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 , also titled ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum'' and ''The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums'', is a 1939 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. Based on a short story by Shōfu Muramatsu, it follows an onnagata (male actor speciali ...

'' (1939), ''

The Life of Oharu is a 1952 Japanese historical fiction film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi from a screenplay by Yoshikata Yoda. It stars Kinuyo Tanaka as Oharu, a one-time concubine of a ''daimyō'' (and mother of a later ''daimyō'') who struggles to escape the s ...

'' (1952), ''

Ugetsu , is a 1953 Japanese historical drama and fantasy film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi starring Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyō. It is based on two stories in Ueda Akinari's 1776 book of the same name, combining elements of the '' jidaigeki'' ( ...

'' (1953), and '' Sansho the Bailiff'' (1954), with the latter three all being awarded at the Venice International Film Festival. A recurring theme of his films was the oppression of women in historical and contemporary Japan. Together with

Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dyna ...

and

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in t ...

, Mizoguchi is seen as a representative of the "golden age" of Japanese cinema.

Biography

Early years

Mizoguchi was born in

Hongō, Tokyo is a district of Tokyo located in Bunkyō, due north of the Tokyo Imperial Palace and west of Ueno. History Hongō was a ward of the former city of Tokyo until 1947, when it merged with another ward, Koishikawa, to form the modern Bunkyō. ...

, as the second of three children, to Zentaro Miguchi, a roofing carpenter, and his wife Masa. The family's background was relatively humble until the father's failed business venture of selling raincoats to the Japanese troops during the

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. The family was forced to move to the downtown district of

Asakusa is a district in Taitō, Tokyo, Japan. It is known as the location of the Sensō-ji, a Buddhist temple dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. There are several other temples in Asakusa, as well as various festivals, such as the . History The ...

and gave Mizoguchi's older sister Suzu up for adoption, which in effect meant selling her into the

geisha {{Culture of Japan, Traditions, Geisha {{nihongo, Geisha, 芸者 ({{IPAc-en, ˈ, ɡ, eɪ, ʃ, ə; {{IPA-ja, ɡeːɕa, lang), also known as {{nihongo, , 芸子, geiko (in Kyoto and Kanazawa) or {{nihongo, , 芸妓, geigi, are a class of female J ...

profession. In 1911, Mizoguchi's parents, too poor to continue paying for their son's primary school training, sent him to stay with an uncle in

Morioka is the capital city of Iwate Prefecture located in the Tōhoku region of northern Japan. On 1 February 2021, the city had an estimated population of 290,700 in 132,719 households, and a population density of . The total area of the city is . G ...

in northern Japan for a year, where he finished primary school. His return coincided with an onset of crippling

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are invol ...

, which left him with a walking gait for the rest of his life. In 1913, his sister Suzu secured him an apprenticeship as a designer for a

yukata A is an unlined cotton summer kimono, worn in casual settings such as summer festivals and to nearby bathhouses. Originally worn as bathrobes, their modern use is much broader, and are a common sight in Japan during summer. Though are traditio ...

manufacturer, and in 1915, after the mother's death, she brought both her younger brothers into her own house. Mizoguchi enrolled for a course at the Aoibashi Yoga Kenkyuko art school in Tokyo, which taught Western painting techniques, and developed an interest in opera, particularly at the Royal Theatre at Akasaka where he helped the set decorators with set design and construction. In 1917, his sister again helped him to find work, this time as an advertisement designer with the ''Yuishin Nippon'' newspaper in Kobe. The film critic

Tadao Sato was a Japanese film critic, theorist and historian. His real name was . Overviews Born in Niigata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, He published more than a hundred books on film, and was one of Japan's foremost scholars and historians addressin ...

has pointed out a coincidence between Mizoguchi's life in his early years and the plots of dramas, which characteristically documented the sacrifices made by geisha on behalf of the young men they were involved with. Probably because of his familial circumstances, "the subject of women's suffering is fundamental in all his work; while sacrifice – in particular, the sacrifice a sister makes for a brother – makes a key showing in a number of his films, including some of the greatest ones (''Sansho the Bailiff/Sansho Dayu''

954 Year 954 ( CMLIV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Spring – A Hungarian army led by Bulcsú crosses the Rhine. He camps at Worms in th ...

for example)." After less than a year in Kobe, however, Mizoguchi returned "to the bohemian delights of Tokyo" (Mark Le Fanu). In 1920, Mizoguchi entered the film industry as an assistant director at the

Nikkatsu is a Japanese entertainment company known for its film and television productions. It is Japan's oldest major movie studio, founded in 1912 during the silent film era. The name ''Nikkatsu'' amalgamates the words Nippon Katsudō Shashin, literally ...

studios in Mukojima, Tokyo. Three years later, he gave his directorial debut with ''Ai ni yomigaeru hi'' (''The Resurrection of Love'').

