Kenji Mizoguchi

Kenji Mizoguchi (溝口 健二, Mizoguchi Kenji, May 16, 1898 – August 24, 1956) was a Japanese film director and screenwriter.

Kenji Mizoguchi
Kenji Mizoguchi
Born(1898-05-16)May 16, 1898
Hongo, Tokyo, Japan
DiedAugust 24, 1956(1956-08-24) (aged 58)
Kyoto, Japan
Other namesGoteken
Occupationfilm director, screenwriter, editor
Years active1923–1956

Mizoguchi's work is renowned for its long takes and mise-en-scène.[1] According to writer Mark Le Fanu, "His films have an extraordinary force and purity. They shake and move the viewer by the power, refinement and compassion with which they confront human suffering."[2]

His film Ugetsu (1953) brought him international attention and appeared in the Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll in 1962 and 1972. Other acclaimed films of his include The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939), The Life of Oharu (1952), Sansho the Bailiff (1954), and The Crucified Lovers (1954). Today, Mizoguchi is one of the most acclaimed film-makers in Japanese cinema history.

Biography

Early years

Mizoguchi was born in Hongo, Tokyo,[3] one of three children. His father was a roofing carpenter. The family was modestly middle-class until his father tried to make a living selling raincoats to soldiers during the Russo-Japanese war. The war ended too quickly for the investment to succeed; his family circumstances turned abject and they gave his older sister up "for adoption" and moved from Hongo to Asakusa, near the theatre and brothel quarter.[3] In effect, his sister Suzuko, or Suzu, was sold into geishadom - an event which profoundly affected Mizoguchi's outlook on life. Between this and his father's brutal treatment of his mother and sister, he maintained a fierce resistance against his father throughout his life.

In 1911, Mizoguchi's parents, too poor to continue paying for their son's primary school training, sent him to stay with an uncle in Morioka, in northern Japan, for a year - a period that saw the onset of crippling rheumatoid arthritis that was to afflict him during adolescence and leave him with a lop-sided walking gait for the rest of his life.[4] The year 1912, back with his parents, was spent almost entirely in bed. In 1913, Mizoguchi's sister Suzu secured him work as an apprentice, designing patterns for kimonos and yukatas. In 1915 his mother died, and Suzu brought her younger brothers into her own house and looked after them. In 1916, he enrolled for a course at the Aoibashi Yoga Kenkyuko art school in Tokyo, which taught Western painting techniques. At this time too he pursued a new interest in opera, particularly at the Royal Theatre at Akasaka where he began, in due course, to help the set decorators.

In 1917 his sister again helped him to find work, this time a post with the Yuishin Nippon newspaper in Kobe, as an advertisement designer. The film critic Tadao Sato has pointed out a coincidence between Mizoguchi's life in his early years and the plots of shimpa dramas. Such works characteristically documented the sacrifices made by geisha on behalf of the young men they were involved with. Though Suzu was his sister and not a lover, "the subject of women's suffering is fundamental in all his work; while the sacrifice a sister makes for a brother - makes a key showing in a number of his films - Sansho Dayu for example."[4] After less than a year in Kobe, however, he returned "to the bohemian delights of Tokyo." [4] Mizoguchi entered the Tokyo film industry as an actor in 1920; three years later he would become a full-fledged director, at the Nikkatsu studio, directing Ai-ni yomigaeru hi (The Resurrection of Love), his first movie, during a workers' strike.

Film career

Mizoguchi's early works were mainly genre films, remakes of German Expressionism and adaptations of Eugene O'Neill and Leo Tolstoy. In these early years, Mizoguchi worked quickly, sometimes churning out a film in just a few weeks. The majority of the nearly seventy films he directed from the 1920s and 1930s are now lost.

