Kenji Mizoguchi | |
|---|---|
溝口 健二 | |
 | |
| Born | (1898-05-16)16 May 1898 |
| Died | 24 August 1956(1956-08-24) (aged 58) Kyoto, Japan |
| Occupations | Film director, screenwriter |
| Years active | 1923–1956 |
| Notable work |
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| Spouse | |
Kenji Mizoguchi (溝口 健二,Mizoguchi Kenji; 16 May 1898 – 24 August 1956) was a Japanese filmmaker who directed roughly one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956.[1][2][3] His most acclaimed works includeThe Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939),The Life of Oharu (1952),Ugetsu (1953), andSansho the Bailiff (1954),[4][5] with the latter three all being awarded at theVenice International Film Festival. A recurring theme of his films was the oppression of women in historical and contemporary Japan.[2][3][6] Together withAkira Kurosawa andYasujirō Ozu, Mizoguchi is seen as a representative of the "golden age" of Japanese cinema.[7]
Mizoguchi was born inHongō, Tokyo, as the second of three children, to Zentaro Miguchi, a roofing carpenter, and his wife Masa.[8][9][10] The family's background was relatively humble until the father's failed business venture of selling raincoats to the Japanese troops during theRusso-Japanese War.[8][9][10] The family was forced to move to the downtown district ofAsakusa and gave Mizoguchi's older sister Suzu up for adoption, which in effect meant selling her into thegeisha profession.[8][9][10]
In 1911, Mizoguchi's parents, too poor to continue paying for their son's primary school training, sent him to stay with an uncle inMorioka in northern Japan for a year,[8][9] where he finished primary school.[9] His return coincided with an onset of cripplingrheumatoid arthritis,[9] which left him with a walking gait for the rest of his life.[8] In 1913, his sister Suzu secured him an apprenticeship as a designer for ayukata manufacturer, and in 1915, after the mother's death, she brought both her younger brothers into her own house.[8][9] Mizoguchi enrolled for a course at the Aoibashi Yoga Kenkyuko art school in Tokyo, which taught Western painting techniques,[8][9] and developed an interest in opera, particularly at the Royal Theatre atAkasaka where he helped the set decorators with set design and construction.[8][10]
In 1917, his sister again helped him to find work, this time as an advertisement designer with theYuishin Nippon newspaper inKobe.[8][9][10] The film criticTadao Sato has pointed out a coincidence between Mizoguchi's life in his early years and the plots ofshinpa dramas, which characteristically documented the sacrifices made by geisha on behalf of the young men they were involved with. Probably because of his familial circumstances, "the subject of women's suffering is fundamental in all his work; while sacrifice – in particular, the sacrifice a sister makes for a brother – makes a key showing in a number of his films, including some of the greatest ones (Sansho the Bailiff/Sansho Dayu [1954], for example)."[8] After less than a year in Kobe, however, Mizoguchi returned "to the bohemian delights of Tokyo" (Mark Le Fanu).[8]
In 1920, Mizoguchi spoke with his friend Tadashi Tomioka, an actor at theNikkatsu film studio in Mukojima, Tokyo, who suggested that Mizoguchi try to become an actor.[10] After speaking with one of Nikkatsu's directors, Osamu Wakayama, Mizoguchi found that Nikkatsu was not in need of actors, but that there was an opening for an assistant director.[10] Mizoguchi accepted the offer, and made his start within the film industry.[2][3] As an assistant director, Mizoguchi worked under the likes of Tadashi Oguchi andEizō Tanaka.[10] After a little over a year at Nikkatsu, Mizoguchi wanted to quit the film industry, but was persuaded to remain by his sister Suzu.[10]
In 1922, Mizoguchi was promoted to director, and his directorial debut was released the following year,The Resurrection of Love.[2][3] His early works included remakes ofGerman Expressionist cinema[2][3] and adaptations ofEugene O'Neill andLeo Tolstoy.[8] In 1923, the Nikkatsu studios in Mukojima was destroyed in theGreat Kantō Earthquake, so Mizoguchi moved to Nikkatsu's studios inKyoto.[10] While working in Kyoto, he studiedkabuki andnoh theatre, and traditional Japanese dance and music.[10] He was also a frequent visitor of the tea houses, dance halls and brothels in Kyoto andOsaka,[8] which at one time resulted in a widely covered incident of him being attacked by a jealous prostitute and then-lover with a razor.[8][9][11] His 1926Passion of a Woman Teacher (Kyōren no onna shishō) was one of a handful of Japanese films shown in France and Germany at the time and received considerate praise,[5] but is nowadays lost like most of his 1920s and early 1930s films.[6] By the end of the decade, Mizoguchi directed a series ofleft-leaning "tendency films", includingTokyo March andMetropolitan Symphony (Tokai kokyōkyoku).[2][3][8]
