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[[File:Momotaro2.jpg|thumb|Momotaro was a popular Japanese [[folk hero]], but in the [[1910s]]-[[1940s|40s]]. He was a war symbol and propaganda icon at the time.]]
[[File:Momotaro2.jpg|thumb|Momotaro is a popular Japanese [[folk hero]], but during the [[1910s]]-[[1940s|40s]], was used as a propaganda figure.]]
{{Nihongo|'''''Momotarō no Umiwashi'''''|桃太郎の海鷲||literally ''Momotarō's Sea Eagles''}} is an animated Japanese [[propaganda film]] produced in 1942 by [[Geijutsu Eigasha]] and released March 25, 1943. Running at 37 minutes, it was close to being [[feature film|feature-length]], but it was not the first animated feature film in [[Asia]]; that honor goes to China's 1941 ''[[Princess Iron Fan (1941 film)|Princess Iron Fan]]'', which was 73 minutes long. A DVD version without English subtitles was released in Japan by [[Books Kinokuniya|Kinokuniya Shoten]] in 2004; one with subtitles was released in the United States by Zakka Films in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zakkafilms.com/ |title=Home |publisher=ZakkaFilms |access-date=2012-11-01}}</ref>
{{Nihongo|'''''Momotarō no Umiwashi'''''|桃太郎の海鷲||English translation: ''Momotarō's Sea Eagles''}} is an animated [[Japan|Japanese]] [[propaganda film]] produced in 1942 by [[Geijutsu Eigasha]] and released on March 25, 1943. With a running time of 37 minutes, it was close to being a [[feature film|feature-length]] film.


A DVD version without English subtitles was released in Japan by the bookstore chain [[Books Kinokuniya|Kinokuniya Shoten]] in 2004; a version with English subtitles was released in the United States by Zakka Films in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zakkafilms.com/ |title=Home |publisher=ZakkaFilms |access-date=2012-11-01}}</ref>
⚫
Although recorded as being produced with the cooperation of the [[Ministry of the Navy of Japan|Japanese Naval Ministry]], there was in fact no cooperation in order to protect military secrets, although the Japanese Imperial Navy endorsed the film.


⚫
Although recorded as being produced with the cooperation of the [[Ministry of the Navy of Japan|Japanese Naval Ministry]], there was in fact no such cooperation (due to concerns about official military secrets). However, the [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Japanese Imperial Navy]] did endorse the film <sup>[''[[Wikipedia:Citation needed|citation needed]]'']</sup>.
⚫
Featuring the "[[Momotaro|Peach Boy]]" character of Japanese folklore, this film was aimed at children, telling the story of a naval unit consisting of the human Momotarō and several animal species representing the Far Eastern races fighting together for a common goal. In a dramatization of the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], this force attacks the demons at the island of [[Onigashima]] (representing the Americans and British demonized in Japanese propaganda), and the film also utilizes actual footage of the Pearl Harbor attack.
A sequel, ''[[Momotaro: Sacred Sailors]]'', was released in 1945, becoming the first full-length Japanese animated film.
⚫
[[Category:Historical anime and manga]]


⚫
Featuring the "[[Momotaro|Peach Boy]]" character of Japanese folklore, the film was aimed at children, and tells the story of a naval unit consisting of the young boy Momotarō and several animal species representing the Far Eastern races fighting together for a common goal. In a dramatization of the [[attack on Pearl Harbor]], the force attacks the demons at the appropriately named island of [[Onigashima]] ('Demon Island', which represents the British and American military). The film also utilizes actual footage of the Pearl Harbor attack. A sequel, ''[[Momotaro: Sacred Sailors]]'', was released in 1945, which was the first full-length Japanese animated film.
⚫
== Plot summary ==
⚫
The film opens aboard an aircraft carrier on tumultuous waters, with squadrons of monkeys, pheasants, and dogs prepping their planes for war. These animals are not the perfect soldiers; they act silly, giving them a very human feel. At the center stands Momotaro, stoic and heroic, giving orders. The animals board their planes and take into the sky. The flight to Hawaii is uninterrupted save for a monkey helping a lost baby bird find its parent.


