is a 1964 Japanese film based on a novel by

Taijiro Tamura was a Japanese novelist. He was born in Yokkaichi, Mie, and was educated at Waseda University in Tokyo where he studied literature. His most famous work is ''Gate of Flesh'', which has been adapted into a movie four times and most recently in 2008 ...

and directed by

Seijun Suzuki , born (24 May 1923 – 13 February 2017), was a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are known for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility. He made 40 predo ...

Plot

In an impoverished and burnt out

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 ...

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

of post-

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Japan, a band of

prostitutes Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

defend their territory, squatting in a bombed-out building. Somehow they eke out a living together. Forming a sort of family in an environment where everyone (

American soldiers ''American Soldiers'' is a 2005 war film War film is a film genre concerned with warfare, typically about navy, naval, air force, air, or army, land battles, with combat scenes central to the drama. It has been strongly associated with the 20 ...

and Japanese

yakuza , also known as , are members of transnational organized crime syndicates originating in Japan. The Japanese police and media, by request of the police, call them , while the ''yakuza'' call themselves . The English equivalent for the term ...

) is a potential antagonist, the girls cajole each other, and ruthlessly punish any of their group who violate the cardinal rule—no having sex for free. A new girl, Maya (

Yumiko Nogawa (born August 30, 1944) is a Japanese actress born in Kyoto, Japan. She has starred in several movies, notably '' Gate of Flesh'' (1964), a Japanese erotic film, part of a trilogy of films she made with director Seijun Suzuki. Including '' Story o ...

), joins their group and learns the trade. An ex-soldier, Shintaro Ibuki (

Joe Shishido was a Japanese actor most recognizable for his intense, eccentric yakuza film roles and his artificially enlarged cheekbones. He appeared in some 300 films but is best known in the West for his performance in the cult film '' Branded to Kill'' ...

), is shot nearby and holes up with the girls. Each of them starts to crave Ibuki, placing strains on the group. Maya feels it worse, seeing him as replacement for her brother (who died in

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...

). She takes him after a night of drunken revelry, and both are ostracized. Agreeing to run away together, he is shot in a double-cross, and she is left as she was at the beginning of the film—alone and hopeless.

Production

Planned as an "adult release" (Japanese films were classified by the country's film board as "general release" or "adult"), the usual pace of production at Nikkatsu (10 days pre-production, 25 days shooting, three days post-production) allowed Suzuki and his innovative production designer Takeo Kimura precious little time to construct sets to recreate post-war firebombed Tokyo. Sets were slapped together on the backlot using materials purloined from studio warehouses, and theatrical set design techniques which could compromise the film's "realism." The resulting production has been lauded for its resulting visual flair. Most female actresses at Nikkatsu refused to work in the film due to the nudity and subject matter, so the cast's female roles were filled by actresses from outside the studio.

Cast

as Shintaro Ibuki *

as Borneo Maya *

Kōji Wada was a Japanese pop singer. He was best known for performing theme songs for several installments of the ''Digimon'' anime television series, including his recording debut in 1999 with his first and most famous single, "Butter-Fly", the theme so ...

as Abe *

Tomiko Ishii is a Japanese actress. Filmography Films *''Gate of Flesh'' (1964), Roku *Daimon Otokode Shinitai (1969) *''The Ramen Girl'' (2009), Megumi Television *''Oshin'' (1983), Mrs. Sakuragi *''Kinpachi-sensei is a Japanese television drama that ...

as Roku *

Kayo Matsuo is a Japanese actress. Partial filmography # '' Endless Desire'' (''Hateshinaki yokubo'', 1958) # '' My Second Brother'' (''Nianchan'', 1959) # '' Hikaru umi'' (1963) # '' Gate of Flesh'' (''Nikutai no mon'', 1964) # '' Story of a Prostitute'' ( ...

as Mino *

Misako Tominaga is a feminine Japanese given name. It can have many different meaning depending on the kanji characters used and may also be written using the hiragana and katakana writing systems. Different variations of the name include those listed below. Po ...

as Machiko *

Keisuke Noro Keisuke (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese general *, Japanese mixed martial artist *, Japanese footballer * ...

as Ishii
Chico Lourant
as Catholic Priest *

Isao Tamagawa was a Japanese actor. He appeared in the Japanese film ''Branded to Kill'', as Michihiko Yabuhara: the yakuza boss that hires Hanada and seduces his wife. Upon the discovery that his diamond smuggling operation has been burgled, he employs Hanada ...

as Horidome * Satoko Kasai as Komasa Sen

Other versions

There are three other film versions (1948), (1977), (1988 starring Katase Rino), and a recent 2008 TV drama series.

References

External links

* *
''Gate of Flesh: I Love in Fear''
an essay by Chuck Stephens at the

Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...

*
Gate of Flesh
' at the

Japanese Movie Database The , more commonly known as simply JMDb, is an online database of information about Japanese movies, actors, and production crew personnel. It is similar to the Internet Movie Database but lists only those films initially released in Japan. Y. ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gate Of Flesh 1964 films 1960s erotic drama films Films about prostitution in Japan Films directed by Seijun Suzuki Japanese erotic drama films 1960s Japanese-language films Nikkatsu films Films based on Japanese novels 1960s Japanese films