Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.
Cinematography
Every frame looks like a ukiyo-e print come alive.
Score
Tōru Takemitsu's sound design—silence IS the horror.
Production
Built entire sets on soundstages for supernatural control.
Director
Masaki Kobayashi
Michiyo Aratama
First Wife (segment "The Black Hair")
Rentaro Mikuni
Husband (segment "The Black Hair")
Misako Watanabe
Second Wife (segment "The Black Hair")
Kenjirō Ishiyama
Father (segment "The Black Hair")
Fumie Kitahara
(segment "The Black Hair")
Otome Tsukimiya
(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)
Tatsuya Nakadai
Minokichi (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Keiko Kishi
Yuki the Snow Maiden (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Yūko Mochizuki
Minokichi's Mother (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Kin Sugai
Village Woman (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'Hoichi the Earless' segment required building a massive replica of a samurai clan's cemetery on a soundstage, complete with 400 artificial cherry trees.
Lafcadio Hearn's original stories were written for Western audiences in 1904, making this a Japanese director re-Japanifying tales that had already been exoticized.
JP
