A Story of Tobacco
| Original Title | 煙り草物語 |
|---|---|
| Japanese kana Rendering | Kemurigusa monogatari |
| English Title | A Story of Tobacco |
| Production Date | 1926 |
| Author | Noburo Ofuji |
| Duration (minutes) | 3 |
| Sound | silent |
| Color | b/w, tinted |
| Plot | In front of a girl with the traditional Japanese hairstyle, a small man on a desk says, "women descended from tobacco." The girl laughs at him and traps him under a glass. The angry man puffs on a cigarette in a pipe and blows smoke at the girl. The girl takes the cigarette from the man and puts it under her book. When the man threatens her with a gun, the girl throws the cigarette into the yard. The man becomes really angry and tries to shoot her, but the gun does not fire. In the end, the man starts telling her about the beginning of tobacco. |
| Description | According to the 1926 film censor record, the original one reel version had a total length of 174 meters and lasted 6 min. The second half of the film is missing from the existing version. This print was donated to the NFC in 1971 by Yae Ofuji, Noburo Ofuji's elder sister. It is believed to be the film Ofuji created after The Stupid Old Man (のろまな爺, 1924), which was produced as a test. Some say that this film was also created in 1924. It was made by combining paper cutout and live-action techniques. In her gallery talk at the 2010 exhibition, "Noburo Ofuji, Pioneer of Animation," Mieko Okada stated that the woman in the film may be Yae. However, the photo published in the November 1926 issue of Fujin Graph (婦人グラフ), "Ichii Ofuji, Princess of Chiyogami Eiga," leads us to believe that it is Ichii, Ofuji's younger sister. The caption of the photo also states that Ichii has appeared in Chiyogami Eiga. |
| Production Company | Tokyo Jiyu Eigasha* |
| Distribution | |
| Release Date | |
| Credits: Director | Noburo Ofuji* |
| Credits: Staff, Cast, etc. | |
| Intertitles | T1「女の祖先は煙草じやぞ」、T2「女は 煙草のやうな もの なんだぞ」、T3「お前こそ煙になるがよい」、T4「馬鹿女郎め！」、T5「煙り草物語」、T6「やい！おれの煙草をなんとする」、T7「こりや やい 煙草を返せ」、T8「やい 煙草を返せ」、T9「いよいよ もつて返さぬな 覚えておれ」、T10「はて よいことがある」、T11「さあ どうだ」、T12「手をあげろ･･」、T13「この煙草を返してしまへ」、T14「やつ こいつが こいつが」、T15「ありや りや たまが出ぬぞ」、T16「怪しからん あまつちよめ」、T17「どうしてくれろ」、T18「やい あまつちよ 煙草のはじまりを しつて居るか」、T19「そも そも 煙草のはじまりは……」。 |
| Censorship - Date and Number | [参考]内務省検閲番号：A2131(1926年5月24日) |
| References | |
| Frames per Second | 24fps |
| Source of Digital Copy | The 35mm nitrate positive donated from Yae Ofuji (tinted) -> The 35mm color internegative owned by NFC -> 35mm color positive |
| Completeness | no credit titles the ending part is missing no end title |
| Additional Notes | The mark of "*" will provide an additional explanation gained from the bibliographical information. |
| Related Links | Fujin Graph (婦人グラフ)＜Noburo Ofuji Memorial Museum / Gallery＞ |
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