The Soul of Japan | Shell Historical Film Archive

Discover Japanese culture with this archive film, produced in 1970. Japanese culture and sensibility is very much aligned to nature and the seasons. This film looks at a range of traditional crafts and festivals, which celebrate this association throughout the course of the year.
Japan has a strong textile tradition, passed down through generations over more than a millennium. Most pigments used to dye or paint cloth are plant based, and nature is reflected in floral designs, such as the spring flowering cherry blossom, symbol of purity and the transience of life. The crimson colour obtained from the summer safflower growing on the main island of Honshu was once used as rouge by Kyoto geishas. The Yuzen technique uses delicate brushwork and gold leaf to recreate the richness of nature on fabric. In early May the streets are filled with carp kites to celebrate Children's Day. In Kurashiki, heavy rains follow, helping the bamboo plant to flourish. Master craftsmen use bamboo's properties of delicacy and resilience to weave intricate designs demonstrating shinto, buddhist, and western influences.
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Shell’s surprising and captivating Historic Film Archive dates from 1934 and covers a rich mix of topics from technology, science and engineering to craftsmanship, motorsport and travelogue.
The Shell Film Unit, responsible for the content, was a highly celebrated part of Britain’s Documentary Movement. Key figures from that movement were involved, including: Jack Beddington, Edgar Anstey, Arthur Elton, John Grierson, Kay Mander, Stuart Legg and Douglas Gordon.
Its films were wide reaching, often screened in cinemas and through the non-theatric film distribution circuit, which brought film to educational establishments and organisations across the UK. While many films covered technological themes related to Shell’s activities, others were entirely unrelated and served purely to educate the general public.
As Shell innovated in technologies that would provide oil and gas products for the world, the Shell Film Unit also innovated in the technological advancement of film, incorporating graphics and different forms of animation as early as the 1930s.
During WW2 the Shell Film Unit was co-opted into war effort, making films for the Ministry of Information’s film division. Its prowess in technological documentary suited the MoI’s need for technical training films.
While the name and the medium has changed many times over the years, the documentary tradition lives on at Shell. Its contemporary film team is part of Shell’s multi-disciplinary in-house agency, Creative Solutions. It continues making award-winning factual content that informs and educates the public, now usually released on social media platforms.

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Lovely. Thanks for sharing.

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Does anyone know how efficient shells SAF fuel is for a school project?

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Would like to visit japan someday

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Me too !!!

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Now japanese spirit in molding for the americans

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🧐🗺

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Okk