Kenji Mizoguchi travelling through Europe, 1953

After the Great Kantō earthquake on September 1st, 1923, Mizoguchi moved to Nikkatsu’s Kyoto studios, and was working there until a scandal caused him to be temporarily suspended: Yuriko Ichijo, a prostitute with whom he was living, attacked him with a razor-blade, leaving lacerations on his back. "Working in Kyoto—the home of the traditional arts—had a decisive influence. Mizoguchi studied kabuki, noh, and traditional Japanese dance and music."[5]

Several of Mizoguchi's later films were keikō-eiga or "tendency films," in which Mizoguchi first explored his socialist tendencies and moulded his famous signature preoccupations. Later in his life, Mizoguchi maintained that his career as a serious director did not begin until 1936, when Osaka Elegy and Sisters of the Gion were released.

In his middle films, Mizoguchi began to be hailed as a director of "new realism": social documents of a Japan that was making its transition from feudalism into modernity. The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939) won a prize with the Education Department; like the two above-mentioned films, it explores the depreciated role of women in a male-centred society. During this time, Mizoguchi also developed his signature "one-scene-one-shot" approach to cinema. The meticulousness and authenticity of his set designer Hiroshi Mizutani would contribute to Mizoguchi's frequent use of wide-angle lenses.

During the war, Mizoguchi was forced to make artistic compromises, producing propaganda for the military government; the most famous of these films is a retelling of the Samurai bushido classic The 47 Ronin (1941), an epic jidai geki ("historical drama").

Among the many important directors who have admired Mizoguchi's work are Akira Kurosawa,[6] Orson Welles,[7] Masahiro Shinoda, Kaneto Shindo, Jean-Luc Godard,[8] Andrei Tarkovsky,[9] Jean-Marie Straub, Victor Erice, Jacques Rivette and Theo Angelopoulos.[10]

Mizoguchi once served as president of the Directors Guild of Japan.[11]

Post-war recognition
Screenwriter Yoshikata Yoda, Actress Kinuyo Tanaka, and Kenji Mizoguchi visit Paris, 1953

Immediately after the war, Mizoguchi's work, like that of his contemporary Yasujirō Ozu, was regarded by Japanese audiences as somewhat old-fashioned and dated. He was rediscovered, however, in the West - and particularly by Cahiers du cinéma critics such as Jacques Rivette. After a phase inspired by Japanese women's suffrage, which produced radical films like Victory of the Women (1946) and My Love Has Been Burning (1949), Mizoguchi turned to the jidai-geki — or period drama, remade from stories from Japanese folklore or period history — together with long-time screenwriter and collaborator Yoshikata Yoda. It was to be his most celebrated series of works, including The Life of Oharu (1952), which won him international recognition and which he considered his best film, and Ugetsu (1953), which won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Sansho the Bailiff (1954) reworks a premise from feudal Japan (and the short story by Mori Ōgai). Of his ninety feature films, only two — Tales of the Taira Clan (1955) and Princess Yang Kwei-Fei (1955) — were made in colour.

Mizoguchi died in Kyoto of leukemia at the age of fifty-eight, by which time he had become recognized as one of the three masters of Japanese cinema, together with Yasujirō Ozu and Akira Kurosawa. At the time of his death, Mizoguchi was working on a film called Osaka Story. In all, he made (according to his memory) about seventy-five films, although most of his early ones were lost. In 1975, Kaneto Shindo filmed a documentary about Mizoguchi, Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director, as well as writing a book published in 1976.[12] A retrospective series of his thirty surviving films, sponsored by The Japan Foundation, toured several American cities in 2014.