⚫
== Plot ==
⚫
The animals arrive and the attack begins. The soldiers aboard the ships docked in [[Pearl Harbor]] panic and scramble, trying to flee; evidenced by a copious amount of bottles lying around, some are too drunk to move or think properly. The main soldier shown is dumb, fat, and cowardly.
⚫
The film opens on board an [[aircraft carrier]] on rough waters, with squadrons of monkeys, [[Pheasant|pheasants]], and dogs preparing their planes for war. These animals are not perfect soldiers however; they act in a silly way, giving them a very human feel. At the center stands the stoic and heroic Momotaro, giving orders to the animals, who board their planes and take off. The flight to [[Hawaii]] passes without incident, apart from a monkey helping a lost baby bird find its parent.
The attack continues, some monkeys go on land to destroy American planes. The main American soldier literally shakes the red and blue off the American flag to wave it as a [[white flag]] of surrender. Pearl Harbor is left in smoking ruins as the animals return to the aircraft carrier to celebrate.


⚫
The animals arrive and the attack begins. The soldiers aboard the ships docked in [[Pearl Harbor]] panic and scramble, trying to flee; as evidenced by a large amount of bottles lying around, some are too drunk to move or think properly. The main soldier shown is stupid, overweight, and cowardly. As the attack continues, some monkeys go on land to destroy American planes. The main American soldier literally shakes the red and blue off the American flag to wave it as a [[white flag]] of surrender. Pearl Harbor is left in smoking ruins as the animals return to the aircraft carrier to celebrate.
== Momotaro's Sea Eagles as World War II Propaganda ==
⚫
The Japanese government used Momotaro as the hero because that story was and continues to be as well-known to Japanese citizens as "[[The Three Little Pigs]]" is to Americans. In the film, Momotaro and the animals were cute and already known as heroic characters, and the "pretty characters and comical battle scenes enabled Japanese citizens to watch a war movie without hesitation".<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Sasaki|first=Sheena|date=June 2014|title=Education Before Schooling: Picture Books, Stories, and Nationalism|journal=Japan Sociology|volume=45|issue=2|doi=10.1007/s10583-013-9209-4|s2cid=144216424|issn=0045-6713}}</ref> In other words, the film was entertaining to the masses. In addition, the original story has Momotaro and his companions travelling to a demon-inhabited island, which this film replaced with the American-infested Hawaii, creating an easy link between foreigners and evil creatures.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Aonuma|first=Satoru|date=2014-10-02|title=Momotaro as Proletarian: A Study of Revolutionary Symbolism in Japan|journal=Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies|language=en|volume=11|issue=4|pages=382–400|doi=10.1080/14791420.2014.959452|s2cid=144527444|issn=1479-1420}}</ref>


== Propaganda use ==
⚫
Between 1942 and 1945, "national policy films" (AKA propaganda films) took up a large percentage of the Japanese cinema.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Desser|first=David|date=March 1995|title=From the Opium War to the Pacific War: Japanese Propaganda Films of World War II|journal=Film History|volume=7|pages=32–48}}</ref> ''Momotaro's Sea Eagles'' was an extremely successful example of this; it was especially popular among young children.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Promiscuous Media : Film and Visual Culture in Imperial Japan, 1926-1945.|last=Hori, Hikari.|date=2018|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=9781501709524|oclc=1020031890}}</ref> The 37-minute film was so popular, in fact, that Seo made a 74-minute sequel, ''[[Momotaro: Sacred Sailors|Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors]]'', which debuted in 1945.<ref name=":1" /> The cute and entertaining movie in which there are no shown fatalities gave the war a soft, righteous cause feel to the citizens in the audience.
⚫
The Japanese government used the character of Momotaro as the [[hero]] because the story (dating back to the [[Edo period]]) was extremely well known in Japan - comparable to the [[The Three Little Pigs|Three Little Pigs]] in Western countries. In the film, Momotaro and the animal characters were not only lovable but were already known for their heroic personality traits. The "pretty characters and comical battle scenes enabled Japanese citizens to watch a war movie without hesitation".<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Sasaki|first=Sheena|date=June 2014|title=Education Before Schooling: Picture Books, Stories, and Nationalism|journal=Japan Sociology|volume=45|issue=2|doi=10.1007/s10583-013-9209-4|s2cid=144216424|issn=0045-6713}}</ref> In addition, the original story features Momotaro and his companions travelling to a demon-inhabited island, which this film replaced with the American-infested Hawaii, creating a direct link between foreigners and evil creatures.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Aonuma|first=Satoru|date=2014-10-02|title=Momotaro as Proletarian: A Study of Revolutionary Symbolism in Japan|journal=Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies|language=en|volume=11|issue=4|pages=382–400|doi=10.1080/14791420.2014.959452|s2cid=144527444|issn=1479-1420}}</ref>


