Discover
This heartrending masterpiece by Kenji Mizoguchi about the give-and-take between life and art marked the first full realization of the hypnotic long takes and eloquent camera movements that would come to define the director’s films. Kikunosuke (Shotaro Hanayagi), the adopted son of a legendary kabuki actor who is striving to achieve stardom by mastering female roles, turns to his infant brother’s wet nurse for support and affection—and she soon gives up everything for her beloved’s creative glory. Offering a fascinating glimpse behind the scenes of kabuki theater in the late nineteenth century, The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum provides a critique of the oppression of women and the sacrifices required of them, and represents the pinnacle of Mizoguchi’s early career.
Original Release
10/10/1939
US Release
01/15/1979
Links
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Shôtarô Hanayagi | Kikunosuke Onoue |
Kôkichi Takada | Fukusuke Nakamura |
Ryôtarô Kawanami | Eiju Dayu |
Kinnosuke Takamatsu | Matsusuke Onoue |
Jun'nosuke Hayama | Kanya Morita |
Tamitaro Onoue | Tamizô Onoue / Tamizo Onoue |
Ichirô Yuki | Guest in waiting room |
Kômei Minami | Shintomi greenroom manager |
Jin'ichi Amano | Shintomi's onnagata |
Haruo Inoue | Actor |
Directors
Writers
Matsutarô Kawaguchi, Shôfû Muramatsu, Yoshikata Yoda
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Shôtarô Hanayagi | Kikunosuke Onoue |
Kôkichi Takada | Fukusuke Nakamura |
Ryôtarô Kawanami | Eiju Dayu |
Kinnosuke Takamatsu | Matsusuke Onoue |
Jun'nosuke Hayama | Kanya Morita |
Tamitaro Onoue | Tamizô Onoue / Tamizo Onoue |
Ichirô Yuki | Guest in waiting room |
Kômei Minami | Shintomi greenroom manager |
Jin'ichi Amano | Shintomi's onnagata |
Haruo Inoue | Actor |
Sumao Ishihara | Manager of the travelling company |
Kô Hirota | Greenroom manager of the travelling company |
Minpei Tomimoto | Guest in waiting room |
Eijirô Hose | Travelling actor |
Nobuko Fushimi | Eiryû, a geisha / Onaka |
Kikuko Hanaoka | Onaka, a geisha / Eiryu |
Fujiko Shirakawa | Okiku, geisha |
Yoneko Mogami | Otsuru, Genshun's daughter / Otsura, Genshun's daughter |
Yoshie Nakagawa | Old maid at tea house |
Hisayo Nishi | Otoku's aunt |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Shintarô Shirai | Producer |