Obscure Japanese Film #278
 |
| Mayumi Ogawa |
After Tokyo’s brothels have all been forced to close down by the authorities, ‘bath houses’ and ‘massage parlours’ spring up everywhere, unofficially offering more than just a back rub to their predominantly male clientele, but stopping short of providing the ‘full works’. Asako (Mayumi Ogawa), a country girl desperate to escape an unhappy family life and poverty in rural Chiba, gets conniving former madam Tetsu (Sadako Sawamura) to set her up with a job in such a bath house. Working under the name of Rie, she finds that she can make a lot of money quickly and begins investing through a young stockbroker, Sekine (Naoki Sugiura), who’s keen to take their relationship further. When Asako’s younger half-sister, Natsuko (Mako Midori), turns up, Asako tries to send her back to Chiba, but Natsuko is not only determined to stay but has no qualms about what she might have to do to pay her bills…
 |
| Naoki Sugiura |
According to Japanese Wikipedia, this Toei production originated from an idea by producer Shigeru Okada, who felt that increasing the erotic content of the studio’s films would be one effective way of luring the dwindling audience away from their TV sets and back into cinemas. This was the studio’s first attempt at doing so, and Okada was proved to be correct as the film was a substantial hit. Of course, although it was strong stuff at the time, it seems fairly tame today compared to countless later films. Nevertheless, the subject matter and content meant that casting established stars in the two leading female parts was virtually out of the question.
 |
| Ogawa and Mako Midori |
Mayumi Ogawa was a member of the Bungakuza Theatre Company, where she had a strict mentor in Haruko Sugimura. She had done some TV work, but only one previous film, Kaneto Shindo’s Mother (1963), in which she had played a minor role. In this film, Ogawa proves to have real acting ability and to be a strong, charismatic presence who can glower to great effect. She found it hard to shake off the ‘wicked woman’ image she got stuck with as a result, but went on to enjoy a long career before becoming a Buddhist nun in 2008, after which she went into semi-retirement. In 2012, her daughter published a book entitled Poison Mama – A 40-Year War with My Mother, Mayumi Ogawa, which led to their permanent estrangement. She passed away in March 2026 at the age of 86.
 |
| Mako Midori |
Mako Midori, on the other hand, had taken a TV acting training course, but had not a single credit under her belt – apparently, director Yusuke Watanabe happened to see her photo and gave her a screen test. Despite concern at her lack of experience, she proved to be a natural and went on to win a Blue Ribbon Award for Best New Actress for her performances in this and Watanabe’s similarly-themed follow-ups, Akujo and Mesu (both also released in 1964). However, she was fired by Okada in 1968 for complaining about the types of roles she was given. By this point, though, she had become popular enough for her modern style and willingness to disrobe that she was in demand from other studios and continued to have a successful career.
 |
| Sadako Sawamura and Ogawa |
As far as the rest of the cast are concerned, many of them, like Ogawa, were members of Bungakuza, who were apparently struggling financially at the time and therefore very glad of the work – in fact, this was likely a bargaining chip used by Okada to help persuade Ogawa to take on a controversial role. However, Sadako Sawamura was not affiliated with the company; usually a fine actor, unfortunately in this case she seems to have seen her role as a crafty old procurer as an excuse to go way over the top.
 |
| Ogawa and Sugiura |
The original screenplay was written by director Watanabe together with Kikuma Shimoiizaka, whose filmography suggests prolific hack work. The story here hinges on a massive coincidence and things become increasingly melodramatic as the film goes on. Having said that, it’s somewhat remarkable for its undiluted misanthropy in its portrayal of a world in which everyone’s a scumbag; that’s far from unique in Japanese films of this period, but it was seldom seen in Hollywood ones – Sweet Smell of Success (1957) being a notable exception. There are also indications that Watanabe was trying to make something a little classier than expected, and there is some artiness in the camerawork, while, during the climactic catfight, the sound drops out and we hear only a plaintive Spanish guitar, lending a strange air of detachment to the proceedings. All in all, then, no masterpiece, but a well-made, entertaining and interesting film.
 |
| Ogawa |
Thanks to A.K.
DVD at Amazon Japan (no English subtitles)
If you’d like to support this blog, you can Buy Me a Coffee
 |
| Midori |
