Onibaba
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese horror film
based on a Buddhist parable
. Directed by Kaneto Shindō
, the film is set in rural Japan in the fourteenth century and features Nobuko Otowa
and Jitsuko Yoshimura as a woman and her daughter-in-law who attack and kill passing samurai
, strip them of their valuable armor and possessions, and dispose of the bodies in a deep pit.
period, a woman (Nobuko Otowa) and her daughter-in-law (Jitsuko Yoshimura) live in a small hut in a susuki
grass swamp. They make a living by killing samurai
, disposing of their bodies in a deep pit and selling their armor and weapons. A neighbor named Hachi (Kei Sato) who went to war with the woman's son/daughter-in-law's husband returns and reports that he was killed in combat. Hachi starts to help the two women to kill passersby and take their possessions. Hachi begins blatantly lusting after the daughter-in-law, who quickly is seduced and starts to sneak out of her hut every night to have sex with him. Soon, the mother-in-law, herself sexually frustrated, learns of the relationship. She first tries to sleep with Hachi and then pleads with him to not take the daughter-in-law away since she cannot kill without her help. Hachi agrees not to marry the daughter-in-law, but says she's going to do what she wants.
One night, while Hachi and the daughter-in-law are together, a lost samurai in a frightening demon mask corners the mother-in-law and forces her to take him to the road. However, the mother-in-law tricks the samurai into plunging to his death in the pit where the women dispose of their victims. The mother-in-law climbs down and steals the samurai's possessions and, with great difficulty, his mask. Despite the samurai having boasted that he was "beautiful", she finds him to be badly disfigured underneath the mask. The mother-in-law begins to play on the younger woman's fears of ghosts and punishment for sins of the flesh in what are, at first, seemingly banal conversations. At night, the mother-in-law pretends to be the demon by donning the samurai's mask and frightening the girl to run back to their hut and away from Hachi. One night, during a torrential storm, the mother-in-law again terrifies the girl with the mask, but Hachi finds the daughter-in-law and again has sex with her in the grasses as the old woman watches from afar. Later that night, Hachi returns to his hut to find a starving samurai, much like those they've killed, in his hut wolfing down his rice. The samurai kills Hachi. At the same time, the mother-in-law discovers to her horror that, after getting wet in the rain, the demon-mask
is stuck to her face and is impossible to remove. She reveals her scheming to the younger woman and pleads with her to help take off the mask, promising to never again meddle in her relationship with Hachi. Though reluctant at first, the younger woman enthusiastically takes on the task of removing the mask when she discovers that it causes pain to her conniving mother-in-law. Eventually the younger woman uses a hammer
to violently break off the mask, revealing the older woman's now ravaged features, similar to that of the samurai who had worn the mask earlier. Now she really believes that her mother-in-law has turned into a demon due to her disfigurement and runs from her in the grasses. The two women jump over the pit housing their victims, their fate left unclear as the film ends.
According to a Criterion Collection documentary
, Kaneto Shindō
said he wanted to film Onibaba in a field of susuki
grass, however there were very few fields of susuki
grass at the time so Kaneto Shindō sent out assistant director
s to find suitable locations. Once a location was found near a river bank, they built several houses to live in. They had a rule that if somebody left they would not get any pay, so it kept the crew motivated to continue. The crew could only film at daylight, because during the night hours the riverbank would overflow causing the area to be overrun by crabs, and insects were active during that time as well. So to film night scenes inside the tent the characters lived in they would put up screens to block the sun
, and changing the shot would require setting the screens in a completely different spot.
Onibaba's score
was done by Hikaru Hayashi
and notably includes a Taiko drum soundtrack, and the natural sounds of pigeons chirping, resulting in a frenzied soundtrack
.
The film
makes use of rapid editing
and slow motion
, often at distorted or strange angles
.
on March 16, 2004 in the Criterion Collection. A Region 2 DVD was released in 2005 as part of the Masters of Cinema
series.
which began a period of over 50 years of civil war
, the Nanboku-chō
period (1336 to 1392) and demonstrates the class warfare between the peasants and the elite samurai
at that time. It is based on an old Buddhist fable.
, the film reflecting the traumatic effect of this visitation on post-war Japan
ese society.
J-Horror
Japanese horror, or J-Horror, is Japanese horror fiction in popular culture, noted for its unique thematic and conventional treatment of the horror genre in light of western treatments...
based on a Buddhist parable
Parable
A parable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or a normative principle. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human...
. Directed by Kaneto Shindō
Kaneto Shindo
, Hiroshima, Japan) is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His best known films include Children of Hiroshima, The Naked Island, Onibaba, Kuroneko and A Last Note.Shindō has often made films dealing with Hiroshima or the atomic bomb...
