The Dull Sword

The Dull Sword
	Namakura Gatana
なまくら刀; (Namakura Gatana)
Genre	Jidaigeki
Created by	Jun'ichi Kōuchi
Anime film
Studio	Kobayashi Shokai Ltd.
Released	June 30, 1917
Runtime	4 minutes

The Dull Sword (Japanese: なまくら刀, Hepburn: Namakura Gatana) is a Japanese animated short film produced by Jun'ichi Kōuchi in 1917. It was rediscovered by an antique shop employee in Osaka in March 2008.^[2]^[3] This film is a 4-minute silent short that tells a story about a foolish rōnin's purchase of a dull-edged sword and subsequent attempts at tsujigiri. It was released on June 30, 1917, and is among the very earliest examples of anime.

Plot

Namakura Gatana (lit. 'dull-edged sword'; gatana is rendaku of katana) is a short comedic jidaigeki about a dim-witted self-appointed samurai. He gets fooled and buys a dull sword from a merchant. The samurai, trying to figure out why his new sword cannot cut anyone he strikes, tries desperately to attack random townspeople who defend themselves and knock him out.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "The Dull Sword [the longest, digitally restored version]". National Film Archive of Japan. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
^ "Japan finds films by early "anime" pioneers". Reuters. March 26, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2022.
^ Loo, Egan (March 27, 2008). "Two Nine-Decade-Old Anime Films Discovered (Updated)". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 15, 2022.

External links

The Dull Sword (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
The Dull Sword at IMDb

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[NFAJ-1] "The Dull Sword [the longest, digitally restored version]". National Film Archive of Japan. Retrieved December 15, 2022.

[2] "Japan finds films by early "anime" pioneers". Reuters. March 26, 2008. Retrieved December 15, 2022.

[3] Loo, Egan (March 27, 2008). "Two Nine-Decade-Old Anime Films Discovered (Updated)". Anime News Network. Retrieved December 15, 2022.

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