cast

• Ichirō Fujiyama as Prime minister[3][7]
• Kazuko Kitazawa as Princess Kaguya[3][6][7]
• Dekao Yokoo as Tamaro[3]
• Yō Shiomi as Okina[3]
• Tamaki Tokuyama as Hosomi[3]
• Hyō Kitazawa as Miyatsukomaro[6]
• Hideko Higashi[7][12]

Production

Miniatures and synthetic techniques were used to recreate the town of Kyoto.[1][6]

Release

The Japan Association of London organized a screening in 1936 for local subsidiaries, and requested the Embassy of Japan to "prepare a film about Japanese myths and legends."[11] In addition to not having a screening record since its release, the location of the film was also unknown.[8] The British Film Institute (BFI) received information in May 2015 regarding a flammable positive film of the film. A researcher at the National Film Archive investigated the film at the BFI Preservation Center in October of the same year and determined that it was a shortened version of the film.[8] The shortened version of the film was released in Japan on September 4, 2021,[13] after negotiations with the BFI for six years.[8]

See also

• List of rediscovered films

Notes

References

Sources

• Ryfle, Steve (1998). Japan's Favorite Mon-Star: The Unauthorized Biography of the Big G. ECW Press. ISBN 1550223488.

External links

• Princess Kaguya at IMDb
• Princess Kaguya at the official Toho website (archived) (in Japanese)

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