“Bungaku Bideo” is a new series of animated shorts that pairs short literary works in Japanese, read when possible by their authors, with animation by innovative artists from Japan and beyond.

Extremely Short

The first film in the series is Extremely Short by the world-renowned animator Yamamura Kōji and based on a short story by prize-winning author Furukawa Hideo. The full film will be made available on the Yanai Initiative website soon; for the time being, you can watch the

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The Yanai Initiative is thrilled to announce that Extremely Short has been selected for the 56th

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DIRECTOR
KOJI YAMAMURA
Born in 1964, Koji Yamamura is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and is a professor at the Tokyo University of the Arts. Nominated for an Oscar, his short “Mt. Head” won grand prizes and was selected for 100 Films for a Century of Animation. His first feature film Dozens of Norths won the Grand Prize at the Ottawa and the Annecy International Animation Film Festivals. In total, his films have won over 140 awards.

TEXT & VOICE
FURUKAWA HIDEO
Born in Fukushima Prefecture in 1966, Furukawa Hideo is the prolific author of dozens works of fiction, including everything from short shorts to very long novels, as well as plays, poetry, and non-fiction. Known for his dynamic readings, he often partners with musicians and other artists in collaborative performances.

MUSIC
ISAJI SUNAO
Isaji Sunao’s activities range from contemporary music composition and improvisation to live performances of Showa songs, children’s songs, and Brazilian music. He is also a lover of soccer, movies, and folklore. He has received the Akutagawa Composition Award, the Idemitsu Music Award, and the Keizo Saji Award for “Nanban Gekijo – Sunao Isaji Solo Exhibition.

“Totemo mijikai" (2010) by Furukawa Hideo
Planning & English translation Michael Emmerich
Producer Yamamura Kōji
Assistant Producer Yamamura San
Co-Production Yamamura Animation
Project Managers, The Yanai Initiative Jōkō Yumi, Yamasaki San
Production The Yanai Initiative at UCLA + Waseda University
Voice Recording Eric Siercks at the Waseda International House of Literature
Music by Isaji Sunao, Niimi Keiko
Music Mixing by Isobe Hideaki at Aoi Studio, Tokyo
Sound Mixing by Shimada Masashi at Aoi Studio, Tokyo
Color Grading, DCP lab Assist

The Graffiti

Installment #2 in the “Bungaku Bideo” series fusing Japanese literature and animation, Orikasa Ryo’s hypnotic animated short The Graffiti brings to life a prose poem by Takayanagi Makoto, read here by the poet himself.. The full film will be made available on the Yanai Initiative website soon; for the time being, you can watch the

.

The Yanai Initiative is thrilled to announce that The Graffiti has been received

at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival 2025.

DIRECTOR
ORIKASA RYO
Born in Ibaraki, Japan, 1986. Datum Point (2015) received several awards include the Ōfuji Noburō Award, The Mainichi Film Awards 2015, the Golden Zagreb Award, Animafest Zagreb 2016, the Best Experimental or Abstract Animation Award, Ottawa International Animation Festival 2016. Recent film, Misérable Miracle (2023), inspired by the work of Henri Michaux, was co-produced by Miyu Productions (France), the NFB (Canada) and New Deer (Japan).

TEXT & VOICE
TAKAYANAGI MAKOTO
Born in 1950, Makoto Takayanagi is a prolific, prize-winning poet and writer. He was
awarded the H Prize for Eggspace / Crystal Palace / Natural History; the Takami Jun Prize for Portrait of a City; and the Tōson Memorial Rekitei Award for Moonlight Perspective, An Anatomy of Sensation, and For the Transcription of Interstellar Music. Three volumes of his collected works were published from 2016–2019. Recent publications include How to Assassinate an Immaculate Summer; Francesca’s Skirt; and Elegy for the Twisting, Turning Stingrays. His collections of criticism and essays include Riemenschneider: The Last Medieval Sculptor and A Theory of Poetry for the Theory of Poetrys.

SOUNS DESIGN
TAKINO MASUMI
She started her career as a sound designer while she was still a student at the Tokyo University of the Arts’ Department of Musical Creativity and the Environment, and she has since worked extensively in animation, movies, commercials, and video games. Her work includes the animated movie “Ghost Cat Anzu” (2024), animated short movies “The Great Rabbit” (2012), “Bird In The Peninsula” (2022), “A Bite Of Bone” (2023), live-action movie “Mado” (2022) and animated TV series “Dinosaur Biyori” (2021), “Shinobanai! CryptoNinja Sakuya” (2023. 2024), “Ikimono-san” (2023) among others. She also took part in various movies and video games as a foley artist.

Based on the poem "Rakugaki"(1999) by Takayanagi Makoto
Planning & English Translation Michael Emmrich
Producer　Orikasa Ryo
Direction & Animation　Orikasa Ryo
Production　The Yanai Initiative at UCLA + Waseda University
Project Managers　The Yanai Initiative Joko Yumi, Yamazaki Sanae
Text & Voice　Takayanagi Makoto
Sound Design　Takino Masumi
Sound Mixing　Aoi Studio, Nakajima Katsu, Kobayashi Aoi
Voice Recording　Waseda International House of Literature, Fukasawa Taisei
DCP　Bart.lab