Nippon Eigasha (Dutch East Indies)

Background

Following the Japanese occupation of the Dutch East Indies in 1942, a local branch of the newsreel film company Nippon Eigasha (commonly known as "Nichiei") was established in 1943. Nichiei was not the first Japanese film company in the occupied Indies as an earlier film company, Djawa Eiga Kosha, was established beforehand.

The Indies branch of Nichiei mainly produced propaganda films and newsreels, with Berdjoang (1943) being their only known feature film. After the Japanese surrender and following the Indonesian proclamation of independence in August 1945, Nippon Eigasha's studio was taken by the newly-formed Indonesian government and became Berita Film Indonesia (BFI). This did not last long however, as the Dutch would take over BFI. Only after the official recognition of Indonesia did the Dutch gave BFI back to Indonesia, becoming Pusat Produksi Film Negara.

Contents

1st Logo (1943-1945)	2nd Logo (1943)	3rd Logo (1943)	4th Logo (1943-194?)

1st Logo (1943-1945)

Visuals: On a black background is the Nichiei logo (a circle with the characters 日央日 inside). Below the circle is "NIPPON EIGASHA", with "DJAKARTA" (the pre-1972 spelling of "Jakarta") below said text.

Trivia: The year "2605" is the Japanese imperial calendar (Kōki) equivalent to 1945, as the Gregorian calendar was outlawed during the Japanese occupation.

Technique: A still, printed image.

Audio: None.

Availability: It was seen on newsreels and short films produced by the company.

2nd Logo (1943)

Visuals: On a black background, there is a blurry Nichiei logo zooming in. The logo gets much clearer as it zooms into position.

Technique: Camera-controlled animation.

Audio: A patriotic fanfare which usually continues to the title card, or the opening theme.

Availability: Seen on the first few issues of the Berita Film di Djawa newsreel.

3rd Logo (1943)

Visuals: On a gray background, there is a large metallic Nichiei logo.

Technique: A painting filmed by a camera.

Audio: Same as before.

Availability: Same as before.

4th Logo (1943-1940s)

Visuals: A giant 3D Nichiei logo is placed face down on a glimmering background. Below is "製作", with "ジャワ社団法人日本映画社" underneath; "社団" is stacked on top of "法人".

Technique: Live-action.

Audio: Same as before.

Availability: Same as before. This was seen on the Berita Film di Djawa newsreel.