Film career

After the 1923 earthquake in Tokyo, Mizoguchi moved to Nikkatsu's studios in

Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese language, 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, Keihanshin metropolitan area along wi ...

. His early works included remakes of German Expressionist cinema and adaptations of

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Nobel Prize in Literature, literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama tech ...

and

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

. While working in Kyoto, he studied

kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance- drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is though ...

and

noh is a major form of classical Japanese dance-drama that has been performed since the 14th century. Developed by Kan'ami and his son Zeami, it is the oldest major theatre art that is still regularly performed today. Although the terms Noh and ' ...

theatre, and traditional Japanese dance and music. He was also a frequent visitor of the tea houses, dance halls and brothels in Kyoto and

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, which at one time resulted in a widely covered incident of him being attacked by a jealous prostitute and then-lover with a razor. His 1926 ''Passion of a Woman Teacher'' (''Kyōren no onna shishō'') was one of a handful of Japanese films shown in France and Germany at the time and received considerate praise, but is nowadays lost like most of his 1920s and early 1930s films. By the end of the decade, Mizoguchi directed a series of left-leaning "

tendency film is a genre of socially conscious, left-leaning films produced in Japan during the 1920s and 1930s. Tendency films reflected a perceived leftward shift in Japanese society in the aftermath of the 1927 Shōwa financial crisis. Japan's left-wing l ...

s", including ''

Tokyo March 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 ...

'' and ''Metropolitan Symphony'' (''Tokai kokyōkyoku''). In 1932, Mizoguchi left Nikkatsu and worked for a variety of studios and production companies. ''

The Water Magician is a 1933 Japanese silent drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It is based on the story of the same name by Kyōka Izumi. Plot Tomo, called "Shiraito", is a "mizugei" (water arts presented by a performer) artist touring with a circus troupe ...

'' (1933) and ''

Orizuru Osen , also titled ''The Downfall of Osen'', is a 1935 Japanese silent film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi starring Isuzu Yamada. It is based on a short story by Kyōka Izumi. Plot While waiting for a delayed train at a train station, Sōkichi Hata, a me ...

'' (1935) were melodramas based on stories by

Kyōka Izumi , real name , was a Japanese author of novels, short stories, and kabuki plays who was active during the prewar period. Kyōka's writing differed greatly from that of the naturalist writers who dominated the literary scene at the time. Many of ...

, depicting women who sacrifice themselves to secure a poor young man's education. Both have been cited as early examples of his reccurring theme of female concerns and " one-scene-one-shot" camera technique, which would become his trademark. The 1936 diptych of ''

Osaka Elegy is a 1936 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It forms a diptych with Mizoguchi's ''Sisters of the Gion'' which shares much of the same cast and production team, and is considered an early masterpiece in the director's career. Plot S ...

'' and '' Sisters of the Gion'', about modern young women ( moga) rebelling against their surroundings, is considered to be his early masterpiece. Mizoguchi himself named these two films as the works with which he achieved artistic maturity. ''Osaka Elegy'' was also his first full sound film, and marked the beginning of his long collaboration with screenwriter

Yoshikata Yoda (14 April 1909 – 14 November 1991) was a Japanese screenwriter. He wrote for more than 130 films between 1931 and 1989. He is most famous for his work with Kenji Mizoguchi. He wrote for the film ''Bushido, Samurai Saga'', which won the Go ...

. 1939, the year when Mizoguchi became president of the Directors Guild of Japan, saw the release of ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums'', which is regarded by many critics as his major pre-war, if not his best work. Here, a young woman supports her partner's struggle to achieve artistic maturity as a kabuki actor at the price of her health. During

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 opposing ...

, Mizoguchi made a series of films whose patriotic nature seemed to support the war effort. The most famous of these is a retelling of the classic

samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

tale '' The 47 Ronin'' (1941–42), an epic

jidaigeki is a genre of film, television, video game, and theatre in Japan. Literally meaning "period dramas", they are most often set during the Edo period of Japanese history, from 1603 to 1868. Some, however, are set much earlier—'' Portrait of H ...

