is a 1954 Japanese film directed by

Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter, who directed about one hundred films during his career between 1923 and 1956. His most acclaimed works include ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'' (1939), '' The Life of Oharu'' (1952), ''Ugets ...

. It was adapted from Monzaemon Chikamatsu's 1715

bunraku (also known as ) is a form of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, founded in Osaka in the beginning of the 17th century, which is still performed in the modern day. Three kinds of performers take part in a performance: the or (puppeteers ...

play ''Daikyōji Mukashi Goyomi''. The film was presented at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival,

Plot

Mohei is an apprentice to Ishun, the wealthy grand scroll-maker of

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...

. Ishun makes nightly sexual forays into the maid Otama's room, but she resists his advances, despite offers of goods and property, claiming to be engaged to Mohei. Mohei refuses to go along with the deception and tells Otama to accept the rape because they are both there to serve the household. As two adulterers are paraded through the streets on their way to be crucified, Mohei proclaims that they should not have betrayed morality. When Ishun's brother-in-law asks for a loan, Ishun's wife Osan, knowing Ishun will refuse, seeks help from Mohei. Mohei begins forging a receipt attempting to obtain a loan in Ishun's name, but is caught. Ishun threatens to summon the authorities, but Otama asks him to forgive them, claiming that it was she that had asked for the money. Ishun uses the opportunity to blackmail Otama to get rid of a romantic rival and unwanted employee. Ishun orders Mohei imprisoned and brought up on charges in the morning. When Osan thanks Otama for trying to help, Otama informs her of Ishun's behavior. Hoping to confront him, Osan switches rooms with Otama for the night. To her surprise, Mohei, who has escaped, sneaks into the room to thank Otama before fleeing. Osan attempts to persuade Mohei into staying but the two are interrupted by Sukeyemon, the head clerk, who, having learned of Mohei's escape and attempting to alert the head of the household, had uncovered Otama instead. Mohei is chased away, and Ishun encourages his wife to commit suicide to protect his name. Osan flees the house only to again encounter Mohei. They later discover that Ishun has alerted the police. However, Mohei is only charged for forgery, rather than adultery, as Ishun is more concerned with their own reputation. Osan and Mohei decide to commit suicide together. They change their minds when Mohei professes his love for Osan. They continue to flee on foot, having momentarily convinced Ishun that the suicide had been successful. Ishun sends Sukeyemon to recover the bodies and bring Osan's back so they can continue covering up the adultery. Unfortunately, a traveling chestnut salesman notifies Ishun's house of the whereabouts of the two lovers. Osan and Mohei reach the home of Mohei's father where he reluctantly feeds and shelters them. Ishun's men arrive and browbeat Mohei's father into giving them up. Mohei is bound and left for the police to find the next day while Osan is taken to her family home in route to Ishun. Isan, a rival scroll maker, conspires with Sukeyemon to reveal Ishun's deception. While Osan refuses to return to Ishun's house, Mohei arrives at her family home, having been freed by his father. Osan's brother sneaks off to fetch Ishun and his men while their mother tries to convince Mohei to turn himself in. Just as Ishun's men arrives, the lovers escape one last time. They are captured by the police and confess to adultery. The Shogunate Deputy erects a public notice declaring Ishun guilty of deceiving the authorities and is therefore banished from town, his property and wealth confiscated. While the servants are packing to search for new employment, they talk about Sukeyemon also being banished for his failures in not only keeping a better eye on the property, but also not reporting Ishun's negligence in his refusal to report the affair. Soon the servants hear another parade going on and head outside. The servants see Osan and Mohei holding hands as they are being ridden on horseback on their way to

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

and death. The other servants watch the parade and note that Mohei and Osan look happier than ever before.

Cast

Kazuo Hasegawa was a Japanese film and stage actor. He appeared in over 300 films between 1927 and 1963. Career Born to a sake brewing family in Kyoto, he first appeared on stage at age five in a theater run by his family as a side business. In 1918, he beca ...

as Mohei *

Kyōko Kagawa is a Japanese actress. During her 70 years spanning career, she has worked with directors like Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujirō Ozu and Mikio Naruse, appearing in films such as '' Tokyo Story'', ''Sansho the Bailiff'', ''The Bad Sleep ...

as Osan *

Eitarō Shindō was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than 300 films between 1936 and 1975. He is most closely associated with the work of Kenji Mizoguchi, with whom he made twelve films. Selected filmography * ''Sisters of the Gion'' (1936) * ''Ar ...

as Ishun *

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 Sukeyemon *

Yōko Minamida was a Japanese actress. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in November 2008, and a television documentary was made about her condition and the efforts of her husband, actor Hiroyuki Nagato, to care for her. She died in Tokyo. Select ...

as Otama *

Haruo Tanaka was a Japanese film actor noted for his supporting roles in a career that spanned seven decades. Career Tanaka was born in Kyoto and quit school in order to become a film actor, joining the Nikkatsu studio in 1925. He eventually moved up to seco ...

as Gifuya Dōki *

Chieko Naniwa Chieko Naniwa (浪花千栄子) (November 19, 1907 – December 22, 1973) was a Japanese actress who was active from the 1920s to the 1970s. She is best known for playing geisha in several films, such as Keiji Mizoguchi's '' A Geisha'', and ...

as Okō *

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 Genbei * Tatsuya Ishiguro as Isan * Hiroshi Mizuno as Kuroki * Hisao Tōake as Morinokoji * Ikkei Tamaki as Jūshirō Umegaki * Kimiko Tachibana as Umetatsu Akamatsu * Keiko Koyanagi as Okaya * Sayako Nakagami as Osono

Awards

* 1954

Blue Ribbon Award for Best Director The Blue Ribbon Award for Best Director is a prize recognizing the work of a director of a Japanese film. It is awarded annually by the Association of Tokyo Film Journalists as one of the Blue Ribbon Awards The are film-specific prizes award ...

for Kenji Mizoguchi

Legacy

In 2017, a 4K digitally restored version of the film was presented at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

and the Kyoto Historica International Film Festival.

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Crucified Lovers, The 1954 films 1954 drama films Films scored by Fumio Hayasaka Films directed by Kenji Mizoguchi Films produced by Masaichi Nagata Films set in Kyoto Japanese black-and-white films Jidaigeki films Films with screenplays by Yoshikata Yoda Films with screenplays by Matsutarō Kawaguchi Japanese films based on plays Daiei Film films Japanese drama films 1950s Japanese films