THE MYSTERY OF GEGEGE, KITARO TANJO

GeGeGe no Kitaro Gets a Fittingly Unusual Origin Story

Venue(s): Shinjuku Wald 9
September 19, 2024, Visit theater site for details
Language: Japanese with English subtitles
Official website: www.kitaro-tanjo.com/
Theater website: tjoy.jp/shinjuku_wald9#schedule-content
Trailer: https://bit.ly/3ZnR9gU


Title: 鬼太郎誕生　ゲゲゲの謎 (Kitaro Tanjo Gegege no Nazo)
Director: Go Koga (古賀豪)
Duration: 106 min

If you’ve been in Japan or interested in Japan for any length of time, you’ve heard of young Kitaro, the last survivor of the Ghost Tribe, brought to adventurous life in the popular GeGeGe no Kitaro manga and countless anime series. Commemorating the centenary of creator Shigeru Mizuki, and the 4th film in a franchise from Toei Animation, Birth of Kitaro focuses on Kitaro's father and a salaryman named Mizuki (based on Shigeru Mizuki himself), and tells the story of Kitaro's birth. Nominated for Best Animation Film at the 47th Japan Academy Awards and also at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, it’s being shown with English subtitles on one day only, so don't miss the chance to see it.

GeGeGe no Kitaro was first serialized in 1965, becoming instantly iconic. Focusing on a young yokai (supernatural being) named Kitaro who fights to protect both humans and yokai from evil spirits and monsters, the series became known for its rich depiction of Japanese folklore and mythology, and gave rise to today’s boom in Yokai creatures.

Unlike the main series, Birth of Kitaro has been made as a horror story aimed at adults. And indeed, Shigeru Mizuki’s life was filled with horrors. Born in Osaka, he showed an early talent for art. But after being drafted in 1942, he served in Papua New Guinea during WWII, developing malaria and losing his left arm in an air raid. This led to his pacifist views, and his postwar work began to feature many yokai as symbols of peace.

The film begins in 1956 when Kitaro's father, Father Medama, comes to Wekakura Village in search of his missing wife. The village is ruled by the Tatsuga family, who control the Japanese political and business world behind the scenes. Mizuki, who works for a blood bank at the time, visits the village on a secret mission to mourn the death of the head of the family and meets Kitaro's father. Amidst an ugly struggle for the succession of the head of the family, a member of the family is brutally murdered at the village shrine. This is the beginning of a terrifying chain of bizarre events…

Shinjuku Wald 9