''aka'' ''Woman In a Cage'' is a
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese
pink film
in its broadest sense includes almost any Japanese theatrical film that includes nudity (hence 'pink') or deals with sexual content. This encompasses everything from dramas to action thrillers and exploitation film features. The Western equiv ...
in
Nikkatsu
is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio, founded in 1912 during the silent film era. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally ...
's
''Roman porno'' series, directed by
Kōyū Ohara
was a Japanese film director known for his popular '' Roman Porno'' films, '' Fairy in a Cage'' (1977) and the ''Pink Tush Girl'' series (1978–1980). One of Nikkatsu's most versatile and prolific directors, filming eight movies in 1979 alone, ...
and starring
Naomi Tani
is a Japanese pink film actress who is best known for her appearances in Nikkatsu's ''Roman Porno'' films with an S&M theme during the 1970s.
Life and career Early
Born October 20, 1948, in the Hakata ward of Fukuoka, Naomi Tani moved to Toky ...
.
Synopsis
During the latter part of World War II, Judge Murayama, head of the
Japanese military police, uses his position to falsely accuse, capture, imprison and torture women in whom he is interested. Namiji Kikushima, a high-class business woman, is one such lady. Kikushima is accused of using her
Ginza
Ginza ( ; ja, 銀座 ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo, with numerous intern ...
jewellery shop to finance an anti-government organization. Judge Murayama has Lady Kikushima arrested, and orders the new recruit Taoka to torture her. Taoka falls in love with Kikushima, at first hating torturing her then growing to enjoy it. After a long series of tortures and humiliation, while the Judge espouses his twisted version of morality, Taoka sacrifices himself to enable Lady Kikushima's escape.
[Lewis, Graham R. "The Films of Koyu Ohara" in ''Asian Cult Cinema'', #27 (2nd quarter 2000), p. 25.]
Cast
*
Naomi Tani
is a Japanese pink film actress who is best known for her appearances in Nikkatsu's ''Roman Porno'' films with an S&M theme during the 1970s.
Life and career Early
Born October 20, 1948, in the Hakata ward of Fukuoka, Naomi Tani moved to Toky ...
: Namiji Kikushima
* Kazuo Satake: Keita Taoka
* Minoru Ōkōchi: Baron Murayama
* Hirokazu Inoue: Lieutenant Nishizaki
* Tatsuya Hamaguchi: Inoue
*
Rei Okamoto
is Japanese model and actress who stars as Mia Amagishi in '' Threads of Destiny''. She also appears in the NHK Asadora
, colloquially known as , is a serialized, 15 minutes per episode, Japanese television drama program series broadcast in th ...
* Reika Maki
Background
Lead actresses
Naomi Tani
is a Japanese pink film actress who is best known for her appearances in Nikkatsu's ''Roman Porno'' films with an S&M theme during the 1970s.
Life and career Early
Born October 20, 1948, in the Hakata ward of Fukuoka, Naomi Tani moved to Toky ...
and
Rei Okamoto
is Japanese model and actress who stars as Mia Amagishi in '' Threads of Destiny''. She also appears in the NHK Asadora
, colloquially known as , is a serialized, 15 minutes per episode, Japanese television drama program series broadcast in th ...
had worked together previously in director
Yasuharu Hasebe
was a Japanese people, Japanese film director best known for his movies in the "Violent pink" subgenre of the ''Pink film'', such as ''Assault! Jack the Ripper'' (1976 in film, 1976), ''Rape!'' (1976), ''Rape! 13th Hour'' (1977 in film, 1977) an ...
's ''Rape!'' (1976). Tani would work with director Ohara again in ''
Fascination: Portrait of a Lady'' (1977), and ''
Rope Hell
is a 1978 Japanese film in Nikkatsu's ''Roman porno'' series, directed by Kōyū Ohara and starring Naomi Tani.
Synopsis
Akiko is the heir to a yakuza clan. Hitoshi, who has been kicked out of the rival Hono Clan after attempting to seduce A ...
'' (1978), which also reunited her with Hirokazu Inoue, one of her torturers from ''Fairy in a Cage''.
In contrast to these torture-themed films, Ohara had been successful with light, youth-centered comedies, such as his later ''
Pink Tush Girl
is a 1978 Japanese film in Nikkatsu's ''List of Nikkatsu Roman Porno films, Roman porno'' series, directed by Kōyū Ohara and starring Kaori Takeda, Ako (actress), Ako and Yūko Katagiri. It is based on an award-winning novel by Osamu Hashimoto. ...
'' series.
