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(Chinese: 株式會社滿洲映畫協會), also known as the "''Manchuria Film Production"'', was a Japanese film production company in Manchukuo in the 1930s and 1940s. ==Early history== The Manchukuo Film Association was established on August 14, 1937, as a ''national policy company'' (国策会社) a fifty-fifty joint venture between the government of Manchukuo and the South Manchurian Railway Company. The original studios were located at a former woollen goods factory, with the offices at the former Jilin Architectural Institute (吉林省建築設計院) in Jilin Province. Unlike Japan's overtly "colonial" film markets in Taiwan and Korea, the Manchukuo Film Association was from the first promoted by the Japanese as being a Japanese-run Chinese film studio. ''Man'ei'' grew out of the Southern Manchurian Railway's Photographic Division which was initially charged with producing industrial and educational films about Manchukuo to educate Japanese audiences. Negishi Kan'ichi was recruited from his post as Head of Nikkatu's Tamagawa Studios to come to ''Man'ei'' to rationalize feature film production there. Promotional materials from the Studios boasted the that ''Man'ei'' had the most state-of-the art facilities in all of Asia at that time.〔, pp.29.〕 Nobusuke Kishi, one of the top officials involved in the industrial development of Manchukuo, enlisted Masahiko Amakasu, head of Manchukuo's Ministry of Civil Affairs, to manage the operation in 1939 replacing Negishi. Amakasu threw himself wholeheartedly into his appointment effectively using his status as a film industry outsider as well as his notoriety as the murderer of Osugi Sakae and family to maintain ''Man'eis independence from the Japanese film industry. Amakasu was frequently critical and sometimes hostile to Japanese criticism of ''Man'ei''. As a result of a 1936 tour of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy, Amakasu was able to see the great European studios of Germany's Universum Film AG and Italy's Cinecittà first hand. After taking up his post at ''Man'ei'' Amakasu was determined to rationalize the studio's production system after UFA to compete with both Hollywood and the Japanese film industry.〔Baskett, ''The Attractive Empire'', pp.31, 115.〕 This included using agents of the Towa Company to assist him in procuring the latest German movie cameras and production techniques. Amakasu also hosted notables from the Japanese film industry including movie stars, directors, and conductors (such as Takashi Asahina). Perhaps what was most unique about Amakasu's ''Man'ei'' was its staff. Although Amakasu was considered Right-wing, he was unusually broadminded in hiring many left-wing and Communist sympathizers at a time when they were being purged from the Japanese film industry. In this sense, ''Man'ei'' resembled Hollywood, UFA, Cinecittà, and Shanghai as a cosmopolitan film center bringing together film personnel from a variety of ethnicities and political persuasions. Amakasu is also credited with launching the career of the actress and singer Yoshiko Ōtaka, better known as "Ri Kōran".〔Baskett, ''The Attractive Empire'', pp.77-79. Young, Japan's Total Empire. p. 16〕 But more importantly, ''Man'ei'' under Amakasu was unique for its insistence on self-sufficiency. Breaking with other Japanese colonial film markets, Amakasu maintained that his primary audience was in fact not the Japanese, but rather the Manchurians. In a 1942 article entitled, "Making Films for the Manchurians," Amakasu stated; "There is absolutely no need to make films that exoticize Manchukuo for Japan. Japan will probably make their own films that get it wrong anyhow, vulgarizing the unusual aspects of Manchuria. We must not forget that our focus is the Manchurians and, after we make headway, nothing should keep us from producing films for Japan."〔甘粕正彦, "満人のために映画を作る" 映画旬報 August 1, 1942, p. 3 in Baskett, ''The Attractive Empire'', pp.32.〕 ''Man'ei'' produced a large number of films, falling roughly into three categories: "human drama", "educational" and "documentary". The Japanese government continued to provide financial support, and the Association produced works which spoke as positively about the Manchukuo government as possible. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Manchukuo Film Association」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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