The Kawamoto + Okamoto Puppet Anime-Shows (1972-1980), Part II

I remember that once in an English Literature class we were asked:“If you could travel back in time to be in the audience for any performance inhistory, what would you like to see?”  Myanswer at the time was to see Fred and Adele Astaire dance on Broadway.  Today, I think my answer would be to attend theKawamoto + Okamoto Puppet Anime-Shows. 

The first Kawamoto + Okamoto Puppet Anime-Show (川本+ 岡本パペットアニメーショウ) was in October 1972, one year after Tadanari Okamoto had held aretrospective of his own work.  Asmentioned in Part I, Okamoto had been the one to suggest a joint event with his friend Kihachiro Kawamoto.  Even with the work of twoanimators, they still did not have enough to fill a programme, so Kawamoto cameup with the idea of including live puppet theatre.   Many of the live puppet performances were writtenand directed by Kawamoto himself. 

The events allowed not only these two acknowledged masters of puppetanimation to shine, but also gave the staff who worked for them an opportunity to show offtheir own individual talents.  At thefourth show in 1975, for example, Hirokazu Minegishi presented his own shortfilm The Daughter of Osaka (Ōsaka no ojyōsan). Minegishi worked for both Okamoto and Kurosawa throughout the 1970s and1980s, and now does puppet animation under director Tsuneo Goda for Dwarf (Domo-kun,Komaneko, etc.)

According to Kihachiro Kawamoto: Animation and Puppet Master(Kadakawa Shoten, 1994), these are  the animation screening programmes for the Anime-Shows(KK=Kawamoto, TO=Okamoto):

1^st Kawamoto + Okamoto Puppet Anime-Show (October 1972)

The Demon (KK)

Chikotan (TO)

The Monkey and the Crab (TO)

The Mochi-Mochi Tree (TO)

2^nd Kawamoto + Okamoto Puppet Anime-Show (October 1973)

Tabi (KK)

TheTravelling Companion (TO)

PraiseBe to Small Ills (TO)

Bach Omnibus (Hiromi Wakasa,Yoko Higashikawa, Hiroshi Jinsenji)

3^rd Kawamoto + Okamoto Puppet Anime-Show (October 1974)

Sheep Song (Hitsuji no Uta, Hiromi Wakasa)

All You Need Is Love (Ai kososubete, Satoru Yoshida)

Get off (Noboru Shinogi)

A Poet’s Life (KK)

December Song (TO)

Five Small Stories (TO)  

4^th Kawamoto + Okamoto Puppet Anime-Show (October 1975)

Stripe (Hiromi Wakasa)

The Daughter of Osaka (Ōsaka no ojyōsan, Hirokazu Minegishi)

Three Stories (Mitsu no Hanashi, Kimura Hiroshi/Tamotsu Shiihara/TadakazuTakahashi)

Hana-Ori (KK)

Urameshi Denwa (TO)

The Water Seed (TO)

5^th Kawamoto + Okamoto Puppet Anime-Show (October 1976)

From Cherry Blossom With Love (TO)

The Strong Bridge (TO)

Dojoji Temple (KK)

Are wa dare? (TO)

Reprise Screening Event (October 1979)

The Strong Bridge (TO)

The Ningen Ijime Series (TO)

Dojoji Temple (KK)

Are wa Dare? (TO)

Chikotan (TO)

6^th Kawamoto + Okamoto Puppet Anime-Show (October 1980)

TV Commercials (TO)

The Strong Bridge (TO)

Ningen Ijime Series Part 4: Oshizuka ni (TO)

Panache the Squirrel (TO)

House of Flames (KK)

Towards the Rainbow (TO)

Catherine Munroe Hotes 2011

Source:Kihachiro Kawamoto: Animation and Puppet Master (Kadakawa Shoten, 1994)

See these Films for Yourself:

Tadanari Okamoto Sakuhin Shu Vol.1