Founder Saburō Tanaka | Frequency Semimonthly Company Kinema Junposha KK | |
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Publisher Masanobu Shimizu (清水勝之) First issue July 11, 1919 (1919-07-11) |
Kinema Junpo (キネマ旬報, Kinema Junpō), commonly called Kinejun (キネ旬), is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese Jun (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar Kinema Junpō has been published twice a month.
The magazine was founded by a group of four students, including Saburō Tanaka, at the Tokyo Institute of Technology (Tokyo Technical High School at the time). In that first month, it was published three times on days with a "1" in them. These first three issues were printed on art paper and had four pages each. Kinejun initially specialized in covering foreign films, in part because its writers sided with the principles of the Pure Film Movement and strongly criticized Japanese cinema. It later expanded coverage to films released in Japan. While long emphasizing film criticism, it has also served as a trade journal, reporting on the film industry in Japan and announcing new films and trends.
After their building was destroyed in the Great Kantō earthquake in September 1923, the Kinejun offices were moved to the city of Ashiya in the Hanshin area of Japan, though the main offices are now back in Tokyo.
The Kinema Junpo awards began in 1926, and their 10 best list is considered iconic and prestigious.
Annual award categories
There are ten categories of awards: