(literally, " Rock, Paper and Scissors Girls") is a 1955 color (

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was o ...

) Japanese

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serv ...

, directed by

Toshio Sugie was a Japanese film director. He directed films from the 1940s to the 1960s. Career Sugie was born in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture (currently Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City). After graduating from the Waseda University, Sugie joined P.C ...

. This is the first of the so-called "three girl" (''sannin musume'') series of films produced by Tōhō Studio, which involved teaming three popular young female stars of the period, employing a plot that portrayed their characters as best friends and recounted their romances and other adventures. This film was Toho's highest-grossing film of 1955.

Production design In film industry, film and television, a production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and ...

was made by

Shinobu Muraki was a Japanese production designer and art director. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction for her work in Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker who List of works by Akira Kurosawa, directed 30 feature films i ...

and the sound recordist was Masanobu Miyazaki.''Full cast and crew for Janken musume''
accessed 8 May 2009

Plot

Two high school girls, Ruri and Yumi, head to

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

on a school field trip. The two try to take a picture on the

Kamo River The is located in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The riverbanks are popular walking spots for residents and tourists. In summer, restaurants open balconies looking out to the river. There are walkways running alongside the river, and some stepping s ...

, but they fall into the

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

and dry their clothes on the riverbank. There, they meets a young man and they photographed it. After that, they head to Gion, where Oshin's

teahouse A teahouse or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel, especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment that only ser ...

, which is a friend of Ruri's mother's faith, is located, and are introduced to Hinagiku and the three become friends. Hinagiku wants to meet a young male student named Saitō Matabei, who he met twice in a

tatami are soft mats used as flooring material in traditional Japanese-style rooms. They are made in standard sizes, twice as long as wide, about , depending on the region. In martial arts, tatami are used for training in a dojo and for competition. ...

room in Kyoto before welcoming a man she doesn't like as his husband. It turned out that they were in Izu after they searched together. The three of them try to go to Izu, but Ruri gives up because of the opposition from his faith. Oshin was thinking of meeting Ruri's father, Kitajima, at Ruri's

Japanese traditional dance Japanese traditional dance describes a number of Japanese dance styles with a long history and prescribed method of performance. Some of the oldest forms of traditional Japanese dance may be among those transmitted through the tradition, or folk ...

recital. Due to the opposition of the surroundings, Oshin, who was a

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha{{efn, {{IPAc-en, lang, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ., ʃ, ə, {{IPA, ja, ɡei.ɕa, ɡeː-, lang{{cite book, script-title=ja:NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典, publisher=NHK Publishing, editor= ...

, and Kitajima, a

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

, were separated, but Kitajima offered to meet Ruri before he was appointed as the French ambassador. Yumi and Hinagiku, who came to Izu with Ruri, met Saitō Matabei, but Saito was the same person as the young man who once photographed by Ruri and Yumi. After learning that Saito had already applied for marriage to Yumi's parents, Hinagiku returns to Kyoto with heartbreak. On the other hand, Saito, who learned about the circumstances of Hinagiku, consulted with his father, a

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a businessman or businesswoman, is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial ...

, and got money to help him free. And on the day of the concert, Mr. and Mrs. Kitajima, Yumi, Saito, and Hinagiku who have recovered from their heartbreak will also come to the venue. After finishing the dance, Ruri calls Kitajima his father for the first time and reunites without being particular about the history of their past. Janken musume poster

Cast

Hibari Misora was a Japanese singer, actress and cultural icon. She received a Medal of Honor for her contributions to music and for improving the welfare of the public, and was the first woman to receive the People's Honour Award, which was conferred posth ...

as Ruri Asami *

Chiemi Eri was a Japanese singer and actress. Eri was born as on January 11, 1937 in Tokyo, Japan. She was born to a musician father and a mother who was a singer, thus encouraging her musical career. She started her singing career at the age of 14 with ...

as Yumi Chigira *

Izumi Yukimura is a Japanese popular singer and actress. Yukimura made her debut with the song in 1953. Her style of singing varied from jazz to rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), ...

as Hinagiku *

Chieko Naniwa Chieko Naniwa (浪花千栄子) (November 19, 1907 – December 22, 1973) was a Japanese actress who was active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She is best known for playing geisha in several films, such as Kenji Mizoguchi's ''A Geisha'', and the Fo ...

as Oshin *

Minoru Takada Minoru is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese former president of Nintendo of America *, Japanese actor *, Japanese professional wrestler *, Japanese naval general *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese ...

as Kitajima * Atsuko Ichinomiya as Mrs. Kitajima *

Tatsuyoshi Ehara Tatsuyoshi (written: or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese speed skater *, Japanese baseball player Tatsuyoshi (written: ) is also a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: ...

as Seiji Mori *Shinji Yamada as Saitō Matabei *

Yoshio Kosugi was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 120 films from 1924 to 1967. Career First appearing on stage as a shingeki actor, he was initially recognized for his role as Yasha in ''The Cherry Orchard''. He made his film debut in the 1920s a ...

as Komei (Yumi's father) * Yoshie Minami as Kinko (Yumi's mother) * Fumiko Okamura as Ms. Kamezawa *

Akira Sera Akira may refer to: People *Akira (given name); and a list of people with this given name Surnames *Asa Akira (born 1986), American pornographic actress, model, and director *Elly Akira, Japanese pornographic actress *Francesco Akira (born 1999) ...

as Professor Kuwahara *

Toranosuke Ogawa Toranosuke is a masculine Japanese given name. Written forms 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, of, ...

as Shigebei Saito * Shin Tatsuoka as Sumura * Kazuo Fukuda as Sakai * Toki Shiozawa as Dance instructor *

Sadako Sawamura was a Japanese stage and film actress who appeared in more than 200 films between 1935 and 1976. Biography Sawamura was born Sadako Katō in the Asakusa district of Tokyo. After dropping out of Japan Women's University, she was active in left-w ...

as Oine

References

External links

* * {{in lang, ja http://www010.upp.so-net.ne.jp/tohoscope/jyanken.html 1955 films Films directed by Toshio Sugie 1955 musical comedy films Japanese romantic musical films Japanese musical comedy films Toho films 1950s romantic musical films 1950s Japanese films 1950s Japanese-language films