Sisters of the Gion

Nihongo|"Sisters of the Gion"|祇園の姉妹|Gion no shimai|extra=1936 is a film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi.

The movie Sisters of the Gion was filmed in 1936 in Japan and directed by the famous Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi. The film is thought to be one of Mizoguchi’s best prewar films Weasel-inline.

Plot

The story centers around two sisters (Umekichi and Omocha), who are geisha, living in an okiya of their own in the licensed pleasure district of Gion, Kyoto. Both women have very different outlooks on relationships with men. Umekichi, the elder sister, is the ideal geisha; she grew up going to dance and music lessons, wears kimono, and has a strong sense of giri, or loyalty, to her patron. Umekichi’s younger sister, Omocha, was educated in public schools and wears western clothing, except when she is working as a geisha. Unlike Umekichi, Omocha doesn’t trust men and believes that they will only use geisha and then abandon them without a care. Thus, she uses men to her own advantage. This is typically accomplished through her skills of manipulation and her lies.

Umekichi’s patron in the movie is a bankrupt businessman named Shimbei Furusawa, who Umekichi takes care of for a while after he loses his house and business. Omocha does not believe that her sister should carry on with Shimbei now that he can no longer fulfill the expected obligations of a patron. One day when Umekichi is out Omocha gives Shimbei some money and then tells him that he has to leave and that her sister no longer wants him around. Then she sets out to find her sister a new patron. Omocha also attempts to find a patron for herself and appears to be successful in gaining the attention of the owner of a kimono/cloth shop. However, in the process Omocha takes advantage of the owner’s clerk, who had feelings for her.

Though Omocha and Umekichi have opposing outlooks on men and the role of geisha, ultimately they are both let down by the end of the film. Omocha ends up in the hospital after being thrown from a car by a former boyfriend who feels slighted and used and Umekichi is abandoned by her bankrupt patron Shimbei. This tragic ending suggests that no matter what approach they take, geisha are bound to end up disappointed and used.

Film Information

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi

Cast: Isuzu Yamada (Omocha), Yoko Umemura (Umekichi), Benkei Shiganoya (Shimbei Furusawa), Fumio Okura (Jurakudo), Eitaro Shindo (Kudo), Taizo Fukami (Kimura)

Producer: Masaichi Nagata

Screenwriters: Kenji Mizoguchi & Yoshikata Yoda

Cinematographer: Minoru Miki

Released in 1936

Additional Sources

*http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/44923/Sisters-of-the-Gion/overview
*http://www.filmref.com/directors/dirpages/mizoguchi.html
*http://www.answers.com/topic/sisters-of-the-gion?cat=entertainment
*http://www.talkingpix.co.uk/ReviewsSisterofG.html