Anime arose in the early 20th century, when Japanese filmmakers experimented with the animation techniques
also pioneered in France, Germany, the United States and Russia. A claim for the earliest Japanese animation
is Katsudō Shashin, an undated and private work by an unknown creator. In 1917, the first professional and
publicly displayed works began to appear. Animators such as Ōten Shimokawa and Seitarou Kitayama produced numerous
works, with the oldest surviving film being Kouchi's Namakura Gatana, a two-minute clip of a samurai trying to test
a new sword on his target only to suffer defeat. The 1923 Great Kantō earthquake resulted in widespread
destruction to Japan's infrastructure and the destruction of Shimokawa's warehouse, destroying most of these early works. |