Japanese Classics: TIFF/NFAJ Classics: Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954
Sansho the Bailiff [Digital Restoration]
Sansho the Bailiff山椒大夫［デジタル修復版］
Director Mizoguchi Kenji
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Adapted from Mori Ogai's novel of the same title, itself based on a widely known medieval tale, Sansho the Bailiff depicts the changing fortunes of siblings Zushio (Hanayagi Yoshiaki) and Anju (Kagawa Kyoko), who are separated from their mother by human traffickers and forced into servitude under the cruel bailiff Sansho. Mizoguchi meticulously researched the estate system of the Heian period in which the film is set, recreating its world with rigorous realism. The film received the Silver Lion at the Venice International Film Festival in 1954.
Print courtesy of Kadokawa Corporation
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
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