The Dragon Painter

E1045060

American film black-and-white film feature film romantic drama film silent film

The Dragon Painter is a 1919 silent romantic drama film starring Sessue Hayakawa as a tormented Japanese artist whose obsession with a mythical dragon transforms when he believes he has found its human incarnation.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
The Dragon Painter canonical	2
The Dragon Painter (1919 film)	1
The Dragon Painter (novel)	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T13499398 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: The Dragon Painter
Context triple: [Sessue Hayakawa, notableWork, The Dragon Painter]

A. Artland Dragons
Artland Dragons is a professional basketball club from Quakenbrück, Germany, known for competing in the country’s top leagues and European competitions.
B. The Dragon
The Dragon is the legendary Chinese table tennis player Ma Long, widely regarded as one of the greatest and most dominant players in the sport’s history.
C. The Dragon
The Dragon is a renowned martial arts school known for its rigorous training and emphasis on traditional fighting techniques.
D. The Dragon
"The Dragon" is a track from Vangelis's 1979 electronic music album "China," blending synthesizer-driven soundscapes with an evocative, atmospheric style.
E. The Dragon
The Dragon is the English name for "El Drac," the iconic mosaic salamander sculpture by Antoni Gaudí that serves as a colorful symbol of Barcelona’s Park Güell.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: The Dragon Painter
Target entity description: The Dragon Painter is a 1919 silent romantic drama film starring Sessue Hayakawa as a tormented Japanese artist whose obsession with a mythical dragon transforms when he believes he has found its human incarnation.

A. Artland Dragons
Artland Dragons is a professional basketball club from Quakenbrück, Germany, known for competing in the country’s top leagues and European competitions.
B. The Dragon
The Dragon is the legendary Chinese table tennis player Ma Long, widely regarded as one of the greatest and most dominant players in the sport’s history.
C. The Dragon
The Dragon is a renowned martial arts school known for its rigorous training and emphasis on traditional fighting techniques.
D. The Dragon
"The Dragon" is a track from Vangelis's 1979 electronic music album "China," blending synthesizer-driven soundscapes with an evocative, atmospheric style.
E. The Dragon
The Dragon is the English name for "El Drac," the iconic mosaic salamander sculpture by Antoni Gaudí that serves as a colorful symbol of Barcelona’s Park Güell.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (49)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	American film ⓘ black-and-white film ⓘ feature film ⓘ romantic drama film ⓘ silent film ⓘ
basedOn	The Dragon Painter (novel) ⓘ linked to: The Dragon Painter
basedOnAuthor	Mary McNeil Fenollosa ⓘ
character	Tatsu ⓘ Ume-ko ⓘ
cinematographyBy	Frank D. Williams ⓘ
colorProcess	black and white ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	United States ⓘ linked to: United States of America
director	William Worthington ⓘ
distributor	Robertson-Cole Distributing Corporation ⓘ
format	35 mm film ⓘ
genre	romantic drama ⓘ silent drama ⓘ
hasFilmStarCouple	Sessue Hayakawa and Tsuru Aoki ⓘ linked to: Sessue Hayakawa
hasLeadCharacterOccupation	painter ⓘ
homeMediaRelease	Blu-ray ⓘ DVD ⓘ
includedIn	National Film Registry ⓘ
leadCharacterTrait	tormented artist ⓘ
musicForRestoration	Mark Izu ⓘ
notableFor	depiction of Japanese art and folklore in a Hollywood production ⓘ prominent roles for Japanese actors in early American cinema ⓘ
originalLanguage	Silent film (English intertitles) ⓘ
plotSummary	A reclusive Japanese artist obsessed with a mythical dragon believes he has found the dragon’s human incarnation in a woman, transforming his life and art. ⓘ
preservationStatus	preserved ⓘ
producer	Haworth Pictures Corporation ⓘ Sessue Hayakawa ⓘ
productionCompany	Haworth Pictures Corporation ⓘ
registryReason	culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant ⓘ
registrySelectionYear	2014 ⓘ
releaseDate	1919-09-28 ⓘ
releaseYear	1919 ⓘ
runtimeMinutes	53 ⓘ
setting	Japan ⓘ
starring	Arthur Shirley ⓘ Edward Peil Sr. ⓘ Goro Kino ⓘ Sessue Hayakawa ⓘ Toyama Kishi ⓘ Tsuru Aoki ⓘ
theme	art and inspiration ⓘ love as transformative force ⓘ obsession ⓘ
writtenBy	Richard Schayer ⓘ Sidney Gilliat ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Sessue Hayakawa → notableWork → The Dragon Painter ⓘ

Marion Fairfax → notableWork → The Dragon Painter (1919 film) ⓘ

linked to: The Dragon Painter

William Worthington → notableWork → The Dragon Painter ⓘ

subject linked to: William Worthington (director)

The Dragon Painter → basedOn → The Dragon Painter (novel) ⓘ