A Geisha
| A Geisha | |
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Original Japanese movie poster
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| Directed by | Kenji Mizoguchi |
| Produced by | Hisakazu Tsuji |
| Written by |
Yoshikata Yoda (screenplay) Matsutaro Kawaguchi (novel & screenplay) |
| Starring |
Michiyo Kogure Ayako Wakao Seizaburō Kawazu |
| Music by | Ichirō Saitō |
| Cinematography | Kazuo Miyagawa |
| Edited by | Mitsuzo Miyata |
| Distributed by | Daiei Film |
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Release date
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Running time
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85 minutes |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
A Geisha (祇園囃子 Gion Bayashi?, or Gion Festival Music) is a 1953 Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, centred on life in post-war Gion (Kyoto) through the relationship between an established geisha, Miyoharu, and teenaged Eiko, who pleads with Miyoharu to take her on as an apprentice or maiko. The film is based on the novel by Matsutarō Kawaguchi, who also produced the screenplay.
Eiko is in the search of the okiya run by the geisha Miyoharu. As she approaches the screen doors, she witnesses an exchange between Miyoharu and a client. The client, greatly indebted and unable to afford Miyoharu's services, is coldly and mockingly berated by Miyoharu for his presumptuousness. Enraged by the sudden demise of her affected desire for him and her mercenary attitude.
In supplication, Eiko reveals that the death of her mother, has left her at the mercy of her uncle, who demands that Eiko repay the debt incurred by her mother's funeral expenses by rendering sexual services to him. She pleads with Miyoharu to take her on as an apprentice maiko. Miyoharu attempts to dissuade her, on the grounds that life as a geisha is difficult and the training exceptionally arduous, but in the face of Eiko's determination she finds sympathy for the girl's situation and concedes. She sends her servant to procure the formal consent of Eiko's father, a struggling businessman, but he refuses to grant permission on the grounds that Eiko has shamed him by choosing to enter her mother's profession.
Eiko has achieved the necessary level of training to be formally introduced as a maiko, under her professional name Miyoei. In order to make the arrangements for her debut. Okimi, the proprietor, grudgingly assents to assist her with the money. In Okimi's teahouse, the two geishas are seated with Kusuda and his associate, who are in the process of convincing a manager on the verge of promotion to the directorship of another prosperous company.
Kanzaki is instantly taken with Miyoharu and strokes her arm during a subsequent dance recital performed by other attending geisha. Kusuda preys upon the vulnerable Miyoei, that she is obliged by etiquette to drink, despite Miyoharu's remonstrations.
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Wikipedia