The Life of Oharu (西鶴一代女 , Saikaku Ichidai Onna) is a 1952 historical fiction black and white film by director Kenji Mizoguchi starring Kinuyo Tanaka as Oharu, a one-time concubine of a daimyō (and mother of a later daimyō) who struggles to escape the stigma of having been sold into prostitution by her father. Based on a novel by Ihara Saikaku, the film constitutes an excellent example of the long take aesthetic, which Mizoguchi employed extensiv...
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The Life of Oharu (西鶴一代女 , Saikaku Ichidai Onna) is a 1952 historical fiction black and white film by director Kenji Mizoguchi starring Kinuyo Tanaka as Oharu, a one-time concubine of a daimyō (and mother of a later daimyō) who struggles to escape the stigma of having been sold into prostitution by her father. Based on a novel by Ihara Saikaku, the film constitutes an excellent example of the long take aesthetic, which Mizoguchi employed extensively throughout his career.
Starring Kinuyo Tanaka (in what is perhaps her most famous role) as Oharu, the film tells a poignant story that uses the experiences of a struggling geisha to examine the issues of class and rigid hierarchy in Japanese society in Edo period.
The Life of Oharu is based on various stories from Ihara Saikaku’s The Life of an Amorous Woman. It was produced by the Shintōhō Company, with cinematography by Yoshimi Hirano and screenplay by Yoshikata Yoda.
It has been claimed that this movie was one of Kenji Mizoguchi’s...
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