Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV NewsIndia TV Spotlight
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsBest Picture WinnersBest Picture WinnersIndependent Spirit AwardsWomen's History MonthSXSWSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Kwaidan

Original title: Kaidan
  • 19641964
  • Not RatedNot Rated
  • 3h 3m
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
19K
YOUR RATING
Kwaidan (1964)
Trailer 1
Play trailer1:28
1 Video
99+ Photos
DramaFantasyHorror
A collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.A collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.A collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes.
IMDb RATING
7.9/10
19K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Masaki Kobayashi
  • Writers
    • Yôko Mizuki(screenplay)
    • Lafcadio Hearn(novel)
  • Stars
    • Rentarô Mikuni
    • Michiyo Aratama
    • Misako Watanabe
  • Director
    • Masaki Kobayashi
  • Writers
    • Yôko Mizuki(screenplay)
    • Lafcadio Hearn(novel)
  • Stars
    • Rentarô Mikuni
    • Michiyo Aratama
    • Misako Watanabe
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 106User reviews
    • 100Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 5 wins & 2 nominations total

    Videos1

    Kwaidan
    Trailer 1:28
    Watch Kwaidan

    Photos100

    Kwaidan (1964)
    Katsuo Nakamura in Kwaidan (1964)
    Michiyo Aratama in Kwaidan (1964)
    Kwaidan (1964)
    Kwaidan (1964)
    Kwaidan (1964)
    Kwaidan (1964)
    Kwaidan (1964)
    Kwaidan (1964)
    Kwaidan (1964)
    Kwaidan (1964)
    Kwaidan (1964)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Rentarô Mikuni
    Rentarô Mikuni
    • Husband (segment "Kurokami")
    Michiyo Aratama
    Michiyo Aratama
    • First wife (segment "Kurokami")
    Misako Watanabe
    Misako Watanabe
    • Second Wife (segment "Kurokami")
    Kenjirô Ishiyama
    Kenjirô Ishiyama
    • Father (segment "Kurokami")
    Ranko Akagi
    • Mother (segment "Kurokami")
    Fumie Kitahara
    Fumie Kitahara
    • (segment "Kurokami")
    Kappei Matsumoto
    • (segment "Kurokami")
    Yoshiko Ieda
    • (segment "Kurokami")
    Otome Tsukimiya
    Otome Tsukimiya
    • (segment "Kurokami")
    Kenzô Tanaka
    • (segment "Kurokami")
    Kiyoshi Nakano
    • (segment "Kurokami")
    Tatsuya Nakadai
    Tatsuya Nakadai
    • Mi nokichi (segment "Yuki-Onna")
    Keiko Kishi
    Keiko Kishi
    • Yuki the Snow Maiden (segment "Yuki-Onna")
    Yûko Mochizuki
    Yûko Mochizuki
    • Minokichi's mother (segment "Yuki-Onna")
    Kin Sugai
    Kin Sugai
    • Village woman (segment "Yuki-Onna")
    Noriko Sengoku
    Noriko Sengoku
    • Village woman (segment "Yuki-Onna")
    Akiko Nomura
    • (segment "Yuki-Onna")
    Torahiko Hamada
    • (segment "Yuki-Onna")
    • Director
      • Masaki Kobayashi
    • Writers
      • Yôko Mizuki(screenplay)
      • Lafcadio Hearn(novel)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Onibaba
    7.9
    Onibaba
    Samurai Rebellion
    8.3
    Samurai Rebellion
    Black Cat
    7.7
    Black Cat
    The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
    8.5
    The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
    The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity
    8.5
    The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity
    Woman in the Dunes
    8.5
    Woman in the Dunes
    The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer
    8.8
    The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer
    Ugetsu
    8.2
    Ugetsu
    Kwaidan
    Kwaidan
    The Sword of Doom
    7.9
    The Sword of Doom
    Red Beard
    8.3
    Red Beard
    The Fossil
    7.5
    The Fossil

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The four vignettes were chosen to represent the four seasons of the year.
    • Goofs
      In the segment "Miminashi Hôichi no hanashi", Donkai says he covered all of Hôichi's body with the sacred writing, but when Hôichi is writhing on the floor after the ghost's attack, his thighs (which in the shots were supposed to be covered by his robe) are visible for a couple of seconds and are clearly unmarked.
    • Quotes

      Minokichi's mother (segment "Yuki-Onna"): Traveling alone. I'm a bit worried about you. People are not always kind. Especially to young girls. You must be careful, not to be deceived by bad men.

    • Alternate versions
      Originally a four-episode anthology released in Japan at 183 minutes. The USA version removes the second episode, starring Keiko Kishi and Tatsuya Nakadai, in order to shorten the running time to 125 minutes.
    • Connections
      Edited into Catalogue of Ships (2008)

    User reviews106

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Beautiful supernatural Japanese film
    Four supernatural tales--all gorgeously filmed. "The Black Hair" is about a man who foolishly leaves his loving wife for a rich wife. He tries to return to her years later--but is it too late? "Woman of the Snow" (easily the scariest) involves a beautiful "vampire" woman who sucks the blood out of men caught in the snow. "Hoichi, the Earless" is the longest, most elaborate and dullest tale. Neat bloody ending though. "In a Cup of Tea" is very short and OK. The film is too long (165 min) and it is very slow at times (especially the "Hoichi" tale), and isn't really scary (except for the "Woman" one)...but it looks absolutely stunning. There's very little dialogue...the visuals tell the story. Quite simply, this contains the most incredible, beautiful wide-screen photography I've ever seen. That's the reason to see it. As for horror...well, there's very little blood, no gore, minimal violence, no sex, no nudity and predictable endings...this is an example of "quiet" horror. Still, worth watching--see it letter-boxed...DO NOT see it pan and scan!
    helpful•21
    9
    • preppy-3
    • Mar 14, 2001

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 22, 1965 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Ghost Stories
    • Filming locations
      • Japan
    • Production companies
      • Bungei Production Ninjin Club
      • Toho Company
      • Toyo Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • ¥350,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      3 hours 3 minutes
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Kwaidan (1964)
    Top Gap
    What is the Canadian French language plot outline for Kwaidan (1964)?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.