A naive, idealistic young woman named Eiko (Ayako Wakao) ventures into the Gion district in search of her late mother’s geisha “sister” – an independent-minded, and old-fashioned geisha named Miyoharu (Michiyo Kogure). Shamed by her uncle for her disreputable social status and disowned by her burdensome, ailing father, Sawamoto (Eitaro Shindo), Eiko has turned to […]
In the provincial village of Ohmi, in the era of the Countries in War feudal war, Genjuro (Masayuki Mori) leaves his wife Miyagi (Kinuyo Tanaka) and son in order to undertake a dangerous trip to the city where he can profit from the widespread shortage by selling his pottery. He is accompanied by his well […]
In 17th century Kyoto, a beautiful, young lady-in-waiting, Oharu (Kinuyo Tanaka), falls in love with a low ranking page, Katsunosuke, (Toshiro Mifune). During a raid on a local lodging house, their affair is discovered, leading to her family’s exile, and Katsunosuke’s execution. When Lord Matsudaira (Toshiaki Konoe) dispatches an attendant from Edo to seek out […]
Utamaro and His Five Women opens to a languid tracking shot of a formal procession of men and women performing a near static, ceremonial dance. The setting is the Tokugawa Era of late eighteenth century Japan, and the impassive courtship is a reflection of the rigid class structure and behavioral code instilled during their feudal […]
In the feudal society of 1701 Japan, the samurai code of honor is slowly becoming irrelevant as provincial laws, nepotism, and bureaucracy replace ritual and tradition. The elder ceremonial lord, Kira (Mantoyo Mimasu), fails to instruct Lord Asano (Yoshizaburo Arashi) on proper court etiquette (primarily due to Lord Asano’s oversight in offering a bribe to […]
The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum opens to a majestic shot of the Shintomi Theater in the heart of Tokyo in 1888, as a popular acting troupe performs a lush, enthusiastically received Kabuki play. Passionate about the theater and eager to perfect his craft, Kikunosuke (Shotaro Hanayagi) seems destined to continue the revered tradition of […]