Movies by Koji Yamamura

Muybridge's Strings

Muybridge's Strings

Koji Yamamura's allegory the immutability of time, love and devotion, and the unbreakable nature of the parent-child bond, into interlacing story.

Dreams into Drawing

Dreams into Drawing

The painter Kuwagata Keisai lived over 200 years ago. He created 'Ways to Sketch', a series of picture books illustrating humans and animals, all richly expressed. One day he was sketching out a carp, just at that moment he slept and he became a carp in dream. A carp was enjoy to swimming, but a fisherman caught that carp...

Satie's "Parade"

Satie's "Parade"

A Parade for three managers and four performers. Sketchy drawings in a neatly arranged palette, involving quotes from the French composer Erik Satie, set to the music of Parade performed by the Dutch Willem Breuker Kollektief.

Man & Whale

Man & Whale

A seaside school. In the corridor stands the principal, beloved of the high-spirited youngsters. Gazing at a picture of a whale drawn as a child, the head teacher is swept away with sentiment into a flashback from the past.

The Hyuga Episode of Kojiki

The Hyuga Episode of Kojiki

A festival cut/compilation of the animated segments made by Yamamura Kouji for a TV documentary by NHK, Kojiki Girl Travelogue (古事記ガール 日向路を旅する). The 4 episodes that compose The Hyuga Episode of Kojiki are: #1 The Cleansing (禊/ Misogi, 3’17”) #2 Sun Goddess Amaterasu (天照大御神/ Amaterasu Ookami, 2’11”) #3 Flowering Tree (木花之佐久夜毘売/ Konohananosakuya-bime, 2’31”) #4 Umisachi and Yamasachi (海佐知山佐知/ Umisachi Yamasachi, 3’30”)

Zodiac One Third

Zodiac One Third

This work was commissioned for the 20th Anniversary Edition of the Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival and made possible by support from the 2016 Champion and Patron Members of Reel Asian. Chinese Zodiac is 60-years cycle by 10 heavenly elements and 12 earthly animals, 20th anniversary is just one third. In this movie appearing and changing into 20 elements from 1997 that was started the festival to 2016.

Natural History

Natural History

An animated short film by Yamamura Kouji.

Pieces

Pieces

Short by Koji Yamamura

Anthology with Cranes

Anthology with Cranes

"Anthology with Cranes" is a 17th Century scroll painting by Sotatsu Tawaraya, measuring over 13 meters long. Koji Yamamura attempts to decipher this painting by interpreting it as animation.

Fig

Fig

A segment for Image Forum Festival 2005's Tokyo Loop

Serenade

Serenade

One night Mr. K went for a walk with his pet...

Extremely Short

Extremely Short

Somewhere between calligraphy, embryology and words from beyond the grave, a convulsive poem wraps itself around the Japanese syllable ‘da’ – a breath that could just as well be the first as the last.