, also titled ''Shozo, a Cat, and Two Women'', is a 1956 Japanese

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by

Shirō Toyoda was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who directed over 60 films during his career spanning 50 years. Career Born in Kyoto, Toyoda moved to Tokyo after finishing high school and studied scriptwriting under the pioneering film director ...

. It is based on

Jun'ichirō Tanizaki was a Japanese author who is considered to be one of the most prominent figures in modern Japanese literature. The tone and subject matter of his work ranges from shocking depictions of sexuality and destructive erotic obsessions to subtle por ...

's 1936 novella ''A Cat, a Man, and Two Women''.

Plot

Kitchenware salesman Shōzō shows more affection for his cat Lily than for the people around him. When his disgruntled wife Shinako moves out, his mother Orin, who never got along with her daughter-in-law, encourages him to marry Fukuko, the young daughter of Shōzō's wealthy uncle Nakajima. Fukuko is soon enervated by her future husband's obsessive love for his cat. Shinako talks Fukuko into giving Lily to her, speculating that the couple will fall out with each other over the cat's absence, and that Shōzō will eventually take Shinako back. Although Shōzō and Fukuko do separate after repeated quarrels, he refuses to re-unite with Shinako. Thrown out of his home by Fukuko, whose father paid the mortgage for the house, he walks along the rainy beach, his cat in his arms.

Cast

Hisaya Morishige was a Japanese actor and comedian. Born in Hirakata, Osaka, he graduated from Kitano Middle School (now Kitano High School), and attended Waseda University. He began his career as a stage actor, then became an announcer for NHK, working in ...

as Shōzō *

Isuzu Yamada was a Japanese stage and screen actress whose career spanned seven decades. Biography Yamada was born in Osaka as Mitsu Yamada, the daughter of Kusudu Yamada, a shinpa actor specialising in onnagata roles, and Ritsu, a geisha. Under her mother ...

as Shinako *

Kyōko Kagawa is a Japanese actress. During her 70 years spanning career, she has worked with directors like Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujirō Ozu and Mikio Naruse, appearing in films such as '' Tokyo Story'', ''Sansho the Bailiff'', ''The Bad Sleep ...

as Fukuko *

Chieko Naniwa Chieko Naniwa (浪花千栄子) (November 19, 1907 – December 22, 1973) was a Japanese actress who was active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She is best known for playing geisha in several films, such as Keiji Mizoguchi's '' A Geisha'', and ...

as Orin, Shōzō's mother * Juro Hayashida as Nakajima * Ashinoya Gangyoku as Kinoshita *

Kyū Sazanka was a Japanese actor. Career Sazanka debuted as a singer in Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other tem ...

as Soeyama *

Haruo Tanaka was a Japanese film actor noted for his supporting roles in a career that spanned seven decades. Career Tanaka was born in Kyoto and quit school in order to become a film actor, joining the Nikkatsu studio in 1925. He eventually moved up to seco ...

as Hagimura * Michiyo Tamaki as Tamiko * Yuko Minami as Hatsuko * Katsue Miyakoya as Matsu

Reception

In his 1959 compendium ''The Japanese Film – Art and Industry'', film historian

Donald Richie Donald Richie (17 April 1924 – 19 February 2013) was an American-born author who wrote about the Japanese people, the culture of Japan, and especially Japanese cinema. Although he considered himself primarily a film historian, Richie also dir ...

called ''A Cat, Shozo, and Two Women'' "warm, moving, and awfully funny, a winning combination of comedy and impeccable taste".

Awards

Isuzu Yamada received the

Kinema Junpo Award for Best Actress The Kinema Junpo Awards for Best Actress is given by ''Kinema Junpo , commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of d ...

, the

Mainichi Film Award for Best Actress The Mainichi Film Award for Best Actress is a film award given at the Mainichi Film Awards. Award Winners References Film awards for lead actress Awards established in 1947 1947 establishments in Japan Lists of films by award Actress ...

and the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actress. Mitsuo Miura was awarded the Mainichi Film Award for Best Cinematography and the

Blue Ribbon Award for Best Cinematography The Blue Ribbon Award for Best Cinematography is a prize recognizing the work of a cinematography of a Japanese film. It was awarded annually by the Association of Tokyo Film Journalists as one of the Blue Ribbon Awards. It was lastly awarded in ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cat, Shozo, and Two Women, A Japanese comedy films Japanese black-and-white films 1956 films 1956 comedy films Films based on Japanese novels Films based on works by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki Films scored by Yasushi Akutagawa Films directed by Shirō Toyoda 1950s Japanese films