Lonely youth Shinji meets Hatsue, a pretty pearl diver, on the beach and the two fall in love. But Shinji has a rival for Hatsue's affections, Yasuo.
Cinematography
Luminous seascapes that make 1954 look impossibly vast.
Direction
Taniguchi lets silence do the talking—revolutionary for its era.
Director
Senkichi Taniguchi
Akira Kubo
Shinji
Sadako Sawamura
Tomi, Shinji's Mother
Kyoko Aoyama
Hatsue
Hiroshi Tachikawa
Yasuo
Minoru Takashima
Hiroshi
Kichijirō Ueda
Terukichi
Keiko Miya
Chiyoko
Daisuke Katō
Chiyoko's Father
Wataru Ōmae
Takeshi
Yoshio Kosugi
Jukichi
Toshirō Mifune
Skipper of the Utashima-maru
Noriko Honma
Old Woman of O-Haru
Eijirō Tōno
Schoolmaster
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on Mishima's novel, this adaptation strips away his ornate prose for something almost documentary-like—a fascinating betrayal of the source material.
Akira Kubo was only 19 here; he'd later become a Toho kaiju regular, making this his quietest apocalypse.
JP
