''My Love Has Been Burning'' is a 1949 Japanese historical drama 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 is loosely based on the life of feminist Hideko Fukuda.

Plot

After meeting with Meiji era feminist and

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

member

Toshiko Kishida , afterwards , was one of the first Japanese Feminism, feminists. She wrote under the name . Early life and education Kishida Toshiko was born in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan, in 1863. Kishida grew up in a merchant class family. Her father was Kish ...

, the school of young teacher Eiko in Okayama is closed by the prefecture officials. She leaves her oppressive environment for

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, following her boyfriend Hayase, but Hayase acts reserved when she reunites with him. Omoi, a prominent Liberal Party politician, offers her a job at the party's newspaper. When Hayase is caught spying on the party for the government, she breaks ties with him and becomes Omoi's lover. Eiko and Omoi are arrested during the turmoils of the Chichibu incident and sentenced to several years' imprisonment, where Eiko witnesses the same abuse of the female inmates as before of the women labourers in the

textile mills Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods s ...

. After the 1889 amnesty of political prisoners, Omoi regroups the party, supported by Eiko. When Eiko is confronted with Omoi's adulterous behaviour, which he blatantly asks her to accept, she realises that he too still nurtures an attitude of male preeminence. She announces to leave him and return to Okayama to establish a school for young women, convinced that only proper education can lead to female liberation.

Cast

Kinuyo Tanaka was a Japanese actress and film director. She had a career lasting over 50 years with more than 250 acting credits, but was best known for her 15 films with director Kenji Mizoguchi, such as ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952) and ''Ugetsu'' (1953). W ...

as Eiko Hirayama *

Mitsuko Mito was a Japanese actress. She appeared in more than 150 films between 1935 and 1973 under the direction of filmmakers like Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujirō Ozu and Kaneto Shindō. Selected filmography * ''Wakadanna haru ranman'' (1935) – Girl stude ...

as Chiyo *

Kuniko Miyake was a Japanese actress. She appeared in nearly 200 films between 1934 and 1991. Career After graduating from Kuki High School, Miyake joined the Shochiku film studios in 1934 and made her film debut the same year with ''Yume no sasayaki''. She ...

as Toshiko Kishida *

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 Kentarō Omoi * Shinobu Araki as Eiko's father *

Sadako Sawamura was a Japanese actress. She appeared in more than 140 films between 1935 and 1985. Her brothers were the actors Daisuke Katō and Kunitarō Sawamura. Her autobiography, ''My Asakusa'', has been translated into English. Sawamura married fellow ...

as Governor *

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 Hayase *

Koreya Senda was a Japanese stage director, translator, and actor. He was born in Kanagawa Prefecture.CITWF. Koreya Senda< ...

as Inagaki *

Eijirō Tōno was a Japanese actor who, in a career lasting more than 50 years, appeared in over 400 television shows, nearly 250 films and numerous stage productions. He is best known in the West for his roles in films by Akira Kurosawa, such as ''Seven Samu ...

as Ito

Reception

In his ''Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors'', film scholar Alexander Jacoby rated ''Flame of My Love'' as one of "Mizoguchi's most outspoken films" and a "startling trenchant study of female emancipation" whose conclusion "remains unparalleled in Western popular film".

References

External links

* {{Kenji Mizoguchi 1949 films 1949 drama films Japanese drama films Japanese black-and-white films Films directed by Kenji Mizoguchi Films set in Tokyo 1940s Japanese-language films