Shima Iwashita Movies
The career of lovely Japanese actress Shima Iwashita was at its peak during the '60s. Outside Japan, she is best known for playing Yasujiro Ozu's An Autumn Afternoon (1962). Iwashita is the wife of noted director Masahiro Shinoda. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 2000
This satirical spin on the ninja genre from veteran director Masahiro Shinoda opens in 1581 with the invasion of Iga, a "hidden land," by Oda, a rampaging warlord. 50,000 troops sweep through Iga -- a province already developing as a center for ninja arts -- slaughtering everyone and everything in their path. Among the few to survive is a ninja by the name of Juzo (Kiichi Nakai). Ten years later, when a new warlord, Toyotomi (Mako Iwamatsu), has taken power, Juzo is sought out by his former master to kill the tyrant, who is busy making plans to invade Korea and Ming-dynasty China. As Juzo embarks on his mission, he enters into a game of mutual complicity with the enigmatic Kohagi (Mayu Tsuruta), a spy for Toyotomi who nearly kills and then seduces the ninja. When Juzo finally does arrive at Toyotomi's castle, he meets Kazama (Takaya Kamikawa), another Iga ninja, who wants to stop Juzo so that he can get enough credibility to become a legitimate samurai. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shohei Hino
- 1997
Continuing the Setouchi trilogy -- which began with 1984's MacArthur's Children -- this film looks at Japan just after World War II. The film opens with documentary footage of the 1995 Hanshin earthquake that flattened Kobe. The devastation reminds an elderly Keita Onda of the ruined landscape of Kobe just after the Allied bombing raids, which he witnessed from his home on nearby Awajishima Island. Cut to 1945, when Keita's father, Kokichi (Kyozo Nagatsuka), receives the ashes of his eldest son who died on the battlefield. A rigid traditionalist, Kokichi decides to follow custom and return the ashes to his son's birthplace in Kyushu. He hires out a car -- a lavish expense that has the neighbors' tongues wagging about a possible mass suicide. Instead, the family -- consisting of the father, the mother Fuji (played by Shinoda's wife, Shima Iwashita), Keita (Hideyuki Kasahara), daughter Hideko (Sayuri Kawachi), and teenaged son Koji (Jun Toba) -- end up on a ferry bound for the south of Japan. Koji and his father are locked in a battle of wills. While dad preaches the value of tradition, Koji is much more interested in all things American. As the film progresses, Koji falls for a beautiful war-orphan named Yukiko (Hinano Yoshikawa). Also featured in this film are side stories about other passengers on the boat, including a sweet-talking black marketer who enlightens Kokichi on the joys of foreign liquor, a drug-addled soldier who falls in love with an impoverished woman about to turn tricks just to eat, and a dapper middle-aged man who jumps from the boat. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1995
The ukiyo-e (woodblock print) artist Sharaku is an enigmatic puzzle in the world of Japanese art. Working at an age when such masters of the trade as Hokusai and Utamaro were at their zenith, Sharaku suddenly emerged out of obscurity and produced roughly 140 strikingly brilliant portraits of Kabuki performers, only to disappear just as suddenly. To date, no one knows about his true identity or about his post-ukiyo-e career. Veteran director Masahiro Shinoda tries to fill in the blanks with this lavish period production. Set in the 1790s, the film centers on Tombo (Hiroyuki Sanada), a lowly Kabuki player who gets dumped from his troupe after breaking his foot. He joins a ragged traveling outfit run by former courtesan Okan (played by Shinoda's wife, Shima Iwashita). While not on-stage, he takes up drawing, for which he realizes he has considerable ability. His talents are noticed by Tsutaya Juzaburo (Frankie Sakai), a ukiyo-e publisher who is desperate for a replacement after his star artist Utamaro (Shiro Sano) defected to his rival's stable. Sharaku's work immediately creates a stir in Edo, particularly with the rigidly moralistic Prime Minister Matsudaira Sadanobu (Hachijusuke Bando). After falling for a beautiful teenaged geisha (Riona Hazuki), the latest sexual plaything of the rich and lecherous Utamaro, Tombo feels more and more constrained by his anonymous fame and the increasing tyrannical demands of Juzaburo. Soon, freedom and love seem more appealing than riches or art. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- 1986
This drama of love and tragedy is based on a story by the early 18th-century writer Chikamatsu Monzaemon and hinges on an ingrained sense of honor above all else. When the retainer Gonza Sasano (Hiromi Goh) is suddenly offered the hand of his lord's daughter in marriage, he cannot say no. Even though he is engaged to someone else, the daughter is in love with him and her mother wishes them to marry. Gonza's ulterior motive is to learn the secrets of the tea ceremony. When the mother finds out he was engaged to someone else, she decides to reveal the secrets to him before the marriage just to make sure he follows through. Unfortunately, her action leads people to believe that she and Gonza are lovers. So she and Gonza take off for their lives, trying to escape being killed for the sin of . . of revealing how to brew and serve tea? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hiromi Goh, Shima Iwashita, (more)
- 1984
- PG
