Shroud of Snow / 雪の喪章 / Yuki no mosho (1967)

Obscure Japanese Film #105

Ayako Wakao

The story begins in 1930 in Kanazawa, a city located on the west coast of Japan’s main island and known for its production of gold leaf and heavy snowfall in winter. Taeko (Ayako Wakao) has just married into the Sayama family, who have a successful gold leaf business. Soon after the wedding, her husband, Kunio (Toyota Fukuda), hires a new maid, Sei (Tamao Nakamura), apparently in an act of charity as she’s an orphan and a distant relation of the family. Sei is of a meek disposition, so Taeko is profoundly shocked when she catches Kunio in flagrante with her. Kunio’s mother (Mitsuko Yoshikawa) apologises to Taeko on behalf of her son, but explains pragmatically that it’s better than him spending his money in the red light district. However, Taeko finds herself unable to forgive Kunio so, when one of her husband’s employees, Guntaro (Shigeru Amachi), confesses his love to her, she seems ready to run off to Osaka with him and start a new life. 

Toyota Fukuda

 

When Kunio discovers their plans, Guntaro ends up leaving without her, and Taeko seems to have little choice but to stay with her husband and try to make it work. While resigning herself to her fate, she cannot help having vindictive thoughts, and when a series of tragedies occur – always during a heavy snowfall – she wonders if she has willed them into existence. As the years pass, the family’s fortunes take a dive, the war begins and events lead to an unexpected reunion of sorts with Guntaro…  

Tamao Nakamura

 

Shigeru Amachi

Revolving around the intertwined destinies of the four main characters, Shroud of Snow is not so much the story of a love triangle, but a love square. Despite a number of dramatic events, it’s a strange, enigmatic film in content as the real drama happens inside Taeko’s head. With no voiceover, the film relies heavily on the acting talents of Ayako Wakao; fortunately, she’s adept at expressing the inner thoughts and feelings of her characters, and gives her usual immaculate performance. Nevertheless, I’d love to be able to read the original novel in order to understand the film a little better, but unfortunately it’s never been translated and appears to be out of print in Japan. 

 

The author, Mitsuko Mizuashi (1914-2003), was herself from Kanazawa, where her father ran a gold leaf business before going bankrupt, after which the family moved to Osaka. Yuki no mosho, published in 1962, was her best-known work and the only one to be filmed, although she was a well-regarded writer nominated for both the Akutagawa and Naoki prizes on several occasions. I suspect that the task of adapting her novel must have been challenging and may be why it uncharacteristically took Daiei five years to turn it into a film as well as the reason it has not been filmed since. 

 

The director, Kenji Misumi, is well known for his Zatoichi and Lone Wolf and Cub films. Although Shroud of Snow is far from a typical Misumi film, his direction is impressive while seldom calling attention to itself. He extracts good performances all round and pulls off some difficult shots wonderfully, such as when we see flakes of gold leaf swirling about in the smoke from a fire. Another plus is the score by Sei Ikeno, which is subtle and restrained yet makes the most of the film’s dramatic moments.

Note on the title: A more literal translation of the Japanese title would be something like ‘Snow Mourning Band’. 

Bonus trivia: The gold leaf which covers Kyoto’s famous Kinkaku-ji (the Temple of the Golden Pavilion) was made in Kanazawa.