The Story of the Monkey King
| Original Title | 切紙細工 西遊記 孫悟空物語 |
|---|---|
| Japanese kana Rendering | Kirigamizaiku Saiyuki Songoku monogatari |
| English Title | The Story of the Monkey King |
| Production Date | 1926 |
| Author | Noburo Ofuji |
| Duration (minutes) | 8 |
| Sound | silent |
| Color | b/w |
| Plot | The monk Xuanzang goes on a journey to western India to get the Mahayana Buddhist scriptures. In the middle of the journey, Xuanzang helps Sun Wukong who was confined in a large rock by Guanyin for being too full of mischief. Sun Wukong, who becomes Xuanzang's pupil, punishes a pig monster who is attacking a girl. The pig becomes a new pupil disciple named Zhu Bajie. A kappa (water imp) is also renamed Sha Wujing and becomes a pupil. When Sun Wukong confines a monster in a large stone and throws the ball he obtained from it, a holy mountain topped with snow appears. It is the Ho-den hall pagoda where the Mahayana Buddhist scriptures are stored. When Xuanzang asks Tathagata Buddha to grant him the sacred scriptures, Nyorai-sama says the scriptures will be delivered by a dragon cart. |
| Description | The second Chiyogami Eiga made following Burglars of “Baghdad” Castle (1926). The original was a 35mm film consisting of three reels with a total length of 1,044 meters and lasting 51 min. (at 18fps). A 9.5mm Pathé Baby small gauge version was released by Banno Shoten, but the existing film is a 16mm digest version. An advertisement in Kinema Junpo (キネマ旬報) refers to the film as "a good old Chiyogami Eiga created in pure Japanese style." The animation that was publicly distributed was a 16mm positive. In the story, the episode in which the monk Xuanzang accepts Sha Wujing as one of his disciples is added after the last scene, where he obtains the Buddhist sutra (with snow falling on him and his three disciples, who are smiling). Therefore we edited the video according to the story (2017/8/3). |
| Production Company | Jiyu Eiga Kenkyusho* |
| Distribution | Chuo Eigasha* |
| Release Date | Oct 29, 1926 |
| Credits: Director | Noburo Ofuji |
| Credits: Staff, Cast, etc. | |
| Intertitles | T1「切紙細工 西遊記 孫悟空物語 大藤信郎作品」、T2「むかしむかし そのむかし 唐天竺の 物語」、T3「詔を奉じて 西天竺へ 大乘の佛典を とりに赴く 伭奘三藏」、T4「詔を奉じて 西天竺へ 大乘の佛典を とりに赴く 伭奘三藏」、T5「三藏さらばじや 道中 身を堅固に致せ」、T6「お願で御座ります 何卒貴いお經を 讀んで下さいませ」、T7「不届千萬の化物め 三藏和尚の唯一の弟子 斉天大聖孫悟空様を 知らないか」、T8「待ってくれ おいらも三藏和尚様の お弟子にならうと こゝで待って居たのだ」、T9「その方 佛法に 歸依する心あらば 弟子となるがよい 今日より猪八戎と 名を改めよ」、T10「やあやあ 悟空」、T11「あのおやまこそは 靈山で御座ります」、T12「大乘の經典を藏する 雄寶殿」、T13「如來のお慈悲により 大乘の經典を賜りたく 伏して お願ひ申上げます」、T14「よいかな三藏 經典は龍車をもって 送るであらう あれを見られよ」。 |
| Censorship - Date and Number | [参考]内務省検閲番号：A7758(1926年10月19日)。 |
| References | ・広告「孫悟空物語」『キネマ旬報』1926年10月11日・第242号、29頁。 ・「各社近作日本映画紹介 孫悟空物語」『キネマ旬報』1926年10月11日・第242号、67頁。 ・岩崎秋良「主要日本映画批評 孫悟空物語」『キネマ旬報』1926年11月11日・第245号、53頁。 |
| Frames per Second | 16fps Note: The streaming video here runs at 24fps |
| Source of Digital Copy | The 16mm positive owned by Planet Film Archive -> The 35mm internegative owned by NFC -> The 35mm positive |
| Completeness | no end title |
| Additional Notes | The mark of "*" will provide an additional explanation gained from the bibliographical information. |
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