Recently, the "Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi Theater" reached its final performance.
Thank you so much to everyone who came to see it.
Looking out at the audience, there was something I felt once again.
It has been 50 years since the broadcast began. Even so, "Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi" still lives on in the hearts of many people.
And now that the stage performances have concluded, there is something I want to tell you all. Why are we moving "Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi" once again now?
It is a bit long, but I would be happy if you read it to the end.
I, too, watched "Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi" as a child.
In front of the TV, there was family, dinner, and just an ordinary day.
Trembling at scary stories. Feeling my heart tighten at sad stories.
Laughing at funny stories. And finally, listening to the ending song.
At the time, I didn't think about the meaning embedded in the works.
But now, as I re-watch each episode, touch the original film and materials from that time, and learn more about the work of those involved in the production, there is something I feel strongly.
This is not just a "nostalgic anime."
Being considerate of others. Keeping promises. Not being greedy.
Not wasting food. Fearing and respecting nature.
Paying attention to things that cannot be seen.
The "Heart of Japan," which we Japanese have inherited over a long period of time, is preserved within each and every story.
"Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi" is by no means just gentle stories.
Scary things are truly scary.
Sad things are sad.
Righteous people are not always rewarded, and not every story ends happily.
Human greed and foolishness. The terror of nature. The fragility of life.
Because it is for children, it is depicted without deception.
For example, many ogres (Oni) appear in "Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi."
The image we Japanese have when we hear "Oni"—with horns, fangs, and a terrifying presence—might be something many people etched into their hearts through this work.
But looking at the works again, Oni are not necessarily simple "evil."
There are terrifying Oni. There are Oni that trouble humans.
There are also Oni that are somehow lovable.
There are Oni with deeper emotions than humans, and Oni who carry sadness and loneliness. Conversely, there are even times when human greed and arrogance are depicted as far more terrifying.
"It's an Oni, so it's bad" or "It's a human, so it's right."
It doesn't provide such simple answers.
The other party has their own circumstances.
What is visible is not everything.
Between good and evil, there are things where a line cannot be easily drawn.
We were not taught this as ethics or morality when we were children.
We watched the stories, were scared, laughed, and felt sad.
I think we were sensing it without even knowing it.
Looking at Japan today, we see news of heartbreaking incidents, crimes, and major disasters.
Society and life have changed significantly between 50 years ago and now.
But when faced with such events, how do we face them as Japanese people?
Do we pass them by as events that have nothing to do with us?
Do we imagine the sadness of someone on the other side of the screen?
If someone is in trouble, reach out a hand.
Imagine the pain of those who have suffered.
Before hurting someone, think about the fact that they also have family and loved ones.
If a disaster occurs, think not only of yourself but also of the person next to you.
Fear the power of nature and know that life is never guaranteed to continue until tomorrow. Don't make it someone else's business. Think from someone else's perspective.
Before laws and rules, isn't that the sense of ethics necessary for people to live together with other people?
"Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi" was not a work that taught such things by saying "do this."
What happens to humans who lose to greed?
What do humans who break promises lose?
By being kind to someone, what comes back around?
Humans who underestimate nature are reminded of its greatness.
Sometimes even endings without salvation are shown to children as they are.
And it makes us, who have finished watching, think for ourselves: "What would I do?"
As children, through such stories, we may have been thinking about how to live as a human being without even realizing it.
Now, information and entertainment are overflowing.
If you open a smartphone, new videos flow one after another.
If you ask AI, the answers to what you want to know are returned immediately.
It is a truly convenient and wonderful era. That is exactly why,
Instead of teaching answers, stories that make the heart think are necessary in this day and age. That is what I believe.
We are not preserving it just because it is a 50-year-old work.
We want to preserve it because it is a work that, even after 50 years, still asks us about the things we need. At first, I myself thought, "I want to deliver it once more."
But the more I became involved with this work and faced each episode, that feeling gradually changed.
It's not "I want to deliver it," but "I must deliver it."
Now, I feel something close to a sense of mission.
And that feeling is no longer mine alone.
We have begun to move bit by bit to leave this work for the next generation and deliver it to everyone once again.
However, in order to leave this work for the future, there is a major reality.
In "Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi," many precious films and materials that have not yet been digitized still remain. Film is not eternal.
It deteriorates over time.
If it is lost, it can never be recovered.
Checking each one, performing necessary restoration, adjusting the video and sound, and creating a digital archive in a state that can be viewed in today's environment.
That requires an enormous amount of time and a massive cost.
That is why we are moving this work once again.
Stages, events, work distribution. And the merchandising for which we have received so many requests from everyone.
Here, please let me talk a little bit about the future.
This autumn, we are preparing a VOD service so that everyone can fully watch the "Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi" works that we have digitized so far.
Those nostalgic stories you saw as a child, once more.
That one episode you've been looking for all this time, once more.
And new encounters with stories you haven't had the chance to meet before.
This time, together with your children or grandchildren. While watching the same story across generations,
"I saw this story when I was a child, too."
"Grandma knows this story, too."
If such conversations were born in Japanese homes once again,
We would be very happy.
Furthermore, we would like to gradually respond to the voices we have received from everyone, such as:
"I want merchandise," "I want you to release old products again,"
"I want something that makes me feel close to the work."
We are also currently considering the launch of an official EC site where we can deliver original goods to everyone.
Stages, events, broadcast distribution, VOD, goods.
From now on, we will gradually inform everyone of new developments for "Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi." However, this is not simply a business for selling products or distributing videos. We have a future we want to realize beyond that.
