Sisters of the Gion
Encyclopedia
is a 1936 black and white Japanese film
drama directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
.
The film is based on the novel Yama (The Pit) (1905–1915) by Aleksandr Kuprin
.
The film won 1937 Kinema Junpo Award for the best film (director Kenji Mizoguchi) and award in Vienna in 1998.
, living in an okiya
of their own in the licensed pleasure district of Gion
, Kyoto
. Both women have very different outlooks on relationships with men. Umekichi, the elder sister, is the ideal geisha; she grew up going to dance and music lessons, wears kimono
, and has a strong sense of giri, or loyalty, to her patron. Umekichi’s younger sister, Omocha, was educated in public schools and wears western clothing, except when she is working as a geisha. Unlike Umekichi, Omocha doesn’t trust men and believes that they will only use geisha and then abandon them without a care. Thus, she uses men to her own advantage. In doing so she is willing to manipulate and lie to her customers.
Umekichi’s patron in the movie is a newly bankrupt businessman named Shimbei Furusawa, who Umekichi takes care of after he loses his house and business. Omocha does not believe that her sister should support Shimbei, that doing so will prevent her from providing for herself by finding a new patron, and that she owes him nothing as, in her view, he has received more than he has given in the past. Omocha finds her sister a new patron and, one day when Umekichi is out, gives Shimbei some money to return to his wife in the country and tells him that her sister no longer wants him around. He takes the money but, rather than leaving, spends it drinking and takes up residence with his former clerk.
Omocha also attempts to find a patron for herself and appears to be successful in gaining the attention of the owner of a kimono/cloth shop. However, in the process of helping her sister Omocha has previously taken advantage of the owner’s clerk, who has stolen from the shop to provide a kimono for Umekichi and been found out.
Umekichi throws over her new patron when she learns of Omocha's deception of Shimbei from the kimono shop clerk, and returns to him. The clerk is discovered at Omocha's okiya by the shop owner and dismissed. He seeks his revenge on his former employer by informing his wife of her husband's infidelity, and then exacts his revenge on Omocha by abducting her in a car and injuring her grievously by throwing her from it.
Omocha and Umekichi have conflicting outlooks on men and the role of geisha, but ultimately they are both defeated at the end of the film. Umekichi is abandoned by her bankrupt patron Shimbei when he is given the chance to manage a factory in the country where his wife has retired, and ends up caring for Omocha after her hospitalization for her injuries. Omocha curses the very existence of the geisha and the sexual subjugation involved. This tragic ending largely confirms Omocha's jaundiced view of the role of the geisha in a male dominated society, in a film that is surprisingly feminist for its time and place.
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...
drama directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His film Ugetsu won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival, and appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll in 1962 and 1972. Mizoguchi is renowned for his mastery of the long take and mise-en-scène...
.
The film is based on the novel Yama (The Pit) (1905–1915) by Aleksandr Kuprin
Aleksandr Kuprin
Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin , was a Russian writer, pilot, explorer and adventurer who is perhaps best known for his story The Duel . Other well-known works include Moloch , Olesya , Junior Captain Rybnikov , Emerald , and The Garnet Bracelet...
.
The film won 1937 Kinema Junpo Award for the best film (director Kenji Mizoguchi) and award in Vienna in 1998.
Plot
The story centers around two sisters (Umekichi and Omocha), who are geishaGeisha
, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...
, living in an okiya
Okiya
An is the lodging house in which a maiko or geisha lives during the length of her nenki, or contract or career as a geisha.A young woman's first step toward becoming a geisha is to be accepted into an okiya , a geisha house owned by the woman who will pay for her training. The proprietress of the...
of their own in the licensed pleasure district of Gion
Gion
is a district of Kyoto, Japan, originally developed in the Middle Ages, in front of Yasaka Shrine. The district was built to accommodate the needs of travelers and visitors to the shrine...
, Kyoto
Kyoto
is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...
