Wind. 1′40″ (1985)

‘Thus, your swiftness shall resemble the wind.’ — Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Impressionistic silent short film (also known as ‘Kaze. Ippun yonjûbyô’) created by 17-year-old high school student Shinozuka Tsutomu. The animation, which won the Debut Prize at the inaugural Hiroshima International Animation Festival in 1985, shows a group of samurai racing at breathtaking speed across golden meadows. The film stands out for its visceral sense of motion and extraordinary dynamism, as has been confirmed by jury member Kawamoto Kihachirō, who noted that you can almost feel the force of the wind. The focus on ‘wind’, speed and warriors elegantly evokes a famous military maxim by Sun Tzu: ‘Your swiftness shall resemble the wind’. It is the first of four tenets of Fūrinkazan (風林火山, lit. ‘Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain’), a legendary Japanese battle standard drawn from Sun Tzu’s ‘The Art of War’. Warriors should also be ‘as calm and orderly as forests, as fierce as fire, and as steadfast as mountains’.

Genres: Action, Animation, History

Stars: N/A