This may have something to do with the latest Wordpress update, which I ran… well, months ago. I’ll see if I can do something about it.

What do you mean with images being forbidden here, though? They should work, if you use the image tag button. Or did you have some trouble there?

Well, I did not make use of the button, but I already checked up that the button do nothing more than I manually did (inserting a correctly written image element with src and alt attributes) and on submitting my post, WordPress simply ripped off the image elements.
I supposed that the image element was activated in Forums discussions and deactivated in News discussions, but it could as well be a bug or a mistake from me (even if I can’t see how).

[As a test, I just inserted an image in this post using the Image button and the image element disappeared from the post again on submitting it.]

I like the idea with the “Let’s Draw with Kurosawa” activity.

Actually, I’m not entirely sure but I think that these images have a bit more contrast and stronger colours (especially reds) than the originals (or reproductions?) of these four that I have seen before. I wonder if these are separate versions, or if it’s just that the images are not entirely accurate in terms of their colours?

In any case, thanks a lot for these! Much appreciated!

Given that he did not forbid me to reproduce some additional drawings, and according to the copyright/press section of the official document (PDF in Vili’s article), I reproduce here four drawings not presented in the official document and showing other aspects of Kurosawa’s paper work.

R 443 – Hidetora Ichimonji’s helmet with crest (277×354mm, lead pencil, watercolour, pastel on letter paper)

R 450 – Hidetora Ichimonji’s cavalry ensign and banners (277×368mm, lead pencil, watercolour on letter paper)

(There were also sketch or paint studies about kimonos, caps, hoods…)

The next two are about the abandoned ninth Dream : I am Flying.
Y 406 – Building roof [I am Flying] (329×409mm, lead pencil, watercolour, pastel, ink on watercolour paper)

Y 409 – Stumbling [I am Flying] (329×409mm, lead pencil, watercolour, pastel, ink on watercolour paper)

Note also that there was a children-targeted activity along with the exhibition, named “Let us draw with Kurosawa!”.
(When waiting for the guided tour, I noted that there were throngs of children, accompanied by adults, and following or waiting for various activities.)
I did not take this one, but the grandson of my uncle might take it, wait and see.

[Images seem to be forbidden, here, sorry.]

It is a little strange that they would even arrange a guided tour, if they don’t have either a guide who is an authority in the subject, or visitors interested in that tour! On the other hand, from what you described, she seemed like a nice guide. I am also glad to hear that the synopses and other texts were offered in three languages.

It is an interesting point that she made about “the rise of femininity in Kurosawa’s oeuvre with Umi wa miteita” (The Sea is Watching). I am not sure if I fully agree with her there, but that film and the other posthumously filmed script, After the Rain, certainly have a slightly different vibe when it comes to families and women.

Thanks also for reminding me about the Cahiers du cinéma book. I had all but forgotten that I bought it earlier this year, but haven’t read it yet! I’ll have to take a look.

It was my first (as far as I can remember) visit of the Petit Palais and, like Diego, I found it grandiose, as it is a stylish and impressive building with great rooms and a nice inside garden.
(It was erected for the 1900 Universal Exhibition and became the official Paris Beaux-Arts Palace in 1902, hosting permanent and temporary exhibitions since then – especially some works of great painters like Courbet, Cézanne, Doré, Rembrandt, Monet and so on.)

When the guide came and saw me, she seemed a little bothered and, when asked, explained me that she had almost nobody at each of her weekly Kurosawa tours, that the few guests who paid the guided visit were all Kurosawa experts or enthusiasts and she immediately asked me in which of those cases I put myself. (Could you guess?)
Later, she gave the precision that she was not a Kurosawa specialist at all but a contributor to the “Zen” temporary section of the museum who took time to read books and watch films to prepare her speech.
At this moment, I was proud to take out of my bag and show her a book that she had not read (the one from Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto, acquired on the wise advice of Vili).

The “Zen” section of the Petit Palais is – as Diego mentioned above – hosted towards 150th anniversary of French-Japan relations (like many other cultural events about Japan in Paris this season) and incidentally related to the tenth anniversary of Kurosawa’s death.
The guide confirmed me that it had nothing to do with AK100 and that the drawings were borrowed by the museum curator from HoriPro Inc. and Kurosawa’s heirs, when he went to Japan in order to prepare the “Zen” exhibitions.
(This exhibition is produced by Paris museums and financially helped by the Japan Foundation and french-japanese Sasakawa Foundation.)

The first thing you see when entering the exhibition is a photo and a short bio of Akira, the latter being written in french, english and japanese (this is not specific to this section and the three languages can be found nearly everywhere in Petit Palais).
After that, you turn on your right and see a filmography, accompanied by a 1983 poster of Cannes film festival, featuring a Kurosawa drawing: on this one stands a japanese cavalryman on his horse and dressed in red; I can’t say if it’s a late vision of Kagemusha or an early vision of Ran, as the guide seemed mistaken on this one (she spoke about a 85 Venice “Mostra” film festival poster which was not there).
Then, you enter a long corridor, straight on one side, and built like a folding screen on the other side; on these two sides are hung the 87 drawings in chronological order, with a photo and a synopsis for each film (always in french, english and japanese).
Below each drawing stand a title and the tools and materials used: blends of lead pencil, watercolour, pastel, felt-tip and ball-point on drawing paper or letter paper, sometimes with collages.

The guide followed the chronological order, speaking about the scenarios, about the director’s life and a little about Japanese history for Kagemusha and Ran.
She spoke particularly about Akira’s brother (silent movies, suicide) and father and explained that the abundance of drawings (one thousand – or maybe thousands? – in total, for only 87 exposed) started with Kagemusha, in order to convince future producers (like Coppola) that the film could be great.
She warmly agreed with me on the impressive first drawings (in exhibition order) for Kagemusha, showing moon reflections on the warriors listening to the flute melody or fire highlights in Suwa sanctuary.
Sadly, she could not say anything about the finally abandoned and not realized ninth Dream, “Je vole” (I am flying), presented with three drawings featuring a funambulist walking on a rope between high buildings and a fourth drawing featuring the same character flying in front of a mountain.
She ended her speech with a personal view emphasizing the rise of femininity in Kurosawa’s œuvre with Umi Wa Miteita (The Sea is Watching) and I could not do anything but to promise that I will watch it as soon as possible.

Despite the fact that the guided visit seemed not very appreciated, the simple visit attracted nearly ten folks per hour during the two or three hours I spent there, but this is very few for such an artist and such a museum.
Just before my leaving, a visitor with a restrained english accent accosted me to ask some questions and seemed very happy to share her passion with “such” another Kurosawa adept and very happy too to receive detailed information about the earliest films (which she did not watch yet) and their availability on DVD.

There was a little shop at the end of the room, featuring only the associated catalog at the price of €30, but the main shop of Petit Palais sell also the Kurosawa volume of the french series “Cahiers du cinéma” (interesting but relatively small book) as well as french DVD releases at exaggerated prices (Arte Vidéo Judo Saga set and MK2 set).

I intend to send a mail to the french press contact to get more information and possibly an authorization to reproduce here some drawings not shown in the PDF official document.

I’d also like to know if this is actually an AK100 event, or separate from the “Word Tour”. It is a little confusing because this exhibition is to end in January, yet the AK100 stay in Paris is marked for March, April and May of 2009.

If this is a separate exhibition, it would be great to know who is running it, and whether it is touring other cities.