The Art of the Benshi 4K Blu-ray
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Posted September 29, 2026 04:57 AM by Webmaster
Flicker Alley will release on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray The Art of the Benshi. The two releases are scheduled to arrive on the market on November 24.
Description: Flicker Alley and the Yanai Initiative—a collaborative project of UCLA and Waseda University in Tokyo—proudly announce The Art of the Benshi, a deluxe box set that celebrates Japan's remarkable "film orators." Talkies famously overtook Hollywood in 1930. In Japan, however, the movies had been speaking all along thanks to live benshi performers who, standing off to the side of the screen, lent their voices to all manner of cinematic works, narrating events as they unfolded and speaking for the characters.
Full-fledged artists in their own right, benshi interpreted and enlivened the cinema experience in Japan through expressive performances that illuminated and extended the emotional and thematic range of the works on screen. The art, today, is carried on by a small number of performers, many of whom have honed their abilities through apprenticeships under benshi of the preceding generation, creating a continuous lineage back to the performers of the 1910s, 20s, and 30s.
"It's one of the finest theatre and movie experiences, separately and together, that I've ever had,"wrote The New Yorker's Richard Brody in 2024 of the Yanai Initiative's touring The Art of the Benshi program, "...In my embarrassing ignorance, I didn't know that such an art even existed, let alone that it's being renewed… This is what repertory is for, at its best: expanding the very map of the (familiar) history of cinema and of the arts overall."
Appearing for the first time on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray disc are new 4K restorations of Orochi (1925), A Page of Madness (1926), and, starring Baby Peggy (a highly popular star in Japan), Captain January(1924), along with Blu-ray releases of a new restoration of The Water Magician (1931) (presented in both 20fps and 24fps playback speeds), four additional Baby Peggy shorts: Brownie's Little Venus(1921), Sweetie (1923), Darling of New York (1923), and Our Pet (1924), as well as a surviving fragment of the samurai tale Blood-Spattered Takadanobaba (1928).
Including 23 audio presentations across nine different titles, The Art of the Benshi features 11 different benshi with newly recorded performances from masters like Sawato Midori (on Orochi, The Water Magician, and Our Pet), Kataoka Ichirō (on Orochi, A Page of Madness, Captain January, and Blood-Spattered Takadanobaba), Sakamoto Raikō (on The Water Magician and Captain January), and Ōmori Kumiko (on The Water Magician, Captain January, Sweetie, and Blood-Spattered Takadanobaba). With multiple benshi performances and historically inspired musical performances on every film, audiences can fully experience the degree to which different performers transform and deepen the moviegoing experience.
COMPLETE LIST OF FILMS:
*All 4K titles are mirrored on Blu-ray Disc One. (The Blu-ray release is a two-disc set).
Orochi (1925) 4K BLU-RAY
Tsumasaburō Bandō headlines director Buntarō Futagawa's tale of a lonely samurai. The film was restored in 4K by Jidaigeki Senmon Channel in 2022 with technical assistance from the NFAJ, from the 35mm nitrate original camera negative and from surviving release prints.
A Page of Madness (1926) 4K BLU-RAY
Director Teinosuke Kinugasa's intense exploration of a mental institution is an avant-garde masterpiece and the avant-garde approach still feels cutting edge, even a century later. At one time believed lost, A Page of Madness has been restored in 4K by the NFAJ from an analog restoration of the original blue-tinted nitrate print.
Blood-Spattered Takadanobaba Fragment (1928) BLU-RAY
Although the complete film is tragically lost, 12 minutes survive thanks to Tokyo's Toy Film Museum. From director Daisuke Itō, the film stars Denjirō Ōkōchi as 17th century rōnin Horibe Yasubee Taketsune.
The Water Magician (1931) BLU-RAY
The Water Magician is presented in a new digital restoration in two versions with variable framerates. The 24fps version was specially created to pair with the benshi performances, which were recorded before the 20fps restoration was complete; the 20fps version, accompanied by Stephen Horne's piano score, aims to replicate director Kenji Mizoguchi's original exhibition plans.
FIVE FILMS STARRING BABY PEGGY
Especially popular in Japan, Diana Serra Cary began acting as "Baby Peggy" in Century Studios shorts when she was just two years old. Collected here are a selection of Baby Peggy's most popular shorts, including the 4K Blu-ray debut of Captain January (with Japanese intertitles) and the recently-discovered Our Pet.
