Anzukko

Anzukko
Anzukko
Japanese	杏っ子
Directed by	Mikio Naruse
Written by	Mikio Naruse; Sumie Tanaka; Saisei Murō (novel);
Produced by	Tomoyuki Tanaka
Starring	Sō Yamamura; Kyōko Kagawa; Isao Kimura; Shizue Natsukawa;
Cinematography	Masao Tamai
Edited by	Eiji Ooi
Music by	Ichirō Saitō
Production; company	Toho
Distributed by	Toho
Release date	May 13, 1958;
Running time	109 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Anzukko (杏っ子, Anzukko) is a 1958 Japanese drama film directed by Mikio Naruse.^[1]^[2] It is based on a novel by Saisei Murō.^[3]

Plot[]

Shortly after the war in rural Japan, Kyoko, daughter of successful writer Hirayama, rejects several marriage prospects before taking Ryokichi, a local resident who runs a small used book store, as her husband. A few years into the marriage, Kyoko has to start selling parts of the household, as the manuscripts of Ryokichi, who is ambitious to become a novelist, keep getting returned by publishers. Yagihara, a magazine editor and acquaintance of Hirayama, outspokenly tells Ryokichi that his work lacks originality and an elaborate style. Kyoko suggests that Ryokichi shows his manuscripts to her father, but he declines, arguing that it is Hirayama's overpowering presence which hinders him in his writing. Ryokichi's behaviour becomes increasingly erratic due to his drinking, and the couple's financial and emotional situation worsens. Kyoko repeatedly leaves her home to stay at her father's place, but insists that a divorce is the final resort. When Kyoko again returns to Ryokichi, the mother asks Hirayama if they shouldn't split up. Hirayama replies, only when Kyoko comes home exhausted and can't go on anymore, the time to split up has come.

Cast[]

Sō Yamamura as Heishiro Hirayama
Kyōko Kagawa as Kyoko
Isao Kimura as Ryokichi, Kyoko's husband
Shizue Natsukawa as Rieko, Hirayama's wife
Hiroshi Tachikawa as Heinosuke, Hirayama's son
Chieko Nakakita as Sumiko Urushiyama
Mina Mitsui as Risako Yamamoto
Nobuo Nakamura as Toshio Yagihara
Keiju Kobayashi as Tayama
Daisuke Katō as Suga, the poet
Natsuko Kahara as Enko Murai
Sadako Sawamura as Mrs. Hatoi
Kenji Sahara as Mrs. Hatoi's son
Hiroshi Hayashi as Dr. Sato
Minoru Chiaki as Saburo Yoshida
Teruko Mita as Sachiko Yoshida
Yoshio Tsuchiya as Ishima
Yū Fujiki as Okada

Reception[]

Slant Magazine calls the film "a loving portrait of a woman tragically caught between her wants and her responsibilities, fated to tread a potentially never-ending path between the trials of her marriage and the refuge of her past."^[4]

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "杏っ子 (Anzukko)". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 May 2021.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "杏っ子 (Anzukko)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 May 2021.
^ Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Lanham, Toronto, Plymouth: Scarecrow Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-8108-6004-9.
^ Uhlich, Keith. "Review: Anzukko". Slant. Retrieved 11 May 2021.

External links[]

Anzukko at IMDb

[jmdb-1] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "杏っ子 (Anzukko)". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 May 2021.

[kinenote-2] Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c "杏っ子 (Anzukko)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 May 2021.

[Galbraith-3] Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Lanham, Toronto, Plymouth: Scarecrow Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-8108-6004-9.

[4] Uhlich, Keith. "Review: Anzukko". Slant. Retrieved 11 May 2021.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]