Yasuji Murata's Monkey and the Crabs

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Original Title	猿蟹合戰
Japanese kana Rendering	Sarukanigassen
English Title	Yasuji Murata's Monkey and the Crabs
Production Date	1927
Author	Yasuji Murata
Duration (minutes)	5
Sound	silent
Color	b/w
Plot	A father crab Kanisuke and his son Kanitaro sow persimmon seeds in their garden that they got from Sarukichi the monkey. A large sprout begins to grow, and it turns into a tree which then bears a lot of fruit. Watching Kanisuke, Sarukichi notices that the father crab is having difficulty picking persimmons, so he picks a basket-full of the fruit and runs away. When Sarukichi sees Kanisuke following him, he throws persimmon at Kanisuke and kills him. In order to avenge his father's death, the child crab Kanitaro consults with his three uncles, Kurisaku (chestnut), Hachinosuke (bee), and Usubei (mortar). The three promise him to help him. The three uncles enter Sarukichi's house while he is away, where Usubei climbs up on the roof, Hachinosuke stays outside the house, and Kurisaku hides himself behind a folding screen. When Sarukichi returns home, he is surprised by the bursting of chestnuts Kurisaku threw in the fireplace and they have a sword fight. Hachinosuke joins the fight with his spear. When Sarukichi runs out of the house, Usubei falls on his head, and Kanitaro cuts off his nose. Hanging Sarukichi from the spear, the three uncles and Kanitaro return triumphantly.
Description	The 18th of the Athena Film Library educational movie series produced by Yokohama Cinema Shokai. A 35mm version and a 16mm version were released. The existing print is a 16mm Sakura Graph version released by Konishiroku Honten. This work is to be commemorated as Yasuji Murata's first animation film. The unique forms of the crabs and the mortar bear similarity to the images in Dainippon Yubenkai Kodansha's Monkey and the Crabs (猿蟹合戦, 1937), a picture book by Sengai Igawa. The existing film is likely to be a shortened version that omits the beginning scene where the lazy and greedy monkey tricks the crab into exchanging its rice ball for the monkey's persimmon seeds.
Production Company	Yokohama Cinema Shokai*
Distribution	35mm version: Okamoto ＆Co., Oku Shokai Ltd., 16mm version:Konishiroku Honten
Release Date	May 1927
Credits: Director	Yasuji Murata
Credits: Staff, Cast, etc.	Original story, Adaptation: Chuzo Aochi*　Photography：Yukikiyo Ueno*
Intertitles	T1「サクラグラフ SAKURAGRAPH」、T2「村田安司作品猿蟹合戰サクラグラフ」、T3「ハヤクメヲダセ　カキノタネダサヌトハサミデハサミキル」、T4「ハヤクキニナレ　カキノメヨナラヌトハサミデハサミキル」、T5「ハヤクミガナレカキノキヨナラヌト　ハサミデハサミキル」、T6「アレツ？！？」、T7「俺が戲談にいったことがほんとになるとは不思議千萬こりやかうしては居られぬわい」、T8「あはれな子蟹の蟹太郎は親の仇をうちたい一念、親切な叔父さん栗作、蜂之丞、臼兵衛の三人に相談しました」、T9「そして」、T10「おのれにっくい猿吉め」、T11「よし!! その助太刀なら俺達三人が引受けた」、T12「」、T13「まあ安心して居なさるがいゝ」、T14「きたぞ!!」、T15「シッ！」、T16「ヤア手前は栗作！」、T17「蟹助の敵覚悟しろッ」、T18「何をッ」、T19「そして蟹太郎は臼兵衛、蜂之丞、栗作の助太刀でめでたく親の仇をうつことが出来ました」、T20「サクラグラフ終」。
Censorship - Date and Number
References
Frames per Second	24fps
Source of Digital Copy	The 16mm positive donated from individuals -> The 35mm internegative owned by NFC
Completeness	complete
Additional Notes	simple digital restoration The mark of "*" will provide an additional explanation gained from the bibliographical information.
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