The Lump

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Original Title	漫画瘤取り
Japanese kana Rendering	Manga Kobutori
English Title	The Lump
Production Date	1929
Author	Yasuji Murata
Duration (minutes)	14
Sound	silent
Color	b/w, tinted
Plot	Once there were two old men with lumps, Tarobei and Jirobei. Tarobei, honest and hardworking, had a lump on his left cheek, while Jirobei, greedy and lazy, had a lump on his right cheek. One day, Tarobei goes to a mountain to collect firewood and gets caught in a sudden storm. While taking shelter in the hollow of a tree, Tarobei falls asleep. When he wakes up, he hears music played on flutes and drums in the moonlight. Tarobei is lured by the music to a festive party of long-nosed goblins. Requested by the great goblin, Tarobei performs a comical dance in front of the goblins. Tarobei is offered a cup of sake by the great goblin and is invited to another moonlight party. To make sure that he comes, the great goblin takes away his "treasure" (lump). Actually happy about this, Tarobei tells Jirobei the following morning about the goblins' party. Jirobei asks Tarobei to allow him to go to the party instead of Tarobei to obtain a reward for his stick dance. On that night, the long-nosed goblins get displeased at the self-centered dance performed by Jirobei. They get angry at Jirobei who was looking for a chance to steal their treasure, the goblin throws the lump taken from Tarobei on the previous night at Jirobei. Now with lumps on both of his cheeks, Jirobei is blown away by the great goblin's fan.
Description	This is the 40th of the Athena Film Library educational movie series produced by Yokohama Cinema Shokai. Yasuji Murata, who had been using the cutout animation technique to create his works, expressed moonlight scenes by using the silhouette film technique in this movie. The scene in which Tarobei's face flickers in the lightning as well as the silhouette of Jirobei performing a stick dance against the backdrop of a full moon are particularly original and excellent.
Production Company	Yokohama Cinema Shokai*
Distribution	35-mm version: Okamoto Yoko (Kanto)* and Oku Shokai (Kansai)*
Release Date
Credits: Director	Animation: Yasuji Murata
Credits: Staff, Cast, etc.	Supervise: Chuzo Aochi
Intertitles	T1: Cartoon / The Lump T2: Supervised by Chuzo Aochi / Animation by Yasuji Murata T3: Once there were 2 old men with lumps, Tarobei and Jirobei. T4: Tarobei was honest and hardworking. T5: Jirobei was greedy and lazy. T6: Old Tarobei went to the mountains to collect firewood every day. T7: Looks like it'll rain. T8: Mountain weather is always changing. Soon it started to pour. T9: Taro hid in the hollow of a tree. T10: Until the rainstorm passed. T11: The old man dozed while waiting for the rain to stop. T12: Who is it? T13: I'm just an old man called Tarobei from the village. T14: Why are you here? T15: I couldn't help dancing because your music was so merry! T16: You're a funny one. A mortal's dance must be entertaining. Go on! T17: That was fun. Now have a drink. T18: We'll enjoy the moon with another banquet. And we want you there too. We'll have something nice for you. T19: Make sure he comes back tomorrow. Take something he values. T20: For us our noses and beaks are special. Like his lump must be. T21: By Master Tengu's order, we'll keep your precious lump until tomorrow. T22: No, you can't take my lump! T23: The next morning. T24: Tarobei, I beg of you. Let me go instead of you tonight. T25: They'll love my stick dance. They'll give us a lot of treasure! T26: The evening fell. T27: We'll pinch his head! T28: Please don't kill me! T29: He's not worth the trouble. T30: Take what you left with us and leave! T31: Fool! Fool! T32: The Lump / The End
Censorship - Date and Number	Home Ministry censorship number: F3576 (April 4, 1931)
References	・ "Introduction to New Movies, Animation: The Lump," Eiga Kyoiku, No. 21 (November 1929), p. 23 (with photos).
Frames per Second	18fps Note: The streaming video here runs at 24fps
Source of Digital Copy	The 35mm nitrate positive owned by Matsuda Film Productions (tinted) -> The 35mm color internegative owned by NFC -> 35mm color positive
Completeness	complete
Additional Notes	The mark of "*" will provide an additional explanation gained from the bibliographical information.
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