Miss Oyu

Miss Oyu
Miss Oyu
	Japanese movie poster
Directed by	Kenji Mizoguchi
Screenplay by	Yoshikata Yoda
Based on	The Reed Cutter by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
Produced by	Masaichi Nagata
Starring	Kinuyo Tanaka; Nobuko Otowa; Yūji Hori;
Cinematography	Kazuo Miyagawa
Edited by	Mizuzo Miyada
Music by	Fumio Hayasaka
Production; company	Daiei
Distributed by	Daiei
Release date	22 June 1951 (Japan);
Running time	95 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Miss Oyu (お遊さま, Oyū-sama) is a 1951 black-and-white Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi.^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4] It is based on the 1932 novella The Reed Cutter (Ashikari) by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki.

Plot

In 19th century Japan, Shinnosuke is paid a visit by Shizu and her sister Oyū to see if Shizu is a fitting marriage prospect for him. Yet, Shinnosuke is more fascinated by the older Oyū. Tradition forbids that the widowed Oyū marries again, as she has to raise her son and future heir of her deceased husband's family, so Shinnosuke and Shizu marry as a means for him and Oyū being as close as possible. When Oyū learns that Shizu declined to consummate the marriage as a sign of respect for the older sister and the affection between her and Shinnosuke, Oyū scolds her. Also, rumours about the true nature of the relationship between the three have started to spread, so Oyū insists on a geographical distance. Later, Oyū's son dies, and she has to leave her husband's family, while Shizu dies shortly after giving birth to her and Shinnosuke's child. Shinnosuke, whose family has lost its fortune, leaves his child at the house of the remarried Oyū, asking her in a letter to raise it as her own.

Cast

Kinuyo Tanaka as Oyū Kayukawa
Nobuko Otowa as Shizu
Yūji Hori as Shinnosuke Seribashi
Kiyoko Hirai as Osumi
Reiko Kongo as Otsugi Kayukawa
Eijirō Yanagi as Eitaro
Eitarō Shindō as Kusaemon
Kanae Kobayashi as nanny
Fumihiko Yokoyama as book-keeper 1
Jun Fujikawa as book-keeper 2
Soji Shibata as book-keeper 3
Inosuke Kuhara as boy
Ayuko Fujishiro as waitress
Shozo Nanbu as doctor
Midori Komatsu as hostess
Sachiko Aima as flower decoration teacher
Sumao Ishihara as priest

References

^ ^a ^b "お遊さま (Oyū-sama)". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 19 May 2009.
^ ^a ^b "お遊さま (Oyū-sama)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 January 2021.
^ O’Donoghue, Darragh (21 March 2018). "Miss Oyu (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1951)". Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
^ "Miss Oyu (Oyu-sama)". Harvard Film Archive. Retrieved 5 January 2022.

External links

Miss Oyu at IMDb
Travers, James (2012). "Oyu-sama (1951)". FrenchFilms.org. Retrieved 5 January 2022.

[jmdb-1] "お遊さま (Oyū-sama)". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 19 May 2009.

[kinenote-2] "お遊さま (Oyū-sama)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 5 January 2021.

[3] O’Donoghue, Darragh (21 March 2018). "Miss Oyu (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1951)". Senses of Cinema. Retrieved 28 June 2019.

[4] "Miss Oyu (Oyu-sama)". Harvard Film Archive. Retrieved 5 January 2022.

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