A 1928 Walt Disney cartoon long thought lost has been found in Japan, after sitting in the home of an anime historian for nearly 70 years. The 1928 cartoon starring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, Neck’n’Neck, had not been seen in many decades and is one of more than two dozen thought to have been permanently lost.

The 84-year-old historian, Yasushi Watanabe, had originally bought the 16mm copy of the film when he was in high school for 500 yen – about $4.40 at current exchange rates. The film was tagged “Mickey manga spide” (Mickey cartoon speedy). Watanabe only discovered the film’s significance after reading Oswald the Lucky Rabbit: The Search for the Lost Disney Cartoons, a book by longtime Disney animator David Bossert.

“As I’ve been a Disney fan for many years, I’m happy that I was able to play a role,” Watanabe told the Asashi Shimbun newspaper.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit was created by Disney and Ub Iwerks in 1927, and the pair worked on a number of short cartoons featuring the character that were distributed by Universal Studios. It was a contract dispute with producer Charles Mintz that led to Universal retaining control of Oswald, and Disney and Iwerks going on to create Mickey Mouse at a new studio. It wouldn’t be until 2006 that the Walt Disney Company regained the rights to Oswald, in a unique trade that sent commentator Al Michaels to Universal (where he’d go to work on NBC’s Sunday Night Football). Oswald has since gone on to star in the Epic Mickey video games, appear in recent Mickey Mouse cartoons, and be a meet-and-greet character at Disney theme parks.

Neck’n’Neck is currently being kept at the Kobe Planet Film Archive, one of the largest film collections in Japan.