Filmography
  • 1923 813 (The Adventures of Arsène Lupin)
  • 1923 Blood and Soul (Chi to Rei)
  • 1923 Dreams of Youth (Seishun no Yumeji)
  • 1923 Foggy Harbour (Kiri no Minato)
  • 1923 Harbour of Desire (Joen no Chimata)
  • 1923 In the Ruins (Haikyo no Naka)
  • 1923 Song of Failure (Haisan no Uta wa Kanashi)
  • 1923 The Night (Yoru)
  • 1924 Chronicle of the Rainy Season (Samidare Zoshi)
  • 1924 Death at Dawn (Aka Tsuki no Shi)
  • 1924 Queen of Modern Times (Gendai no Jo)
  • 1924 Queen of the Circus (Kyokubadan no Jo)
  • 1924 Song of the Mountain Pass (Toge no Uta)
  • 1924 Strong is the Female (Jose wa Tsuyoshi)
  • 1924 The Sad Idiot (Kanashiki Hakuchi)
  • 1924 This Dusty World (Jin-Kyo)
  • 1924 Turkeys in a Row/The Trace of a Turkey (Shichimencho no Yukue)
  • 1924 Woman of Pleasure (Kanraku no Onna)
  • 1925 A Sketch on the Road/Street Scenes (Gaijo no Sukechi)
  • 1925 General Nogi and Kuma-San (Nogi Taisho to Kuma-San)
  • 1925 No Money, No Fight (Musen Fusen)
  • 1925 Out of College (Gakuso o Idete)
  • 1925 Song of Home (Furusato no Uta)
  • 1925 The Earth Smiles (Daichi wa Hohoemu)
  • 1925 The Human Being (Ningen)
  • 1925 The White Lily Laments (Shirayuki wa Nageku)
  • 1925 Under the Crimson Sunset (Akai Yuki ni Terasarete)
  • 1926 A Paper Doll's Whisper of Spring (Kami-Ning-Yo Haru No Sasayaki)
  • 1926 It's My Fault New Version (Shin Onoga Tsumi)
  • 1926 Kin[13]
  • 1926 Passion of a Woman Teacher (Kyoren no Onna Shisho)
  • 1926 The Boy From the Sea (Kaikoku Danji)
  • 1926 The Copper Coin King (Doka-O)
  • 1927 The Cuckoo New Version (Jihi Shincho)
  • 1927 The Imperial Grace (Ko-On)
  • 1928 A Man's Life (Hito no Issho)
  • 1928 My Loving Daughter (Musume Kawaiya)
  • 1929 Bridge of Japan (Nihonbashi)
  • 1929 Metropolitan Symphony (Tokai Kokyogaku)
  • 1929 The Morning Sun Shines (朝日は輝く Asahi wa kagayaku)
  • 1929 Tokyo March (東京行進曲 Tōkyō kōshin-kyoku)
  • 1930 Hometown (Fujiwara Yoshie no furusato)
  • 1930 Tojin Okichi (唐人お吉 Tōjin Okichi)
  • 1931 And Yet They Go On (Shikamo Karera wa Yuku)
  • 1932 Dawn in Manchuria/The Dawn of the Founding of Manchuko and Mongolia
  • 1932 The Man of the Moment/Timely Mediator (Toki no Ujigami)
  • 1933 Gion Festival (Gion Matsuri), lost film.[14]
  • 1933 The Shimpu Group (Shimpu-Ren)
  • 1933 The Water Magician (滝の白糸 Taki no Shiraito)
  • 1934 Aizō Tōge (愛憎峠 "The Mountain Pass of Love and Hate"), lost film.[15]
  • 1935 Oyuki the Virgin (マリアのお雪 Maria no Oyuki)
  • 1935 The Downfall of Osen (折鶴お千 Orizuru Osen)
  • 1935 The Poppy (Gubijin-so)
  • 1936 Naniwa Elegy a.k.a. Osaka Elegy (浪華悲歌 Naniwa hika or Naniwa erejī)
  • 1936 Sisters of the Gion (祇園の姉妹 Gion no kyōdai)
  • 1937 The Straits of Love and Hate (愛怨峡 Aien kyō)
  • 1938 Song of the Camp (Roei no Uta)
  • 1939 The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (残菊物語 Zangiku monogatari)
  • 1940 A Woman of Osaka (Naniwa Onna), lost film.[16]
  • 1941 The 47 Ronin a.k.a. The Loyal 47 Ronin of the Genroku Era (元禄忠臣蔵 Genroku chūshingura)
  • 1941 The Life of an Actor (Geido Ichidai Otoko)
  • 1944 Miyamoto Musashi　(宮本武蔵)
  • 1944 Three Generations of Danjuro (Danjuro Sandai)
  • 1945 The Famous Sword Bijomaru (名刀美女丸 Meitō Bijomaru)
  • 1945 Victory Song (Hisshoka) Dir: Masahiro Makino and Hiroshi Shimizu (Mizoguchi directed opening sequence only)
  • 1946 Utamaro and His Five Women (歌麿をめぐる五人の女 Utamaro o meguru gonin no onna)
  • 1946 Victory of Women (女性の勝利 Josei no shōri)
  • 1947 The Love of the Actress Sumako (女優須磨子の恋 Joyū Sumako no koi)
  • 1948 Women of the Night (夜の女たち Yoru no onnatachi)
  • 1949 Flame of My Love (わが恋は燃えぬ Waga Koi wa Moenu)
  • 1950 Portrait of Madame Yuki a.k.a. A Picture of Madame Yuki (雪夫人絵図 Yuki fujin ezu)
  • 1951 Miss Oyu (お遊さま Oyū-sama)
  • 1951 The Lady of Musashino a.k.a. Lady Musashino (武蔵野夫人 Musashino fujin)
  • 1952 The Life of Oharu (西鶴一代女 Saikaku ichidai onna)
  • 1953 A Geisha a.k.a. Gion Music Festival (祇園囃子 Gion bayashi)
  • 1953 Ugetsu (雨月物語 Ugetsu monogatari)
  • 1954 Sansho the Bailiff (山椒大夫 Sanshō dayū)
  • 1954 The Woman in the Rumor a.k.a. The Crucified Woman (噂の女 Uwasa no onna)
  • 1954 The Crucified Lovers a.k.a. A Story from Chikamatsu (近松物語 Chikamatsu monogatari)
  • 1955 Princess Yang Kwei Fei (楊貴妃 Yokihi)
  • 1955 Tales of the Taira Clan (新・平家物語 Shin Heike Monogatari)
  • 1956 Street of Shame (赤線地帯 Akasen Chitai)

