Toei Kyoto Studio Park operates as a theme park, but it is also widely used as movie sets when filming. (Photo by Yasunori Okamura)

TAKUYA OKAMATSU, Nikkei senior staff writer |

KYOTO — Samurai cinema transports moviegoers back to a long-vanished Japan with period dramas filmed amid elaborate sets. One area of Kyoto’s tradition-steeped Uzumasa district is where much of the production takes place.

Earthen warehouses and wooden townhouses with lattice doors and windows stand side by side, creating a townscape complete with small boats in a green pond — a nostalgic scene that still resonates with many Japanese.

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