Rare Recovered Anime From 1923 Offers Rare Look at the Industry's Origins

Lion produced the anime short Dental Health in the early 1920s.

By Megan Peters

Anime has been around for well over a century, and it is ever evolving. The anime of 1940 is very different from that of 1990 and so on. When it comes to anime prior to World War II, it can be difficult to unpack history as there aren't many surviving anime pieces from that time. But now, a rare anime dated to 1923 has surfaced, and it was inked by the forefather of anime himself.

The whole thing came to light in Japan courtesy of NHK and Lion, an operating studio in Japan with a long history. This week, Lion recovered an old anime in its archives that once belonged to a cinema collector. The silent anime bears the title "Dental Health", and it comes in at under nine minutes.

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(Photo: NHK)

As you can see above, NHK was able to share several stills from the anime, and its style will be familiar to scholars. After all, the short is credited to none other than Kitayama Seitaro. ""This roundish font really resembles the letters Kitayama used to write," Yasuda Takeshi, Kitayama's grandson, told NHK.

Sano Akiko, an associate professor at Doshisha University, also reviewed the rare anime finding. The scholar, who has dedicated their work to anime, said this uncovered short shows how animators at the time were starting to key into anime's now-iconic traits. "People are drawn to the relatively large faces in front, looking straight at the viewers. This apparently takes into consideration the purpose of the film, which was for an advertisement," they explained.

Related:

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(Photo: NHK)

In the 1920s, the anime industry was not a thing by any means, but its roots were starting to take place. In fact, Kitayama is often regarded as the forefather who ushered in the medium's growth. The animator was born in 1888 in Tokyo, and they taught some of anime's greatest artists like Yasuji Murata and Noburo Ofuji. The importance Kitayama had on anime cannot be overstated, and now, a rare piece of his work has been uncovered that generations to come will be able to trace back.

What do you make of this rare anime find...? Let us know what you think over on Twitter and Instagram. You can also hit me up @MeganPetersCB to share your take!

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