In 1927, Mizoguchi met and quickly fell in love with Chieko Saga, a dancer from Osaka.[10] Chieko was married to a yakuza at the time, and her husband confronted Mizoguchi.[10] With the help of Masakazu Nagata, a member of Nikkatsu's general affairs division, Mizoguchi convinced Chieko's husband that Mizoguchi and Chieko had not committed adultery but were in love.[10] Mizoguchi and Chieko married in the summer of 1927.[10] Their love for each other was strong, but their marriage was tumultuous.[10] Mizoguchi and Chieko were both adulterous and frequently fought, with some of the fights getting violent.[10] Chieko helped Mizoguchi with his work, often offering comments about his films during production.[10]
In 1932, Mizoguchi left Nikkatsu and worked for a variety of studios and production companies.[8]The Water Magician (1933) andOrizuru Osen (1935) weremelodramas based on stories byKyōka Izumi, depicting women who sacrifice themselves to secure a poor young man's education. Both have been cited as early examples of his recurring theme of female concerns and "one-scene-one-shot" camera technique,[2][6] which would become his trademark.[12] The 1936 diptych ofOsaka Elegy andSisters of the Gion, about modern young women (moga) rebelling against their surroundings, is considered to be his early masterpiece.[13][14][15] Mizoguchi himself named these two films as the works with which he achieved artistic maturity.[16]Osaka Elegy was also his first full sound film,[17] and marked the beginning of his long collaboration with screenwriterYoshikata Yoda.[13][18]
1939, the year when Mizoguchi became president of theDirectors Guild of Japan,[8] saw the release ofThe Story of the Last Chrysanthemums, which is regarded by many critics as his major pre-war,[16] if not his best work.[19][20] Here, a young woman supports her partner's struggle to achieve artistic maturity as a kabuki actor at the price of her health.
DuringWorld War II, Mizoguchi made a series of films whose patriotic nature seemed to support the war effort. The most famous of these is a retelling of the classicsamurai taleThe 47 Ronin (1941–42), an epicjidaigeki (historical drama). While some historians see these as works which he had been pressured into,[21] others believe him to have acted voluntarily.[22] Fellow screenwriterMatsutarō Kawaguchi went as far as, in a 1964 interview forCahiers du Cinéma, calling Mizoguchi (whom he otherwise held in high regard) an "opportunist" in his art who followed the currents of the time, veering from the left to theright to finally become a democrat.[23]
1941 also saw the permanent hospitalisation of his wife Chieko (m. 1927),[8] whom he erroneously believed to have contracted venereal disease.[24]
During the early post-war years following the country's defeat, Mizoguchi directed a series of films concerned with the oppression of women and female emancipation both in historical (mostly theMeiji era) and contemporary settings. All of these were written or co-written by Yoda, and often starredKinuyo Tanaka, who remained his regular leading actress until 1954, when both fell out with each other over Mizoguchi's attempt to prevent her from directing her first own film.[25][26]Utamaro and His Five Women (1946) was a notable exception of anEdo era jidaigeki film made during theOccupation, as this genre was seen as being inherentlynationalistic ormilitaristic by theAllied censors.[16][27] Of his works of this period,Flame of My Love (1949) has repeatedly been pointed out for its unflinching presentation of its subject.[6][28] Tanaka plays a young teacher who leaves her traditionalist milieu to strive for her goal of female liberation, only to find out that her allegedly progressive partner still nourishes the accustomed attitude of male preeminence.
Mizoguchi returned to feudal era settings withThe Life of Oharu (1952),Ugetsu (1953) andSansho the Bailiff (1954), which won him international recognition, in particular by theCahiers du Cinéma critics such asJean-Luc Godard,[2]Eric Rohmer[5] andJacques Rivette,[29] and were awarded at the Venice Film Festival.[2][3] WhileThe Life of Oharu follows the social decline of a woman banished from the Imperial court during the Edo era,Ugetsu andSansho the Bailiff examine the brutal effects of war and reigns of violence on small communities and families. In between these three films, he directedA Geisha (1953) about the pressures put upon women working in Kyoto's post-war pleasure district. After two historical films shot in colour (Tales of the Taira Clan andPrincess Yang Kwei Fei, both 1955),[30][31] Mizoguchi once more explored a contemporary milieu (a brothel in theYoshiwara district) in black-and-white format with his last film, the 1956Street of Shame.
