A Geisha (1953)

A seasoned geisha and her apprentice maiko are forced to give in to their clients' sexual advances to survive.

Director:

Kenji Mizoguchi

Writers:

Matsutarô Kawaguchi (novel), Matsutarô Kawaguchi (screenplay)

Stars:

Michiyo Kogure, Ayako Wakao, Seizaburô Kawazu

2 wins.

Cast

Credited cast:
Michiyo Kogure	...	Miyoharu
Ayako Wakao	...	Eiko
Seizaburô Kawazu	...	Kusuda
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Saburô Date	...	Imanishi
Kyôko Hisamatsu	...	Young girl
Sumao Ishihara	...	Kokichi
Kanae Kobayashi	...	Hairdresser
Keiko Kobayashi
Midori Komatsu	...	Oume
Kanji Koshiba	...	Kanzaki
Kazuko Maeda	...	Maid
Ryusuke Maki
Tokiko Mita	...	Apprentice geisha #1
Kikue Môri	...	Domestic arts teacher
Chieko Naniwa	...	Okimi

Storyline

In post-war Japan, sixteen-year-old Eiko seeks out the geisha Miyoharu in the district of Gion, in Kyoto asking her to be a maiko (geisha apprentice). Eiko explains that her mother - who was a geisha and Miyoharu's friend - has just died, her father Sawamoto has failed in business, and her uncle is harassing her. Miyoharu is a warm-hearted woman and accepts to train her. One year later, Eiko's father refuses to be her guarantor and Miyoharu borrows a large amount from the tea-house owner Okimi to buy her kimono and debut in a party. Miyoharu changes Eiko's name to Miyoe and introduces her to clients as her sister. Soon, Miyoharu is charged for the money but neither she nor Miyoe want to have patrons.

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Plot Keywords:

geisha | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Quotes

Miyoharu: A geisha's lie is not a real lie. It's a cornerstone of our profession. Do we not amuse our clients by agreeing to all their requests?

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Connections

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

User Reviews

The Secret Heart of an Imperfect Film

There may be an element of atonement in Mizoguchi's films about exploited women. It is most powerful in "Street of Shame" but plays a role in "Gion bayashi" as well. The exploiters are bad indeed, though Mizoguchi gives them humanizing motivations; the exploited, while not too good to be true, are much better than most of the people I know.

What makes this visually beautiful film unforgettable and worthy of repeated viewing is, first, the evolving relationship between Older and Younger Sister, which is sufficiently imitative of life to satisfy the most rigorous champion of Kurosawa's "Lower Depths." As life happens, these two women evolve. It is this evolution which is the secret heart of "Gion Festival Music." Second, importantly, it is the nuanced, understated, but heroic performance of Michiyo Kogure as Miyoharu. Her artistry becomes manifest when her character portrait here is compared to her equally successful role of Taeko in Ozu's "Flavor of Green Tea over Rice," made the year before. The two women could not be more different, and she accomplishes the differences with bare flickers of change across her face and almost imperceptible alterations in body language.

These qualities inspire me to forgive the overly schematic plot and excessively contrasting portraits of the very good and the very bad.

At the end "Gion Festival Music," "A Geisha," or whatever title translation one wishes to use, is not principally about the cruel exploitation of women. The film has a secret. It is a love story. And I love this movie.

Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

11 June 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Geisha

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$5,583

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daiei Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1