Lovers wash ashore. The village wants them dead. The sea wants them more.
Island villagers find a young woman and young man swept ashore near their remote village in northeastern Japan. The two have tried to escape the girl's enforced marriage to another man, in order that they may marry themselves. The ancient custom of the village decrees that the angry sea gods must be calmed by throwing the pair back into the sea. The lovers face being sacrificed to the sea gods or perhaps something even more difficult to bear.
Cinematography
Bleak coastal landscapes that breathe menace
Acting
Mifune's quiet authority anchors the horror
Direction
Kobayashi builds dread through ritual and stillness
Director
Akira Kobayashi
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on actual rural Japanese maritime sacrifice folklore, particularly the 'utsubokazura' tradition of northeast Honshu.
Mifune took this role for scale after Kurosawa's shadow, reportedly calling it 'the only script that scared me.'
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