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

Akuma no temari-uta

  • 1977
  • 2h 24m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
340
YOUR RATING
Akuma no temari-uta (1977)
CrimeDramaMystery

Kôsuke Kindaichi, a somewhat peculiar private detective, visits a remote town. He meets a police detective and they start to investigate an old unsolved murder. Then some murders happen. Kin... Read allKôsuke Kindaichi, a somewhat peculiar private detective, visits a remote town. He meets a police detective and they start to investigate an old unsolved murder. Then some murders happen. Kindaichi must find out about the past in order to reveal who the murderer is.Kôsuke Kindaichi, a somewhat peculiar private detective, visits a remote town. He meets a police detective and they start to investigate an old unsolved murder. Then some murders happen. Kindaichi must find out about the past in order to reveal who the murderer is.

  • Director
    • Kon Ichikawa
  • Writers
    • Kon Ichikawa
    • Seishi Yokomizo
    • Natto Wada
  • Stars
    • Kôji Ishizaka
    • Keiko Kishi
    • Akiko Nishina
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.8/10
    340
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Kon Ichikawa
    • Writers
      • Kon Ichikawa
      • Seishi Yokomizo
      • Natto Wada
    • Stars
      • Kôji Ishizaka
      • Keiko Kishi
      • Akiko Nishina
    • 1User review
    • 2Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 2 wins & 5 nominations

    Photos

    Akuma no temari-uta (1977)
    Akuma no temari-uta (1977)
    Add photo

    Top cast

    Edit
    Kôji Ishizaka
    • Kôsuke Kindaichi
    Keiko Kishi
    Keiko Kishi
    • Rika Aochi
    Akiko Nishina
    • Chie Bessho
    Kôji Kita
    • Kanao Aochi - Rika's Son
    Yôko Takahashi
    • Yasuko Yura
    Mitsuko Kusabue
    • Atsuko Yura - Yasuko's Mother
    Hisano Yamaoka
    • Ito Izutsu
    Michiko Hayashi
    • Omiki
    Misako Watanabe
    Misako Watanabe
    • Harue Bessho - Chie's Mother
    Takeshi Katô
    Takeshi Katô
    • Inspector Tachibana
    Hideji Ôtaki
    • Dr. Gondô
    Nobuo Nakamura
    Nobuo Nakamura
    • Hôan Tatara
    Nobuto Okamoto
    • Police Officer Nakamura
    Eiko Nagashima
    • Satoko Aochi - Rika's Daughter
    Yukiko Nagano
    • Fumiko Nire
    Kayoko Shiraishi
    • Sakie Tsukasa - Fumiko's Mother
    Fujio Tokita
    Fujio Tokita
    • Tatsuzô - Harue's Elder Brother
    Akiji Kobayashi
    Akiji Kobayashi
    • Hisakabe - Chi'e's Manager
    • Director
      • Kon Ichikawa
    • Writers
      • Kon Ichikawa(screenplay)
      • Seishi Yokomizo(novel)
      • Natto Wada(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    The Inugami Family
    7.1
    The Inugami Family
    The Devil's Island
    6.6
    The Devil's Island
    The House of Hanging
    6.2
    The House of Hanging
    Queen Bee
    6.4
    Queen Bee
    Village of Eight Gravestones
    6.5
    Village of Eight Gravestones
    The 8-Tomb Village
    6.3
    The 8-Tomb Village
    The Castle of Sand
    7.3
    The Castle of Sand
    The Twilight Samurai
    8.1
    The Twilight Samurai
    Violence at Noon
    7.1
    Violence at Noon
    The Demon of Mount Oe
    6.4
    The Demon of Mount Oe
    Inugami-ke no ichizoku
    6.3
    Inugami-ke no ichizoku
    Brothel No. 8
    7.5
    Brothel No. 8

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The detective Kosuke Kindaichi was created by the novelist Seishi Yokomizu. He has appeared in about 80 novels.
    • Connections
      Features Morocco (1930)
    • Soundtracks
      Onikobe-mura temari-uta
      Music by Kunihiko Murai

      Lyrics by Seishi Yokomizo

      Courtesy of Toho Records

    User reviews1

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    Murder in a smalltown village
    Synopsis The story is set in 1950 Japan in a a smalltown village called Onikobe (Devil's Skull) where a private detective Kindaichi is hired by Inspector Isokawa to help a solve a 20 year old murder case. Kindaichi and Isokawa reunites after 2 years at the Kamenoyu Inn located at Onikobe. The murder that took place in Onikobe involves the death of a Mr Genjiro (murdered husband of Mrs Rika)and a swindler Ikuo Onda. Presumably Genjiro confronted Onda about his wreath swindling scheme 20 years ago where Onda clubbed Genjiro over the head after which his head landed in a nearby fireplace leaving his face unrecognizable.

    PI Kindaichi and Inspector Isokawa investigation yields several difficulties in a smalltown village where a power struggle exists between two families (the Yura- and Nire-family). Upon their investigation even more murders ensue...

    Review: The Devils Ballad is a masterfully made whodunnit mystery film done by Kon Ichikawa. As far as Mystery films go, this is way ahead of its time. The amount of facts and names that one must process within the first 30 minutes of the film can be a bit overwhelming so attention to detail is a definite prerequisite to enjoy The Devils Ballad. The Horror element found mainly when the murders take place or when they show the corpses surprised me very much. Theses scenes are brief but graphic,visceral and very effective...they stand well even to today's standards. The amount of comedic relief is even less brief than the graphic scenes but also effective such as PI Kindaichi's dandruff problem and Inspector Tachibana's incompetence.

    The Soundtrack is a bit all over the place. It features some upbeat fusion sounds that are borderline cheesy at times. The classical folk sounds and Orchestral work makes up for that. I especially loved the sweeping Orchestral piece towards the end.

    Overall the film is beautifully shot; the acting is flawless; the story and characters are intriguing...underrated gem. My only criticism is that the film drags on a little bit just before the end. Nonetheless its a great film for those into classic Mystery films. I'll definitely be checking out more of Kon Ichikawa's work.
    helpful•13
    1
    • origo13
    • May 22, 2011

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 2, 1977 (Japan)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • The Devil's Ballad
    • Production company
      • Toho Company
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 24 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Akuma no temari-uta (1977)
    Top Gap
    What is the English language plot outline for Akuma no temari-uta (1977)?
    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.