Brownie's Little Venus (1921) BLU-RAY
One of her earliest surviving Century Comedies shorts, directed by Fred Fishback. Long thought lost, a 35mm nitrate print of this Century Comedies short, was discovered at the Cinémathèque Suisse in Switzerland, and preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Sweetie (1923) BLU-RAY
Another surviving Century Comedies short, directed by Alfred J. Goulding, which was pieced together from multiple international film sources, including the Filmarchiv Austria, Lobster Films (Paris), and the Museum of Modern Art. It was preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, with funding from historian David Stenn and Packard Humanities Institute.
Darling of New York (1923) BLU-RAY
This is "Baby Peggy's" feature film debut, a Universal Pictures release directed by King Baggot, presumed lost except for this surviving 14 minute fragment of the climactic final reel found by a private collector. It was preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, with funding from historian David Stenn and Packard Humanities Institute. The traumatic experience of the surviving scenes became one of Diana Sera Cary's most vividly remembered childhood experiences in the industry.
Captain January (1924) 4K BLU-RAY
Produced by Sol Lesser, and directed by Edward F. Cline, this is Baby Peggy's best-known starring vehicle, later remade with Shirley Temple. It is one of a small handful of her features to survive and co-stars Hobart Bosworth as lighthouse keeper "Daddy" Judkins and Irene Rich. Although long available in the public domain in independent film prints, this unique version was released in Japan with narration by benshi Murayama Kenji in 1935 by Tokyo Cinema Shōkai. This new 4K scan was prepared by the Yanai Initiative in 2026.
Our Pet (1924) BLU-RAY
Directed by Herman C. Raymaker, Our Pet finds Baby Peggy facing off against a late-night intruder. Once thought lost, a nearly complete 9.5mm print surfaced at a Japanese auction in 2016, where it was acquired by benshi Ichirō Kataoka. It was subsequently scanned in 3K, cleaned, and stabilized frame-by-frame.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Bunazawa Ken'ichi - SWEETIE
A disciple of Sawato Midori, Bunazawa Ken'ichi debuted as a benshi in 2020 at a screening organized by Matsuda Film Productions for its Friends of Silent Film Association. Alongside his work as a benshi, he also performs as a voice actor, dubbing foreign films and participating as a member of the Kineko International Festival's "Kineko Live Actors" (KLA) team. He has curated benshi-accompanied screenings for the Shimochika Katsuben Film Series and serves as master of ceremonies for the awards ceremony at the Shimokitazawa Film Festival.
Kataoka Ichirō - OROCHI, A PAGE OF MADNESS, BLOOD-SPATTERED TAKADANOBABA
A disciple of Sawato Midori since 2002, Kataoka Ichirō is among the most active contemporary benshi, having narrated some four hundred silent films in twenty-five countries. He has played benshi on screen, including in Suo Masayuki's film Talking the Pictures (Katsuben!, 2019), and authored a history of benshititled Katsudō shashin benshi (A Benshi History, 2020). While maintaining a busy performance schedule, Kataoka also narrates commercials and writes film reviews for weekly magazines. He served as coordinator for the benshi recordings in The Art of the Benshi Blu-ray set and for the many Art of the Benshi performances and tours the Yanai Initiative has organized since 2019.
Murayama Kenji - CAPTAIN JANUARY
A disciple of the famous silent-era benshi Tokugawa Musei, Murayama Kenji (d. 1964) specialized in narrating foreign films. He seems to have embarked upon his career as a benshi toward the end of the silent era. After talkies took over, he worked for a time as a mandanka—a form of entertainment akin to stand-up comedy—before turning to sound recording. He was a core member of the recording departments at Tōhō Studios and Shintōhō until he was fired for inciting workers to fight during the Tōhō labor disputes of 1946 to 1948. He subsequently lived out the rest of his life in difficult circumstances.
Mutō Kenji - BROWNIE'S LITTLE VENUS
Formerly an actor with the Mingei Theatre Company, Mutō Kenji entered the world of benshi performance in 2020 and is now a disciple of Sawato Midori. He made his benshi debut in 2021 narrating Tsukigata Hanpeita (1952) at the inaugural Katsuben Film Festival. The physical and vocal expressiveness he cultivated as a stage actor has helped him to distinguish among many different characters in a single film, ranging from elderly people to young children and from villains to heroines.
