September Members Viewing: Yōji Kuri Part 2 (Television Works)

Monday, September 1, 2025 1:00 AM 01:00
Wednesday, October 1, 2025 11:55 PM 23:55

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Yōji Kuri Part 2: Television Works

Yōji Kuri, *11PM: Woman’s Tavern* (女の酒場). Courtesy of Kuri Experimental Manga Studio.

This September, we are delighted to present the second episode in our three-part memorial screening in honour of Yōji Kuri, one of the founders of Japanese experimental animation, who passed away in November last year. Curated by Fusako Matsu and in collaboration with the Kuri Experimental Manga Studio, the program introduces a varied range of works from Kuri’s expansive career - his famous animations in August, television works in September, and his films on contemporary artists in October.

Kuri helped to bring experimental animation to a popular audience through the cult late-night TV show 11PM, which ran on Nippon Television from 1965 to 1990. From 1966 to 1982, Kuri programmed a section aired on Mondays called “Yoji Kuri’s Mini-Mini Animations,” where the short, 1-minute animation works in this program were broadcast. 11PM was known not only for its bawdy “late-night” themes, but also for addressing political issues considered taboo in mainstream media, such as the use of the forced sexual labour of Korean women during World War Two as well as the issues facing Okinawa around the time of its reversion to Japan. Kuri’s short work Okinawa, included in the program, is reflective of this. Also featured is a parody of the French erotic film series Emmanuelle, along with other works that in Kuri’s trademark fashion articulate the relationship between desire, industry and capital through images of the female body.

The program also includes the work The Man Who Makes Tomorrow (Ashita wo tsukuru hito), a documentary about Kuri aired on television in 1964. The viewer is offered a charming insight into a day in Kuri’s life, following him as he sends his daughter off to school, works on various parts of the animation process in his studio, enjoys time with his family and finally boards a Japan Airlines aircraft. While the recording of the short program does not include sound, it is a fascinating look at how Kuri brings his colorful world to life.

THE PROGRAM WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR VIEWING ON CCJ’S VIEWING PLATFORM.

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Program

The Man Who Makes Tomorrow, 1964, 11:46 min, bw, silent

A documentary about Kuri aired on television in 1964. The viewer is offered an insight into a day in Kuri’s life, following him as he sends his daughter off to school, works on various parts of the animation process in his studio, enjoys time with his family and finally boards a Japan Airlines aircraft.