Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate

Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate
Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate
Directed by	Yūzō Kawashima
Written by	Yūzō Kawashima; Shōhei Imamura; Keiichi Tanaka;
Produced by	Takeshi Yamamoto
Starring	Frankie Sakai; Sachiko Hidari; Yōko Minamida;
Cinematography	Kurataro Takamura
Edited by	Tadashi Nakamura
Music by	Toshiro Mayuzumi
Production; company	Nikkatsu
Distributed by	Nikkatsu
Release date	14 July 1957;
Running time	110 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate (幕末太陽傳 or 幕末太陽伝, Bakumatsu taiyōden) is a 1957 Japanese

Yūzō Kawashima and written by Kawashima, Shōhei Imamura and Keiichi Tanaka.^[1]^[2]^[3] It was voted the fifth best Japanese film of all time in a poll of 140 Japanese critics and filmmakers conducted by the magazine Kinema Junpo in 1999.^[4]

Plot

During the last days of the Bakumatsu era, rogue city dweller Saheiji and three friends visit a brothel in Tokyo's Shinagawa entertainment district. After spending the night there, Saheiji is forced to admit that he lacks the money to pay, so he must stay in order to settle his debt. Saheiji seeks to outwit the inhabitants of a brothel in order to survive. Meanwhile, a group of samurai seek to destroy any foreigners that cross their path. Saheiji attracts all employees, from brothel owners to prostitutes, successfully resolves any disputes with clients by using his wit, and fills his pockets. However, gradually it turns out that the seemingly life-loving Saheiji suffers from tuberculosis and his future is uncertain.

Cast

Frankie Sakai as Saheiji
Yōko Minamida as Koharu
Sachiko Hidari as Osome
Yujiro Ishihara as Takasugi Shinsaku

Nobuo Kaneko as Denbei, the owner of the Sagami-ya
Masumi Okada as Kisuke
Tomio Aoki as Chusuke
Shōichi Ozawa
as Kinzō, the book lender
Shōbun Inoue as Genta
Toshio Takahara as Kaneji
Izumi Ashikawa as Ohisa
Akira Nishimura
as Shinkō
Taiji Tonoyama as Kurazō
Hideaki Nitani as Shidō Monta (a.k.a. Inoue Kaoru)
Akira Kobayashi as Kusaka Genzui

Theme

Parallels are drawn between the world of the samurai and the world of Kawashima's Japan. The hypocrisy surrounding prostitution, about to be outlawed in Japan at that time in 1950s Japan, the abuse of power, and financial greed at a time of crisis, are all portrayed.^[5]

Legacy

Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa cited Sun in the Last Days of the Shogunate as one of his 100 favorite films.^[6]

References

^ ^a ^b "Bakumatsu taiyōden". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 16 January 2009.
^ ^a ^b "Bakumatsu taiyōden". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 4 June 2023.
^ "Bakumatsu taiyōden". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 11 October 2021.
^ "Kinema Junpo: Japanese one hundred all time best movies" (in Japanese). My Cinema Theater. Retrieved 10 September 2011.
^ Moviemail catalogue, April 2013, p.13
^ Thomas-Mason, Lee (12 January 2021). "From Stanley Kubrick to Martin Scorsese: Akira Kurosawa once named his top 100 favourite films of all time". Far Out Magazine. Retrieved 23 January 2023.