''Apostasy'' ( ja, 破戒, Hakai, broken commandment) is a 1948 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 ...

directed by Keisuke Kinoshita, based on the novel ''

The Broken Commandment ''The Broken Commandment'' is a Japanese novel written by Tōson Shimazaki published in 1906 (late Meiji period) under the title ''Hakai'' (破戒). The novel deals with the ''burakumin'', formerly known as ''eta''. This book enjoyed great popular ...

'' by

Tōson Shimazaki was the pen-name of Haruki Shimazaki, a Japanese writer active in the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods of Japan. He began his career as a Romantic poet, but went on to establish himself as a major proponent of Japanese Naturalism. Ea ...

Plot

Segawa, a young rural school teacher in the Meiji era, hides his

burakumin is a name for a low-status social group in Japan. It is a term for ethnic Japanese people with occupations considered as being associated with , such as executioners, undertakers, slaughterhouse workers, butchers, or tanners. During Japan's ...

roots, as he had promised his father, who had hoped for his son a life without social rejection. His promise conflicts with his wish to confess his secret to his fiancée Oshiho. Oshiho's father and Segawa's mentor Kazama, ancestor of an old samurai family, has just been forced to retire for plain monetary reasons, thus losing his pension. After prominent burakumin writer Inoko, whom Segawa met with, is killed by a group of villagers, rumours about Segawa's descent are spreading. Put under pressure at a public meeting of the town's people, he finally reveals the truth. With the majority turning against him, including his former mentor, he is forced to resign. Upon leaving the town together with Oshiho, who decided to stay by his side, he is waved good-bye by his single loyal colleague Tsuchiya and the town's children.

Cast

Ryō Ikebe was a Japanese actor. He graduated from Rikkyō University and originally wanted to be a director, but ended up debuting as an actor at Tōhō in 1941. He did not achieve popularity until starring in a series of youth films in the late 1940s. H ...

as Segawa * Yōko Katsuragi as Oshiho *

Osamu Takizawa was a Japanese actor. He was born in Ushigome, Shinjuku, Tokyo. Starting at the Tsukiji Little Theater, Takizawa participated in a number of theatrical troupes before forming Gekidan Mingei with Jūkichi Uno. His was praised for his performan ...

as Inoko *

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 Tsuchiya *

Eitarō 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 Shindō. Selected fi ...

as Takayanagi *

Ichirō Sugai was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1930 and 1971. Sugai often worked with Kaneto Shindo, Kenji Mizoguchi and Kōzaburō Yoshimura. Selected filmography * '' The Water Magician'' (1933) * '' Spring on Leper's Isla ...

as Kazama * Chieko Higashiyama

Awards

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 Director for the films ''Apostasy'', ''Woman'' and ''The Portrait''

References

External links

* * {{Keisuke Kinoshita 1948 films 1948 drama films Japanese drama films 1940s Japanese-language films Japanese black-and-white films Films based on Japanese novels Films directed by Keisuke Kinoshita