. Both women have very different outlooks on relationships with men. Umekichi, the elder sister, is the ideal geisha; she grew up going to dance and music lessons, wears kimono
Kimono
The is a Japanese traditional garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" , has come to denote these full-length robes...
, and has a strong sense of giri, or loyalty, to her patron. Umekichi’s younger sister, Omocha, was educated in public schools and wears western clothing, except when she is working as a geisha. Unlike Umekichi, Omocha doesn’t trust men and believes that they will only use geisha and then abandon them without a care. Thus, she uses men to her own advantage. In doing so she is willing to manipulate and lie to her customers.
Umekichi’s patron in the movie is a newly bankrupt businessman named Shimbei Furusawa, who Umekichi takes care of after he loses his house and business. Omocha does not believe that her sister should support Shimbei, that doing so will prevent her from providing for herself by finding a new patron, and that she owes him nothing as, in her view, he has received more than he has given in the past. Omocha finds her sister a new patron and, one day when Umekichi is out, gives Shimbei some money to return to his wife in the country and tells him that her sister no longer wants him around. He takes the money but, rather than leaving, spends it drinking and takes up residence with his former clerk.
Omocha also attempts to find a patron for herself and appears to be successful in gaining the attention of the owner of a kimono/cloth shop. However, in the process of helping her sister Omocha has previously taken advantage of the owner’s clerk, who has stolen from the shop to provide a kimono for Umekichi and been found out.
Umekichi throws over her new patron when she learns of Omocha's deception of Shimbei from the kimono shop clerk, and returns to him. The clerk is discovered at Omocha's okiya by the shop owner and dismissed. He seeks his revenge on his former employer by informing his wife of her husband's infidelity, and then exacts his revenge on Omocha by abducting her in a car and injuring her grievously by throwing her from it.
Omocha and Umekichi have conflicting outlooks on men and the role of geisha, but ultimately they are both defeated at the end of the film. Umekichi is abandoned by her bankrupt patron Shimbei when he is given the chance to manage a factory in the country where his wife has retired, and ends up caring for Omocha after her hospitalization for her injuries. Omocha curses the very existence of the geisha and the sexual subjugation involved. This tragic ending largely confirms Omocha's jaundiced view of the role of the geisha in a male dominated society, in a film that is surprisingly feminist for its time and place.
Cast
- Isuzu YamadaIsuzu Yamadais a Japanese actress on stage and screen whose career has spanned eight decades.-Career:Yamada was born in Osaka with the name Mitsu Yamada. Her father, Kusuo Yamada, was a shinpa stage actor specializing in onnagata roles and her mother, Ritsu, was a geisha...
as younger sister Omocha - Yōko Umemura as older sister Umekichi
- Benkei Shiganoya as bankrupt businessman Shimbei Furusawa
- Fumio Okura as Jurakudo
- Eitarō ShindōEitaro Shindowas a Japanese film actor. He appeared in 93 films between 1936 and 1966.-Selected filmography:* Miss Oyu * The Crucified Lovers * Sansho the Bailiff...
as Kudo - Taizō Fukami as Kimura
- Sakurako Iwama as Omasa Kudō
- Namiko Kawajima
- Reiko Aoi
- Shizuko Takizawa
See also
- Sisters of the Gion (1956 film)Sisters of the Gion (1956 film)is a 1956 black and white Japanese film drama directed by Hiromasa Nomura.The film is remake of the 1936 film drama of the same name Sisters of the Gion by Kenji Mizoguchi.- Cast :* Michiyo Kogure * 小野道子* Tamao Nakamura...
(祇園の姉妹 Gion no shimai), a 1956 film is a remake by Hiromasa Nomura.
External links
- official page at ShochikuShochikuis a Japanese movie studio and production company for kabuki. It also produces and distributes anime films. Its best remembered directors include Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinoshita and Yōji Yamada...
website - http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/44923/Sisters-of-the-Gion/overview
- http://www.filmref.com/directors/dirpages/mizoguchi.html
- http://www.answers.com/topic/sisters-of-the-gion?cat=entertainment
- http://www.talkingpix.co.uk/ReviewsSisterofG.html