is a 1962 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 ...

directed by

Yoshishige Yoshida , also known as Kijū Yoshida, was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Life and career Graduating from the University of Tokyo, where he studied French literature, Yoshida entered the Shōchiku studio in 1955 and worked as an assistant ...

, starring

Mariko Okada is a Japanese stage and film actress who starred in films of directors Mikio Naruse, Yasujirō Ozu, Keisuke Kinoshita and others. She was married to film director Yoshishige Yoshida. Biography Okada was born the daughter of silent film actor To ...

and Hiroyuki Nagato.

Plot

Shortly before the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, young soldier Shusaku, ill with tuberculosis, arrives at Akitsu, expecting to die soon. Shinko, daughter of a widow and innkeeper, helps him to recover and invigorates his will to live. They fall in love, and although she is first willing to follow him when he suggests to commit shinjū together, they eventually let go of their plan. Shinko muses to marry Shusaku, but her mother intervenes and sends him away. Over a span of 17 years, Shusaku, now married and a father, continues to meet with Shinko, but also has affairs with other women. During their last encounters, she declares that she is now ready to die with him, but Shusaku is reluctant. When he leaves Akitsu again after a visit, Shinko, having sold the inn and being weary of life, commits suicide alone, grieved by Shusaku.

Cast

as Shinko * Hiroyuki Nagato as Shusaku Kawamoto * Jūkichi Uno as Kenkichi Matsumiya *

Eijirō Tōno was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting more than 50 years, appeared in over 400 television shows, nearly 250 films and numerous stage productions. He is best known in the West for his roles in films by Akira Kurosawa, such as '' Seven Sam ...

as Priest * Kei Taguchi *

Asao Koike was a Japanese actor. He is most famous for playing yakuza roles. He is also known as voice actor. In 1950, he joined the Bungakuza Theatre Company. In 1963, he left the Bungakuza Theatre Company and established the Kumo Theatre Company. He appea ...

as Osaki * Akira Nagoya as Shimamura * Sō Yamamura as Mikami * Taiji Tonoyama as Rokusuke

Production

''Akitsu Springs'' was Mariko Okada's 100th film and the first under the direction of her future husband Yoshida.

Awards

* 1962 Kinema Junpo Award for Best Actress for Mariko Okada * 1962 Mainichi Film Award for Best Actress for Mariko Okada

Home media

''Akitsu Springs'' was released on DVD in 2013 as part of production company Shochiku's ''Yoshishige Yoshida DVD-Box Vol. 1''.

References

External links

* {{Yoshishige Yoshida 1962 films 1962 drama films Japanese drama films Films based on Japanese novels Films directed by Yoshishige Yoshida 1960s Japanese films