The Tale of Oiwa’s Ghost – Radiance

Director: Tai Katô
Screenplay: Tai Katô
Based on a Novel by: Nanboku Tsuruya
Starring: Tomisaburô Wakayama, Jûshirô Konoe, Ayuko Fujishiro,
Sentarô Fushimi, Hiroko Sakuramachi, Yumiko Mihara, Sawamura Sōjūrō IX
Country: Japan
Running Time: 94 min
Year: 1961
BBFC Certificate: 15

Towards the end of last year, Radiance Films released a box set entitled ‘Daiei Gothic: Japanese Ghost Stories’. It housed a trio of spooky classics from the Japanese studio, including one directed by Kenji Misumi called The Ghost of Yotsuya. This was an adaptation of what could arguably be called Japan’s most famous ghost story, ‘Tōkaidō Yotsuya Kaidan’ (which translates as ‘Ghost Story of Yotsuya in Tokaido’). This originated (or at least was first recorded) from a kabuki play by Tsuruya Nanboku IV, written in 1825.

The play has been adapted into films around 30 times, and Radiance are releasing another one of these versions on Blu-ray, this time as a standalone release. The film, directed by Tai Katô, is entitled The Tale of Oiwa’s Ghost, and it was released in 1961, just two years after Misumi’s The Ghost of Yotsuya.

Having enjoyed that earlier version of the story and being impressed by all of Katô’s work I’ve seen so far, I picked up a copy of The Tale of Oiwa’s Ghost and my thoughts follow.

The film centres on Tamiya Iemon (Tomisaburô Wakayama), a hot-tempered samurai who has fallen on hard times. His wife, Oiwa (Ayuko Fujishiro), has left him and gone back to her parents after he committed a murder. Desperate to reunite with her, Iemon conspires with his cunning friend Naosuke (Jûshirô Konoe).

Meanwhile, Oiwa’s impoverished father sells her sister Osode (Hiroko Sakuramachi) into indentured servitude, unwittingly to a brothel. This is much to the despair of Satô Yomoshichi (Sawamura Sōjūrō IX), the man she had promised to marry. Iemon and Naosuke (who has long harboured a desire for Osode) use this situation to their benefit. Iemon murders Oiwa’s father and feigns sorrow, convincing Oiwa that unknown samurai are responsible and swearing vengeance. Naosuke, believing he has killed Yomoshichi during the same skirmish, also gets what he wants and marries Osode.

* The following two paragraphs might be seen as being too much of a spoiler, coming about two-thirds of the way into the film, so those not familiar with the ‘Ghost Story of Yotsuya’ story should skip ahead.

Oiwa returns to Iemon, but their reunion is short-lived. When an attractive woman named Oume (Yumiko Mihara) moves nearby, Iemon loses interest in Oiwa and concocts a cruel plan to be rid of her. He arranges for Oiwa to be given a disfiguring poison disguised as a cure for her ill health. Horribly scarred, Oiwa realises her husband’s deception but dies amidst a torrent of despair and rage. Not before cursing Iemon with her dying breath, that is.

Oiwa’s vengeful spirit, an onryo, goes on to wreak havoc on those who wronged her.

I couldn’t help but compare The Tale of Oiwa’s Ghost with The Ghost of Yotsuya, as I saw them only seven months apart and they’re based on the same source material. I imagine a lot of people interested in this release will have picked up the Daiei Gothic set too, so I’m going to go ahead and make comparisons here.

I’ll start by saying that I preferred Katô’s take on the material. The Ghost of Yotsuya feels a little more classical and stagey in approach, whereas the later version is tougher and more uncompromising. This is evident straight from the offset, with some blunt talk from Iemon and Naosuke about Oiwa. Soon after, we see Osode being sold to a brothel, whilst she exclaims that the clients “will get what they pay for”. Naosuke then talks about how he’s always wanted Oiwa’s sister for his own, so Iemon suggests he pay for her that night. All this frank and eye-opening behaviour is a far cry from the relatively buttoned-up period dramas of the past that thrived on themes of honour.

Iemon is a much more unpleasant character here too. In The Ghost of Yotsuya, you’re able to show a little sympathy towards him, but not in The Tale of Oiwa’s Ghost. He’s constantly plotting and scheming to get what he wants, whilst treating Oiwa like dirt. Naosuke can be pretty despicable too, but he has a redemptive arc by the end, which steers the film away from being relentlessly grim, alongside Osode’s tale.

Being shot in black and white, where Misumi’s film was in colour, The Tale of Oiwa’s Ghost has a more raw and stripped-back quality, aided by the more vicious nature of its characters. That’s not to say the film looks rough and ready though. There’s great use of camera movement throughout and some highly atmospheric low-key lighting.

The story’s famous ‘transformation scene’, if you can call it that, is largely done in a long take, as we see the poison take hold of Oiwa. It makes for deeply uncomfortable viewing and allows actress Ayuko Fujishiro a chance to show what she’s capable of.

Speaking of the cast, the legendary Tomisaburô Wakayama excels in the lead role of Iemon. He can get a bit over-the-top in other films I’ve seen him in, but here, whilst his character has some wild outbursts, Wakayama shows great range. He gets some powerful physical beats as well as a couple of more internalised struggles.

I will say, I struggled to get into the film, initially. Though I roughly knew the story from the previous adaptation, the way you’re thrown in at the start of The Tale of Oiwa’s Ghost, jumping between characters without much introduction, was a little disorientating. Plus, some details are different in this version, which confused me at first. Skimming over the first few scenes again though, ready for this review, I think I perhaps wasn’t concentrating hard enough or was distracted by my comparing it to the earlier film.

Anyway, by the end, I felt that The Tale of Oiwa’s Ghost was a visually striking, visceral and intense spin on a classic tale. Comparing it with the earlier version of the story provided a fine example of Tai Katô’s great skill behind the camera.

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