- Release year: 1959
- Director: Nobuo Naka.
- Producer: Mitsugu Ôkura.
- Screenplay by: Masayoshi Ônuki, Yoshihiro Ishikawa and Nanboku Tsuruya.
- Cinematography by: Tadashi Nishimoto.
- Music by: Chumei Watanabe.
Synopsis: a woman gets poisoned by another woman who wants to marry the husband of the first. Her vengeance will be swift and efficient.
Shotgun Commentary: melodrama for an hour, awesome ghost revenge for 20 minutes.
Review
The Ghost of Yotsuya follows a poor, jobless samurai as he tries to get a job, only to be seduced by a woman who is not his wife and lured into her arms, with ghastly consequences. The charm of the late 50s Japanese cinema shines bright with Radiance’s 4K restoration of the classic as part of their Daiei Gothic collection, which also features The Snow Woman (1968) and The Bride from Hades (1968). More information on this collection after the review.
Corruption and honour
The feature has the simplicity of the time. Like most films of this era, at first glance it is but a bunch of people in cheap costumes running around being very extra on their performances. However, the themes brought up by the narrative are, not only quite interesting to follow, but also incredibly relevant nowadays. The main theme of the first half of the film being the corruption of the job market. In a world where it is increasingly hard to get any work, countless people will resonate with Lemon Tamiya’s (Shigeru Amachi) storyline, at least at first.
Despite being really poor, or so you are led to believe even though they still have at least one servant, Lemon refuses to get any job if he has to bribe the person hiring. Much like nowadays, the job market seems to be guided by friendships and contacts more than actually talent and abilities. In this case, the job applicants go as far as to give expensive gifts to the recruiter, a bit counterintuitive considering they are the ones without a job…
Sadly, Lemon is soon corrupted, not by the job market, but due to the infatuation he awakens in the daughter of the recruiter. Coming from a rich family, she isn’t used to not getting what she wants, which leads to a whole conspiracy that will claim several lives.
Victims and sinners
Unsurprisingly, the strong, calculating warrior is rendered a puppet for the woman. Following the traditional mentality of “women are manipulators and men dumb”, he remains unaware of the clear attacks his wife is receiving. Like tons of cheating stories before and after this one, it is all presented as the mistress’ fault and the man who actually made a promise to be faithful comes out as the victim… *sigh*
That is, until the third act, the one that makes everything else totally worth it. During this part, we finally meet “the ghost of Yotsuya”, and see some justice in the making. Before his wife’s death, Lemon’s true colours are revealed when he rejects her for not being pretty any more. His shallowness and hypocrisy, putting him at the same level of the murderers and conspirators who are killing his wife.
These characters are also quite central to the plot, despite remaining in the background for the most part. They are servants and “friends” who don’t hesitate to lie and kill anyone if there’s some profit to be made. This theme is closely linked to that of the job market, both situations perfectly applicable to the present economic structure.
All in all, The Ghost of Yotsuya is essentially a melodrama that at first paints women as manipulators and servants as Downton Abbey (2010-2015) level gossips, but then slowly reveals everyone’s real nature right before the perfect climax that greatly increases the feature’s quality.
If you are a fan of this film or gothic Japanese cinema, The Ghost of Yotsuya is now available for purchase in the Daiei Gothic collection. Through Radiance in the UK, and in USA/Canada through MVD, Diabolik, Orbit, Grindhouse, Rough Cut Canada and others.
LIMITED EDITION BOX SET SPECIAL FEATURES
- New 4K restorations of each film
- Uncompressed mono PCM audio for each film
- Optional English subtitles for all films
- Newly designed box and booklet artwork by Time Tomorrow
- Limited edition 80-page perfect bound book featuring new writing by authors Tom Mes, Zack Davisson and Paul Murray, newly translated archival reviews and ghost stories by Lafcadio Hearn
- Limited Edition of 4,000 copies presented in a rigid box with full-height Scanavo cases for each film and removable OBI strip leaving packaging free of certificates and markings
THE GHOST OF YOTSUYA SPECIAL FEATURES
- New interview with filmmaker Kiyoshi Kurosawa
- A visual essay on the history and adaptations of the classic Ghost of Yotsuya story by author Kyoko Hirano
- Trailer
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Filippo Di Battista
Find the Radiance release right here!
Advice to take from this movie:
- Don’t cheat. That’s it really, just don’t.
- If your husband wants to leave you for another, good riddance.
- Your value is not on your looks
What’s your take? Have you watched The Ghost of Yotsuya? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