Hideko the Bus-Conductor
Encyclopedia
, based on the short story Okomasan by Masuji Ibuse
, is a 1941 Japanese
film
directed by Mikio Naruse
. It is a short film of 54 minutes.
, in the principal role as Hideko, was already a famous film star for her childhood roles, and the name of the main character in the original story was changed from Koma to her own name in the film. This was the first film that Naruse, who had experience with literary adaptations, made with Takamine. Most of the film is shot on location in Kofu.
This was the last film that Naruse made before Japan declared war in December 1941. The world presented in the film, however, is peaceful and pleasant, far removed from Japanese people's life at the time of shortages and censorship.
Naruse scholar Catherine Russell has described this film as "a remarkable film about a young woman 'coming out' as a professional, articulate, speaking subject."
Masuji Ibuse
was a Japanese author.-Life and work:Ibuse was born in 1898 to a landowning family in the village of Kamo which is now part of Fukuyama, Hiroshima.At the age of 19 he started studying at Waseda University in Tokyo...
, is a 1941 Japanese
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Mikio Naruse
Mikio Naruse
was a Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer who directed some 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967.Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook...
. It is a short film of 54 minutes.
Synopsis
Hideko, a young lady working as a conductor with a bus company in Kofu, Yamanashi, has an idea for her bus that could avert the dwindling number of passengers. She asks the visiting author Ikawa to write for her a commentary to the local sites that she can read out to her passengers as they travel through the countryside. However, they are out on their practice run, when ...Background
Hideko TakamineHideko Takamine
was a Japanese actress who began as a child actor and maintained her fame in a career that spanned nine decades.-Life and career:Born in Hakodate, Hokkaidō, Japan, Takamine's first role was in the Shochiku studio's 1929 film Mother , which brought her tremendous popularity as a child actor. Soon...
, in the principal role as Hideko, was already a famous film star for her childhood roles, and the name of the main character in the original story was changed from Koma to her own name in the film. This was the first film that Naruse, who had experience with literary adaptations, made with Takamine. Most of the film is shot on location in Kofu.
This was the last film that Naruse made before Japan declared war in December 1941. The world presented in the film, however, is peaceful and pleasant, far removed from Japanese people's life at the time of shortages and censorship.
Naruse scholar Catherine Russell has described this film as "a remarkable film about a young woman 'coming out' as a professional, articulate, speaking subject."