''An Innocent Witch'' ( ja, 恐山の女, Osorezan no onna, Woman of Mount Osore) is a 1965 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 ...

directed by

Heinosuke Gosho was a Japanese film director and screenwriter who directed Japan's first sound film, '' The Neighbor's Wife and Mine'', in 1931. His films are mostly associated with the shomin-geki (lit. "common people drama") genre. Among his most noted works ...

. It is based on the novel ''Reiba no onna'' by Hajime Ogawa. Called "uncharaceristically harsh" for the director by Gosho biographer Arthur Nolletti, the film, produced by Gosho's own production company, was not a commercial success, but is critically acclaimed by film historians.

Plot

During the annual religious festivities at

Mount Osore is the name of a Buddhist temple and folk religion pilgrimage destination in the center of remote Shimokita Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tōhoku region of northern Japan. The temple is located in the caldera of an active volca ...

, widow Kikuno joins a

medium Medium may refer to: Science and technology Aviation *Medium bomber, a class of war plane *Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Communication * Media (communication), tools used to store and deliver information or data * Medium of ...

to contact the spirit of her deceased daughter Ayako and ask her for forgiveness. The film switches back to 20 years earlier when in 1937, Ayako, a poor fisherman's daughter from

Ōma is a town located in Aomori, Japan. In 2020, the town had an estimated population of 5,155, and a population density of ,in 2,497 households. The total area of the town is . Geography Ōma occupies the northwestern coastline of Shimokita Penin ...

, is sold to a brothel as her ill father can't support the family anymore. She is violently deflowered by rich merchant Yamasan, who becomes her regular customer. One year later, she meets Kanjiro, a young student, who becomes another regular customer and to whom she develops an emotional bond. It turns out that Kanjiro is Yamasan's son, but while Yamasan has no problem sharing her with his son, Kanjiro is reluctant to her meeting his father. After Yamasan dies of a heart attack during a visit to Ayako and Kanjiro commits suicide in the military service, Ayako is stigmatised as bringing bad luck. Kanichi, a new customer, reveals himself as Kanjiro's older brother, who insists that the rumours surrounding Ayako are pure superstition. Ayako and Kanichi become lovers, but before his plan to go to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

together is realised, he is killed by an army truck driver who refuses to stop for him. When the brothel's owners demand her leaving the house because she might be possessed by an evil spirit, Ayako, out of desperation, agrees to have an exorcism performed on her. Severely beaten during the brutal exorcism ritual, Ayako finally dies.

Cast

Jitsuko Yoshimura is a Japanese film and television actress. She was discovered by Shōhei Imamura as a newcomer and cast in the film '' Pigs and Battleships''. She went on to appear in films like Imamura's ''The Insect Woman'', Kaneto Shindō's '' Onibaba'', for ...

as Ayako *Keizō Kawasaki as Kanichi *

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 Ki ...

as Yamasan *

Minori Terada is a Japanese voice actor and actor. Life and career Terada was born in Tokyo, as first son of Masaaki Terada, a famous painter. In 1961, Terada begun to be an actor. Terada is known as a villain, such as Alien Metron in ''Ultraman Max'', an ...

as Kanjiro *

Eijirō Tōno was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting more than 50 years, appeared in over 400 television shows, nearly 250 films and numerous stage productions. He is best known in the West for his roles in films by Akira Kurosawa, such as ''Seven Samu ...

as shaman *

Kin Sugai (28 February 1926 – 10 August 2018) was a Japanese actress. She won the award for best supporting actress at the 9th Hochi Film Award for '' The Funeral''. Sugai is famous for her role as Sen Nakamura in the jidaigeki drama Hissatsu series. Sh ...

as Kikuno, Ayako's mother *Chieko Nakakita as brothel owner *Misako Tominaga *

Kumeko Urabe Kumeko Urabe ( ja, link=no, 浦辺粂子) (October 5, 1902 – October 26, 1989) was a Japanese movie actress, and one of the first in the country. Born Kimura Kume, she also adopted the stage names Kumeko Ichijo, Toyama Midori, Chidori Sh ...

Legacy

Ranked seventh on

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

's annual ''Best Ten'' film list in 1965, ''An Innocent Witch'' was part of the 1989–1990 retrospective on Heinosuke Gosho held by the Japan Society and the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

, New York.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Innocent Witch, An 1965 films 1965 drama films 1960s Japanese-language films Japanese drama films Films based on Japanese novels Films directed by Heinosuke Gosho 1960s Japanese films