In 2026, Uzumasa marks 100 years of its enduring journey with jidaigeki, Japan’s period drama.

In March 1926, the Arashiyama Electric Railway’s Kitano Line was fully opened, linking the historic Nishijin district with Uzumasa—then an undeveloped area covered in bamboo groves. With the arrival of the railway, the foundation for a new film culture was quietly laid.

Just two months later, the celebrated actor Tsumasaburo Bando established a film studio in Uzumasa. This pivotal moment sparked rapid growth. Major studios such as Nikkatsu soon followed, along with productions led by Chiezo Kataoka and Kanjūrō Arashi. Within a radius of just 1.2 kilometers, as many as eight studios stood side by side.

Once said to be inhabited only by foxes and tanuki, Uzumasa soon transformed into a vibrant “town of film studios,” attracting major stars and filmmakers from across Japan. It eventually came to be known as “The Hollywood of Japan.”

When these studios were founded, only about sixty years had passed since the fall of the Edo shogunate. Jidaigeki—richly infused with the culture and spirit of the Edo period—felt both familiar and exciting to audiences, becoming one of the most beloved forms of popular entertainment.

Performers devoted to traditional music and theater, master temple carpenters and garden artisans preserving generations of craftsmanship, historic temples and shrines, and abundant natural scenery—all of these elements made Uzumasa an ideal setting for the creation of jidaigeki.

After World War II, jidaigeki produced in Uzumasa gained international acclaim and brought courage and hope to people across Japan. With the arrival of the great film boom, Uzumasa—alongside Tokyo’s contemporary cinema—became one of the pillars supporting the Japanese film industry.

In the 1960s, the stage of jidaigeki expanded from the silver screen into television and into living rooms across the nation, giving birth to countless classic works.

And today, with Shochiku and Toei continuing their productions, Uzumasa remains a sacred home of filmmaking—a true mecca of Japanese cinema that has supported the industry for a full century.