Tôkyô kôshinkyoku (1929)

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Two geisha sisters lead a hard life in the Gion district of Kyoto. After one of them feels obliged to support a bankrupt businessman, the other sister sets up various schemes to get rid of him.

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Yuki fujin ezu (1950)

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Young servant girl Hamako has just started working for her personal hero, Madame Yuki. Her romanticized view of the Madame is broken immediately, as she is introduced with a list of the Madame's personal problems.

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Taki no shiraito (1933)

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The tragic tale of a woman who despite doing good where she can gets punished by society.

Directors: Kenji Mizoguchi, Takuaki Seiryô

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Yoru no onnatachi (1948)

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A mistress of a drug dealer in post-war Japan is shocked when she discovers that he is having an affair with her sister.

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Utamaro o meguru gonin no onna (1946)

Drama

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Utamaro, a great artist, lives to create portraits of beautiful women, and the brothels of Tokyo provide his models. A world of passion swirls around him, as the women in his life vie for ... See full summary »

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Musashino fujin (1951)

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Set in post-war Japan, The Lady of Musashino tells the story of Michiko, a disillusioned young woman trapped in a loveless marriage. She confides in her younger cousin, Tsutomo, and the two become close.

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Yôkihi (1955)

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In eighth century China, the Emperor is grieving over the death of his wife. The Yang family wants to provide the Emperor with a consort so that they may consolidate their influence over ... See full summary »

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Gion bayashi (1953)

Drama

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In the post-war, the sixteen year-old teenager Eiko seeks out the geisha Miyoharu in the district of Gion, in Kyoto asking her to be a "maiko" (apprentice of geisha). Eiko explains that her... See full summary »

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Meitô bijomaru (1945)

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Kiyone Sakurai, an apprentice swordmaker makes a sword for his guardian, Kozaemon Onoda. Onoda breaks the sword while defending his lord which eventually leads to his death at the hands of ... See full summary »

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi

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Uwasa no onna (1954)

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Hatsuko Umabuchi is a widow who runs a prosperous geisha house in present day Kyoto. Her daughter Yukiko returns from Tokyo following a failed suicide attempt, after her lover found out ... See full summary »

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The 47 Ronin (1941)

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In 1701, Lord Takuminokami Asano has a feud with Lord Kira and he tries to kill Kira in the corridors of the Shogun's palace. The Shogun sentences Lord Asano to commit suppuku and deprives ... See full summary »

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Sansho the Bailiff (1954)

Drama

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In medieval Japan, a compassionate governor is sent into exile. His wife and children try to join him, but are separated, and the children grow up amid suffering and oppression.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi

Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Yoshiaki Hanayagi, Kyôko Kagawa

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Cast

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

See full cast »

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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." Written by Anonymous

Plot Summary | Add Synopsis

Plot Keywords:

partially lost film | based on novel | See All (2) »

Genres:

Drama

Parents Guide:

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Details

Country:

Japan

Release Date:

31 May 1929 (Japan) See more »

Also Known As:

Tokyo March See more »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gendai Eigasha, Nikkatsu Uzumasa See more »

Show more on IMDbPro »

Technical Specs

Runtime:

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

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

See full technical specs »

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User Reviews

Passingly interesting film, livened by benshi narration

5 June 2016 | by Robert Thompson (justbob1982) – See all my reviews

Version I saw : Bluray (projected), subtitled, with benshi narrator

Actors: 5/10

Plot/script: 6/10

Photography/visual style: 5/10

Music/score: 7/10

Overall: 6/10

Tokyo March is one of the few surviving films by director Kenji Mizoguchi. I saw it as a result of a demonstration at Manchester University of the interesting practice of 'benshi' narration. The narrator provides dialogue, imitating voices for all characters, and adds notes explaining the narrative to the audience. It arose during a time when literacy was poor in Japan, so the inter-titles were of little assistance.

The film itself is a broad melodrama covering themes of social stratification. It's not especially good, and suffers from the perennial problem of silent film overacting, but at only 3/4 of an hour, at least does not overstay its welcome.

If it has any great value, it is as a historical document. Tokyo March speaks to the social and cultural environment of Japan at the time, as well as revealing to the educated cineaste the state of film techniques and technology in the country. For example, I detected strong echoes of the work of D.W. Griffith, reflecting the fact that America was a good 10 years ahead of Europe in terms of film exports to Japan.

If you get a chance to see this, or any other film, with a benshi narrator, I think you will not regret trying it. Aside from that, there is not really a huge amount to see here.