Introduction

The study of Japanese cinema has long played a vital role in the academic discipline of film studies as a major non-Western tradition and a paradigmatic national cinema. It was once common practice in English language discourse on Japanese cinema to predictably begin with standard disclaimers: abysmal survival rates, a dearth of subtitled prints or translated sources, obstacles to accessing archival material, or references to the field's marginalization (both in cinema studies and area studies). The notion of a classical canon by definition assumes the everlasting relevance of works by celebrated auteurs but this is contingent upon their physical durability in the long term. Digital technology’s impact is notably palpable in the increasing range of moving images that film archives have been making accessible online.