(Hideo Oba, US 1950, 105 min., 35mm nitrate print)
Director: Hideo Ōba
Writer: Tadao Ikeda, based on the novel by Jirō Osaragi
Producer: Takashi Koide
Cinematographer: Toshio Ubukata
Art Director: Tatsuo Hamada
Composers: Hiroshi Yoshizawa, Toshiro Mayuzumi
Cast: Michiyo Kogure, Shin Saburi, Keiko Tsushima, Shin Tokudaiji, Eijirō Yanagi, Sō
Yamamura, Kuniko Miyake, Shinichi Himori, Yoshiko Tsubouchi
Production company: Shochiku Co., Ltd.
Sound, b/w, 105 min.
Japanese language, electronic English subtitles
Print source: National Film Archive of Japan, Tokyo, Japan
Hideo Ōba’s postwar drama Kikyō is based on a 1948 novel by the prize-winning Japanese
author Jiro Osaragi. A harsh critique of Japan’s loss of its prewar values, the book originally
appeared as a newspaper serial, as did Osaragi’s novel Munekata kyōdai [The Munekata Sisters],
which was also adapted for the screen in 1950 by Yasujiro Ozu.
Ōba made his debut at Shochiku studios in 1939 and distinguished himself in 1950 with
Nagasaki no kane [The Bells of Nagasaki], the film immediately preceding Kikyō. In the decade
that followed, Ōba became one of the leading directors at Shochiku, which specialized in
melodrama. His hit trilogy Kimi no na wa [What Is Your Name?] (1953-54)—a Japanese
Waterloo Bridge—became a social phenomenon.
At the time of the release of Kikyō, Japan was still under Allied occupation, and many Japanese
were confused by the transition. In the film, Shin Saburi stars as a former naval officer who has
become stateless after wandering abroad. Once the war ends, he returns to Japan, encounters the
former mistress who ratted him out (Michiyo Kogure), and reconnects with his daughter (Keiko
Tsushima). However, he is disappointed to find his homeland completely changed, and he once
again leaves Japan.
Kikyō was highly acclaimed for its emotional portrayal of people in the midst of the tumultuous
post-war reconstruction, and the scene in which father and daughter are reunited at Kyoto’s Moss
Temple became so well-known that the site became a popular tourist attraction. Kikyō placed
second in the annual list of ten best films by Japan’s most prestigious film magazine, Kinema Junpo. Kurosawa’s Rashomon took fifth place, and Ozu’s Munekata kyodai came in seventh. The
top spot went to Tadashi Imai’s Mata au hi made [Until We Meet Again].
Originally released in November 1950, Kikyō was shown at more than 1,000 theaters nationwide
over the course of six months, making it the highest-grossing Shochiku film of the year. This
print’s 35mm nitrate stock was manufactured by Fujifilm between January and March 1951.
Although there are some noticeable scratches, the print is in fairly good condition compared to
other nitrate prints in the National Film Archive of Japan’s collection. The shrinkage is up to
1.3%.
Jo Osawa