⚫
From 1942 to 1945, "national policy films" (AKA propaganda films) made up a large percentage of Japanese cinema.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Desser|first=David|date=March 1995|title=From the Opium War to the Pacific War: Japanese Propaganda Films of World War II|journal=Film History|volume=7|pages=32–48}}</ref> ''Momotaro's Sea Eagles'' was an extremely successful example of this, and was especially popular among young children.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|title=Promiscuous Media : Film and Visual Culture in Imperial Japan, 1926-1945.|last=Hori, Hikari.|date=2018|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=9781501709524|oclc=1020031890}}</ref> The 37-minute film was so well received that a 74-minute sequel, ''[[Momotaro: Sacred Sailors|Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors]]'', was released in 1945.<ref name=":1" /> The cute and entertaining sequel - in which no fatalaties are shown - was intended to give the war a soft, righteous feel.
⚫
==National stereotypes portrayed in the film==

⚫
[[Bluto]], from the [[Popeye the Sailor (animated cartoons)|Popeye cartoons]] being produced in [[United States|America]] at the time, makes an appearance in this film as a stereotypical drunk. This is one of few examples of the [[Axis powers|Axis nations]] using American cartoon characters to portray the United States in animated films, just as the [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] used [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]], [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]], and [[Hirohito]], as well as [[Nazism|Nazis]] and [[Japan Ground Self-Defense Force|Japanese soldiers]] in their propaganda films.
⚫
==National stereotypes depicted in the film==
⚫
The fictional character [[Bluto]], the main [[antagonist]] of the [[Popeye the Sailor (animated cartoons)|Popeye cartoons]], makes an appearance in this film as a stereotypical [[Drunkard|drunk]]. This is one of a number of examples of [[Axis powers|Axis nations]] using American cartoon characters to portray the United States in animated films, just as the [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] used [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]], [[Benito Mussolini|Mussolini]], and Emperor [[Hirohito]], as well as [[Nazism|Nazis]] and [[Japan Ground Self-Defense Force|Japanese soldiers]] in their propaganda films.

== Trivia ==
The film is predated by two years, by the Chinese production ''[[Princess Iron Fan (1941 film)|Princess Iron Fan]]'', which was 73 minutes long, and is recognised as the first [[Asia|Asian]] animated feature film.


==References==
==References==
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Momotaro no Umiwashi}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Momotaro no Umiwashi}}
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[[Category:Historical anime and manga]]

[[Category:1943 anime films]]
[[Category:1943 anime films]]
[[Category:Fantasy anime and manga]]
[[Category:Fantasy anime and manga]]
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[[Category:Animated films set in Hawaii]]
[[Category:Animated films set in Hawaii]]
[[Category:Pearl Harbor films]]
[[Category:Pearl Harbor films]]
[[Category:Animated World War II films]]

Latest revision as of 01:09, 25 July 2024

Momotarō no Umiwashi
Directed byMitsuyo Seo
Written byMitsuyo Seo
Music byNoboru Itō
Release date
  • March 25, 1943 (1943-03-25)
Running time
37 minutes
LandJapan
SpracheJapanese
Momotaro is a popular Japanese folk hero, but during the 1910s-40s, was used as a propaganda figure.

Momotarō no Umiwashi (桃太郎の海鷲, English translation: Momotarō's Sea Eagles) is an animated Japanese propaganda film produced in 1942 by Geijutsu Eigasha and released on March 25, 1943. With a running time of 37 minutes, it was close to being a feature-length film.

