Picture Perfect Paranoia

Even more stories of Japanese anime antiquity.

Historic 91-year-old anime discovered in Osaka - HDRJapan

MOSAKA — Footage of an animation film dating back to the Taisho Period (1912-1926) has been discovered here, and has been confirmed as the oldest existing example of Japanese animation ever produced.
The 2-minute animation, directed by Junichi Kou’uchi and titled “Namakura Gatana,” was the second animation film ever made in Japan and was first shown at domestic theaters in 1917.
It was purchased at an antique fair in Osaka in July last year by film historian Natsuki Matsumoto. The film was found in nearly perfect condition.
The historic footage was unveiled during a press conference in Tokyo on Wednesday, following restoration work by the National Film Center in Tokyo’s Chuo-ku.

So this sets the timeline even further back to the Taisho period, which according to this here article from Wikipedia, is “considered the time of the liberal movement known as the ‘Taishō democracy’”.

Interesting find, isn’t it?