The Tachibana 9.5mm Natural Color process was a sequential-frame, two-color additive system similar to Kinemacolor. It required film stock which was sensitive to the full spectrum of visible light for shooting – trials only became possible when 9.5mm panchromatic film, made by Pathé and Gevaert, was imported to Japan in the 1930s. 

A loop of short, transparent 9.5mm film with blank frames colored alternately red and green was set in the camera magazine so that it was in contact with the emulsion side of the unexposed B/W panchromatic film. Light entering the camera passed through this moving loop of film and frames were filtered alternately red and green on the B/W film behind it. The dyes Safranin red and methyl-green were considered suitable. The length of the loop was 40 frames when used in a Motocamera type A.

To reduce heavy, visible flickering, the shooting speed was increased to 32 fps, which was twice as fast as the standard for 9.5mm spring-driven cameras available at the time. To accomplish this faster speed, the motor in the camera was adjusted, or the camera was cranked at a faster rate, although Tachibana also experimented with frame rates as low as 14 fps. The images captured on the film were close to those of conventional red and green color separation filters. 

There were two methods of film projection:

• Projection through a loop of film, colored in the same way as the loop in the camera, with red and green frames corresponding with the same frames of the B/W reversal projection copy, thus revealing the color on screen.

• Direct colouring of the film itself, red and green for each alternate frame – often hand-painted directly on to the film.

In both cases, the film was projected at nearly twice standard speed. This high frame rate had the effect of blending the red and green frames into a crude color image on the screen. Nevertheless, a heavy flicker was perceptible in the final image, due to the red and green frames presenting independently on the screen.

Another disadvantage was the loss of projection light due to absorption by the colored-loop filter. This was not a problem for short projection throws at home, but, in larger venues, the dimmer projected image was potentially problematic. The problem of less light reaching the screen could be addressed by using a projector with a brighter, more powerful lamp, or by adjusting the exposure of the film, during the development process.