Tag Japan

Film Director, Japan, Japanese Cinema, masterpiece, People, Politics, Revolution, Social justice, Tragedy, Uncategorized

Coda: Final Thoughts on Uchida Tomu

At left, in the middle distance, an elderly Japanese man wearing modern (1950s) clothing, including a beret, stands in the street, addressing a man in feudal period costume standing next to him

Photo above: Uchida Tomu (left) directing actor Tsukigata Ryūnosuke in a dramatic scene in A Bloody Spear at Mount Fuji (Chiyari Fuji, 1955) – the very first Uchida film reviewed on this site, nearly four years ago. Note: I am…

RebelJack
June 29, 2025

19th Century, Drama, Farmers, Feudalism, Folklore, Japan, Japanese Cinema, Meiji, Politics, Revolution, Samurai, Social justice, Violence

Rebellion from Below (Gyakushū gokumon toride, 逆襲獄門砦), 1956

A Japanese boy from the feudal era, standing with his back to a tree, starting directly towards the camera, with a piece of fruit on top of his head

Other Titles: Counterattack at the Prison Gate Fortress, Counterattack at the Prison Fortress (literal English titles) Production Company Toei Kyoto Scenarist Takaiwa Hajime Source Wilhelm Tell [William Tell] (1804 play) by Friedrich Schiller (uncredited) Planning Tamaki Jun’ichirō Cinematographer Yoshida Sadaji…

RebelJack
June 28, 2025

1920s, Buses, Capitalism, Cinema, Cities, Class, Comedy, Japan, Japanese Cinema, Poverty, Satire, Silent Film, Silent Movie, Slapstick, Yuppies

Vanity Is Hell [comic short] (Kyoei wa jigoku, 虚栄は地獄), 1925

A young Japanese couple from the early 20th Century, shown relaxing at home, she playing a wind-up gramophone; he wearing a bathrobe and smoking a cigarette

Production Company Asahi Kinema Scenarist Unknown Source Japanese newspaper article (page three) Cinematographer Hayakawa Kiyoshi Performers Tatsuta Shizue (Natsuko); Hasegawa Kiyoshi (unknown role); Hanazawa Yoshiyuki (unknown role); Uchida Tomu (bus passenger) Status Extant (presumably complete) Photography Black-and-white Music Composer unknown…

RebelJack
June 25, 2025

17th Century, Cinema, Drama, Feudalism, Japan, Japanese Cinema, Ninja, Samurai, Uncategorized

The Thief Is Shōgun’s Kin (Senryō-jishi, 千両獅子), 1958

A masked man in ninja costume, carrying swords, points pistols in the direction of the viewer; he is surrounded by similarly-dressed henchmen, while several Japanese in feudal period clothes watch them nervously

Other Titles: The Thousand-ryō Lion (literal English title) Production Company Toei Kyoto Scenarist Kessoku Shinji Source Yamate Kiichirō (“Edo Guntoki”: serialized story) Planning Sakamaki Tatsuo Production Manager Tokuda Yoneo Cinematographer Itō Takeo Art Direction Suzuki Takatoshi Music Yamada Eiichi Sound…

RebelJack
June 21, 2025

17th Century, Christianity, Cinema, Drama, Feudalism, Japanese Cinema, Samurai, Ship, Social justice, Violence

The Kuroda Affair (Kuroda sōdō; 黒田騒動),1956

Near a window, a middle-aged Japanese man in samurai costume, in a kneeling position, looks with concern at a man in a man lying in the floor with his hand outstretched to him, while two other men also watch with concern

Other Titles: Disorder of the Kuroda Clan; The Kuroda Incident; Unknown Treachery (alternative English titles) Production Company Toei Kyoto Scenarist Takaiwa Hajime Source Hōjō Hideji (novel) Producer Okawa Hiroshi Planning Makino Mitsuo, Tamaki Junichirō Cinematographer Yoshida Sadaji Art Direction Suzuki…

