The history of anime can be traced back to the start of the 20th century, with the earliest verifiable films dating from 1906. Before the advent of film, Japan already had a rich tradition of entertainment with colourful painted figures moving across the projection screen in , a particular Japanese type of magic lantern show popular in the 19th century. Possibly inspired by European phantasmagoria shows, utushi-e showmen used mechanical slides and developed lightweight wooden projectors (furo) that were handheld so that several performers could each control the motions of different projected figures.