Oda Takatora - OUR PET
Born in 2000 in Kumamoto Prefecture, Oda Takatora is a disciple of Sawato Midori. His first public performance as a benshi took place in October 2021 at a screening organized by Matsuda Film Productions for its Friends of Silent Film Association. He moved to Tokyo following this debut performance and has since narrated more than 130 films. He also actively plans and realizes independent film screenings, including in his hometown of Kumamoto.
Ōmori Kumiko - THE WATER MAGICIAN, CAPTAIN JANUARY, BLOOD-SPATTERED TAKADANOBABA
Ōmori Kumiko debuted as a benshi in 2012. Based in Osaka, she has performed extensively at silent-film screenings, yose theaters, and film festivals throughout Japan and abroad. She participated in the Yanai Initiative's first large-scale The Art of the Benshi event in Los Angeles in 2019 and in the four-city The Art of the Benshi World Tour in 2024. An exceptionally versatile performer, she excels in everything from comedy and pop-oriented works to serious dramas. She is also well known as a radio personality.
Sakamoto Raikō
Sakamoto Raikō began training as a benshi in 1997 while performing as an opening act at screenings organized by Matsuda Film Productions, known for its extensive collection of silent films. He made his official debut in 2000 and has since narrated roughly 120 films. In recent years, he has expanded the range of his activities as a performer to include yose theaters, where he brings the art of benshi into dialogue with traditional Japanese storytelling arts. In 2024, the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs awarded Sakomoto the Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists
Sawato Midori - OROCHI, THE WATER MAGICIAN, OUR PET
Born in Tokyo, Sawato Midori is a graduate of Hōsei University's Department of Philosophy. In 1972, she became a disciple of noted benshi Matsuda Shunsui (1925–1987), a dedicated film collector and founder of Matsuda Film Productions. She is widely regarded as a leading practitioner of the art of benshinarration. Her repertoire runs the gamut from period films to contemporary dramas and foreign films. Acclaimed for her ability to communicate what is special about the films she narrates through nuanced scripts that exploit the resources of the Japanese language to the full, as well as for her rich verbal delivery, she has received numerous honors, including the Agency for Cultural Affairs National Arts Festival Excellence Award and the Agency for Cultural Affairs Film Award.
Yamashiro Hideyuki - OROCHI, DARLING OF NEW YORK
Yamashiro Hideyuki got his start as a performer in 1997 as a kamishibai ("paper theater") storyteller. In 2010, having participated in a workshop on benshi narration the previous year, he became a disciple of Sawato Midori and had his debut as a benshi. He has performed extensively in Japan and abroad, including in the Yanai Initiative's 2024 The Art of the Benshi World Tour. He has also appeared as an actor in films including Marty Supreme.
Yamauchi Nanako - A PAGE OF MADNESS, DARLING OF NEW YORK
A disciple of Sawato Midori since 2010, Yamauchi Nanako first performed publicly as a benshi in June 2013 at the 659th Friends of Silent Film Association screening. In 2025, she performed at the Manila International Silent Film Festival in the Philippines. Since 2021, she has also served as a consultant for Nasuno Mayuka's manga RAY—Rei—Taishō Kinema Monogatari (RAY—Rei—A Taishō-Era Cinema Story), serialized in Manga Mee.
Yamazaki Vanilla - BROWNIE'S LITTLE VENUS
Yamazaki Vanilla debuted as a benshi in 2001. She has since pioneered her own style, combining a distinctive vocal timbre with the ability to provide her own musical accompaniment on the taishō-goto and piano. In recent years, she has even incorporated flamenco castanets into her performances. She composed and performed her own music for the performance included in this Blu-ray set. A regular presence at the Tokyo International Film Festival since 2018, she is also active as a voice actor, with credits including the role of Jaiko in the anime series Doraemon.
Description: Flicker Alley and the Yanai Initiative—a collaborative project of UCLA and Waseda University in Tokyo—proudly announce The Art of the Benshi, a deluxe box set that celebrates Japan's remarkable "film orators." Talkies famously overtook Hollywood in 1930. In Japan, however, the movies had been speaking all along thanks to live benshi performers who, standing off to the side of the screen, lent their voices to all manner of cinematic works, narrating events as they unfolded and speaking for the characters.
