The Life of Oharu
is a 1952 Japanese historical fiction film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi from a screenplay by Yoshikata Yoda. It stars Kinuyo Tanaka as Oharu, a one-time concubine of a daimyō (and mother of a later daimyō) who struggles to escape the stigma of having been forced into prostitution by her father.
Plot
The story opens on Oharu as an old woman in a temple flashing back through the events of her life. It begins with her love affair with a page, Katsunosuke, the result of which (due to their class difference) is his execution and her family's banishment. Oharu attempts suicide but fails and is sold to be the mistress of Lord Matsudaira with the hope she will bear him a son. She does, but then is sent home with minimal compensation to the dismay of her father, who has worked up quite a debt in the meantime. He sends her to be a courtesan, but there, too, she fails and is again sent home.
More details
| author | Ihara Saikaku |
|---|---|
| contentLocation | Japan |
| director | Kenji Mizoguchi |
| editor | Toshio Gotō |
| genre | drama historical |
| keywords | daimyō edo period end exile flash kill lock love affair old woman run away wander |
| musicBy | Ichirō Saitō |
| producer | Hideo Koi Kenji Mizoguchi |
| productionCompany | Koi Productions Shintoho |
| publisher | Shintoho |
| theme | historical fiction japanese jidaigeki |