Newark post., 1922-04-19
Add
NEwAE
Max
Posp. (
Telep'
4ovies Prosper
! With Japanese
En.eAmerican Films Have Grown
in Favor During Last
Few Years

: The notion picture industry in
Japan has had remarkable develop
ment in the last few years, according
to Martin G. Scott, clerk to the United
States Trade Commissioner at Toxic,
says the New York Times. He points
out that as far back as 1914 or 1915
foreign films, chiefly American, were
growing in favor in Japan, and they
have continued to increase in popu-
larity.
Il "There are in Japan about 600 the
atres giving regular performances and
about 1000 more giving occasional
performances" continues Mr.. Scott.
"From the standpoint of imported
films, however, only the 600 need to
be considered. Of these, Toxic has
about fifty houses, Osaka thirty, Kobe
fifteen, and Kyoto ten, the remainder
being scattered throughout the coun-
try. These theatres seat between 500
and 1900. The term seating capacity
is misnomer, as in many houses the
lower price of admission entities one
to standing room only. Most houses
give one performance day, although
some, such as the large houses in
Akusaka Park (the Coney Island Of
Tokio), give continuous performances
and appear to be always crowded
"Of the 600 theatres, the so-called
trust, the Nippon Katsudoshasm
Kabushiki Kaisha, owns or controls
J about $50. The trust is by far the
largest moving picture company in
Japan. It owns or controls majority
of the theatres, in many cases owning
the buildings. 1t rents the theatres,
supplies films and machines, usually
on percentage basis, and sometimes
! exercises a supervision over the show.
It's percentage Of the profits varies
with the theatre. The trust has at
present two studios, one in Kyoto and
one near Toxic, with force of hun
S-<lfed .etors and fifty camera men, dir
ectors, etc, ..-
"In addition to the theatres, films
are, in demand for Y. M. c. A. per-
formances, private entertainments
ETC., though it is hard to estimate the
total volume of this business.
Gas an index of the popularity of
the motion picture, Tokio's fifty film
theatres play annually to over 1O,-
100000 people, while the twenty legit-
innate theatres, with much larger
seating capacity, play to somewhat
less than 100000. These 20 ligiti-
mate theatres give almost exclusively y
japanese plays. Two however, the
Imperial Theatre and the Yurakuza
occasionally give foreign plays and
at times show motion pictures. These
two theatres have seats arrang.
ed in foreign style. There seems tc
be no question that the moving pic.
ture has hurt the regular theatre bust
ness in japan to considerable ex
here has been no such de-
IS of the stage for the
"a, probably on &C
sc pride which the
s in his profession
: cameras used il
business are i'm
anese have so ia,
out satisfactor,
cameras seem t;
tlthough the trus
neras exclusively
.es are also in use
as is so per cent.
machines, the stu
The majority o
Of Japanese make
the difference il
ported and the dom
:. The japanese machin
i quality and also in price
= most of the theatres are run
-, on close margins, they state the,
eanrot afford American makes, al
though readily admitting their super
iority. Besides, the majority of tn
theatres rent their machines from on
of the large companies. The trus
manufactures it's own machines, fur
nishing them to it's chain of theatres
but it is stated that unless the qualit
is improved it may have to import ma
chimes in the future. A good Japan
ese machine sells for about $3.50. On
large company handling American ma
chimes sold only eight in the last tw
years.
"As rule individual theatres rem
their films from one of the large
companies, which supply them wit
enough films to make up complet
bill, and programs are changed week
~. The rental charge varies widely
running from 500 to $500 per month
The trust states that for a first-clas
foreign film thew often secure 500