Aos

An abstract animation about people and organs of the body in and out of drawers.

The Chair

Interesting conceptual film where people of various ages and professions are asked to sit on a chair for 15 minutes with nothing to do. We see how bored and uneasy modern people start to feel when wasting time.

Manga

A series of mini-stories satirising our world in the 20th Century.

Imagination of Marathon Runners

Short animation by Yoji Kuri

Here and There

Here and There (1961) fuses live-action and animation and was screened at Three-Person Animation 2. Musique concrète and electronic sounds made by modulating everyday noises such as flush toilets are interspersed throughout the work. Contrasts between opposites, as encapsulated by the title – between live-action space and animated space, between mundane sounds of daily life and bizarre noises – and the war between the sexes, a signature theme in Yōji Kuri’s work, are also palpable in the juxtaposition of musique concrète and scat singing. (C...

Samurai

Short animated film by Yoji Kuri

Flower

A short film by Kuri Youji. A man plants a flower and waits for it to bear fruit...

Human Zoo

A montage of scenes that describe how people can be as bad as animals.

Two Grilled Fish (Color Version)

Remake of the 1960 film with the same name in color that tells the story of a man and a woman who go by raft to a remote desert island with chickens and a dog. At first, it is a kind of paradise for them. They farm and fish following the same routine every day, feasting on grilled sanma that they roast out in the open. One day, their harmony gets interrupted by a mustachioed scientist on a raft powered by an abused pig. This unwanted visitor constructs a robot which begins the process of industrialization on the island. The couple are disgru...

The Room

A small white box. Everything happens in that little world. A woman's face comes out from the side of the room and roars, birds peck at human flesh, trains run through, and a couple quarrel begins. When the billiard ball penetrates the room, the billiard ball changes into various shapes ... Each room is a world, and what happens there is a microcosm of modern times.

The Bathroom

A work that incorporates live-action fast-forwarding, live-action stop-motion animation, and a few cel animations. A number of strange events that occur in a room. I left the camera in the empty room after moving and took a month to shoot.

Tragedy on the G Line

A work in which Yoji Kuri added animation to Toshi Ichiyanagi's music. CG is used, which is rare in Yoji Kuri's work. In addition, detailed furniture such as those drawn in copperplate prints and illustrations of unknown machines are used to create a Gothic atmosphere.

Pop

The train just runs. A collage of various images, including cel animation and drawing, animates smoke emitted from trains. The title comes from both the sound of a passing train and Pop Art (Yōji Kuri).

Love of Kemeko

A man is continually stalked by a small woman named Kemoko who is utterly in love with him.

Au Fou! (International Version)

The original version is monochrome, but in 1967 it was remade in color as an international version. In the international version, the first and twelfth episodes and the fake commercials have been omitted.

The Man Next Door

Satire on those who interrupt other peoples' peace and quiet.

Stamp Fantasia

Along with graphic designer / ad-man Ryohei Yanagihara (柳原良平) and renowned book cover designer Hiroshi Manabe (真鍋博), Kuri formed the Animation Sannin no Kai (Animation Group of Three) in 1960. In doing so the three animators followed the footsteps of the 1950s Sannin no Kai composers (Yasushi Akutagawa, Ikuma Dan & Toshiro Mayuzumi) who banded together to stage performances of their avant-garde style of music. The Animation Group of Three showcased their work at three events: November 1960, December 1962, and April 1963. After 1964 this even...

Funkorogashi

Dog leavings become a growing problem for Tokyo and its residents.

Art, Life and Opinions: Ushio Shinohara

An interview with artist Ushio Shinohara.