urashima tarō: TARō AT SEA

Commissioned by: Barbican Silent Film Festival

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Urashima Tarō (浦島 太郎) is the protagonist of a Japanese fairy tale. In traditional versions of the story, Tarō is a fisherman, rewarded for rescuing a turtle.

In this 1918 early Japanese animation adaption, the story remains mostly same. As part of the Barbicans yearly silent film festival, in 2019 they focused on folk tales in early Japanese animation films, screened live along side an ensemble of traditional Japanese percussion instruments such as the 'Shime Daiko and Temple Bowls, piano and electronics.

Barbican have recently decided to continue this exploration of early Japanese animae in their 2020 festival.

Performances

2019

Barbican Cinema 1 (Barbican Silent Film Weekend)

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