''An Inlet of Muddy Water'' ( ja, にごりえ, Nigorie) is a 1953 Japanese

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-g ...

based on short stories by

Ichiyō Higuchi , real name or , was a Japanese writer from the Meiji Period. She was Japan's first professional female writer of modern literature, specialising in short stories and poetry, and also an extensive diarist. Biography Early life Natsuko Higuchi ...

and directed by

Tadashi Imai was a Japanese film director known for Social realism, social realist filmmaking informed by a Left-wing politics, left-wing perspective. His most noted films include ''An Inlet of Muddy Water'' (1953) and ''Bushido, Samurai Saga'' (1963). Life ...

. It was entered into the

1954 Cannes Film Festival The 7th Cannes Film Festival was held from 25 March to 9 April 1954. With Jean Cocteau as President of the Jury, the Grand Prix went to the '' Gate of Hell'' by Teinosuke Kinugasa. The festival opened with '' Le Grand Jeu'' by Robert Siodmak. This ...

and awarded numerous national film prizes.

Plot

In three episodes, the film portrays the fate of women during the Meiji era: 1. ''The Thirteenth Night:'' Young wife Seki turns up at her parents' house, announcing that she wants to divorce her abusive husband. Her father talks her into returning to her marital home, as her parents' welfare and the career of her brother depend on the marriage, also reminding her that she will have to leave her young son behind. On her way back home in a rickshaw, she discovers that the driver is Rokunosuke, a childhood friend who never got over their separation. They reminisce their once mutual affection, but part ways without an outlook to meeting again. 2. ''On The Last Day Of The Year:'' Mine works as a maid in the strict household of Mrs. Yamamura, wife of a wealthy businessman. To help her sick uncle who is in debt, Mine asks her employer to lend her money. Mrs. Yamamura first agrees, but later withdraws her offer. Out of desperation, Mine steals money from a household drawer and gives it to her aunt. Moments before her misdemeanour is revealed, Mrs. Yamamura's carefree son Ishinosuke takes the remaining money to waste it on gambling and drinking, thus obliterating all traces of Mine's theft. 3. ''Troubled Waters:'' Courtesan O-Riki is the "star" of a brothel in a red light district. To her disapproval, she is still being followed by her impoverished former patron Genshichi who spent all his money on her. O-Riki gets involved with a new client, Asanosuke, but is reluctant to the possible prospect of marriage, citing her profession and her poor upbringing as reasons. Meanwhile, Genshichi forces his wife and little son to leave him due to her constant complaints that he is unable to support the family. Afterwards, he waylays O-Riki, murders her and commits suicide.

Cast

Episode 1 "The Thirteenth Night" *

Ken Mitsuda Ken Mitsuda (29 April 1902 – 28 November 1997) was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in 53 films between 1940 and 1983. Selected filmography * ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' (Grumpy) (voice Japanese version) * ''Lady and the Tramp'' ...

as Saito Kanae * Akiko Tamura as Saito Moyo * Hiro Kumon as Saito Inosuke * Yatsuko Tanami as Harada Seki * Hiroshi Akutagawa as Takasaka Rokunosuke Episode 2 "On The Last Day Of The Year" * Susumu Tatsuoka as Yamamura Kahee * Teruko Nagaoka as Yamamura Aya * Noboru Nakaya as Yamamura Ishinosuke *

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 Yamamura Shizuko *

Yoshiko Kuga is a Japanese people, Japanese actress. Biography and personal life Kuga was born in Tokyo, Japan. Her father, , was a marquis and a member of the House of Peers (Japan), House of Peers. In 1946, while still attending Gakushuin Junior High Sc ...

as Mine *

Nobuo Nakamura was a Japanese actor, who made notable appearances in the films of Akira Kurosawa and Yasujirō Ozu in the 1950s and 1960s. Perhaps his most famous roles in the West were those of the callous deputy mayor in Kurosawa's ''Ikiru'' (1952), and the h ...

as Yasubee * Michiko Araki as Shin * Shiro Inui as Minosuke * Kazuo Kitamura as Rickshaw man Episode 3 "Troubled Waters" * Hisao Toake as Tobei * Yoshie Minami as O-Yae *

Chikage Awashima was a Japanese film and stage actress. Life A graduate from Takarazuka Music and Dance School and member of the Takarazuka Revue, Chikage Awashima entered the Shochiku film studios and made her film debut in 1950. She appeared in films of numero ...

as O-Riki *

So Yamamura was a Japanese actor and film director. He was also known by the name Satoshi Yamamura, while his actual birth name is Koga Hirosada. Yamamura graduated from University of Tokyo. In 1942, Yamamura and Isao Yamagata formed the ''Bunkaza Theatre ...

as Asanosuke *

Seiji Miyaguchi was a Japanese actor who appeared in films of Akira Kurosawa, Yasujirō Ozu, Mikio Naruse, Tadashi Imai and many others. He succumbed to lung cancer at the age of 71. Distinctions One of Kurosawa's iconic ''Seven Samurai'', Miyaguchi won the 195 ...

as Genshichi *

Haruko Sugimura was a Japanese stage and film actress, best known for her appearances in the films of Yasujirō Ozu and Mikio Naruse from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. Biography Sugimura was born in Nishi-ku, Hiroshima. After the death of her parents, sh ...

as O-Hatsu * Maiko Hojo as O-Taka

Literary source

''An Inlet of Muddy Water'' is based on Ichiyō Higuchi's short stories ''

The Thirteenth Night is a short story by Japanese writer Ichiyō Higuchi first published in 1895. It follows Oseki Harada, a woman married to an abusive husband, who pays her parents a nightly visit to ask for their assent to a divorce. Plot On the thirteenth night ...

'' ( ja, 十三夜, Jusan'ya, 1895), '' On the Last Day of the Year'' ( ja, 大つごもり, Ōtsugomori, 1894), and ''Troubled Waters'' (also: ''Muddy Bay'', ja, にごり江, Nigorie, 1895). Other than the film, Higuchi's original story ''Troubled Waters'' ends with the discovery of the bodies of O-Riki and Genshichi and the passersby's speculations whether the two committed

shinjū ''Shinjū'' (心中, the characters for "mind" and "centre") means "double suicide" in Japanese, as in '' Shinjū Ten no Amijima'' (''The Love Suicides at Amijima''), written by the seventeenth-century tragedian Chikamatsu Monzaemon for the ''bun ...

(lovers' double suicide) or O-Riki fell victim to a crime, leaving it to the reader to decide.

Awards and filmhistoric relevance

''An Inlet of Muddy Water'' was awarded the

Kinema Junpo Award , 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 dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ha ...

, the Blue Ribbon Award and the

Mainichi Film Award The are a series of annual film awards, sponsored by Mainichi Shinbun (毎日新聞), one of the largest newspaper companies in Japan, since 1946. It is the first film festival in Japan. History The origins of the contest date back to 1935, ...

for Best Film and is regarded by film historians as one of director Tadashi Imai's major works. Two additional Mainichi Film Awards went to Imai for Best Direction and Haruko Sugimura as Best Supporting Actress (for ''An Inlet of Muddy Water'' and ''

Tokyo Story is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu and starring Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama about an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children. Upon release, it did not immediately gain international recogniti ...

'').

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Inlet Of Muddy Water, An 1953 films 1953 drama films Japanese drama films 1950s Japanese-language films Japanese black-and-white films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Imai Tadashi Films set in the Meiji period Best Film Kinema Junpo Award winners 1950s Japanese films