The Hare and the Tortoise

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Original Title	教育お伽漫画　兎と亀
Japanese kana Rendering	Kyoikuotogimanga Usagi to kame
English Title	The Hare and the Tortoise
Production Date	1924
Author	Sanae Yamamoto
Duration (minutes)	6
Sound	silent
Color	b/w
Plot	The hare makes fun of the tortoise saying, "No one in the world walks as slow as you!" The tortoise challenges the hare, saying "Then let’s race to the top of that hill." The hare makes a mad dash but stops and looks back to see the tortoise walking slowly. The hare relaxes, figuring it would take the tortoise until nightfall to get there, and takes a nap. With scarcely a sidelong glance at the sleeping hare, the tortoise steadily makes his way to the top of the hill. The hare is awakened by a crow cawing (it sounds like "aho," which means "idiot"), says "I messed up and overslept," and dashes out, but it is too late. The tortoise says triumphantly, "Hey, slow Hare! What happened to all your boasting?"
Description	The story develops based on The Hare and the Tortoise, a song for kids (lyrics by Wasaburo Ishihara; composed by Benjiro Nosho). The pictures are drawn with a simple technique using only lines. Despite being a silent film, it is designed to incorporate musical elements. For example, the lyrics of the song The Hare and the Tortoise are represented as musical notes coming out of the characters' mouths. The unique backgrounds remind us of scenery in some foreign country rather than a landscape used in an old Japanese folk tale. This film is one of Sanae Yamamoto's earliest works and is described in documents as being produced by Kitayama Eiga Seisakusho owned by Seitaro Kitayama, Yamamoto's teacher.
Production Company	Nakajima Katsudoshashin Division
Distribution
Release Date
Credits: Director	Sanae Yamamoto*
Credits: Staff, Cast, etc.
Intertitles	T1「教育お伽漫画　兎と亀　全　神戸港川新開地　ナカジマ活動寫眞部製作」、T2「世界のうちにお前ほど歩みののろい者はない」、 T3「そんならお前と駆けくらべ」、T4「どうせ晩までかゝかるだらう」、T5「これは寝すぎたしくじった」、T6「あんまりをそい兎さんさつきの自慢はどうしたの」、T7「終　神戸湊川新開地　中島活動寫眞部製作」。
Censorship - Date and Number
References
Frames per Second	18fps
Source of Digital Copy	The 35mm positive owned by Planet Film Archive -> The 35mm internegative owned by NFC
Completeness	complete (no credit information)
Additional Notes	simple digital restoration The mark of "*" will provide an additional explanation gained from the bibliographical information.
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