Synopsis
A short film composed of drawn images across fifty frames of a celluloid strip, it runs for three seconds at a rate of sixteen frames per second. In it, a young boy dressed in a sailor suit writes the kanji characters "活動写真" (katsudou shashin, meaning "moving picture"), then faces the viewer, doffs his hat, and gives a salute. This fragment was uncovered in 2005, having been acquired along with a private collection in Kyoto. The film is estimated to have been made between 1905 and 1911. If that dating holds, it could be the earliest known piece of animation from Japan.
Background
Katsudou Shashin consists of fifty frames of celluloid strip in its three-second duration, with sixteen frames per second. Discovered in 2004, having been purchased with a private collection in Kyoto, it is suspected to have been created between 1905 and 1911. This would make it one of the oldest pieces of animation from Japan.