DVD releases (English subtitled)

UK and US
  • Osaka Elegy (Naniwa erejii, 1936) - Artificial Eye (region 2 PAL, Blu-ray); The Criterion Collection (region 1 NTSC)
  • Sisters of the Gion (Gion no shimai, 1936) - Artificial Eye (region 2 PAL, Blu-ray); The Criterion Collection (region 1 NTSC)
  • The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (Zangiku monogatari, 1939) - Artificial Eye (region 2 PAL, Blu-ray; The Criterion Collection (region 1 NTSC)
  • The 47 Ronin (Genroku chūshingura, 1941) - Image Entertainment (region 1 NTSC)
  • Utamaro and His Five Women (Utamaro o meguru gonin no onna, 1946) - Artificial Eye (region 2 PAL, Blu-ray)
  • Women of the Night (Yoru no onnatachi, 1948) - The Criterion Collection (region 1 NTSC)
  • Oyū-sama (1951) - Eureka! Masters of Cinema (region 2 NTSC, Blu-ray)
  • The Lady of Musashino (Musashino fujin, 1951) - Artificial Eye (region 2 PAL)
  • The Life of Oharu (Saikaku ichidai onna, 1952) - Artificial Eye (region 2 PAL; The Criterion Collection (region 1 NTSC)
  • Ugetsu monogatari (1953) - Eureka! Masters of Cinema (region 2 NTSC, Blu-ray); The Criterion Collection (region 1 NTSC)
  • Gion bayashi (1953) - Eureka! Masters of Cinema (region 2 NTSC, Blu-ray)
  • Sansho, the Bailiff (Sanshō dayū, 1954) - Eureka! Masters of Cinema (region 2 NTSC); The Criterion Collection (region 1 NTSC)
  • Uwasa no onna (1954) - Eureka! Masters of Cinema (region 2 NTSC)
  • Chikamatsu monogatari (1954) - Eureka! Masters of Cinema (region 2 NTSC; The Criterion Collection (region 1 NTSC)
  • Yōkihi (1955) - Eureka! Masters of Cinema (region 2 NTSC)
  • Street of Shame (Akasen chitai, 1956) - Eureka! Masters of Cinema (region 2 NTSC); The Criterion Collection (region 1 NTSC)