Mizoguchi died ofleukemia at the age of 58[9][30][32] in the Kyoto Municipal Hospital.[24] At the time of his death, Mizoguchi was working on the script ofAn Osaka Story, which was later realised byKōzaburō Yoshimura.[33]
All of Mizoguchi's silent films are lost, except where stated.[34]
| Year | English title | Japanese title | Romanized title | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | The Resurrection of Love | Ai ni yomigaeru hi | No | ||
| Hometown | Furusato | Yes | |||
| The Dream Path of Youth | Seishun no yumeji | Yes | |||
| City of Desire | Joen no chimata | Yes | |||
| Failure's Song is Sad | Haisan no uta wa kanashi | Yes | |||
| 813: The Adventures of Arsène Lupin | 813 | No | |||
| Foggy Harbour | Kiri no minato | No | |||
| Blood and Soul | Chi to rei | Yes | |||
| The Night | Yoru | Yes | |||
| In the Ruins | Haikyo no naka | No | |||
| 1924 | The Song of the Mountain Pass | Tōge no uta | Yes | ||
| The Sad Idiot | Kanashiki hakuchi | No | |||
| The Queen of Modern Times | Gendai no joō | No | |||
| Women Are Strong | Jose wa tsuyoshi | No | |||
| This Dusty World | Jinkyō | No | |||
| Turkeys in a Row | Shichimenchō no yukue | No | |||
| A Chronicle of May Rain | Samidare zōshi | No | |||
| No Money, No Fight | Musen fusen | No | |||
| A Woman of Pleasure | Kanraku no onna | Yes | |||
| Death at Dawn | Akatsuki no shi | No | |||
| 1925 | Queen of the Circus | Kyokubadan no Jo | No | ||
| Out of College | Gakusō o idete | Yes | |||
| The White Lily Laments | Shirayuki wa nageku | No | |||
| The Earth Smiles: Part 1 | Daichi wa hohoemu: Daiichibu | No | |||
| Shining in the Red Sunset | Akai yūki ni terasarete | No | |||
| The Song of Home | Furusato no uta | No | Extant | ||
| Human Being | Ningen | No | |||
| Street Sketches | Shōhin eigashū: Machi no suketchi | No | Omnibus, Mizoguchi directed one of four parts | ||
| 1926 | General Nogi and Kuma-san | Nogi Taisho to Kuma-san | No | ||
| The Copper Coin King | Dōkaō | No | |||
| A Paper Doll's Whisper of Spring | Kaminingyō haru no sasayaki | No | |||
| My Fault, New Version | Shinsetsu ono ga tsumi | No | |||
| The Passion of a Woman Teacher | Kyōren no onna shishō | No | |||
| The Boy of the Sea | Kaikoku danji | No | |||
| Money | Kane | No | |||
| 1927 | The Imperial Grace | Kōon | No | ||
| The Cuckoo | Jihi shinchō | No | |||
| 1928 | A Man's Life | Hito no isshō | No | ||
| 1929 | Bridge of Japan | Nihonbashi | Yes | ||
| Tokyo March | 東京行進曲 | Tōkyō kōshinkyoku | No | Few minutes preserved | |
| The Morning Sun Shines | 朝日は輝く | Asahi wa kagayaku | No | Co-directed with Seiichi Ina, few minutes preserved | |
| Metropolitan Symphony | 都会交響楽 | Tokai kōkyōgaku | No | ||
| 1930 | Hometown | Furusato | No | Extant | |
| Okichi, Mistress of a Foreigner | 唐人お吉 | Tōjin Okichi | No | Few minutes preserved | |
| 1931 | And Yet They Go | Shikamo karera wa yuku | No | ||
| 1932 | The Man of the Moment | Toki no ujigami | No | ||
| The Dawn of Manchuria and Mongolia | Manmō kenkoku no reimei | No | |||
| 1933 | The Water Magician | 滝の白糸 | Taki no shiraito | No | Extant |
| Gion Festival | Gion matsuri | Yes | |||
| The Jinpu Group | Jimpūren | Yes | |||
| 1934 | The Mountain Pass of Love and Hate | 愛憎峠 | Aizō tōge | No | |
| 1935 | The Downfall of Osen | 折鶴お千 | Orizuru Osen | No | Extant |
| Year | English title | Japanese title | Romanized title | Writer | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1935 | Oyuki the Virgin | マリヤのお雪 | Mariya no Oyuki | No | |
| The Poppy | Gubijinsō | No | |||
| 1936 | Osaka Elegy | 浪華悲歌 | Naniwa erejī | No | |
| Sisters of the Gion | 祇園の姉妹 | Gion no kyōdai | Yes | ||
| 1937 | The Straits of Love and Hate | 愛怨峡 | Aien kyō | Yes | |
| 1938 | Song of the Camp | Roei no uta | No | ||
| 1939 | The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums | 残菊物語 | Zangiku monogatari | No | |
| 1939 | A Woman of Osaka | Naniwa onna | No | Lost film | |
| 1941 | The Life of an Actor | Geidō Ichidai Otoko | No | ||
| The 47 Ronin Part 1 | 元禄 忠臣蔵 | Genroku chūshingura | No | ||
