Japanese Classics: TIFF/NFAJ Classics: Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953
Gion Bayashi
A Geisha衹園囃子
Director Mizoguchi Kenji
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In Kyoto's Gion district, Miyoharu (Kogure Michiyo), an established geisha, is visited by Eiko (Wakao Ayako), the daughter of a former associate, who begs for Miyoharu's help becoming a maiko. After borrowing money from a powerful teahouse proprietor in order to arrange Eiko's debut, Miyoharu finds herself having to make a difficult decision. Though Mizoguchi himself described the film as a "job done to order," Gion Bayashi is a significant work that offers a meticulous portrait of Gion’s intricate social order and the power it wields over Miyoharu and Eiko, trapped between its rigid structures and the desires of the middle-aged men who frequent it.
Print courtesy of The Japan Foundation
Mizoguchi was born in Tokyo in 1898. Following his debut in 1923, he was noted for Kaminingyo Haru no Sasayaki (1926). After Osaka Elegy and Sisters of the Gion (1936), he won the International Award for The Life of Oharu (1952), the Silver Lion for Ugetsu Monogatari (1953), and Sansho Dayu (1954) at the Venice Film Festival, making his name known globally. He died suddenly in 1956 at the age of 58.
From Tokyo International Film Festival 2026, No. 39