Full-fledged artists in their own right, benshi interpreted and enlivened the cinema experience in Japan through expressive performances that illuminated and extended the emotional and thematic range of the works on screen. The art, today, is carried on by a small number of performers, many of whom have honed their abilities through apprenticeships under benshi of the preceding generation, creating a continuous lineage back to the performers of the 1910s, 20s, and 30s.
"It's one of the finest theatre and movie experiences, separately and together, that I've ever had,"wrote The New Yorker's Richard Brody in 2024 of the Yanai Initiative's touring The Art of the Benshi program, "...In my embarrassing ignorance, I didn't know that such an art even existed, let alone that it's being renewed… This is what repertory is for, at its best: expanding the very map of the (familiar) history of cinema and of the arts overall."
Appearing for the first time on 4K Blu-ray and Blu-ray disc are new 4K restorations of Orochi (1925), A Page of Madness (1926), and, starring Baby Peggy (a highly popular star in Japan), Captain January(1924), along with Blu-ray releases of a new restoration of The Water Magician (1931) (presented in both 20fps and 24fps playback speeds), four additional Baby Peggy shorts: Brownie's Little Venus(1921), Sweetie (1923), Darling of New York (1923), and Our Pet (1924), as well as a surviving fragment of the samurai tale Blood-Spattered Takadanobaba (1928).
Including 23 audio presentations across nine different titles, The Art of the Benshi features 11 different benshi with newly recorded performances from masters like Sawato Midori (on Orochi, The Water Magician, and Our Pet), Kataoka Ichirō (on Orochi, A Page of Madness, Captain January, and Blood-Spattered Takadanobaba), Sakamoto Raikō (on The Water Magician and Captain January), and Ōmori Kumiko (on The Water Magician, Captain January, Sweetie, and Blood-Spattered Takadanobaba). With multiple benshi performances and historically inspired musical performances on every film, audiences can fully experience the degree to which different performers transform and deepen the moviegoing experience.
COMPLETE LIST OF FILMS:
*All 4K titles are mirrored on Blu-ray Disc One. (The Blu-ray release is a two-disc set).
Orochi (1925) 4K BLU-RAY
Tsumasaburō Bandō headlines director Buntarō Futagawa's tale of a lonely samurai. The film was restored in 4K by Jidaigeki Senmon Channel in 2022 with technical assistance from the NFAJ, from the 35mm nitrate original camera negative and from surviving release prints.
A Page of Madness (1926) 4K BLU-RAY
Director Teinosuke Kinugasa's intense exploration of a mental institution is an avant-garde masterpiece and the avant-garde approach still feels cutting edge, even a century later. At one time believed lost, A Page of Madness has been restored in 4K by the NFAJ from an analog restoration of the original blue-tinted nitrate print.
Blood-Spattered Takadanobaba Fragment (1928) BLU-RAY
Although the complete film is tragically lost, 12 minutes survive thanks to Tokyo's Toy Film Museum. From director Daisuke Itō, the film stars Denjirō Ōkōchi as 17th century rōnin Horibe Yasubee Taketsune.
The Water Magician (1931) BLU-RAY
The Water Magician is presented in a new digital restoration in two versions with variable framerates. The 24fps version was specially created to pair with the benshi performances, which were recorded before the 20fps restoration was complete; the 20fps version, accompanied by Stephen Horne's piano score, aims to replicate director Kenji Mizoguchi's original exhibition plans.
FIVE FILMS STARRING BABY PEGGY
Especially popular in Japan, Diana Serra Cary began acting as "Baby Peggy" in Century Studios shorts when she was just two years old. Collected here are a selection of Baby Peggy's most popular shorts, including the 4K Blu-ray debut of Captain January (with Japanese intertitles) and the recently-discovered Our Pet.
Brownie's Little Venus (1921) BLU-RAY
One of her earliest surviving Century Comedies shorts, directed by Fred Fishback. Long thought lost, a 35mm nitrate print of this Century Comedies short, was discovered at the Cinémathèque Suisse in Switzerland, and preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive.
Sweetie (1923) BLU-RAY
Another surviving Century Comedies short, directed by Alfred J. Goulding, which was pieced together from multiple international film sources, including the Filmarchiv Austria, Lobster Films (Paris), and the Museum of Modern Art. It was preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, with funding from historian David Stenn and Packard Humanities Institute.