| 1942 | The 47 Ronin Part 2 | No | |||
| 1944 | Three Generations of Danjuro | Danjurō sandai | No | ||
| Miyamoto Musashi | 宮本武蔵 | Miyamoto Musashi | No | ||
| 1945 | The Famous Sword | 名刀美女丸 | Meitō Bijomaru | No | |
| Victory Song | Hisshōka | No | Co-direction withMasahiro Makino andHiroshi Shimizu | ||
| 1946 | Victory of Women | 女性の勝利 | Josei no shōri | No | |
| Utamaro and His Five Women | 歌麿をめぐる五人の女 | Utamaro o meguru gonin no onna | No | ||
| 1947 | The Love of Sumako the Actress | 女優須磨子の恋 | Joyū Sumako no koi | No | |
| 1948 | Women of the Night | 夜の女たち | Yoru no onnatachi | No | |
| 1949 | Flame of My Love | わが恋は燃えぬ | Waga koi wa moenu | No | |
| 1950 | Portrait of Madame Yuki | 雪夫人絵図 | Yuki fujin ezu | No | |
| 1951 | Miss Oyu | お遊さま | Oyū-sama | No | |
| The Lady of Musashino | 武蔵野夫人 | Musashino fujin | No | ||
| 1952 | The Life of Oharu | 西鶴一代女 | Saikaku ichidai onna | Yes | |
| 1953 | Ugetsu | 雨月物語 | Ugetsu monogatari | No | |
| A Geisha | 祇園囃子 | Gion bayashi | No | ||
| 1954 | Sansho the Bailiff | 山椒大夫 | Sanshō dayū | No | |
| The Woman in the Rumor | 噂の女 | Uwasa no onna | No | ||
| The Crucified Lovers | 近松物語 | Chikamatsu monogatari | No | ||
| 1955 | Princess Yang Kwei Fei | 楊貴妃 | Yōkihi | No | |
| Tales of the Taira Clan | 新・平家物語 | Shin heike monogatari | No | ||
| 1956 | Street of Shame | 赤線地帯 | Akasen chitai | No |
In 1975,Kaneto Shindō, a set designer, chief assistant director and scenarist for Mizoguchi in the late 1930s and 1940s, released a documentary about his former mentor,Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director,[24] as well as publishing a book on him in 1976.[35] Already with his autobiographical debut filmStory of a Beloved Wife (1951), Shindō had paid reference to Mizoguchi in the shape of the character "Sakaguchi",[36] a director who nurtures a young aspiring screenwriter.
Mizoguchi's films have regularly appeared in "best film" polls, such asSight & Sound's "The 100 Greatest Films of All Time" (Ugetsu andSansho the Bailiff)[37] andKinema Junpo's "Kinema Junpo Critics' Top 200" (The Life of Oharu,Ugetsu andThe Crucified Lovers).[38] A retrospective of his 30 extant films, presented by theMuseum of the Moving Image and theJapan Foundation, toured several American cities in 2014.[39] Among the directors who have admired Mizoguchi's work are Akira Kurosawa,[40]Orson Welles,[41]Andrei Tarkovsky,[42]Martin Scorsese,[43]Werner Herzog,[44]Theo Angelopoulos[45] and many others. Film historianDavid Thomson wrote, "The use of camera to convey emotional ideas or intelligent feelings is the definition of cinema derived from Mizoguchi's films. He is supreme in the realization of internal states in external views."[46]
When Mizoguchi died, many film directors and film critics gave comments about Mizoguchi's skill and influence.
‘On 24 August 1956, Japan's greatest film-maker died in Kyoto. And one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Kenji Mizoguchi was the equal of aMurnau or aRossellini... If poetry appears at every second, in every shot that Mizoguchi makes, it is because, as with Murnau, it is the instinctive reflection of the inventive nobility of its author’.Jean-Luc Godard, Arts, 5 February 1958.[47][48]
‘There is no doubt that Kenji Mizoguchi, who died three years ago, was his country's greatest filmmaker. He knew how to discipline for his own use an art born in other climes and from which his compatriots had not always made the most of. And yet there is no slavish desire on his part to copy the West. His conception of setting, acting, rhythm, composition, time and space is entirely national. But he touches us in the same way as Murnau,Ophüls or Rossellini’.Éric Rohmer, Arts, 25 September 1959.[49]
‘Comparisons are as inevitable as they are unfashionable: Mizoguchi is the Shakespeare of cinema, its Bach or Beethoven, its Rembrandt,Titian or Picasso’,James Quandt, Mizoguchi the Master, (retrospective of Mizoguchi centenary films),Cinematheque Ontario andThe Japan Foundation, 1996.[50][51]
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