Genji Monogatori (A Tale of Genji) was another copacetic collaboration between Japanese director Kosaburo Yoshimura and screenwriter Kaneto Shindo. Based on a long-popular novel by Murasaki Shikibu, the film stars Kazuo Hasegawa as Genji, the illegitimate offspring of a Japanese potentate. Seemingly irresistible to women, Genji accepts the philosophy of "love 'em and leave 'em" as a matter of course. Only when his heart is broken by Awaji (Machiko Kyo) does Genji realizes how much pain he himself has caused. Visually, the film is a feast, capturing its 8th-century time-frame with pinpoint accuracy.
Michiyo Kogure | Fujitsubo | |
Machiko Kyô | Awaji no ue | |
Mitsuko Mito | Aoi no ue | |
Nobuko Otowa | Murasaki no ue | |
Yûji Hori | ||
Denjirô Ôkôchi |
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