Darling of New York (1923) BLU-RAY
This is "Baby Peggy's" feature film debut, a Universal Pictures release directed by King Baggot, presumed lost except for this surviving 14 minute fragment of the climactic final reel found by a private collector. It was preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive, with funding from historian David Stenn and Packard Humanities Institute. The traumatic experience of the surviving scenes became one of Diana Sera Cary's most vividly remembered childhood experiences in the industry.
Captain January (1924) 4K BLU-RAY
Produced by Sol Lesser, and directed by Edward F. Cline, this is Baby Peggy's best-known starring vehicle, later remade with Shirley Temple. It is one of a small handful of her features to survive and co-stars Hobart Bosworth as lighthouse keeper "Daddy" Judkins and Irene Rich. Although long available in the public domain in independent film prints, this unique version was released in Japan with narration by benshi Murayama Kenji in 1935 by Tokyo Cinema Shōkai. This new 4K scan was prepared by the Yanai Initiative in 2026.
Our Pet (1924) BLU-RAY
Directed by Herman C. Raymaker, Our Pet finds Baby Peggy facing off against a late-night intruder. Once thought lost, a nearly complete 9.5mm print surfaced at a Japanese auction in 2016, where it was acquired by benshi Ichirō Kataoka. It was subsequently scanned in 3K, cleaned, and stabilized frame-by-frame.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- Music Only Presentations - When international editions of Japanese films were distributed to Western art-house audiences in the late 1920s, they were shown with translated intertitles only (no benshi) and typically with musical accompaniment by either a pianist or small orchestra. Some of the finest musicians working in silent film music scoring today—Neal Brand, Stephen Horne, Makia Matsumura, and Donald Sosin—offer music-only presentations as a counterpoint to the version featuring benshi, to give a sense how these films would have been exhibited outside of Japan
- Talking Benshi - A brief overview of the oral art form that dates back to the dawn of Japanese cinema
- An Appreciation - A video essay comparing Orochi and A Page of Madness, historian Aaron Gerow provides an overview of jidai-geki, and gendai-geki, Japan's distinct storytelling eras, and explores their connection to some early French films
- Interview with "Baby Peggy" Diana Serra Cary - From a never-before-released 2011 interview, Diana Serra Cary looks back on life as "Baby Peggy" and recalls the fiery production of The Darling of New York
- Deluxe 80-Page Book - A detailed guide to the history of benshi and to the artists and films that appear in the collection
- A Page of Madness Program - A reproduction of the original brochure distributed at the very first public screening of the film in 1926
- Limited edition of 3,000 units encased in a hard box with removable obi strip
- REGION-FREE
Bunazawa Ken'ichi - SWEETIE
A disciple of Sawato Midori, Bunazawa Ken'ichi debuted as a benshi in 2020 at a screening organized by Matsuda Film Productions for its Friends of Silent Film Association. Alongside his work as a benshi, he also performs as a voice actor, dubbing foreign films and participating as a member of the Kineko International Festival's "Kineko Live Actors" (KLA) team. He has curated benshi-accompanied screenings for the Shimochika Katsuben Film Series and serves as master of ceremonies for the awards ceremony at the Shimokitazawa Film Festival.
Kataoka Ichirō - OROCHI, A PAGE OF MADNESS, BLOOD-SPATTERED TAKADANOBABA
A disciple of Sawato Midori since 2002, Kataoka Ichirō is among the most active contemporary benshi, having narrated some four hundred silent films in twenty-five countries. He has played benshi on screen, including in Suo Masayuki's film Talking the Pictures (Katsuben!, 2019), and authored a history of benshititled Katsudō shashin benshi (A Benshi History, 2020). While maintaining a busy performance schedule, Kataoka also narrates commercials and writes film reviews for weekly magazines. He served as coordinator for the benshi recordings in The Art of the Benshi Blu-ray set and for the many Art of the Benshi performances and tours the Yanai Initiative has organized since 2019.
Murayama Kenji - CAPTAIN JANUARY
A disciple of the famous silent-era benshi Tokugawa Musei, Murayama Kenji (d. 1964) specialized in narrating foreign films. He seems to have embarked upon his career as a benshi toward the end of the silent era. After talkies took over, he worked for a time as a mandanka—a form of entertainment akin to stand-up comedy—before turning to sound recording. He was a core member of the recording departments at Tōhō Studios and Shintōhō until he was fired for inciting workers to fight during the Tōhō labor disputes of 1946 to 1948. He subsequently lived out the rest of his life in difficult circumstances.
