is a short animated Japanese film made in 1939 by Kenzō Masaoka

Kenzō Masaoka

was an early anime creator. He is probably most famous for creating the earliest anime to use cell animation and recorded sound. He also did work under the pseudonym...

. It is based on the legendary encounter between Saitō Musashibō Benkei

Saito Musashibo Benkei

, popularly called Benkei, was a Japanese warrior monk who served Minamoto no Yoshitsune. He is commonly depicted as a man of great strength and loyalty, and a popular subject of Japanese folklore.-Biography:...

, who was collecting swords for the Buddha, and Minamoto no Yoshitsune

Minamoto no Yoshitsune

was a general of the Minamoto clan of Japan in the late Heian and early Kamakura period. Yoshitsune was the ninth son of Minamoto no Yoshitomo, and the third and final son and child that Yoshitomo would father with Tokiwa Gozen. Yoshitsune's older brother Minamoto no Yoritomo founded the Kamakura...

, who was called Ushiwaka in his youth. After training under the tengu

Tengu

are a class of supernatural creatures found in Japanese folklore, art, theater, and literature. They are one of the best known yōkai and are sometimes worshipped as Shinto kami...

 of Mt. Kurama, Ushiwaka foils Benkei's attempt to take his sword in a battle on Gojo Bridge in Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

 and makes Benkei his vassal. Masaoka was known for helping introduce sound

Sound film

A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...

 and cel animation to anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

, and here he tried the American practice of animating after recording some of the sound (instead of dubbing after the animation was finished). Masaoka did the voice of Benkei, and his wife Ushiwaka.