jamesrupert2014 Review of Sisters of the Gion

Sisters of the Gion (1936)

Sad but interesting portrait of women and geisha culture in pre-war Japan

[8/10 · 27 February 2024]

Umekichi and her younger sister Omocha live in the Gion district of Kyoto in the years leading up to WW2. The older woman is a formally trained, traditionalist geisha who believes that there is a place for honour and loyality in her profession, while her mercenary younger sister, who wears 'western' styles (when not working), despises the men who patronise geishas and has no reservations about taking advantage of them whenever the opportunity arises. The film has a strong misandrous vibe as director/writer Kenji Mizoguchi clearly sides with the women: the men in the film are a unpleasant mix of brutal, dishonest, grasping, hypocritical, mean-spirited, and weak. The cinematography is great and the story, if a bit melodramatic and predictable at times, is interesting. As the titular contrasting pair, Isuzu Yamada and Yoko Umemura are very good (in 1957 Yamada played Lady Asaji Washizu, the incredibly creepy Lady MacBeth character in 'Throne of Blood'). Knowing little about geisha culture, I found the film fascinating, especially fin the context of Japan in the transitional pre-war period when western styles and attitudes were spreading (the combination of a yukata and a fedora makes for an odd fashion-fusion). Watched in a DVD with English subtitles.