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IMDbPro

A Geisha

Original title: Gion bayashi
  • 19531953
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 1h 25m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
68,671
10,973
A Geisha (1953)
Drama
A seasoned geisha and her apprentice maiko are forced to give in to their clients' sexual advances to survive.A seasoned geisha and her apprentice maiko are forced to give in to their clients' sexual advances to survive.A seasoned geisha and her apprentice maiko are forced to give in to their clients' sexual advances to survive.
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
2.1K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
68,671
10,973
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Director
      • Kenji Mizoguchi
    • Writers
      • Matsutarô Kawaguchi(novel)
      • Yoshikata Yoda
    • Stars
      • Michiyo Kogure
      • Ayako Wakao
      • Seizaburô Kawazu
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Kenji Mizoguchi
    • Writers
      • Matsutarô Kawaguchi(novel)
      • Yoshikata Yoda
    • Stars
      • Michiyo Kogure
      • Ayako Wakao
      • Seizaburô Kawazu
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 15User reviews
    • 19Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations

    Photos10

    Michiyo Kogure and Ayako Wakao in A Geisha (1953)
    A Geisha (1953)
    Michiyo Kogure and Ayako Wakao in A Geisha (1953)
    Ayako Wakao in A Geisha (1953)
    Michiyo Kogure and Ayako Wakao in A Geisha (1953)
    A Geisha (1953)
    Ayako Wakao in A Geisha (1953)
    A Geisha (1953)
    A Geisha (1953)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Michiyo Kogure
    Michiyo Kogure
    • Miyoharu
    Ayako Wakao
    Ayako Wakao
    • Eiko
    Seizaburô Kawazu
    Seizaburô Kawazu
    • Kusuda
    Ichirô Sugai
    Ichirô Sugai
    • Saeki
    Eitarô Shindô
    Eitarô Shindô
    • Sawamoto
    Haruo Tanaka
    Haruo Tanaka
    • Ogawa
    Kanji Koshiba
    • Kanzaki
    Sumao Ishihara
    • Kokichi
    Saburô Date
    Saburô Date
    • Imanishi
    Chieko Naniwa
    Chieko Naniwa
    • Okimi
    Kyôko Hisamatsu
    • Young girl
    Kanae Kobayashi
    • Hairdresser
    Keiko Kobayashi
    Midori Komatsu
    • Oume
    Kazuko Maeda
    • Maid
    Ryusuke Maki
    Tokiko Mita
    • Apprentice geisha #1
    Kikue Môri
    Kikue Môri
    • Domestic arts teacher
    • Director
      • Kenji Mizoguchi
    • Writers
      • Matsutarô Kawaguchi(novel) (screenplay)
      • Yoshikata Yoda
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Quotes

      Eiko: Mistress, if you've had to sleep with a man you despise for my sake, I'll stop being a geisha!

    • Connections
      Referenced in Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (1975)

    User reviews15

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Where Will You Go?
    Ayako Wakao visits Michiyo Kogure. Like Miss Kogure, Miss Wakao's mother was a geisha, and now she wishes to be an apprentice. After sorting through the girl's situation, including a father who's impoverished, Miss Kogure accepts her old friend's daughter. The expense is managed by a loan from the woman who runs the largest tea house in town, and Miss Wakao seems to have a brilliant future in front of her.... until she bites a client who tries to rape her.

    Kenji Mizoguchi's movie is not actually about Miss Wakao, who at 20 appears to be half a dozen years younger. It is about the elegant Miss Kogure and the discovery.... no, the re-awakening of her revulsion at the dirty side of what is supposed to be an elegant business. At the time, a 15-year veteran of the movies, she had entered at the same age Miss Wakao was now, and had lately been playing major character roles, like the acidic wife in THE FLAVOR OF GREEN TEA OVER RICE. Here, it's a pleasure to watch her grow as a human being in Mizoguchi's always outraged phillipic about the poor position of women in old Japan and new.
    helpful•3
    0
    • boblipton
    • Aug 18, 2020

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 11, 1978 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Die Festmusik von Gion
    • Production company
      • Daiei Studios
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross worldwide
      • $5,583
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 25 minutes
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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