1926
1940
Nippon Patē Shine Kyōkai [Nippon Pathé Cine Association]
Tokyo, Japan
9.5mm
Bebī shinema
"In October 1926, Banno Bunzaburō—together with Ōtomo Yoshihiro and Arase Junji, both of whom worked at Banno Shōten—founded Tokyo Bebī Kinema Kurabu (Tokyo Baby Kinema Club) as the second 9.5mm organization in Japan. Some of the earliest members included Ōsawa Shōfū and Hattori Shigeru, who remained essential for the group throughout the interwar period... Tokyo Bebī Kinema Kurabu renamed and reorganized a few times, as it changed its name to Tokyo Bebī Shinema Kyōkai (Tokyo Baby Cinema Association) in 1928, to Nippon Patē Shine Kyōkai (Nippon Pathé Cine Association) in 1931, and lastly to Zen Nippon Patē Shine Kyōkai (All-Nippon Pathé Cine Association) in 1934... The April 1934 issue of the Patē shine magazine proclaimed that this new association was now “one of the biggest small-gauge film societies in the world” by encompassing a total of 137 local amateur cine clubs. This number consisted of 63 local cine clubs under the Kanto branch, 55 under the Kansai branch, 7 under the Hokkai, branch, and 12 under the Manchurian branch. The Association maintained this structure until it disbanded in 1940 due to wartime control." - Noriko Morisue, "Filming the Everyday: History, Theory, and Aesthetics of Amateur Cinema in Interwar and Wartime Japan" (Yale University: PhD Dissertation, 2020): 34.
Amateur Cinema