Other
  • Tokyo Koshinkyoku (1929) - Digital MEME
  • Tojin Okichi (1930, fragment) - Digital MEME
  • Taki no Shiraito (1933) - Digital MEME
  • Orizuru Osen (1935) - Digital MEME

Notes
  1. Thomas, Kevin (6 January 1997). "A Closer Look at a Japanese Master". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
  2. Le Fanu 2005, p. 1
  3. Le Fanu 2005, p. 22
  4. Le Fanu 2005, p. 23
  5. Sato 2008, p. 10
  6. Donald Richie (20 January 1999). The Films of Akira Kurosawa, Third Edition, Expanded and Updated. University of California Press. p. 97. ISBN 978-0-520-22037-9. “His greatness was that he never gave up trying to heighten the reality of each scene. He never made compromises. He never said that something or other ‘would do.’ Instead, he pulled—or pushed—everyone along with him until they had created the feeling which matched his own inner image. An ordinary director is quite incapable of this. And in this lay his true spirit as a director—for he had the temperament of a true creator. He pushed and bullied and he was often criticized for this but he held out, and he created masterpieces. This attitude toward creation is not at all easy, but a director like him is especially necessary in Japan where this kind of pushing is so resisted. […] In the death of Mizoguchi, Japanese film lost its truest creator.”
  7. Welles & Bogdanovich 1998, p. 146
  8. Kenji Mizoguchi’s Movies Seek Beauty -- New York Times
  9. "Tarkovsky's Choice". Archived from the original on 2009-07-06. Retrieved 2009-04-13.
  10. Mizoguchi The Master, Gerald O'Grady,ed.
  11. "Nihon eiga kantoku kyōkai nenpyō" (in Japanese). Nihon eiga kantoku kyōkai. Archived from the original on 26 July 2010. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  12. Shindo, Kaneto (27 April 1976). Aru Eiga Kantoku - Mizoguchi Kenji to Nihon Eiga [A film director - Kenji Mizoguchi and the Japanese cinema]. Iwanami Shinsho (in Japanese). 962. Iwanami. ISBN 4-00-414080-3.
  13. "金｜日本の映画情報を検索 日本映画情報システム". Japanese Cinema Database (in Japanese). Agency for Cultural Affairs. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  14. Sato 2008, p. 45
  15. Bock, Audie (1978). Japanese Film Directors. Kodansha. p. 63. ISBN 0-87011-304-6. No extant prints, negative or script.
  16. Sato3 2008, p. 84
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gollark: Yes, rules bad.
gollark: Oh dear, that looks like a positive gradient.
gollark: I live in [EXPUNGEMENET EXPUNGED] in the ÜK, which seems to have been doing okay, so meh.
gollark: Hmm. Bizarre.

References
  • Welles, Orson; Bogdanovich, Peter (1998). This is Orson Welles. Da Capo Press. p. 146. ISBN 0-306-80834-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Andrew, Dudley; Andrew, Paul (1981). Kenji Mizoguchi, a Guide to References and Resources. G.K. Hall. ISBN 0-8161-8469-0.
  • Le Fanu, Mark (2005). Mizoguchi and Japan. London: BFI Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84457-057-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Sato, Tadao (2008). Kenji Mizoguchi and the Art of Japanese Cinema. ISBN 978-1-84788-230-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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