Japanese Puppet Animation! The Exquisite World of Kihachiro Kawamoto December 14, 2006

The Exquisite World of Kihachiro Kawamoto
Dec 14, 15 & 17
$8 regular, $6 students, seniors & teachers/$6 YBCA Members

Japanese animation is not limited to just Anime. Kihachiro Kawamoto, born in 1925, is regarded as the master of Japanese puppet animation. In the 1960s he studied under Czech animation legend Jiri Trnka, and his work has been honored in retrospectives worldwide. Do not miss this opportunity: The films are not in distribution in the US, and the prints will be returned to Japan following our screenings.

Book of the Dead
(2005 70 min, 35mm)
Thu, Dec 14 & Fri, Dec 15, 7:30 pm

Buddhism has recently arrived from China and is all the rage amongst the Japanese nobility. Iratsume, a young noblewoman, spends her days reading and copying pages from the sutras. Her devotions attract the attention of the spirit of Prince Otsu, executed many years earlier in a court intrigue. She begins weaving a giant shroud to relieve his pain, and in doing so saves them both. A sumptuous study of obsession and deliverance, brought exquisitely to life through Kawamoto's painstaking puppet animation. The film is a delicate masterpiece, in the eerie tradition of the Japanese ghost story.

Kawamoto Shorts
(1970-90, 80 mins, mixed formats)
Sun, Dec 17, 2 pm

This selection of magical and poetic shorts weave tales of mysterious demons, samurais, monks and princesses. This program will also feature examples of Kawamoto's experiments in kirigami (cutout animation).

Official Website: http://www.ybca.org