(historical drama). While some historians see these as works which he had been pressured into, others believe him to have acted voluntarily. Fellow screenwriter

Matsutarō Kawaguchi was a Japanese writer of short stories, novels, dramas and screenplays. He repeatedly collaborated on the films of director Kenji Mizoguchi. Biography Kawaguchi was born in the plebeian Asakusa district of Tokyo into an impoverished family. He ...

went as far as, in an 1964 interview for Cahiers du Cinéma, calling Mizoguchi (whom he otherwise held in high regards) an "opportunist" in his art who followed the currents of the time, veering from the left to the

right Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical ...

to finally become a democrat. 1941 also saw the permanent hospitalisation of his wife Chieko (m. 1927), whom he erroneously believed to have contracted with venereal disease.

International recognition

During the early post-war years following the country's defeat, Mizoguchi directed a series of films concerned with the oppression of women and female emancipation both in historical (mostly the Meiji era) and contemporary settings. All of these were written or co-written by Yoda, and often starred

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 ...

, who remained his regular leading actress until 1954, when both fell out with each other over Mizoguchi's attempt to prevent her from directing her first own film. '' Utamaro and His Five Women'' (1946) was a notable exception of an

Edo era The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characte ...

jidaigeki film made during the

Occupation Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's role in society, often a regular activity performed for payment *Occupation (protest), political demonstration by holding public or symbolic spaces *Military occupation, th ...

, as this genre was seen as being inherently

nationalistic Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: T ...

militaristic Militarism is the belief or the desire of a government or a people that a state should maintain a strong military capability and to use it aggressively to expand national interests and/or values. It may also imply the glorification of the mili ...

by the Allied censors. Of his works of this period, '' Flame of My Love'' (1949) has repeatedly been pointed out for its unflinching presentation of its subject. Tanaka plays a young teacher who leaves her traditionalist milieu to strive for her goal of female liberation, only to find out that her allegedly progressive partner still nourishes the accustomed attitude of male preeminence. Mizoguchi returned to feudal era settings with ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952), ''Ugetsu'' (1953) and ''Sansho the Bailiff'' (1954), which won him international recognition, in particular by the ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' critics such as Jean-Luc Godard,

Eric Rohmer The given name Eric, Erich, Erikk, Erik, Erick, or Eirik is derived from the Old Norse name ''Eiríkr'' (or ''Eríkr'' in Old East Norse due to monophthongization). The first element, ''ei-'' may be derived from the older Proto-Norse ''* ain ...

and

Jacques Rivette Jacques Rivette (; 1 March 1928 – 29 January 2016) was a French film director and film critic most commonly associated with the French New Wave and the film magazine '' Cahiers du Cinéma''. He made twenty-nine films, including '' L'amour f ...

, and were awarded at the Venice Film Festival. While ''The Life of Oharu'' follows the social decline of a woman banished from the Imperial court during the Edo era, ''Ugetsu'' and ''Sansho the Bailiff'' examine the brutal effects of war and reigns of violence on small communities and families. In between these three films, he directed ''

A Geisha is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, centred on the geisha milieu in post-war Gion, Kyoto. It is based on a novel by Matsutarō Kawaguchi. Plot Eiko is in the search of the okiya (geisha house) run by the geisha Miyoharu. ...

'' (1953) about the pressures put upon women working in Kyoto's post-war pleasure district. After two historical films shot in colour ('' Tales of the Taira Clan'' and ''

Princess Yang Kwei Fei is a 1955 Japanese historical film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It was a co-production between Daiei Film and Shaw & Sons, Hong Kong (later Shaw Brothers). It is one of Mizoguchi's two colour films, the other being '' Tales of the Taira Clan'', ...

'', both 1955), Mizoguchi once more explored a contemporary milieu (a brothel in the Yoshiwara district) in black-and-white format with his last film, the 1956 ''

Street of Shame is a 1956 black-and-white Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It is the personal tales of several Japanese women of different backgrounds who work together in a brothel. It was Mizoguchi's last film. The film is based on the novel '' Su ...

''. Mizoguchi died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

at the age of 58 in the Kyoto Municipal Hospital. At the time of his death, Mizoguchi was working on the script of ''

An Osaka Story is a 1957 black-and-white Japanese historical drama film directed by Kōzaburō Yoshimura. The film had originally been planned by Kenji Mizoguchi, who had adapted several stories by Saikaku Ihara into a script. After Mizoguchi's death, the pro ...

