Eijanaika (film)

Eijanaika / Why Not?
DVD cover for Eijanaika (1981)
Directed by	Shohei Imamura
Written by	Hisashi Yamauchi
Produced by	Shohei Imamura Shoichi Ozawa Shigemi Sugisaki Jiro Tomoda
Starring	Kaori Momoi Shigeru Izumiya Ken Ogata Shigeru Tsuyuguchi Masao Kusakari Yūko Tanaka Mitsuko Baisho
Cinematography	Sinsaku Himeda (as Masahisa Himeda)
Edited by	Keiichi Uraoka
Music by	Shinichirô Ikebe
Distributed by	Imamura Productions, Shochiku Films Ltd., Beverly Pictures (USA)
Release dates	March 14, 1981 (Japan); January 8, 1981 (USA)
Running time	151 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Eijanaika or Why Not? (ええじゃないか, Ee ja nai ka) is a 1981 Japanese film by director Shohei Imamura. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1981 Cannes Film Festival.

Cast

• Kaori Momoi - Ine
• Shigeru Izumiya - Genji
• Ken Ogata - Furukawa
• Shigeru Tsuyuguchi - Kinzo
• Masao Kusakari - Itoman
• Mitsuko Baisho
• Taiji Tonoyama
• Yûko Tanaka - Omatsu

Plot

The film depicts carnivalesque atmosphere summed up by the cry "Ee ja nai ka" ("Why not?") in Japan in 1867 and 1868 in the days leading to the Meiji Restoration. It examines the effects of the political and social upheaval of the time, and culminates in a revelrous march on the Kokyo, which turns into a massacre. Characteristically, Imamura focuses not on the leaders of the country, but on characters in the lower classes and on the fringes of society.

Awards

Awards: Japanese Academy Award, Best Supporting Actress: Yūko Tanaka, Newcomer of the Year: Yūko Tanaka
Blue Ribbon Award, Best Supporting Actress: Yūko Tanaka
Hochi Film Award: Best Supporting Actress: Yūko Tanaka
Mainichi Film Concours: Best Sound Recording: Shôtarô Yoshida

See also

• 1981 in film

External links

• Eijanaika at IMDb
• ええじゃないか at the Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese)
• Eijanaika at Rotten Tomatoes