Chikamatsu's Love in Osaka
1959
105 minutes
Overview
The adopted son of an Osaka courier falls in love with a prostitute and, discovering that she is about to be purchased by a client, steals money from his employer to redeem her. Hunted criminals, the two young lovers take flight to Yamato, but, as in Chikamatsu's other domestic tragedies of love and duty (known as sewamono), they must be pursued and their passion destroyed by death. Favourite Uchida themes, such as the indenturing of a prostitute, and his characteristic emphasis on performance and theatrical artifice re-emerge here; but the daring device of having Chikamatsu appear as a character - not unlike having Shakespeare interpolated into a film adaptation of one of his plays - is just one of many surprises this remarkable film holds. “Extraordinary” (Donald Richie).
Top Cast
Kinnosuke Nakamura
Chubei Kameya
Ineko Arima
Umegawa
Kinuyo Tanaka
Myokan
Keiko Yukishiro
Hiromi Hanazono
Otoku
Chie Ueki
Otama
Sumiko Hidaka
Chieko Naniwa
Oen
Kodayu Ichikawa
Ryōsuke Kagawa
Koji Arima
Yoshiko Nakamura
Okiyo
Yoshiko Yashioji
Minoru Shiraki
Tokinosuke Nakamura
Masao Oda
Eitarō Shindō
Minoru Chiaki
Eijirō Tōno
Harue Akagi
Shirō Osaki
Kunio Hikita
Sonosuke Sawamura
Kisho Nomura
Toshikazu Sahashi
Hiroshi Hatano
Itoko Wakaura
Tsuyako Okajima
Kin'nosuke Fujiki
Kazutarō Kuni
Hideo Higashi
Chiezō Kataoka
Monzaemon Chikamatsu