'', which was later realised by

Kōzaburō Yoshimura was a Japanese film director. Biography Born in Shiga Prefecture, he joined the Shōchiku studio in 1929. He debuted as director in 1934, but continued working as an assistant director for such filmmakers as Yasujirō Ozu and Yasujirō Shim ...

Legacy

In 1975,

Kaneto Shindō was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, film producer, and writer, who directed 48 films and wrote scripts for 238. His best known films as a director include ''Children of Hiroshima'', ''The Naked Island'', '' Onibaba'', ''Kuroneko'' an ...

, a set designer, chief assistant director and scenarist for Mizoguchi in the late 1930s and 1940s, released a documentary about his former mentor, '' Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director'', as well as publishing a book on him in 1976. Already with his autobiographical debut film ''

Story of a Beloved Wife is a 1951 Japanese drama film written and directed by Kaneto Shindo. It was Shindo's debut film as a director. It is an autobiographical work based on Shindo's first marriage. Jūkichi Uno stars as a struggling screenwriter, and Nobuko Otowa st ...

'' (1951), Shindō had paid reference to Mizoguchi in the shape of the character "Sakaguchi", a director who nurtures a young aspiring screenwriter. Mizoguchi's films have regularly appeared in "best film" polls, such as ''

Sight & Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing ...

's'' "The 100 Greatest Films of All Time" (''Ugetsu'' and ''Sansho the Bailiff'') and

Kinema Junpo , commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ha ...

's "Kinema Junpo Critics' Top 200" (''The Life of Oharu'', ''Ugetsu'' and ''The Crucified Lovers''). A retrospective of his 30 extant films, presented by the

Museum of the Moving Image The Museum of the Moving Image is a media museum located in a former building of the historic Astoria Studios (now Kaufman Astoria Studios), in the Astoria neighborhood in Queens, New York City. The museum originally opened in 1988 as the Amer ...

and the Japan Foundation, toured several American cities in 2014. Among the directors who have admired Mizoguchi's work are Akira Kurosawa,

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

, Andrei Tarkovsky,

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with u ...

Theo Angelopoulos Theodoros "Theo" Angelopoulos (; ; 27 April 1935 – 24 January 2012) was a Greek filmmaker, screenwriter and film producer. He dominated the Greek art film industry from 1975 on, and Angelopoulos was one of the most influential and widely re ...

and many others.

Filmography

Lost films (except where noted) * 1923: ''The Resurrection of Love'' (''Ai ni yomigaeru hi'') * 1923: ''Hometown'' (''Kokyō'') * 1923: ''Dreams of Youth'' (''Seishun no yumeji'') * 1923: ''City of Desire'' (''Joen no chimata'') * 1923: ''Song of Failure'' (''Haisan no uta wa kanashi'') * 1923: ''813: The Adventures of Arsène Lupin'' (''813'') * 1923: ''Foggy Harbour'' (''Kiri no minato'') * 1923: ''The Night'' (''Yoru'') * 1923: ''In the Ruins'' (''Haikyo no naka'') * 1923: ''Blood and Soul'' (''Chi to rei'') * 1923: ''Song of the Mountain Pass'' (''Tōge no uta'') * 1924: ''The Sad Idiot'' (''Kanashiki hakuchi'') * 1924: ''Death at Dawn'' (''Aka tsuki no shi'') * 1924: ''Queen of Modern Times'' (''Gendai no joō'') * 1924: ''Strong is the Female'' (''Jose wa tsuyoshi'') * 1924: ''This Dusty World'' (''Jinkyō'') * 1924: ''Turkeys in a Row'' (''Shichimenchō no yukue'') * 1924: ''The Death of a Police Officer'' (''Itō junsa no shi'') co-direction * 1924: ''Chronicle of the May Rain'' (''Samidare zōshi'') * 1924: ''Love-Breaking Axe'' (''Koi o tatsu ono'') co-direction * 1924: ''Kanraku no onna'' (''A Woman of Pleasure'') * 1924: ''Queen of the Circus'' (''Kyokubadan no Jo'') * 1925: ''Ah, Special Battleship Kanto'' (''Ā tokumukan Kanto'') co-direction * 1925: ''Uchien Puchan'' * 1925: ''Out of College'' (''Gakusō o idete'') * 1925: ''The Earth Smiles: Part 1'' (''Daichi wa hohoemu: Daiichibu'') * 1925: ''The White Lily Laments'' (''Shirayuki wa nageku'') * 1925: ''Shining in the Red Sunset'' (''Akai yūki ni terasarete'') * 1925: ''The Song of Home'' (''Furusato no uta'') Earliest extant film * 1925: ''Street Sketches'' (''Shōhin eigashū: Machi no suketchi'') co-direction * 1925: ''Human Being'' (''Ningen'') * 1925: ''General Nogi and Kuma-San'' (''Nogi Taisho to Kuma-San'') * 1926: ''The Copper Coin King'' (''Dōkaō'') * 1926: ''A Paper Doll's Whisper of Spring'' (''Kaminingyō haru no sasayaki'') * 1926: ''My Faultn New Version'' (''Shinsetsu ono ga tsumi'') * 1926: ''Passion of a Woman Teacher'' (''Kyōren no onna shishō'') * 1926: ''The Boy of the Sea'' (''Kaikoku danji'') * 1926: ''Money'' (''Kane'') * 1927: ''The Imperial Grace'' (''Kōon'') * 1927: ''The Cuckoo'' (''Jihishinchō'') * 1928: ''A Man's Life: Money is Everything in Life'' (''Hito no isshō: Jinsei banji kane no maki'') * 1928: ''A Man's Life: This Floating World is Hard'' (''Hito no isshō: Ukiyo wa tsurai ne no maki'') * 1928: ''A Man's Life: Bear and Tiger Meet Again'' (''Hito no isshō: Kuma to tora saikai no maki'') * 1928: ''My Lovely Daughter'' (''Musume kawaiya'') * 1929: ''Bridge of Japan'' (''Nihonbashi'') * 1929: '' The Morning Sun Shines'' (''Asahi wa kagayaku'') co-direction Few minutes preserved * 1929: ''

