The Story of Yanagawa's Canals(Film, 1987)

The Story of Yanagawa's Canals (Japanese: 柳川堀割物語, Hepburn: Yanagawa Horiwari Monogatari) is a 1987 live-action animated documentary directed by Isao Takahata and originally broadcast on NHK. The film details the history of the city of Yanagawa, Fukuoka and its inhabitant's struggle to preserve its signature canals from the devastating effects of water pollution. Funded using the profits from Hayao Miyazaki’s Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, the film marks a number of significant firsts for Studio Ghibli. It was Takahata’s first directorial feature for the studio, which he co-founded with Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki in 1985. Furthermore, the film remains the first and only majority live-action Studio Ghibli film to date, aside from a select instance in Pom Poko. The film also has the added feature of being the only Studio Ghibli to be produced independently, with the majority of financing and distribution being handled by Miyazaki’s personal office. ()