RebelJack
June 11, 2025

17th Century, Buddhism, Cinema, Feudalism, Japan, Japanese Cinema, Samurai, Uncategorized, Violence, War

The Miyamoto Musashi Series (Miyamoto Musashi, Parts I-V, 宮本武蔵), 1961-1965

A bearded Japanese man with long hair looks intensely into the camera

Part I: Miyamoto Musashi; Alternate title: Zen and Sword (also used as series title); 宮本武蔵. Part II: Miyamoto Musashi II: Duel at Hannya Hill; Alternate Title: Miyamoto Musashi: Showdown at Hannyazaka Heights; Original Title: Miyamoto Musashi: Hannyazaka no kettō: 宮本武蔵…

RebelJack
January 9, 2025
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17th Century, Bunraku, Children, Cinema, Drama, Feudalism, Japan, Japanese Cinema, Kabuki, Poverty, Prostitution, Road Movie, Samurai, Theater, Tragedy, Uncategorized

The Horse Boy (Abarenbō kaidō; 暴れん坊街道), 1957

Picture of a surprised-looking Japanese man, shown against a dark (night) background, wearing clothing from Japan's feudal era

Alternate Titles: Horse Boy; Hooligans’ Highway (literal English title); La Route des malandrins (literal French title) Production Company Toei (Kyoto) Scenarist Yoda Yoshikata Original Draft (uncredited) Hirata Kenzo (see Notes on the Production below) Sources The Night Song of Yosaku…

RebelJack
September 15, 2024

1920s, Cinema, Community, Drama, Farmers, Japan, Japanese Cinema, Ship, Tragedy, Uncategorized

The 1925 Kanto Shipwreck Film Fragment, possibly titled Righteous Blood (Giketsu, 義血)

A night scene of a coastline, with a ship, slightly listing, in the background, and a rocky hill in the foreground, on which several people can be seen, silhouetted by a bonfire behind them.

Other possible titles: Honorable Blood, Kanto and the Sailor Ogawa, The Shipwreck of Kanto and the Sailor Ogawa, Special Service Ship Kanto and the Sailor Ogawa Production Company Kokkatsu Scenarist Unknown Cinematographer Tsuburaya Eiji Chief Assistant Director Igayama Masamitsu Performers…

RebelJack
July 13, 2024

1920s, Cinema, Drama, Japan, Japanese Cinema, Police, Prostitution, Taisho, Uncategorized, Violence, Yakuza

Hishakaku and Kiratsune: A Tale of Two Yakuza (Jinsei gekijō: Hishakaku to Kiratsune, 人生劇場・飛車角と吉良常),1968

Head and shoulders shot of a young Japanese woman in traditional dress leaning against a wall, looking distraught

Other titles: A Tale of Two Yakuza (alternate English title); Theater of Life: Hishakaku and Kiratsune (literal English title) Production Company Toei (Tokyo) Scenarist Tanada Gorō Source Ozaki Shirō (novel) Producer Okawa Hiroshi Planning Shundo Hiroji, Okubo Tadayuki, Yoshida Tatsu…

RebelJack
January 19, 2024

1900s, 1920s, 1930s, Buddhism, Cinema, College, Domestic drama, Drama, Japan, Japanese Cinema, Meiji, Politics, Poverty, Silent Film, Silent Movie, Social justice, Students, Taisho, Tragedy, Violence, Yakuza

Theater of Life: Youth Version [Fragment] (Jinsei gekijō – Seishun hen, 人生劇場・青春篇),1936

A young Japanese man in traditional clothing from the early 20th Century, sitting in a semi-darkened room, his head bowed in grief

Production Company Nikkatsu (Tamagawa) Scenarists Yagi Yasutarō (adaptation); Kameya Gentoku (screenplay) Source Ozaki Shirō (novel) Cinematographer Yokota Tatsuyuki Performers (Note: actors credited in the cast list but who don’t appear in the extant version are noted with an asterisk.) Kosugi…

RebelJack
July 30, 2023

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