A DVD version without English subtitles was released in Japan by the bookstore chain Kinokuniya Shoten in 2004; a version with English subtitles was released in the United States by Zakka Films in 2009.[1]

Although recorded as being produced with the cooperation of the Japanese Naval Ministry, there was in fact no such cooperation (due to concerns about official military secrets). However, the Japanese Imperial Navy did endorse the film [citation needed].

Featuring the "Peach Boy" character of Japanese folklore, the film was aimed at children, and tells the story of a naval unit consisting of the young boy Momotarō and several animal species representing the Far Eastern races fighting together for a common goal. In a dramatization of the attack on Pearl Harbor, the force attacks the demons at the appropriately named island of Onigashima ('Demon Island', which represents the British and American military). The film also utilizes actual footage of the Pearl Harbor attack. A sequel, Momotaro: Sacred Sailors, was released in 1945, which was the first full-length Japanese animated film.

Plot

[edit]

The film opens on board an aircraft carrier on rough waters, with squadrons of monkeys, pheasants, and dogs preparing their planes for war. These animals are not perfect soldiers however; they act in a silly way, giving them a very human feel. At the center stands the stoic and heroic Momotaro, giving orders to the animals, who board their planes and take off. The flight to Hawaii passes without incident, apart from a monkey helping a lost baby bird find its parent.

The animals arrive and the attack begins. The soldiers aboard the ships docked in Pearl Harbor panic and scramble, trying to flee; as evidenced by a large amount of bottles lying around, some are too drunk to move or think properly. The main soldier shown is stupid, overweight, and cowardly. As the attack continues, some monkeys go on land to destroy American planes. The main American soldier literally shakes the red and blue off the American flag to wave it as a white flag of surrender. Pearl Harbor is left in smoking ruins as the animals return to the aircraft carrier to celebrate.

Propaganda use

[edit]

The Japanese government used the character of Momotaro as the hero because the story (dating back to the Edo period) was extremely well known in Japan - comparable to the Three Little Pigs in Western countries. In the film, Momotaro and the animal characters were not only lovable but were already known for their heroic personality traits. The "pretty characters and comical battle scenes enabled Japanese citizens to watch a war movie without hesitation".[2] In addition, the original story features Momotaro and his companions travelling to a demon-inhabited island, which this film replaced with the American-infested Hawaii, creating a direct link between foreigners and evil creatures.[2][3]

From 1942 to 1945, "national policy films" (AKA propaganda films) made up a large percentage of Japanese cinema.[4] Momotaro's Sea Eagles was an extremely successful example of this, and was especially popular among young children.[5] The 37-minute film was so well received that a 74-minute sequel, Momotaro's Divine Sea Warriors, was released in 1945.[5] The cute and entertaining sequel - in which no fatalaties are shown - was intended to give the war a soft, righteous feel.

National stereotypes depicted in the film

[edit]

The fictional character Bluto, the main antagonist of the Popeye cartoons, makes an appearance in this film as a stereotypical drunk. This is one of a number of examples of Axis nations using American cartoon characters to portray the United States in animated films, just as the Allied forces used Hitler, Mussolini, and Emperor Hirohito, as well as Nazis and Japanese soldiers in their propaganda films.

Trivia

[edit]

The film is predated by two years, by the Chinese production Princess Iron Fan, which was 73 minutes long, and is recognised as the first Asian animated feature film.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Home". ZakkaFilms. Retrieved 2012-11-01.
  2. ^ a b Sasaki, Sheena (June 2014). "Education Before Schooling: Picture Books, Stories, and Nationalism". Japan Sociology. 45 (2). doi:10.1007/s10583-013-9209-4. ISSN 0045-6713. S2CID 144216424.
  3. ^ Aonuma, Satoru (2014-10-02). "Momotaro as Proletarian: A Study of Revolutionary Symbolism in Japan". Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies. 11 (4): 382–400. doi:10.1080/14791420.2014.959452. ISSN 1479-1420. S2CID 144527444.
  4. ^ Desser, David (March 1995). "From the Opium War to the Pacific War: Japanese Propaganda Films of World War II". Film History. 7: 32–48.
  5. ^ a b Hori, Hikari. (2018). Promiscuous Media : Film and Visual Culture in Imperial Japan, 1926-1945. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9781501709524. OCLC 1020031890.
[edit]
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