'' (''Tōkyō kōshinkyoku'') Few minutes preserved * 1929: ''Metropolitan Symphony'' (''Tokai kokyōkyoku'') * 1930: ''Hometown'' (''Fujiwara Yoshie no furusato'') Extant film * 1930: '' Okichi, Mistress of a Foreigner'' (''Tōjin Okichi'') Few minutes preserved * 1931: ''And Yet They Go On'' (''Shikamo karera wa yuku'') * 1932: ''The Man of the Moment'' (''Toki no ujigami'') * 1932: ''The Dawn of Manchuria and Mongolia'' (''Manmō kenkoku no reimei'') * 1933: ''

'' (''Taki no shiraito'') Extant film * 1933: ''Gion Festival'' (''Gion matsuri'') * 1934: ''The Jinpu Group'' (''Jimpūren'') * 1934: '' The Mountain Pass of Love and Hate'' (''Aizō tōge'') Extant films (except where noted) * 1935: '' The Downfall of Osen'' (''Orizuru Osen'') * 1935: ''Oyuki the Virgin'' (マリヤのお雪, ''Mariya no Oyuki'') * 1935: ''The Poppy'' (''Gubijinsō'') * 1936: ''

'' (''Naniwa erejī'') * 1936: '' Sisters of the Gion'' (''Gion no kyōdai'') * 1937: ''The Straits of Love and Hate'' (愛怨峡, ''Aien kyō'') * 1938: ''Song of the Camp'' (''Roei no uta'') * 1939: ''

'' (''Zangiku monogatari'') * 1940: ''A Woman of Osaka'' (''Naniwa onna'') Lost film * 1941: ''The Life of an Actor'' (''Geidō Ichidai Otoko'') * 1941–42: '' The 47 Ronin'' a.k.a. ''The Loyal 47 Ronin of the Genroku Era'' (''Genroku chūshingura'') * 1944: ''Three Generations of Danjuro'' (''Danjurō sandai'') * 1944: ''Miyamoto Musashi'' (宮本武蔵) * 1945: ''The Famous Sword'' (名刀美女丸 ''Meitō Bijomaru'') * 1945: ''Victory Song'' (''Hisshōka'') co-direction with

Masahiro Makino was a Japanese film director. He directed more than 260 films, primarily in the chanbara and yakuza genres. His real name was , but he took the stage name Masahiro, the kanji for which he changed multiple times (including , , and ). Career Masa ...

and Hiroshi Shimizu * 1946: ''Victory of Women'' (女性の勝利, ''Josei no shōri'') * 1946: '' Utamaro and His Five Women'' (''Utamaro o meguru gonin no onna'') * 1947: '' The Love of Sumako the Actress'' (''Joyū Sumako no koi'') * 1948: ''Women of the Night'' (夜の女たち, ''Yoru no onnatachi'') * 1949: '' Flame of My Love'' (''Waga koi wa moenu'') * 1950: ''

Portrait of Madame Yuki , also titled ''A Picture of Madame Yuki'', is a 1950 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. Plot Yuki Shinano, a descendant of the once powerful Shinano family, is living in an unhappy marriage with her husband Naoyuki. Although he tr ...

