History of UZUMASA KYOTO VILLAGE

1897

"Birthplace of Japanese Film" plaque (Kiyamachi Former Rissei Elementary School)
Photo provided by Kyoto City Media Support Center

The origins of Japanese cinema and Kyoto

It is said that the beginning of cinema around the world was in 1895, when the cinematograph invented by the Lumiere brothers was shown to the public for a fee at the Grand Café in Paris. *There are various theories. Two years later, Inabata Katsutaro, who had come to Paris from Nishijin, Kyoto to study, was a classmate of the Lumiere brothers, and when he returned to Japan he brought back a cinematograph, and held Japan's first preview screening in Kiyamachi, Kyoto, which is why Kyoto is said to be the birthplace of Japanese cinema.

1926

Around 1935 (Showa 10) Makino Talkie Manufacturing
(Current location of Shochiku Kyoto Studio)

At its peak, there were eight locations.
The birth of Uzumasa, Japan's Hollywood

Over time, film, which was cutting edge technology at the time, encountered a variety of cultural heritage sites, including the performing arts unique to Kyoto, and established a new genre called "Jidaigeki (period drama)." 100 years ago, in 1926, the then 24-year-old young star Bando Tsumasaburo pioneered the bamboo grove of Uzumasa as a start-up and opened a film studio, which became the base for this trend. This prompted many actors and staff to move in, and at its peak, eight film studios were established, leading to Uzumasa being known as the Hollywood of Japan.

1950

The main gate Toei Studios Kyoto / Toei Kyoto Studios around 1951

Venice International Film Festival Award Monument for the film "Rashomon"
Photo provided by Kyoto City Media Support Center

To the international film city "Kyoto"

After World War II, the production of Jidaigeki (period drama) stagnated for about seven years due to the ban on sword fighting films, but Hollywood in Japan began to revive. In 1951, director Akira Kurosawa's Rashomon, filmed at Daiei Kyoto Studio, won the Grand Prix at the Venice International Film Festival, and from then on, until Toei Kyoto's Cruel Tale of Bushido won the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1963, Jidaigeki (period drama) made in Kyoto won numerous top prizes at the world's three major film festivals, bringing hope for the arrival of a new era to people who had been deeply scarred and lost confidence during the war.

"Made in Kyoto" Jidaigeki (period drama)
List of Award-winning Works

Year	Awards	Works	Company
1951	Venice International Film Festival (Italy) Grand Prix	Rashomon/Akira Kurosawa	Daiei Kyoto
1953	Venice International Film Festival (Italy) Silver Lion	Tales of Ugetsu/Kenji Mizoguchi	Daiei Kyoto
1954	Venice International Film Festival (Italy) Silver Lion	Sansho the Bailiff/Kenji Mizoguchi	Daiei Kyoto
1954	Cannes Film Festival (France) Palme d'Or	Gate of Hell/Teinosuke Kinugasa	Daiei Kyoto
1963	Berlin International Film Festival (Germany) Golden Bear	The Cruel Tale of Bushido/Tadashi Imai	Toei Kyoto

1975

UZUMASA KYOTO VILLAGE shortly after opening

Campaign for the movie "The Yagyu Clan's Conspiracy"

Don't let the light of Japanese movies and Jidaigeki (period drama) go out from Kyoto!

Kyoto, once an international film city in its golden age, experienced a sharp decline in film production with the rise of television. Daiei’s Kyoto Studio, which had achieved remarkable success overseas, went bankrupt, and Toei Studios Kyoto / Toei Kyoto Studios — one of the largest film studios in Japan and among the most prolific in the world—faced possible closure. Under these circumstances, and with the slogan “Keep the light of Japanese cinema burning!”, the studio’s outdoor sets were opened to the public as a new way to sustain the industry. Thus, at Toei UZUMASA KYOTO VILLAGE, Japan’s first theme park where visitors can observe live film production was born. The blockbuster success of “The Movie!” later helped revive large-scale film production. To date, more than 2,000 films and 9,000 television drama episodes have been produced there. Now, in the era of global distribution, the world is once again turning its attention to Jidaigeki (period drama) with renewed interest.

Toei UZUMASA KYOTO VILLAGE 50 Years of History

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The origins of Japanese cinema and Kyoto

At its peak, there were eight locations.The birth of Uzumasa, Japan's Hollywood

To the international film city "Kyoto"

"Made in Kyoto" Jidaigeki (period drama)List of Award-winning Works

Don't let the light of Japanese movies and Jidaigeki (period drama) go out from Kyoto!

At its peak, there were eight locations.
The birth of Uzumasa, Japan's Hollywood

"Made in Kyoto" Jidaigeki (period drama)
List of Award-winning Works