is a 1962 color 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

Kon Ichikawa was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. His work displays a vast range in genre and style, from the anti-war films '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) and '' Fires on the Plain'' (1959), to the documentary '' Tokyo Olympiad'' (1965), which won ...

. It was Japan's submission to the

35th Academy Awards The 35th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1962, were held on April 8, 1963, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California, hosted by Frank Sinatra. Ceremony The Best Actress Oscar occasioned the last act of t ...

for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not accepted as a nominee.Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

Style

Ichikawa utilized the screen personas of popular stars

Fujiko Yamamoto (born 11 December 1931) is a Japanese film and stage actress. She appeared in over 100 films between 1953 and 1963. She won the first Grand Prix of Miss Nippon in 1950. Career Yamamoto was born on 11 December 1931, in Nishi-ku, Osaka, to a cot ...

(glamorous, restrained) and

Eiji Funakoshi was a Japanese actor. He received the Kinema Junpo Award for Best Actor and the Mainichi Film Concours for Best Actor for his performance in '' Fires on the Plain''. Biography Born Eijirō Funakoshi on 17 March 1923, in Tokyo, Eiji Funakoshi ...

(hapless, self-conscious) to make the child's independence and frequent endangerment believable. The director contrasts Chiyo's well-coiffed, reactive approach to motherhood by shooting

Misako Watanabe is a Japanese stage, film and television actress. A graduate of the Haiyuza Theatre Company, she gave her film debut in Tadashi Imai's ''Tower of Lilies'' (1953) before becoming a contract player at the Nikkatsu film studios. She appeared in alm ...

as her sister-in-law in a sensuous, intimate manner as she bathes her own newborn.

Cast

* Hiro Suzuki as Taro, the baby *

as Goro, the father *

as Chiyo, the mother *

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 ...

as Ino, grandmother *

as Setsuko, the aunt * Masako Kyôzuka as Chiyo's sister * Mantarō Ushio as Laundry Man *

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 Chiyo's Friend * Shirô Ôtsuji as Doctor *

Jun Hamamura was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 130 films between 1938 and 1995. Selected filmography * ''Wolf'' (1955) * '' The Burmese Harp'' (1956) * '' The Hole'' (1957) * ''The Temptress and the Monk'' (1958) * ''Enjō'' (1958) * ''Odd Obs ...

as Older Doctor *

Akira Natsuki Akira may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Akira'' (franchise), a Japanese cyberpunk franchise ** ''Akira'' (manga), a 1980s cyberpunk manga by Katsuhiro Otomo ** ''Akira'' (1988 film), an anime film adaptation of the manga ** ''Akira'' (vide ...

as Doctor at Hospital

References

External links

* 1962 films 1962 comedy films 1960s Japanese-language films Films directed by Kon Ichikawa Daiei Film films Best Film Kinema Junpo Award winners Films with screenplays by Natto Wada Films scored by Yasushi Akutagawa 1960s Japanese films {{1960s-comedy-film-stub

Style

Cast

See also

References

External links