is a 1952 Japanese

historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other t ...

film directed by

Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), '' The Life of Oharu'' (1952), ''Ugets ...

from a screenplay by Yoshikata Yoda. It stars Kinuyo Tanaka as Oharu, a one-time concubine of a ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and nominall ...

'' (and mother of a later ''daimyō'') who struggles to escape the stigma of having been forced into

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

by her father. ''The Life of Oharu'' is based on various stories from

Ihara Saikaku was a Japanese poet and creator of the " floating world" genre of Japanese prose (''ukiyo-zōshi''). Born as Hirayama Tōgo (平山藤五), the son of a wealthy merchant in Osaka, he first studied haikai poetry under Matsunaga Teitoku and lat ...

's 1686 work ''

The Life of an Amorous Woman is a novel depicting the "floating world" of Edo period Japan, written by and published in 1686. Plot summary A man of the world who lives in the capital city Kyoto travels to , a suburban district of Kyoto, with some friends. They meet a ...

''. The film was produced by the Shintoho Company and executive produced by Isamu Yoshiji, with cinematography by Yoshimi Hirano. The production designer was Hiroshi Mizutani and Isamu Yoshi was the historical consultant.

Plot

The story opens on Oharu as an old woman in a temple flashing back through the events of her life. It begins with her love affair with a page, Katsunosuke, the result of which (due to their class difference) is his execution and her family's banishment. Oharu attempts suicide but fails and is sold to be the mistress of Lord Matsudaira with the hope she will bear him a son. She does, but then is sent home with minimal compensation to the dismay of her father, who has worked up quite a debt in the meantime. He sends her to be a courtesan, but there, too, she fails and is again sent home. Oharu goes to serve the family of a woman who must hide the fact that she is bald from her husband. The woman becomes jealous of Oharu and makes her chop off her hair, but Oharu retaliates, revealing the woman's secret. She again must leave—this time she marries a fan maker who is killed shortly after during a robbery. She attempts to become a nun, but Oharu is thrown out after being caught naked with a man seeking reimbursement for an unauthorized gift (it is made clear this is rape by Oharu's claims and distraught demeanor). She is thrown out of the temple, becomes a prostitute, but fails even at that. In the end, she is recalled to the Lord's house to be exiled within the compounds to keep her secrets locked away. While being scolded for the life she chose, she attempts to find her son, and in the process, ends up running away as she chooses the life of a wandering nun over the life in exile.

Cast

* Kinuyo Tanaka as Oharu – the protagonist whose bad luck and misfortune lead to various struggles in life. * Tsukie Matsuura as Tomo, Oharu's mother – a kind character in the film; her mother tended to side with Oharu and did not wish to see her become a courtesan. *

Ichirō Sugai was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1930 and 1971. Sugai often worked with Kaneto Shindo, Kenji Mizoguchi and Kōzaburō Yoshimura. Selected filmography * ''The Water Magician'' (1933) * '' Spring on Leper's Isla ...

as Shinzaemon, Oharu's father – Oharu's father was consumed by desire for money and social status. His misjudgments about Oharu caused much of her downfall. * Toshiro Mifune as Katsunosuke – a page who courted Oharu and they fell into a forbidden love. He is beheaded once their relationship is discovered. * Toshiaki Konoe as Lord Harutaka Matsudaira – he takes Oharu as a mistress in order to bear a child heir. Unfortunately for Oharu, he falls in love with Oharu and his wife's jealousy causes her dismissal. * Hisako Yamane as Lady Matsudaira – the wife of Harutaka Matsudaira who, because of her jealousy of her husband's love for Oharu, banishes her. * Jūkichi Uno as Yakichi Ogiya – he was a respected fan maker who married Oharu, however, he is tragically murdered shortly into their marriage. * Kiyoko Tsuji as Landlady * Eitarō Shindō as Kahe Sasaya * Akira Oizumi as Fumikichi, Sasaya's friend. * Kyoko Kusajima as Sodegaki *

Masao Shimizu was a Japanese actor. His wife was actress Yumi Takano. His first starring role in the film was in ''Momoiro no Yuwaku'' in 1931. In 1947, he formed the Mingei Theatre Company. Shimizu often work with Akira Kurosawa. He appeared in more than 25 ...

as Kikuoji * Daisuke Katō as Tasaburo Hishiya *

Toranosuke Ogawa Toranosuke is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Toranosuke can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Some examples: *虎之介, "tiger, of, mediate" *虎之助, "tiger, of, help" *虎之輔, "tiger, o ...

as Yoshioka * Hiroshi Oizumi as manager Bunkichi *

Haruyo Ichikawa was a Japanese film actress and singer whose career spanned five decades. Career Born in Nagano Prefecture, Hara made her motion picture debut in 1926 at Nikkatsu when she was still in her early teens. She easily made the transition to adult r ...

as Lady-in-waiting Iwabashi * Yuriko Hamada as Otsubone Yoshioka *

Noriko Sengoku , known by her stage name , was a Japanese film and television actress active primarily in the 1950s and 1960s. She made her film debut in 1947 and starred in several of Akira Kurosawa's early films such as '' Drunken Angel'' (1948), ''The Quiet ...

as Lady-in-waiting Sakurai * Sadako Sawamura as Owasa *

Masao Mishima Masao (written: 正雄, 正夫, 正生, 正男, 正郎, 雅雄, 雅央, 雅夫, 雅勇, 雅男, 昌雄, 昌夫, 昌男, 昌朗, 昌郎, 昌大, 政雄, 政夫, 政男, 政於, 征夫, 優夫, 聖雄, 利生, 将雄, 将夫 or 眞男) is a masculine ...

as Taisaburo Hishiya * Eijirō Yanagi as forger *

Chieko Higashiyama was a Japanese stage and film actress. She appeared in more than 60 films from 1936 to 1967. Career Graduating from the girls' school at Gakushuin, she married a businessman in 1909 and spent eight years in Moscow. In 1925, at the age of 35, ...

as Myokai, the old nun * Takashi Shimura as old man * Benkei Shiganoya as Jihei * Komako Hara as Otsubone Kuzui

Awards

''The Life of Oharu'' won the International Prize at the 1952

Venice International Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival h ...

and was nominated for the

Golden Lion The Golden Lion ( it, Leone d'oro) is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most prestigious and distinguis ...

. The film (as well as the 1952 films ''Himitsu'', '' Inazuma,'' and '' Okaasan'') won the 1953 Mainichi Film Concours award for best film score (

Ichirō Saitō Saito Ichiro. (August 23, 1909 – November 16, 1979) was a Japanese film composer. Film score He made film music for 334 films including: * '' The Record of a Tenement Gentleman'' (長屋紳士録 Nagaya shinshiroku) (1947) * '' Mother'' (お ...

References

External links

* * *
Comparison of DVD and Blu-ray releases
at DVDBeaver.com
''The Life of Oharu: Not Reconciled''
an essay by Gilberto Perez at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cine ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Life of Oharu, The 1952 films 1952 drama films Japanese black-and-white films Films directed by Kenji Mizoguchi 1950s Japanese-language films Jidaigeki films Japanese drama films Films about geisha Films set in Kyoto Films with screenplays by Yoshikata Yoda Films scored by Ichirō Saitō Films based on Japanese novels Films about prostitution in Japan Shintoho films 1950s Japanese films