were Japanese performers who provided live narration for silent films (both Japanese films and Western films). Benshi are sometimes called or . Role The earliest films available for public display were produced by Western studios, portraying brief scenes of everyday life, often less than a minute long. The first were thus hired to provide greater value for the high ticket prices charged by theaters relative to other public entertainment, while also giving technical and cultural context to the audience. The operation of the projector itself would be described before the showing, and then explanations of Western culture would accompany the film with the standing to the side of the screen. This commentary was as much part of the theater-going experience as the film itself. In one instance, a was able to avoid government censorship of The Kiss by describing kissing in Western culture to be as casual a greeting as a pat on the back. As film plots became longer and more complex, often spoke for the characters on-screen in theatrical style and played multiple roles. Stemming from the traditions of , and theaters, the 's narration and general commentary were an important part of the Japanese silent film experience. The also provided translation for foreign (mostly American) movies. Much like in the West, Japanese silent films were often accompanied by live music (in addition to the ). However, unlike Western films, which tended to have a theatre organ as accompaniment, Japanese films had a score which supported the traditional Japanese instruments of a play. Since performed without external amplification, they had to carefully coordinate with the orchestra to be heard. At that time, theaters typically seated 1000, so a trademark of successful was the ability to project their voices into large spaces. Famous active in the silent era include Musei Tokugawa (at the Aoikan and Musashinokan theaters), Saburō Somei (at the Denkikan), Rakuten Nishimura, Raiyū Ikoma (at the Teikokukan), Mitsugu Ōkura, and Shirō Ōtsuji. In the 1995 film Picture Bride, Toshirō Mifune portrays a who traveled to sugar cane plantations in Hawaii during the early 20th century. Influence on film aesthetic As the film industry and art form developed in Japan, the presence of a benshi came to be part of the film. Benshi read the intertitles on silent films and voiced all on-screen characters. Perhaps most significantly for filmmakers, benshi would add their own commentary, explaining what was