The title of MacArthur's Children refers to the generation growing up in Japan since the end of World War II. A tiny Japanese island serves as a microcosm for the events in the mainland during the time of VE Day. Young Takaya Yamauchi is a war orphan whose best friend, Yoshikuri Omori, refuses to acknowledge the defeat of the Rising Sun. Another friend, Shiori Sakura, is the son of a Japanese admiral who has "lost face" by exhibiting mercy towards the hated British. Confused by the loss of the only world that they know, and resentful of the government's attempts to impose revisionism on all they've ever learned, the kids in the film plan to vent their wrath on the incoming American occupying forces. Once the Americans have arrived, the children are in for yet another culture shock: far from being the murderous monsters they've been conditioned to expect, the troops intend to honor General Douglas MacArthur's edict that the defeated Japanese be treated with dignity and compassion. MacArthur's Children was written and directed by two of those titular children, Takeshi Tamura (writer) and Masahiro Shinoda (director); the film was adapted from the Japanese best-seller by Yu Aku. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Takaya Yamauchi, Yoshiyuki Omori, (more)
- 1982
- Add Onimasa to Queue
In this brutal Japanese melodrama, the gangster boss of the town of Shikoku had been in charge since 1921. Though he is married and has two mistresses, the yakuza leader has no children so he adopts a pre-adolescent girl. The two become very close, and even the birth of a natural daughter does not tear them apart. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tatsuya Nakadai, Masako Natsume, (more)
- 1978
This unsentimental Japanese tragedy chronicles the lonely life and quiet death of a blind Geisha girl whose desire for sexual freedom causes her to become an outcast. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shima Iwashita, Yoshio Harada, (more)
Consumed by the jealousy and power struggles of their own relationships, a man, his mistress and his wife involve three children in their own games-with tragic results. After Sokichi stops providing his mistress with monetary support, she leaves her three children with him, whom she insists are also his, and disappears. Sokichi is bewildered and his wife is livid so with regard only for their own discomfort, they go about remedying their situation. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Ken Ogata, Shima Iwashita, (more)
- 1971
Chinmoku or Silence is a story about the suppression of Christianity in Japan, as seen from the point of view of a fugitive priest. The film is critical of both Christianity's expansionism and Japanese society at the time. When the priest is finally captured, he is disturbed at seeing many of his parishioners tortured. After being tortured himself, he publicly renounces his faith. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- 1970
Masahiro Shinoda directed this sexy, darkly humorous look at Tokyo's red-light Edo district in 1842, focusing on three characters whose lives intersect. Soshun (Tetsuro Tamba) is the infamous fugitive Buraikan in disguise, Naojiro (Tatsuya Nakadai) is a shiftless lout who dreams of being a Kabuki performer, and Ushimatsu (Shoichi Ozawa) has just left his family. The hip screenplay by filmmaker Shuji Terayama throws in some contemporary touches, comparing the revolutionary spirit of the Tempo era with the 1960s youth movement. Buraikan is still a delight to watch due to the sheer exuberance of its cast and Shinoda's stylish direction. ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tatsuya Nakadai, Tetsuro Tamba, (more)
- 1970
This Japanese biopic chronicles reminiscences of renowned poet Hideo Yoshino as he speaks to the young Swedish student who interviews him. The story jumps from present to past as he speaks of his marriage to Yachigusa, the woman who inspired his best poetry. Following her death, Yoshino forgoes his art and concentrates on raising his children. Later he marries his housemaid and causes a major rift between his daughter and himself. His two sons begin to reject him, not because of his marriage, but because they hate living in his distinguished shadow. The film jumps to the present, and just before the old poet dies, he and one son reconcile. The poet is then inspired to write one more before he finally expires. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
A masterpiece of Japanese New Wave cinema, renowned filmmaker Masahiro Shinoda directs this brilliant modernist reworking of a famous 1720 bunraku (puppet theater) play written by Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Set in Osaka in the 18th century, the film centers on the doomed romance between Jihei (Kichiemon Nakamura), a down and out married paper merchant passionately in love with doe-eyed courtesan Koharu (Shima Iwashita), whom he cannot afford to buy out of servitude. Koharu herself has also fallen in love with Jihei; she even starts turning away other patrons to be with him. Their love is further imperiled by Tahei (Hosei Komatsu), a rich, obnoxious merchant who flaunts his ability to buy Koharu's indenture. Suicide is the only way for the two to be together. Jihei's wife Osan (also played by Iwashita) senses the couple's intent and writes Koharu a letter pleading for his life. Touched by the sincerity of the letter, Koharu feigns reservations with killing herself, prompting Jihei to tearfully renounce her. Later, as Jihei skulks about the house as his wife runs the family business, he overhears that Tahei has at last bought his former lover's contract. Knowing that Koharu would just as soon kill herself, Osan -- the ideal of the dutiful wife -- offers Jihei her kimonos to pawn to save her husband's lover. Just as everything seems to be working out for the better, Osan's misinformed father bursts in just before Jihei is about to leave. The enraged old man cannot believe that Jihei is sacrificing his family for a prostitute and drags Osan away, demanding a divorce over Osan's protestations. Later, Jihei and Koharu--together at last--steal into the night, cut their hair -- absolving them from societal obligations -- and make love all night in a graveyard before they commit double suicide. This film won the prestigious Kinema Jumpo "Number One" prize for both Best Picture and Best Actresses. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kichiemon Nakamura, Shima Iwashita, (more)
