Utamaro and His Five Women
(Utamaro o Meguru Gonin no Onna)
With Minosuke Bando, Kinuyo Tanaka, Kotaro Bando.
Japan, 1946, 35mm, black & white, 95 min.
Japanese with English subtitles.
Print source: Janus Films
Yoshikata Yoda would later admit basing his vision of legendary 17th Century artist Kitagawa Utamaro on Mizoguchi, channeling into his mesmerizing portrait the filmmaker’s reverential worship of the gentle sex, and his troubled, often tumultuous relationship with women, and geisha in particular. Among Mizoguchi’s most erotic works, Utamaro and His Five Women brings a raw sensuality into its masterful study of the creative process which makes vivid both the unbridled elation and darkest frustrations which buoyed and unsettled the famed master of the bijin-ga, ukiyo-e woodblock portraits of beautiful women. Despite the great scrutiny given to period films by the US Occupational Force, who were determined to dampen any nationalist imagery or ideals in the cinema, Mizoguchi was given carte blanche for his ambitious and richly detailed recreation of Utamaro’s world.
Part of film series
Screenings from this program
Utamaro and His Five Women
White Threads of the Waterfall
The Life of Oharu
The 47 Ronin, Parts I & II
Tales of the Taira Clan
Victory of Women
The Love of Sumako, the Actress
The Woman of the Rumor
