Terre

réf. 222006 — Manchukuo.: 外山卯三郎. Toyama Usaburō. Collection of nine items of ephemera relating to the making of Daichi no soshoku 大地の装飾 a Japanese film promoting Japanese policies in Manchuria. The collection includes four business cards 9 × 5.5 cm two telegrams 21.2 × 15 cm a customs duty receipt 20 × 15.3 cm an import declaration form 25.4 × 36 cm and an application for import duty exemption 27.2 × 19.6 cm. Some browning marking and signs of use but overall very good. A collection of business documents relating to the import and export of film stock etc for the making of the 1938 movie "Daichi no Sōshoku" 大地の装飾 Adorning the Earth conceived and directed by the film maker and art critic Toyama Usaburō 外山夘三郎 1903-1980. The film aimed to provide an evocative cinematic depiction of the scenic beauty and cultural traditions of Manchuria and provided implicit support for the creation and policies of the Japanese client state of Manchukuo. These documents give a glimpse of the practical tasks which went into the making of the film. Materials for film making had to be imported from Japan to Manchuria via Korea and the receipts and forms preseved in this collection were issued by the Manchukuo customs authorities in Antung now Dandong just across the Yalu River from Korea. This was a key gateway on the transport link from Japan to Manchukuo. Goods were commonly shipped from Japan to Pusan and then by rail up the Korean Peninsula to the Yalu River Bridge that crossed the border to Antung. Included in this collection are four name cards two of which are annotated from Japanese officials working in the Manchukuo administration: two in the Antung Customs Bureau and two in the information section of the central administration in the Manchukuo capital Shinkyō now Chanhchun. Their inclusion suggests that personal negotations as well as paperwork were needed to get the precious film stock through customs and into Manchukuo. . 外山卯三郎. [Toyama Usaburō]. unknown