In a review of the films of
Kōyū Ohara
was a Japanese film director known for his popular '' Roman Porno'' films, '' Fairy in a Cage'' (1977) and the ''Pink Tush Girl'' series (1978–1980). One of Nikkatsu's most versatile and prolific directors, filming eight movies in 1979 alone, ...
for the journal ''Asian Cult Cinema'', Graham R. Lewis notes that Ohara uses conflict between social classes as a theme in ''Fairy in a Cage''. Both Lady Kikushima and Judge Murayama are members of the upper class, while Taoka, the new recruit ordered to torture Kikushima, is from the lower class. Murayama tells Taoka, "Some think I am a sick person, but this form of entertainment has always been reserved for the rich."
Taoka is repulsed by this philosophy, and when he comes to enjoy the torturing, sacrifices himself to release the prisoners. In a 2000 interview, Ohara confirmed this class-conflict theme, stating, "I think S&M is noble people's fantasy. In the Roman Empire, the nobility were the spectators at the coliseum as they watched slaves in life threatening games. This is the reason I used a fancy silver chalice to collect the heroine's urine in ''Fairy In A Cage''."
In a 1998 interview, Tani recalled that one scene in ''Fairy in a Cage'' was more physically demanding than some of the more notorious ones in ''
Lady Black Rose'' (1978), which were simple tricks. "The worst scenes," she said, "are the ones where I'm hung up-side-down and tortured with my legs spread, like in ''Fairy in a Cage''... If you try to fake it by using a suspension brace, the thigh muscles won't show tension. On the other hand, if my legs are tied too loosely, I'll fall. These scenes always demand full-shots, so no trick is ever used. When they tie my torso, the rope technicians-- professional people-- are on the set. These guys put extra effort into tying beautifully and painlessly for me."
[Tani, Naomi. Interviewed by Hamamoto, Maki. (1998). "Naomi Tani - An Interview with Nikkatsu's Queen of SM" (Conducted in January 1998 in Kyushu, Japan) in ''Asian Cult Cinema'' Number 19, April 1998. p. 43.]
Jasper Sharp comments that one of the most interesting aspects of ''Fairy in a Cage'', and films of its genre, are their use of "shameful and historically sensitive" aspects of the World War II-era in Japan as subjects for sexually-oriented entertainment. He notes that this era would have been alive in the memories of many audience members at the time.
For explanations of this phenomenon, he quotes ''pink film'' director
Yutaka Ikejima
is a Japanese film director, actor, and producer. Considered the most successful filmmaker in the ''pink film'' genre in the 2000s, his films are popular with traditional ''pink film'' audiences, fans of cinema, and with critics. Because of his ...
who theorizes that the sexual fantasies of this generation had been warped by the war experience. Sharp also quotes Japanese film scholar
Donald Richie
Donald Richie (17 April 1924 – 19 February 2013) was an American-born author who wrote about the Japanese people, the culture of Japan, and especially Japanese cinema. Although he considered himself primarily a film historian, Richie also dir ...
, who asserts that these films are no more than an outlet for the frustrations that males everywhere sometimes feel towards females.
Critical appraisal
The commercial database
Allmovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cult ...
judges ''Fairy in a Cage'' to be one of Nikkatsu's best films in their violent genre. They note that in spite of his usual expertise with lightweight comedies, "Ohara's direction is crisp, and torture fans will find much to admire in the Sadean eroticism he brings to the proceedings."
In their ''Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films'', the Weissers also rate the film highly, giving it three points out of four.
They rank ''Fairy in a Cage'' as one of Nikkatsu's best in the genre, as well as one of author
Oniroku Dan
was a Japanese author who has been called, "the most celebrated writer of popular SM novels in Japan." Many of his stories have been filmed, most notably by Nikkatsu studio in their ''Roman Porno'' series. Dan had a close professional associati ...
's better efforts.
In his review of Ohara's ''oeuvre'', Graham R. Lewis writes of ''Fairy in a Cage'', "Ohara really out-did himself with this one: the period detail is perfect and again all production values and acting are of the highest quality."
Jasper Sharp, in his ''Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema'', takes a negative view of ''Fairy in a Cage''. He considers the film intellectually inferior to
Tatsumi Kumashiro
was a Japanese film director known for his critically acclaimed, award-winning ''Roman Porno'' films, such as ''Ichijo's Wet Lust'' (1972) and ''The Woman with Red Hair'' (1979). He was the most highly acclaimed director of the early Nikkatsu Ro ...
's ''
Woods Are Wet'' (1973), which had a similar theme. He writes that Ohara is not one of Nikkatsu's top directors, and that the film, "merely wallows in its own depravity, with ever more vicious displays of abuse towards its leading lady."
Availability
''Fairy in a Cage'' was released theatrically in Japan on June 4, 1977. It was released on VHS in Japan on December 5, 1997.
Bibliography
English
*
*
*
*
*
Japanese
*
*
*
*
*
Notes
{{Kōyū Ohara
1977 films
Films directed by Kōyū Ohara
1970s Japanese-language films
Nikkatsu films
Pink films
1970s Japanese films