A Woman’s Life / 女の一生 / Onna no issho (1962)

Obscure Japanese Film #142

Machiko Kyo

Jun Hamamura and Fumiko Murata

 

1905. Kei (Machiko Kyo) is a young woman orphaned by the Russo-Japanese war who now lives with her alcoholic uncle (Jun Hamamura) and his shrewish wife, Okura (Fumiko Murata). They treat her like a slave and Okura beats her with a stick at the slightest excuse. One night, Kei finds herself thrown out of the house and told not to return. 

Jiro Tamiya and Machiko Kyo

 

Wandering the streets, she is attracted by the sound of singing and enters a garden, which leads to an encounter with young soldier Eiji (Jiro Tamiya), who is about to resume his studies after completing his military service. Hearing of her troubles, he is moved and invites her in to meet his family, who end up adopting her. 

Jiro Tamiya and Chieko Higashiyama

 

The family are headed by widow and matriarch Shizu (Chieko Higashiyama), who – since her husband's death – has been running the family trading company with some help from Eiji’s uncle (Eitaro Ozawa), a crippled war veteran. The family also includes Shizu’s other son, the artistically-inclined Shintaro (Masaya Takahashi), as well as two grown-up daughters, Fusako (Yoko Uraji) and Fumi (Yoko Miki). 

Tamiya and Takashi Nakamura

 

Eiji has become close friends with a fellow student, Song (Takashi Nakamura), who is from China, and this has made him very sympathetic to the Chinese. However, the family’s trading company imports goods from China and scant attention is paid to the ethics of how these goods are acquired. 

Kyo and Masaya Takahashi

 

Meanwhile, Kei is so grateful for having been saved from homelessness and probable prostitution that she does everything she can to please the family who have taken her in, working tirelessly and never complaining. After five years of this, Shizu has become so impressed by Kei that she wants her to marry Shintaro and take over the family business. Kei loves Eiji, but her sense of obligation will not allow her to go against Shizu’s wishes, so she agrees. She proves adept at handling the trading business, but unfortunately develops a kind of moral tunnel vision which leads her to prioritise the success of the company over all human relationships…

 

Cover of programme for 1973 stage performance starring Haruko Sugimura

Despite the title, A Woman’s Life is unrelated to the famous Guy de Maupassant novel and is in fact based on the final play written by Kaoru Morimoto,* which premiered in April 1945 at the Toyoko Cinema in Shibuya during a gap between air raids. Morimoto’s lover, actress Haruko Sugimura, originated the role of Kei, which was said to have been written for her, and she went on to perform it 947 times. Morimoto and Sugimura were both affiliated with the Bungakuza theatre company, who produced the play. A shingeki company (meaning they performed translations of Western works as well as new Japanese dramas influenced by the West), Bungakuza was a friendly rival to Haiyuza and has counted among its members such luminaries as Kyoko ‘Woman of the Dunes’ Kishida, Kirin Kiki, and even – for a while – Yukio Mishima. Morimoto revised the play after the war ended, making it more critical of the Japanese government and military, but he passed away shortly after as a result of tuberculosis, aged just 34. 

Masaya Takahashi

 

Covering a period of 40 years and ending shortly after the Second World War, the story involves most of the major characters growing old. Fortunately, this ageing is very well done both in terms of performances and make-up, with Masaya Takahashi especially convincing as an old man. Major new characters are also introduced late in the story, such as Kei’s daughter, played by Junko Kano. It’s hard to think of a director other than Yasuzo Masumura who would have crammed so much into a mere 94 minutes. The script is the work of prolific screenwriter Toshio Yasumi, who specialised in adaptations of literary works, and it’s clear that Masumura put a lot of care and attention into this one, making it one of his best (if not most characteristic) films. The cinematography by Yoshihisa Nakagawa is first-rate and Sei Ikeno’s score is also effective, though perhaps a little too ominous. As for the cast, all are fine actors at the top of their game and it’s astonishing that not even Machiko Kyo was nominated for an award.  

Jiro Tamiya and Junko Kano

 

All in all, A Woman’s Life feels like a real classic of Japanese cinema, so why it’s not better known is beyond me. As there is a credit at the beginning stating that “This film participated in the 1962 Festival of Arts”, Daiei studios must have felt at the time that they had produced something of real artistic merit, and in this case they were undoubtedly right.

Kyo and Eitaro Ozawa

 

*There are at least six other Japanese films entitled Onna no issho, none of which are based on Morimoto’s play.