Despite its name, no silent film was, of course, ever shown silent. There was always, everywhere, something -- usually music but often some kind of narration as well. Only in one country, however, did the practice of narration turn into a kind of institution. That was in Japan.
Among the reasons for this was that the silver screen was viewed as an offshoot of the dramatic stage, and traditional Japanese theater was rarely without its mediating voice. The noh had the chorus, the doll-drama had the joruri and the kabuki had the gidayu -- all of them narrating the play, reiterating the dialogue, affirming the moral.
It was thus natural that someone in authority should serve as mediator for films. This was the benshi, a performer who stood to one side of the screen, narrated and moralized. He (sometimes she) was often colorfully dressed, commanded attention, and was frequently billed in larger type than the film itself. In a way, the benshi were the only "stars" of the early Japanese cinema.