, U.S. title ''Conquest'', is a 1965 Japanese

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—'' Portrait of H ...

and

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

written and directed by

Kaneto Shindō was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film producer, and writer, who directed 48 films and wrote scripts for 238. His best known films as a director include ''Children of Hiroshima'', ''The Naked Island'', '' Onibaba'', ''Kuroneko'' an ...

. It is based on the play ''Kaoyo'' by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki.

Plot

In the 14th century,

Kō no Moronao was a Japanese samurai of the Nanboku-chō period who was the first to hold the position of '' Shitsuji'' (''Shōgun''s Deputy). He was appointed by Ashikaga Takauji, the first ''shōgun'' of the Ashikaga shogunate. As Deputy, he served not on ...

, a deputy of the

Ashikaga shogunate The , also known as the , was the feudal military government of Japan during the Muromachi period from 1336 to 1573.Nussbaum, Louis-Frédéric. (2005)"''Muromachi-jidai''"in ''Japan Encyclopedia'', p. 669. The Ashikaga shogunate was establi ...

, hears of the beauty of Kaoyo, the wife of samurai Takasada of the Shioji clan. Obsessed with the thought of sleeping with Kaoyo, he instructs his chief chambermaid Jiju to arrange for a tête-à-tête. Jiju has letters in Moronao's name sent to Kaoyo, which first remain unanswered. Afraid to lose her position, Jiju sneaks into Takasada's house and tries to talk Kaoyo into giving in to the deputy's courting. Jiju is caught, confronted with Takasada's and Kaoyo's unconditional love and loyalty for each other. Moronao, furious about the woman's repeated resistance, orders Takasada to join the battles between the Northern and

Southern dynasties The Northern and Southern dynasties () was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589, following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as ...

to have him out of the way. The disobedient Takasada and his followers desert to meet with his wife at a secret place, where he is surrounded by Moronao's men. Takasada and his followers die in the subsequent battle, and Kaoyo has herself killed by family member Munemura. The victorious warriors and Jiju return to Moronao's estate, presenting him Kaoyo's severed head. Moronao is furious because he wanted her alive, not dead. Jiju starts laughing, and the severed head smiles.

Cast

* Nobuko Otowa as Jiju *

Kyōko Kishida was a Japanese actress, voice actress, and writer of children's books. Career Kishida became an actress in 1950, and starred in a Yukio Mishima production of the 1960 film ''Salome''. Her film and television drama credits number in the hundreds. ...

as Kaoyo *

Eitaro Ozawa , also credited as Sakae Ozawa (小沢栄), was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 200 films between 1935 and 1988, directed by notable filmmakers such as Kenji Mizoguchi, Mikio Naruse, Keisuke Kinoshita and Kaneto Shindo, Kaneto Shindō ...

as Kō no Moronao *

Isao Kimura , also known as Kō Kimura, was a Japanese actor. He entered the Haiyūza theatre troupe in 1946. He appeared in several films directed by Akira Kurosawa, including ''Stray Dog'' (1949) as Yusa the criminal, and ''Seven Samurai'' (1954) as Kats ...

as Enya Takasada * Kentaro Kaji as Rokuro *

Taiji Tonoyama was a Japanese character actor who made many appearances in films and on television from 1939 to 1989. He was a close friend of Kaneto Shindo and one of his regular cast members. He was also an essayist. In 1950 he helped form the film company ...

as Munemura *

Jūkichi Uno (real name ; 27 September 1914 – 9 January 1988) was a Japanese actor. In 1950, he formed the with Osamu Takizawa was a Japanese actor. He was born in Ushigome, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Starting at the Tsukiji Little Theater, Takizawa partici ...

as Yoshida Kenko, the poet

Notes

References

External links

* {{Kaneto Shindo 1965 films Japanese drama films Jidaigeki films Samurai films Japanese films based on plays Films set in feudal Japan Films based on works by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki Films directed by Kaneto Shindo 1960s Japanese films