Mutō Kenji - BROWNIE'S LITTLE VENUS
Formerly an actor with the Mingei Theatre Company, Mutō Kenji entered the world of benshi performance in 2020 and is now a disciple of Sawato Midori. He made his benshi debut in 2021 narrating Tsukigata Hanpeita (1952) at the inaugural Katsuben Film Festival. The physical and vocal expressiveness he cultivated as a stage actor has helped him to distinguish among many different characters in a single film, ranging from elderly people to young children and from villains to heroines.
Oda Takatora - OUR PET
Born in 2000 in Kumamoto Prefecture, Oda Takatora is a disciple of Sawato Midori. His first public performance as a benshi took place in October 2021 at a screening organized by Matsuda Film Productions for its Friends of Silent Film Association. He moved to Tokyo following this debut performance and has since narrated more than 130 films. He also actively plans and realizes independent film screenings, including in his hometown of Kumamoto.
Ōmori Kumiko - THE WATER MAGICIAN, CAPTAIN JANUARY, BLOOD-SPATTERED TAKADANOBABA
Ōmori Kumiko debuted as a benshi in 2012. Based in Osaka, she has performed extensively at silent-film screenings, yose theaters, and film festivals throughout Japan and abroad. She participated in the Yanai Initiative's first large-scale The Art of the Benshi event in Los Angeles in 2019 and in the four-city The Art of the Benshi World Tour in 2024. An exceptionally versatile performer, she excels in everything from comedy and pop-oriented works to serious dramas. She is also well known as a radio personality.
Sakamoto Raikō
Sakamoto Raikō began training as a benshi in 1997 while performing as an opening act at screenings organized by Matsuda Film Productions, known for its extensive collection of silent films. He made his official debut in 2000 and has since narrated roughly 120 films. In recent years, he has expanded the range of his activities as a performer to include yose theaters, where he brings the art of benshi into dialogue with traditional Japanese storytelling arts. In 2024, the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs awarded Sakomoto the Art Encouragement Prize for New Artists
Sawato Midori - OROCHI, THE WATER MAGICIAN, OUR PET
Born in Tokyo, Sawato Midori is a graduate of Hōsei University's Department of Philosophy. In 1972, she became a disciple of noted benshi Matsuda Shunsui (1925–1987), a dedicated film collector and founder of Matsuda Film Productions. She is widely regarded as a leading practitioner of the art of benshinarration. Her repertoire runs the gamut from period films to contemporary dramas and foreign films. Acclaimed for her ability to communicate what is special about the films she narrates through nuanced scripts that exploit the resources of the Japanese language to the full, as well as for her rich verbal delivery, she has received numerous honors, including the Agency for Cultural Affairs National Arts Festival Excellence Award and the Agency for Cultural Affairs Film Award.
Yamashiro Hideyuki - OROCHI, DARLING OF NEW YORK
Yamashiro Hideyuki got his start as a performer in 1997 as a kamishibai ("paper theater") storyteller. In 2010, having participated in a workshop on benshi narration the previous year, he became a disciple of Sawato Midori and had his debut as a benshi. He has performed extensively in Japan and abroad, including in the Yanai Initiative's 2024 The Art of the Benshi World Tour. He has also appeared as an actor in films including Marty Supreme.
Yamauchi Nanako - A PAGE OF MADNESS, DARLING OF NEW YORK
A disciple of Sawato Midori since 2010, Yamauchi Nanako first performed publicly as a benshi in June 2013 at the 659th Friends of Silent Film Association screening. In 2025, she performed at the Manila International Silent Film Festival in the Philippines. Since 2021, she has also served as a consultant for Nasuno Mayuka's manga RAY—Rei—Taishō Kinema Monogatari (RAY—Rei—A Taishō-Era Cinema Story), serialized in Manga Mee.
Yamazaki Vanilla - BROWNIE'S LITTLE VENUS
Yamazaki Vanilla debuted as a benshi in 2001. She has since pioneered her own style, combining a distinctive vocal timbre with the ability to provide her own musical accompaniment on the taishō-goto and piano. In recent years, she has even incorporated flamenco castanets into her performances. She composed and performed her own music for the performance included in this Blu-ray set. A regular presence at the Tokyo International Film Festival since 2018, she is also active as a voice actor, with credits including the role of Jaiko in the anime series Doraemon.
