Kwaidan (film)

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"Kaidan (film)" redirects here. For the 2007 film, see Kaidan (2007 film).

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Kwaidan
File:Kwaidanposterjapanese.jpg
Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
Produced by Shigeru Wakatsuki
Written by Yôko Mizuki
Based on stories by Lafcadio Hearn
Starring Rentarō Mikuni
Keiko Kishi
Michiyo Aratama
Misako Watanabe
Tatsuya Nakadai
Music by Toru Takemitsu
Cinematography Yoshio Miyajima[1]
Distributed by Toho Company Ltd.
Release dates
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  • December 29, 1964 (1964-12-29)
Running time
 183 minutes
Country Japan
Language Japanese

Kwaidan (怪談 Kaidan?, literally "ghost stories") is a 1964 Japanese anthology horror film directed by Masaki Kobayashi. It is based on stories from Lafcadio Hearn's collections of Japanese folk tales, mainly Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things, for which it is named. The film consists of four separate and unrelated stories. Kwaidan is an archaic transliteration of Kaidan, meaning "ghost story". It won the Special Jury Prize at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival,[2] and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film.[3]

Plot

The Black Hair

"The Black Hair" (黒髪 Kurokami?) was adapted from "The Reconciliation", which appeared in Hearn's collection Shadowings (1900). An impoverished swordsman living in Kyoto divorces his wife, a weaver, for a woman of a wealthy family to attain greater social status. He takes his new wife to his new position as a district governor. However, the swordsman's second marriage proves to be unhappy. With his second wife being callous and shallow, the swordsman regrets leaving his more devoted and patient ex-wife.

One night while he sleeps, the second wife discovers that the swordsman not only married her to obtain her family's wealth, but also still longs for his old life in Kyoto with his ex-wife, and is furious. After lashing out at him for his ungrateful behavior, the second wife returns to her marriage chambers in humiliation. When he is told to go into the chambers to reconcile with her by a lady-in-waiting, the swordsman refuses, stating his intent to return home and reconcile with his true wife. He tells her that it is his foolish youth in being impoverished that made him marry his second wife. Admitting that he didn't love her, the swordsman tells the lady-in-waiting to inform her that their marriage is over and she can return to her family.

After a few years, the swordsman returns to Kyoto and finds the house in a mess. He reconciles with his ex-wife, who refuses to let him punish himself. The wife understands he only divorced her so he can better support her. Before going to bed, the swordsman promises her that they won't have to worry about poverty anymore and he will never leave her side again. He wakes up the following day, finding that he had been sleeping next to the rotted corpse of his wife. The swordsman tries to escape only to find himself falling under the floor. His clothes are a mess and he's losing his hair (possibly implying that the ghost of his devoted ex-wife intends to make the swordsman uphold his promise in not abandoning her again).

The Woman of the Snow

"The Woman of the Snow" (雪女 Yukionna?) is an adaptation from Hearn's Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (1903). In the Musashi Province, a woodcutter named Minokichi takes refuge in a fisherman's hut during a snowstorm alongside his mentor Mosaku. Minokichi finds Mosaku killed by a Yuki-onna, who spares Minokichi because of his youth. Yuki-onna warns him to never mention what happened or she will kill him. Keeping his word, Minokichi later meets a young woman named Yuki who resembles the ghost he encountered. She reveals that she is on her way to Edo for she lost her family and her relatives had got her a position as a lady-in-waiting. Minokichi takes Yuki to his home to rest up. His mother takes a liking to Yuki and asks her to stay. Yuki never leaves for Edo and Minokichi falls in love with her. The two marry and have children, living happily for ten years. The female villagers are in awe of Yuki's youth for after having three children, she still looks the same. They noted that Minokichi's mother talked highly of Yuki, which is unusual because in their village, most mothers talk ill of their daughter-in-laws no matter how good of a wife she is. One night, during a snowstorm, Minokichi tells her that her appearance reminds him of the Yuki-onna he met, telling her of the strange event. It is then that Yuki reveals herself to be the Yuki-onna. She tells him that he broke his word, yet refrains from killing him because of their children. Yuki then leaves Minokichi with the children, warning to treat them well or she will return and kill him. She disappears into the snowstorm, leaving Minokichi heartbroken.

Hoichi the Earless

"Hoichi the Earless" (耳無芳一の話 Miminashi Hōichi no Hanashi?) is also adapted from Hearn's Kwaidan (though it incorporates aspects of The Tale of the Heike that are mentioned, but never translated, in Hearn's book).[citation needed] It depicts the folkloric tale of Hoichi the Earless, a blind musician, or biwa hoshi, whose specialty is singing The Tale of the Heike, about the Battle of Dan-no-ura, fought between the Taira and Minamoto clans during the last phase of the Genpei War. He is subsequently called in to sing for a royal family. His friends and priests grows concerned that he may be singing for ghosts as soon as he answered the call. To protect Hoichi, a priest and his acolyte write the text of The Heart Sutra on his body, and instruct him to go outside and sit still as if in meditation. They forget to write on his ears, which are subsequently visible to the ghost which comes to fetch him. The ghost seeks to bring back as much of Hoichi as possible, and rips his ears off.

In a Cup of Tea

"In a Cup of Tea" (茶碗の中 Chawan no Naka?) is adapted from Hearn's Kottō: Being Japanese Curios, with Sundry Cobwebs (1902). A writer who is anticipating a visit from the publisher, keeps seeing faces in a cup of tea.

Cast

Reception

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. In his Harakiri review, Roger Ebert described Kwaidan as "an assembly of ghost stories that is among the most beautiful films I've seen".[4]

See also

References

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External links

Text of Lafcadio Hearn stories that were adapted for Kwaidan
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