National Film Archive of Japan, Film archive and museum in Kyōbashi, Japan
The National Film Archive of Japan is a large collection of motion pictures, film documents, and cinema equipment housed in a modern facility in Kyōbashi. The building contains two theaters for screenings, exhibition galleries, and a research library where visitors can access materials about film history.
The institution began in 1952 as part of the National Museum of Modern Art, tasked with preserving Japanese cinema from its early days. It became an independent national organization in 2018 to better serve its mission of protecting and sharing Japan's film heritage.
The institution presents rotating exhibitions about cinema history and techniques that help visitors understand how film evolved. The two theaters screen classic Japanese and international films, allowing people to experience how cinema developed over time.
Visiting is possible Tuesday through Sunday, while Mondays are closed. Opening times are typically in the afternoon, and it is helpful to check specific schedules beforehand since screenings and exhibitions have their own set times.
The facility preserves more than 80,000 Japanese films, including rare silent movies from the 1890s that would have disappeared without such care. This collection stretches back to the very beginning of Japanese cinema and holds works found nowhere else in the world.
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