The story of Takeha, a free-spirited genius poet who lived through Taisho Romanticism, and the women who gave themselves over to his ambitions.
Acting
Mieko Harada's devastating turn as the wife who knows exactly what she's losing.
Cinematography
Kumashiro frames desire like suffocation—beautiful and claustrophobic.
Direction
The famous river drowning scene took three days to shoot in freezing water.
Director
Tatsumi Kumashiro
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on real poet Takehiko Yosano, though the film's portrayal of his relationships is heavily fictionalized and controversial.
The Taisho period (1912-1926) was Japan's brief 'roaring twenties'—decadent, Western-influenced, and obsessed with tragic artistic genius. Kumashiro both celebrates and eviscerates this mythology.
JP