, the film is set in rural Japan in the fourteenth century and features Nobuko Otowa
Nobuko Otowa
Nobuko Otowa was a Japanese film actress. She appeared in 134 films between 1950 and 1994. She was married to film director Kaneto Shindō...
and Jitsuko Yoshimura as a woman and her daughter-in-law who attack and kill passing samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
, strip them of their valuable armor and possessions, and dispose of the bodies in a deep pit.
Story
During the Nanboku-chōNanboku-cho
The , spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Muromachi bakufu of Japan's history.During this period, there existed a Northern Imperial Court, established by Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and a Southern Imperial Court, established by Emperor Go-Daigo in...
period, a woman (Nobuko Otowa) and her daughter-in-law (Jitsuko Yoshimura) live in a small hut in a susuki
Miscanthus sinensis
Miscanthus sinensis Miscanthus sinensis Miscanthus sinensis (Chinese silver grass, Eulalia grass, maiden grass, zebra grass, Susuki grass, porcupine grass; syn. Eulalia japonica Trin., Miscanthus sinensis f. glaber Honda, Miscanthus sinensis var. gracillimus Hitchc., Miscanthus sinensis var....
grass swamp. They make a living by killing samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
, disposing of their bodies in a deep pit and selling their armor and weapons. A neighbor named Hachi (Kei Sato) who went to war with the woman's son/daughter-in-law's husband returns and reports that he was killed in combat. Hachi starts to help the two women to kill passersby and take their possessions. Hachi begins blatantly lusting after the daughter-in-law, who quickly is seduced and starts to sneak out of her hut every night to have sex with him. Soon, the mother-in-law, herself sexually frustrated, learns of the relationship. She first tries to sleep with Hachi and then pleads with him to not take the daughter-in-law away since she cannot kill without her help. Hachi agrees not to marry the daughter-in-law, but says she's going to do what she wants.
One night, while Hachi and the daughter-in-law are together, a lost samurai in a frightening demon mask corners the mother-in-law and forces her to take him to the road. However, the mother-in-law tricks the samurai into plunging to his death in the pit where the women dispose of their victims. The mother-in-law climbs down and steals the samurai's possessions and, with great difficulty, his mask. Despite the samurai having boasted that he was "beautiful", she finds him to be badly disfigured underneath the mask. The mother-in-law begins to play on the younger woman's fears of ghosts and punishment for sins of the flesh in what are, at first, seemingly banal conversations. At night, the mother-in-law pretends to be the demon by donning the samurai's mask and frightening the girl to run back to their hut and away from Hachi. One night, during a torrential storm, the mother-in-law again terrifies the girl with the mask, but Hachi finds the daughter-in-law and again has sex with her in the grasses as the old woman watches from afar. Later that night, Hachi returns to his hut to find a starving samurai, much like those they've killed, in his hut wolfing down his rice. The samurai kills Hachi. At the same time, the mother-in-law discovers to her horror that, after getting wet in the rain, the demon-mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
is stuck to her face and is impossible to remove. She reveals her scheming to the younger woman and pleads with her to help take off the mask, promising to never again meddle in her relationship with Hachi. Though reluctant at first, the younger woman enthusiastically takes on the task of removing the mask when she discovers that it causes pain to her conniving mother-in-law. Eventually the younger woman uses a hammer
Hammer
A hammer is a tool meant to deliver an impact to an object. The most common uses are for driving nails, fitting parts, forging metal and breaking up objects. Hammers are often designed for a specific purpose, and vary widely in their shape and structure. The usual features are a handle and a head,...
to violently break off the mask, revealing the older woman's now ravaged features, similar to that of the samurai who had worn the mask earlier. Now she really believes that her mother-in-law has turned into a demon due to her disfigurement and runs from her in the grasses. The two women jump over the pit housing their victims, their fate left unclear as the film ends.
Production
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
, Kaneto Shindō
Kaneto Shindo
, Hiroshima, Japan) is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His best known films include Children of Hiroshima, The Naked Island, Onibaba, Kuroneko and A Last Note.Shindō has often made films dealing with Hiroshima or the atomic bomb...
said he wanted to film Onibaba in a field of susuki
Miscanthus sinensis
Miscanthus sinensis Miscanthus sinensis Miscanthus sinensis (Chinese silver grass, Eulalia grass, maiden grass, zebra grass, Susuki grass, porcupine grass; syn. Eulalia japonica Trin., Miscanthus sinensis f. glaber Honda, Miscanthus sinensis var. gracillimus Hitchc., Miscanthus sinensis var....
grass, however there were very few fields of susuki
Miscanthus sinensis
Miscanthus sinensis Miscanthus sinensis Miscanthus sinensis (Chinese silver grass, Eulalia grass, maiden grass, zebra grass, Susuki grass, porcupine grass; syn. Eulalia japonica Trin., Miscanthus sinensis f. glaber Honda, Miscanthus sinensis var. gracillimus Hitchc., Miscanthus sinensis var....