In this samurai tale, a brave warrior is told by the newly restored emperor that he must return to his home village and announce that there has been a tax cut. Unfortunately, it is a government ruse designed to ensure political control. When the warrior arrives in his home village, he discovers that it is being ruled by a wicked judge who has been forcing the people to pay incredibly heavy taxes. More trouble ensues leaving the warrior totally confused as to which side he should be one as neither seems to be very good. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1969
This Japanese action movie is set in Kyoto during the 16th-century. At that time the town was in turmoil over a hefty food tax. The farmers and the wealthy townfolk were battling it out. To assist them, the townspeople hired samurai. That does not stop the determined farmers from defeating them all. One man is able to bring the factions together. A festival celebrating their new solidarity ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1969
In this Japanese romance, a writer travels to a hot-springs resort and finds himself falling in love with a geisha. He completes his vacation and then returns to his wife and family in Tokyo. The next winter he again goes to the resort to see the geisha. Unfortunately for her, he cannot offer her a commitment, and so he decides to return home and never see her again. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1969
In this Japanese drama, a lonely woman living with her elderly father, meets an old flame and must make a difficult decision She must choose between her ailing former love, who is married, and his brother. Fate seems to intervene when her father suddenly dies and her ex-sweetheart, upset about his own illness, kills himself. Unfortunately for the brother who still loves her, the distraught woman decides she cannot handle anymore emotional involvement and he is left alone. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1968
Tetsuro Tamba portrays Kotaro Takamura, one of Japan's most celebrated artists. A poet and sculptor, Takamura is married to Chieko (Shima Iwashita), who has artistic aspirations of her own. She gradually comes to realize that her husband has all the talent in the family; as she sinks deeper into depression, Takamura tries to comfort her by writing several poems in her honor. She descends into insanity, while Takamura manifests his despair into some of his greatest artistic achievements. Originally titled Chieko-sho, this Japanese film earned a 1968 Oscar nomination for "Best Foreign Film." ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shima Iwashita, Eiji Okada, (more)
- 1967
A Japanese soldier Tsutomu Yamazki deserts his position and travels to a small town on the Sea of Japan to start over in this melodrama from director Shinoda Masahiro. When a young maid falls for him, he talks her into sleeping with an older man for money. The woman is told by a Geisha Mayumi Ogawa that she gave up her virginity cheaply. The resort town begins to feel the influence of the modern world as the sabre-rattling that preceded World War II begins to change their lives forever. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Shima Iwashita, Tsutomu Yamazaki, (more)
- 1966
A young man returns to the island where he was held prisoner as a child in this action thriller from Japanese director Masahiro Shinoda. He was sent to the island as a boy so he could not reveal the identities of the military police who killed his family. For 20 years he has planned to seek revenge against the sadistic tormentor who tortured the island inhabitants. He meets the daughter of the torturer, and the young woman claims her father has changed his ways. The victim hunts down the old man and instead of killing him, he makes the man cut off one of his own fingers. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Akira Nitta, Rentaro Mikuni, (more)
- 1966
Based on the popular novel by Eirijo Ariyoshi, this plodding drama tells the life story of a young bride from her wedding day to her death 65 years later. The film opens up with the idyllic scene of a procession of boats carrying the newlyweds up the river. Technical aspects of this lavishly photographed film reflect the time and money spent on the visually stunning feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Yoko Tsukasa, Shima Iwashita, (more)
- 1965
In this Japanese drama, a young woman begins murdering all those responsible for her ailing father's condition. First she torches her parents' villa, and then slaughters all her lascivious mother's lovers. Because the girl is so outwardly sweet and innocent, the detective looking into the deaths does not suspect her. Unbeknownst to him, the girl plans on turning herself in, but not before she kills one more person--her real father. Later she changes her mind, but when his good wife learns of his philandering, she commits suicide. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1964
Based on a story by Ryotaro Shiba, this samurai classic from director Masahiro Shinoda follows a mysterious samurai leader who continuously shifts his allegiance from one political faction to another. All involved are under the constant threat of assassination. Ansatsu's screenplay was written by Nobuo Yamada, and the film features Tetsuro Tamba, Shima Iwashita, Isao Kimura, Eitaro Ozawa, Eiji Okada, and Keiji Sada. ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tetsuro Tamba, Shima Iwashita, (more)