I will state this clearly to everyone.
All profits generated from "Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi" will be returned to the activities for preserving and inheriting the work.
Digitally archive as many precious films as possible that have not yet been digitized. Leave them for the next generation in better condition.
And, in order to deliver Japan's wonderful stories to the world, we will also work on multi-language support. Return the value created from the work back to the future of the work.
We want to create such a cycle together with all of you.
That you pick up one piece of merchandise.
That you watch one work on VOD.
That you visit an event.
That you watch one work on YouTube.
That you tell someone about this activity.
Each one may be a truly small thing.
But if those small bits of support gather, we can preserve for the future a single work that is still sleeping inside the film.
We believe so.
And there is another reason why we want to deliver this work to the world.
Among the people overseas who love Japanese anime and content today, there are those who do not just "watch" the work, but also try to learn about the Japanese culture and spirituality behind it.
Why do Japanese stories have so much nature, gods, Oni, and ghost stories?
Why have scary and sad stories been passed down to children?
Why doesn't it end with just simple good and evil?
Why do we put our hands together and say "Itadakimasu" before a meal?
Why do we feel awe and respect for nature and even things that cannot be seen?
Creators and fans overseas who are fascinated by Japanese works are exploring not only the expression but also the "why?" behind it, trying to know the heart and culture itself that Japanese people have cherished.
We feel a great possibility there.
I believe that Japanese anime and content being evaluated globally is not just about the works selling.
From an encounter with a single story, one learns about the culture of that country.
By knowing the culture, one learns what the people of that country have cherished.
And from there, new understanding and new connections are born.
As one of the headwaters,
We want to deliver "Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi" to people all over the world.
Even with the same "Oni," instead of depicting it as just an evil to be defeated, depict the sadness and humanity within the terror.
Through ghost stories, convey the awe of things that cannot be explained and the terror of nature.
Feel life and heart in mountains, rivers, and trees.
Hand over not only happy endings but also sometimes irrationality and sadness to children as they are. Why did Japanese people create and pass down these kinds of stories?
Beyond that "why?" are the values and spirituality that Japanese people have nurtured over many years.
When people all over the world encounter the stories left by Japanese people 50 years ago,
They might come to know the country of Japan and the heart that Japanese people have cherished from there.
And from that encounter, new understanding and new cultural connections that transcend countries and languages might be born.
Delivering Japanese works to the world is not about unilaterally conveying the Japanese heart.
Having people around the world know Japanese culture, and from there, new understanding and exchange being born.
If we could even create such a cultural cycle.
I believe that is also one of the meanings of delivering this work to the world.
And to create that future, we will also use modern technology, including AI. AI is very convenient. It will evolve even further from now on.
But we do not want to replace with AI the things that humans drew by hand, performed with their voices, and sweated to create 50 years ago.
Rather, it is the opposite.
We want to use AI to protect what humans have left behind.
Protect the video. Protect the voices. Protect the drawings. Protect the stories.
And overcome the language barrier. Not making AI the goal, but coexisting with modern technology as a means to preserve culture.
That is our thinking. It is not just the video we want to deliver to the world.
It is Japan itself, which lies behind it.
The heart that respects nature, the heart that cherishes food.
Consideration for people, family, community, tradition.
The sensitivity to feel things that are not visible. Values that do not easily divide good and evil into two.
"Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi" is packed with many things that Japanese people have inherited over a long period of time.
We want to deliver the heart of Japan to the world. And just as much,
We want to deliver it to the children of Japan in the Reiwa era.
Fathers, mothers, grandfathers, grandmothers.
I want you to watch the same story across generations and talk at the same dinner table, saying, "I saw this story a long time ago."
And our work does not end with preservation alone.
If you think about it, "Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi" was not an "old anime" from the beginning. It was a new work created by the creators of that time for the children living in that era.
If so, there must be something we can do, too.
From Showa to Heisei, and then to Reiwa. Life has changed.
The form of the family has also changed.
The environment surrounding children has also changed significantly.
Even so, being considerate of others, cherishing life, respecting nature.
The happiness of being able to eat a meal with someone.
The value of such things should not change.
Therefore, someday, I want to create a new "Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi" for the children living in the Reiwa era.
Not remaking old works.
While inheriting the heart that the creators 50 years ago entrusted to children, create new stories that can be conveyed precisely because it is us living now.
And when the Reiwa children who saw those works become adults,
If they remember, "I saw that story with my family when I was a child."
That is the future we want to see.
I, who was one of the children watching "Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi" in front of the TV 50 years ago, probably received many things from this work without knowing it.
The heart I want to cherish as a Japanese person.
If so, it is our turn now. What we received, to the children of Reiwa.
From Japan to the children of the world. And to the next 50 years.
What the Japanese people 50 years ago left for us, to the children 50 years from now.
Protect the past. Deliver to the world. And create new stories.
The power of one person may be small.
But if the small support of each and every person gathers,
We might be able to save a single film.
We might be able to leave one Japanese story for 50 years into the future.
I want to create such a future together with all of you.
"Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi" to the next 50 years.
The heart of Japan to the children of Reiwa. And to the world.
In order to welcome that future together with all of you, we are now proceeding with those preparations. A reunion with nostalgic stories. And encounters with new stories that will be born from now on.
I think we will be able to inform you in September of the first step toward the future we have envisioned.
50 years since the broadcast began.
"Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi," which has been passed down over a long period of time, will begin to move anew.
Please wait a little longer.
Ai Kikaku Center