grass at the time so Kaneto Shindō sent out assistant director
Assistant director
The role of an Assistant director include tracking daily progress against the filming production schedule, arranging logistics, preparing daily call sheets, checking cast and crew, maintaining order on the set. They also have to take care of health and safety of the crew...
s to find suitable locations. Once a location was found near a river bank, they built several houses to live in. They had a rule that if somebody left they would not get any pay, so it kept the crew motivated to continue. The crew could only film at daylight, because during the night hours the riverbank would overflow causing the area to be overrun by crabs, and insects were active during that time as well. So to film night scenes inside the tent the characters lived in they would put up screens to block the sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, and changing the shot would require setting the screens in a completely different spot.
Onibaba's score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
was done by Hikaru Hayashi
Hikaru Hayashi
is a contemporary Japanese composer, pianist and conductor. He is the cousin of flautist Ririko Hayashi.Hayashi entered Tokyo University of the Arts as a composition student but did not complete his studies. Studying under Hisatada Otaka, he produced many compositions including orchestral works...
and notably includes a Taiko drum soundtrack, and the natural sounds of pigeons chirping, resulting in a frenzied soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
.
The 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...
makes use of rapid editing
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
and slow motion
Slow motion
Slow motion is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger....
, often at distorted or strange angles
Angles
The Angles is a modern English term for a Germanic people who took their name from the ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany...
.
Distribution
It was released as a Region 1 DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on March 16, 2004 in the Criterion Collection. A Region 2 DVD was released in 2005 as part of the Masters of Cinema
Masters of Cinema
The Masters of Cinema organization began as a website dedicated to the most well-regarded film directors in the world. Founded by a diverse international group of like-minded film enthusiasts: Jan Bielawski, a mathematician; Doug Cummings, a graphic artist and freelance critic; Trond Trondsen, a Ph.D...
series.
Reception
Reaction to Onibaba remains mixed. Matt Cale, a reviewer for Ruthlessreviews.com, said: "Based on my initial, purely gut reaction, Onibaba is a visual masterpiece, but also the sort of story that contains layer after layer of insight. I wouldn’t argue that I understood everything after one viewing, but I’m so intrigued that I want to read more reviews, scan a few clips, and even revisit the film in its entirety. It’s the sort of film made for contemplation; so mysterious and so blissfully unconcerned with immediate gratification that I have no doubt it will begin the slow climb up the list of films near and dear to my heart." Members of Variety opened their review with: "Raw fare is sometimes high adventure and exciting, at other times dull in its so-called symbolism. Too often, it turns out to be a pot-pourri of ravenous eating and blatant sex", referring to the film's violence and sexual overtones. A.H. Weiler of the New York Times stated that he found it hard to relate to.Historical Setting
The story takes place shortly after the Battle of MinatogawaBattle of Minatogawa
The Battle of Minatogawa also known as the Battle of Minato River was fought in 1336 between Japanese forces loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo and the Ashikaga clan. The Imperial forces were led by Kusunoki Masashige and Nitta Yoshisada, while the Ashikaga were led by Ashikaga Takauji. The Ashikaga were...
which began a period of over 50 years of civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
, the Nanboku-chō
Nanboku-cho
The , spanning from 1336 to 1392, was a period that occurred during the formative years of the Muromachi bakufu of Japan's history.During this period, there existed a Northern Imperial Court, established by Ashikaga Takauji in Kyoto, and a Southern Imperial Court, established by Emperor Go-Daigo in...
period (1336 to 1392) and demonstrates the class warfare between the peasants and the elite samurai
Samurai
is the term for the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. According to translator William Scott Wilson: "In Chinese, the character 侍 was originally a verb meaning to wait upon or accompany a person in the upper ranks of society, and this is also true of the original term in Japanese, saburau...
at that time. It is based on an old Buddhist fable.
Analysis
According to Kaneto Shindo the effects of the mask on those who wear it is symbolic of the disfigurement of the victims of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and NagasakiAtomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
During the final stages of World War II in 1945, the United States conducted two atomic bombings against the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan, the first on August 6, 1945, and the second on August 9, 1945. These two events are the only use of nuclear weapons in war to date.For six months...
, the film reflecting the traumatic effect of this visitation on post-war Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese society.
External links
- Onibaba at the Japanese Movie DatabaseJapanese Movie DatabaseThe , commonly referred to as JMDB, is an online database of information about Japanese movies, actors, and production crew personnel. It is similar to the Internet Movie Database, but lists only those films originally released in Japan. The site was started in 1997, and contains movies from Meiji...
- Criterion Collection essay by Chuck Stephens