is a 1955 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-g ...

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 t ...

. It is based on the 1914 novel ''

Kokoro is a novel by the Japanese author Natsume Sōseki. It was first published in 1914 in serial form in the Japanese newspaper ''Asahi Shimbun''. The title translated literally means "heart". The word contains shades of meaning—notions of the he ...

'' by

Natsume Sōseki , born , was a Japanese novelist. He is best known around the world for his novels ''Kokoro'', '' Botchan'', ''I Am a Cat'', '' Kusamakura'' and his unfinished work '' Light and Darkness''. He was also a scholar of British literature and writer ...

Plot

Student Hioki befriends an elder man, Nobuchi, and his wife Shizu, who live a reclusive life in their

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 ...

home. A shadow of the past hangs over the couple in the shape of a long deceased friend, Kaji, whose grave Nobuchi regularly visits. Nobuchi slowly opens up to Hioki, who sees in him his tutor and addresses him as "sensei", explaining his distrust in people with his relatives' past attempt to withhold him of his share of his parents' inheritance. Hioki travels back to his hometown in the countryside, where his father is in a critical condition. Nobuchi writes a long letter to Hioki, his "testament", in which he recounts his friendship to Kaji, which he ultimately betrayed over their mutual love for Shizu, resulting in Kaji's suicide. When Hioki receives the letter, he hurries to Nobuchi's home, only to learn that Nobuchi has taken his own life.

Cast

* Masayuki Mori – Nobuchi, called "sensei" *

Michiyo Aratama was a Japanese film and stage actress. Biography After graduating from the Takarazuka Music and Dance School, Aratama joined the Takarazuka Revue in 1945. She gave her film debut in 1951, but it was not before 1955 that she left the Takarazuk ...

– Shizu, Nobuchi's wife *

Tatsuya Mihashi was a Japanese actor best known internationally for his role as Commander Minoru Genda in the 1970 Japanese-American war epic ''Tora! Tora! Tora!''. In addition, Mihashi was known for his roles in Akira Kurosawa's ''The Bad Sleep Well'', ''The Hu ...

– Kaji *

Shōji Yasui was a Japanese actor. He was best known for playing the central role of Private Mizushima in Kon Ichikawa's '' The Burmese Harp''. Career Born in Tokyo, Yasui first joined a troupe led by Kazuo Hasegawa. He entered the Nikkatsu studio in 1954 an ...

– Hioki *

Tanie Kitabayashi was a Japanese actress and voice actress. Born Reiko Ando in Tokyo, she began as a stage actress. Kitabayashi was a founding member of the famed Mingei Theatre Company, founded in 1950. Early in her career, she became well known for portraying o ...

– Hioki's mother * Akiko Tamura – Widow * Mutsuhiko Tsurumaru – Hioki's father * Tsutomu Shimomoto – Hioki's elder brother *

Masami Shimojō was a Japanese film and stage actor. He appeared in more than 100 films. Career Hoping to become a film director, Shimojō traveled to Tokyo in 1935 but ended up joining a theater troupe, debuting on stage in 1936. He made his film debut in 194 ...

– Broker * Akira Hisamatsu – Travelling monk *

Tomoko Naraoka is a Japanese actress and narrator. The daughter of a painter, she was born in Komagome, Tokyo, Komagome, Hongō, Tokyo, Hongō (present-day Bunkyō, Tokyo, Bunkyo), in the city of Tokyo City, Tokyo, Japan. She graduated from Joshibi University ...

– Kume * Zenji Yamada – Nobuchi's uncle * Keiji Itami – Kaji's father * Kiyoshi Kamoda – Doctor

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heart, The 1955 drama films 1955 films Films produced by Masayuki Takagi Nikkatsu films Japanese drama films Japanese black-and-white films Films based on Japanese novels Films set in the Meiji period Films set in Tokyo 1950s Japanese films