Tôkyô kôshinkyoku (1929)

A classic melodramatic love tragedy addressing social inequality in feudal Japan, depicted in Kenji Mizoguchi's typical style. The nostalgic scenes of 1920s Tokyo provides a valuable visual... See full summary »

Director:

Kenji Mizoguchi

Writers:

Shuichi Hatamoto, Kan Kikuchi (novel),

Stars:

Reiji Ichiki, Takako Irie, Takaya Ito

Cast

Credited cast:
Reiji Ichiki	...	Nobuo Matsunami
Takako Irie	...	Sayuriko Fujimoto
Takaya Ito	...	Yasuda
Gunnosuke Kanahira	...	Vicomte Saburo Kudo
Shunji Kanda	...	Yamano, pianist
Isamu Kosugi	...	Yukichi Sakuma
Bontarô Miake	...	Toshio Matsunami (as Bontaro Miake)
Shôzô Nanbu	...	Shimazu
Shizue Natsukawa	...	Michiyo / Orie
Taeko Sakuma	...	Natsuko Fujimoto
Suesaburo Sasai
Koji Shima	...	Yoshiki Fujimoto
Eiji Takagi	...	Fujimoto, the Father
Hisako Takihana	...	Sumie, Orie's companion geisha

Storyline

A classic melodramatic love tragedy addressing social inequality in feudal Japan, depicted in Kenji Mizoguchi's typical style. The nostalgic scenes of 1920s Tokyo provides a valuable visual experience set against the background of the title song, "Tokyo March."

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Plot Keywords:

partially lost film | based on novel

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Genres:

Short | Drama

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Details

Country:

Japan

Release Date:

31 May 1929 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Tokyo March

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gendai Eigasha, Nikkatsu Uzumasa

Technical Specs

Runtime:

29 min 22 min (extant 16mm copy) 29 min (1999 Cinémathèque Française restoration)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

User Reviews

Great Early Mikzoguchi

A 28 minute film about a young man who at first falls in love at first sight with a poor girl. She is Michiyo, who lives with relatives after her parents pass away. In order fir her to help the family monetarily she becomes a Geisha. By a weird twist, the young man's father takes a liking to her, with her geisha name now Orie. The young man sees her at a party and, though he abhors geishas, is smitten with her. A few more twists happen, and the plot thickens. This film is appended onto the DVD release "The Water Magician", also directed by Mizoguchi (Rating: 10 stars, see separate review). This is a great short film, which even has a few scenes of Tokyo in the 20's. Like "The Water Magician", it is a gift that this film still exists. The story is told simply and effectively. For everyone that knows Mizoguchi's later work, such as "Ugetsu", "Street Of Shame" and "Sisters Of The Gion", this is an excellent place to continue sampling his sometimes brilliant work. This is well worth your time.