'' a.k.a. ''A Picture of Madame Yuki'' (''Yuki fujin ezu'') * 1951: '' Miss Oyu'' (''Oyū-sama'') * 1951: ''

The Lady of Musashino is a 1951 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It is based on the novel by Shōhei Ōoka. Plot Michiko Akiyama is married to Tadao Akiyama, a college professor but a vulgar man with a lower-class background. Towards the end of World W ...

'' (''Musashino fujin'') * 1952: ''

'' (''Saikaku ichidai onna'') * 1953: ''

'' (''Ugetsu monogatari'') * 1953: ''

'' a.k.a. ''Gion Festival Music'' (''Gion bayashi'') * 1954: '' Sansho the Bailiff'' (''Sanshō dayū'') * 1954: '' The Woman in the Rumor'' a.k.a. ''The Crucified Woman'' (''Uwasa no onna'') * 1954: ''

The Crucified Lovers is a 1954 Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It was adapted from Monzaemon Chikamatsu's 1715 bunraku play ''Daikyōji Mukashi Goyomi''. The film was presented at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival, Plot Mohei is an apprentice to Ishun, t ...

'' a.k.a. ''A Story from Chikamatsu'' (''Chikamatsu monogatari'') * 1955: ''

'' (''Yōkihi'') * 1955: '' Tales of the Taira Clan'' (''Shin heike monogatari'') * 1956: ''

'' (''Akasen chitai'')

Home media releases (English subtitled)

* ''Late Mizoguchi'' (''Oyū-sama, Ugetsu monogatari, Gion bayashi, Sanshō dayū, Uwasa no onna, Chikamatsu monogatari, Yōkihi, Akasen chitai'') – Eureka! Masters of Cinema (region B Blu-ray) * ''The Mizoguchi Collection'' (''Osaka Elegy, Sisters of the Gion, The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum, Utamaro and His Five Women'') – Artificial Eye (region B Blu-ray, region 2 PAL DVD) * ''Kenji Mizoguchi's Fallen Women'' (''Osaka Elegy, Sisters of the Gion, Women of the Night, Street of Shame'') –

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

(region 1 NTSC) * ''The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum'' (''Zangiku monogatari'', 1939) – Artificial Eye (region B Blu-ray), Shochiku Home Video (Region A Blu-ray), The Criterion Collection (region 1 NTSC DVD, region A Blu-ray) * ''The 47 Ronin'' (''Genroku chūshingura'', 1941) –

Image Entertainment RLJ Entertainment (formerly Image Entertainment) is an American film production company and home video distributor, distributing film and television productions in North America, with approximately 3,200 exclusive DVD titles and approximately 34 ...

(region 0 NTSC DVD), UniOne Media (Region 0 NTSC DVD) * ''The Lady of Musashino'' (''Musashino fujin'', 1951) – Artificial Eye (region 2 PAL) * ''The Life of Oharu'' (''Saikaku ichidai onna'', 1952) – Artificial Eye (region 2 PAL DVD), The Criterion Collection (region 1 NTSC DVD, region A or B Blu-ray) * ''Ugetsu monogatari'' (1953) – Bo Ying (Region 0 PAL DVD), Eureka! Masters of Cinema (region 2 NTSC DVD, region B Blu-ray), The Criterion Collection (region 1 NTSC DVD, region A Blu-ray) * ''Chikamatsu monogatari'' (1954) - Eureka! Masters of Cinema (region 2 NTSC DVD) * ''Talking Silents 1'' (''The Water Magician'', ''Tokyo March'') – Digital MEME (region 2 NTSC DVD) * ''Talking Silents 2'' (''The Downfall of Osen'', ''Okichi, Mistress of a Foreigner'') – Digital MEME (region 2 NTSC DVD)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mizoguchi, Kenji 1898 births 1956 deaths Japanese film directors Recipients of the Medal with Purple Ribbon Recipients of the Order of the Sacred Treasure, 4th class Samurai film directors Converts to Buddhism