Kagamijishi (1936)

Ozu always said, early on, his interest in Kabuki theater. Also in his films depicting scenes of this kind, in other itinerant actors appear ... is evident that he never lost the taste for traditional Japanese theater.

Ozu is why we contacted the famous Kabuki actor Kikugoro VI with the intention of shooting one of his performances, which made ​​its famous "Lion Dance", which gives the film its title. He was the only documentary filmmaker's work and had no subsequent commercial distribution.

However, being located "Kagamijishi" early in his career, Ozu even asserts in the theater have discovered a source of learning and inspiration: "There is much to learn from Kabuki, especially when we go to make sound films. Creating atmospheres is one of his teachings. When the curtain opened on stage reveals an empty house in a dark alley, while you hear the sound of Nenbutsuko on the scene, felt like we had plunged into the middle of the drama. "

The film is a classic piece of Kabuki repertoire and is directly linked to the early Japanese cinema, with its first films of the late nineteenth century.


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