Taisuke Matsumoto
2021
お六櫛
Daisuke Itō
Ichirō Tsukida, Eiji Nakano
Once a wealthy local land owner, Toranosuke has long since fallen on hard times. Social ostracism befalls those who neglect communal duties and Toranosuke's life goes down hill by being exiled from the village. The story evolves around brother and sister Umakichi and Oroku left alone by their father.
The Comb of Oroku
続水戸黄門
Tomiyasu Ikeda
Kaichi Yamamoto, Gorō Kawabe
The earliest existing version (incomplete) of Mito Komon history. It was one of the most famous (and most filmed) Jidaigeki stories. Lord Mito is the sage who wanders the countryside rectifying government corruption along with his faithful attendants Suke-san and Kaku-san.
Zoku Mito Kōmon
錦絵江戸姿 旗本と街奴
Kazuo Mori
Utaemon Ichikawa, Junzaburō Ban
The Color Print of Edo is a 1939 black and white Japanese silent film with benshi accompaniment directed by Kazuo Mori. It is a cheerful period drama, sprinkled with comical scenes and tells the story of a loyal and handsome Edo period servant who fights to help his older brother marry the woman he loves. The star of this film Utaemono Ichikawa gained enormous popularity for his portrayal of a cheerful and chivalrous man.
A Color Print of Edo
怪猫 謎の三味線
Kiyohiko Ushihara
Sumiko Suzuki, Mitsuko Mori
A quintessential example of the period "ghost cat" (bakeneko or kaibyo) movie, this was one of at least six such titles released by the studio Shinko Kinema between 1937-40 featuring Japan's first scream queen, Sumiko Suzuki. Here she plays Mitsue, the possessive onna-kabuki actress betrothed to apprentice shamisen player Seijiro. When one day Okiyo, a beautiful young girl of samurai class, is led to Seijiro's house by his lost cat Kuro, she becomes besotted with him. Dark jealous passions are invoked in Mitsue, which are intensified when Seijiro gifts Okiyo his precious shamisen. The cat is the first to suffer at the end of Mitsue's hairpin, but returns from the grave to assist Okiyo's younger sister Onui avenge her sister's murder.
The Ghost Cat and the Mysterious Shamisen
