The Weavers of Nishijin
| The Weavers of Nishijin | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Toshio Matsumoto |
| Written by | Hiroshi Sekine Toshio Matsumoto |
| Produced by | Eiichi Asai |
| Starring | Hideo Kanze |
| Narrated by | Takeshi Kusaka |
| Cinematography | Yoshio Miyajima |
| Edited by | Miyuri Miyamori Fusako Shuzui |
| Music by | Akira Miyoshi |
Production company | Kyoto Documentary Film Society |
Release date |
|
Running time | 42 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
The Weavers of Nishijin (西陣, Nishijin), also known as Nishijin,[1] is a 1961 Japanese short documentary film directed by Toshio Matsumoto, narrated by Takeshi Kusaka and starring Hideo Kanze as a Noh player.[2][3] It was written by Hiroshi Sekine and Matsumoto. The film depicts the lives of the textile workers of the Nishijin district of Kyoto.
Cast
- Takeshi Kusaka as narrator
- Hideo Kanze as Noh player
Reception
Film scholar Mitsuyo Wada-Marciano wrote that the film's "depiction of a craftsmen's forced life in the traditional textile trade of Kyoto discloses the multiplicity of the Japanese as well as offering an instance to contemplate the role of cinema as the most popular culture at that time."[4]
In ArtAsiaPacific, Hera Chan wrote that Matsumoto "extracted meaning from the actions and products of traditional Japanese craftsmen, describing lines of silk within a loom like 'the rain of memories,' and shaped the film in a style that rebelled against the superficiality of commercial cinema."[5]
References
- ^ "Documentarists of Japan #9: Matsumoto Toshio". Documentary Box. Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ "Toshio Matsumoto | The Weavers of Nishijin (1961) | Artsy". www.artsy.net. Retrieved 14 February 2018.
- ^ Raine, Michael (Summer 2012). "Three Translations: Introduction to Matsumoto Toshio: A Theory of Avant-Garde Documentary". Cinema Journal. 51 (4): 144–148 – via ProQuest.
- ^ Wada-Marciano, Mitsuyo (2014). "Reading Nishijin (1961) as Cinematic Memory". In Miyao, Daisuke (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Japanese Cinema. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199731664.013.003. ISBN 978-0-19-973166-4.
- ^ Chan, Hera (November–December 2017). "Everything Visible is Empty". ArtAsiaPacific (106): 126. Retrieved 7 December 2025 – via ProQuest.