is a 1963 Japanese

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

written and directed by Kaneto Shindō.

Plot

Tamiko is a single mother who has left her second husband. Her son Toshio is going blind and diagnosed with a brain tumour, an aftereffect of the

atomic bombing of Hiroshima The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...

. As she does not have the money for surgery, she asks her mother Yoshie for help. Yoshie refuses, and instead arranges a marriage with another single parent, Tajima from Korea, on the condition that he pays for the surgery. Tamiko marries Tajima and works with him in his printing business. Toshio is operated on and recovers, but the tumour returns. The surgeon refuses to operate again, saying that another operation would be fatal, and tells Tamiko to make Toshio's remaining lifetime as enjoyable as possible. Toshio starts learning

braille Braille (Pronounced: ) is a tactile writing system used by people who are visually impaired, including people who are blind, deafblind or who have low vision. It can be read either on embossed paper or by using refreshable braille displ ...

in a school for the blind, and Tamiko's brother Haruo lends her money to buy an electric organ for Toshio. Haruo, a barman who is repeateadly involved in fights over women, is later killed by a rival. Toshio eventually dies of his illness. Tamiko discovers she is pregnant and is determined to have the baby, even if it is dangerous to her health.

Cast

Nobuko Otowa was a Japanese actress who appeared in more than 100 films between 1950 and 1994. A graduate of Takarazuka Girl's Opera School, Otowa was first signed to Daiei studios, before becoming a freelance actress by the early 1950s. After starring i ...

as Tamiko *

Haruko Sugimura was a Japanese stage and film actress, best known for her appearances in the films of Yasujirō Ozu and Mikio Naruse from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Biography Sugimura was born in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima. After the death of her parents, ...

as Yoshie * Taiji Tonoyama as Tajima * Yoshitaka Zushi as Toshio * Takeshi Katō as Toshiro *

Seiji Miyaguchi was a Japanese actor who appeared in films of Akira Kurosawa, Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse, Tadashi Imai and many others. He succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 71. Distinctions One of Kurosawa's iconic '' Seven Samurai'', Miyaguchi won the ...

as Doctor *

Mayumi Ogawa is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best supporting actress at the 3rd Japan Academy Prize and at the 4th Hochi Film Award for '' Vengeance Is Mine'' and '' The Three Undelivered Letters''. In 2008, Ogawa got ordained as a Shingon Bud ...

as Madame *

Kei Satō was a Japanese character actor and narrator. He is known for his work with Japanese New Wave director Nagisa Oshima, and for several films with Kaneto Shindo, such as '' Onibaba'' and '' Kuroneko''. He won the best actor award from ''Kinema Ju ...

as Dr. Koiguchi * Kōji Takahashi as Haruo *

Tetsuji Takechi was a Japanese theatrical and film director, critic, and author. First coming to prominence for his theatrical criticism, in the 1940s and 1950s he produced influential and popular experimental kabuki plays. Beginning in the mid-1950s, he conti ...

as Madame's boyfriend

Theme

Many scenes are filmed against the background of the Genbaku Dome in Hiroshima. Shindō, who was born in

Hiroshima Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Hiroshima Prefecture has a population of 2,811,410 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 8,479 km² (3,274 sq mi). Hiroshima Prefecture borders Okayama Prefecture to the ...

, repeatedly attempted to memorialise the bombing of his birthplace and its aftermath in films like '' Children of Hiroshima'' (1952), ''Mother'', '' Sakura-tai Chiru'' (1988) and ''Teacher and Three Children'' (2008).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mother 1963 films 1963 drama films Japanese drama films Films directed by Kaneto Shindo Japanese black-and-white films Films set in Hiroshima 1960s Japanese films