The Life of Oharu
The Life of Oharu • 2h 16m
Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi • 1952 • Japan
Starring Kinuyo Tanaka, Toshiro Mifune, Masao Shimizu
A peerless chronicler of the soul who specialized in supremely emotional, visually exquisite films about the circumstances of women in Japanese society, Kenji Mizoguchi had already been directing movies for decades when he made THE LIFE OF OHARU in 1952. But this epic portrait of an inexorable fall from grace, starring the astounding Kinuyo Tanaka as an imperial lady-in-waiting who gradually descends to street prostitution, was the movie that gained the director international attention, ushering in a new golden period for him.
Up Next in The Life of Oharu
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Dudley Andrew on THE LIFE OF OHARU
This 2013 illustrated audio essay, written and narrated by film scholar Dudley Andrew, explores director Kenji Mizoguchi’s interest in the theater, art, and fiction of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Japan, and locates the roots of his idea for the adaptation THE LIFE OF OHARU in his second p...
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The Travels of Kinuyo Tanaka
In October 1949, actor Kinuyo Tanaka embarked on a three-month tour of America as an envoy of the arts, visiting Hawaii, California, and points east. This 2009 film by director Koko Kajiyama documents Tanaka’s momentous and controversial journey through archival footage and photos.
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THE LIFE OF OHARU Commentary
Recorded in 2013, this commentary by film scholar Dudley Andrew plays over the first 28 minutes of THE LIFE OF OHARU.
