(literally, " Rock, Paper and Scissors Girls") is a 1955 color ( Eastmancolor) Japanese

musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, but in some cases, they serve merely as breaks ...

, directed by

Toshio Sugie was a Japanese film director. He directed films from the 1940s to the 1960s. Career Sugie was born in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture (currently Shimizu Ward, Shizuoka City). After graduating from the Waseda University, Sugie joined P.C ...

. This is the first of the so-called "three girl" (''sannin musume'') series of films produced by Tōhō Studio, which involved teaming three popular young female stars of the period, employing a plot that portrayed their characters as best friends and recounted their romances and other adventures. This film was Toho's highest-grossing film of 1955.

Production design In film and television, the production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Wor ...

was made by

Shinobu Muraki was a Japanese production designer and art director. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Art Direction for her work in Akira Kurosawa's film ''Ran'' (1985). She was married to Yoshirō Muraki. Filmography (as production designer) ...

and the sound recordist was Masanobu Miyazaki.''Full cast and crew for Janken musume''
accessed 8 May 2009

Plot

Two high school girls, Ruri and Yumi, head to

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 ...

on a school field trip. The two try to take a picture on the

Kamo River The is located in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. The riverbanks are popular walking spots for residents and tourists. In summer, restaurants open balconies looking out to the river. There are walkways running alongside the river, and some stepping ...

, but they fall into the

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

and dry their clothes on the riverbank. There, they meets a young man and they photographed it. After that, they head to Gion, where Oshin's

teahouse A teahouse (mainly Asia) or tearoom (also tea room) is an establishment which primarily serves tea and other light refreshments. A tea room may be a room set aside in a hotel especially for serving afternoon tea, or may be an establishment whic ...

, which is a friend of Ruri's mother's faith, is located, and are introduced to Hinagiku and the three become friends. Hinagiku wants to meet a young male student named Saitō Matabei, who he met twice in a tatami room in Kyoto before welcoming a man she doesn't like as his husband. It turned out that they were in Izu after they searched together. The three of them try to go to

Izu Izu may refer to: Places *Izu Province, a part of modern-day Shizuoka prefecture in Japan **Izu, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka prefecture **Izu Peninsula, near Tokyo **Izu Islands, located off the Izu Peninsula People with the surname

*, Japane ...

, but Ruri gives up because of the opposition from his faith. Oshin was thinking of meeting Ruri's father, Kitajima, at Ruri's Japanese traditional dance

recital A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety an ...

. Due to the opposition of the surroundings, Oshin, who was a geisha, and Kitajima, a

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

, were separated, but Kitajima offered to meet Ruri before he was appointed as the French ambassador. Yumi and Hinagiku, who came to Izu with Ruri, met Saitō Matabei, but Saito was the same person as the young man who once photographed by Ruri and Yumi. After learning that Saito had already applied for marriage to Yumi's parents, Hinagiku returns to Kyoto with heartbreak. On the other hand, Saito, who learned about the circumstances of Hinagiku, consulted with his father, a businessman, and got money to help him free. And on the day of the concert, Mr. and Mrs. Kitajima, Yumi, Saito, and Hinagiku who have recovered from their heartbreak will also come to the venue. After finishing the dance, Ruri calls Kitajima his father for the first time and reunites without being particular about the history of their past. Janken musume poster

Cast

Hibari Misora was a Japanese singer, actress and cultural icon. She received a Medal of Honor for her contributions to music and for improving the welfare of the public, and was the first woman to receive the People's Honour Award, which was conferred posthu ...

as Ruri Asami * Chiemi Eri as Yumi Chigira *

Izumi Yukimura is a Japanese popular singer and actress. Yukimura made her debut with the song in 1953. Her style of singing varied from jazz to rock and roll. She became one of the three most popular female singers in the early postwar Japan, along with Chie ...

as Hinagiku *

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 t ...

as Oshin *

Minoru Takada Minoru is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *Minoru Arakawa (荒川實, born 1946), Japanese former president of Nintendo of America *Minoru Chiaki (千秋実, 1917–1999), Japanese actor *Minoru Fujita (� ...

as Kitajima * Atsuko Ichinomiya as Mrs. Kitajima *

Tatsuyoshi Ehara Tatsuyoshi (written: or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese speed skater *, Japanese baseball player Tatsuyoshi (written: ) is also a Japanese surname. Notable people with the surname include: ...

as Seiji Mori *Shinji Yamada as Saitō Matabei *

Yoshio Kosugi was a Japanese actor. He appeared in more than 120 films from 1924 to 1967. Career First appearing on stage as a shingeki actor, he was initially recognized for his role as Yasha in ''The Cherry Orchard''. He made his film debut in the 1920s ...

as Komei (Yumi's father) *

Yoshie Minami Yoshie is both a Japanese surname and a Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: ; Family name *, Japanese professional wrestler ; Given name *, Japanese tenor singer *, Japanese actress and singer *, Japanese popular pop singer- ...

as Kinko (Yumi's mother) *

Fumiko Okamura is a feminine Japanese given name. Possible writings *文子 (sentence, child) - also can be read as "Ayako" *富美子 or 冨美子 (wealthy beautiful child) *芙美子 (hibiscus, beautiful child) *史子 (historical child) People with the nam ...

as Ms. Kamezawa *

Akira Sera Akira may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Akira'' (franchise), a Japanese cyberpunk franchise ** ''Akira'' (manga), a 1980s cyberpunk manga by Katsuhiro Otomo ** ''Akira'' (1988 film), an anime film adaptation of the manga ** ''Akira'' (vide ...

as Professor Kuwahara *

Toranosuke Ogawa Toranosuke is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Toranosuke can be written using many different combinations of kanji characters. Some examples: *虎之介, "tiger, of, mediate" *虎之助, "tiger, of, help" *虎之輔, "tiger, o ...

as Shigebei Saito *

Shin Tatsuoka Shin may refer to: Biology * The front part of the human leg below the knee * Shinbone, the tibia, the larger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates Names * Shin (given name) (Katakana: シン, Hiragana: しん), a Japanese gi ...

as Sumura * Kazuo Fukuda as Sakai * Toki Shiozawa as Dance instructor * Sadako Sawamura as Oine

References

External links

* * {{in lang, ja http://www010.upp.so-net.ne.jp/tohoscope/jyanken.html 1955 films Films directed by Toshio Sugie 1955 musical comedy films Japanese romantic musical films Japanese musical comedy films Toho films 1950s romantic musical films 1950s Japanese films 1950s Japanese-language films