Gion no shimai (1936) 6/7

Gion no shimai (1936) Sisters of the Gion follows the parallel paths of the independent, unsentimental Omocha (Isuzu Yamada) and her sister, the more tradition-minded Umekichi (Yoko Umemura), both geishas in the working-class district of Gion. Mizoguchis film is a brilliantly shot, uncompromising look at the forces that keep many women at the bottom rung of the social ladder. Regarded by many as the best film made in pre-war Japan, THE SISTERS OF THE GION stars Isuzu Yamada as Omocha and Yoko Umemura as Umekichi, two sisters working as geishas in the Gion, the licensed red light district of Kyoto. Umekichi, the older sister, has been trying to train Omocha in the observance of “giri,” which might be translated as a geisha’s responsibilities. But the younger, more cynical woman deeply resents her role and wants to take her clients for as much as she can, jumping from one man to another in the process. When Umekichi takes in Furusawa (Benkei Shiganoya), a client who has gone bankrupt, Omocha vents her displeasure. Another stinging denunciation of the treatment of women in Japanese society, its visual style evinces some of elements that would come to be characteristic of director Kenji Mizoguchi: fixed and distanced camera positions, long sequence takes, and unusually fluid tracking shots. Director: Kenji Mizoguchi Original story: Kenji Mizoguchi Screenplay: Yoshikata Yoda Cinematography: Minoru Miki Cast: Isuzu Yamada, Yoko Umemura, Shiganoya Bendo, Kazuko Hisano, Fumio …