Kōchiyama Sōshun (film)

Kōchiyama Sōshun (河内山宗俊), also known in English as Priest of Darkness, is a 1936 Japanese jidaigeki film directed by Sadao Yamanaka.[3] It is one of three surviving films by the director.

Kōchiyama Sōshun
Scene from Kōchiyama Sōshun
Directed bySadao Yamanaka
Written by
  • Shintarō Mimura (screenplay)
  • Sadao Yamanaka (story)
Produced by
CinematographyHarumi Machii
Music byGorō Nishi
Distributed byNikkatsu
Release date
  • 30 April 1936 (1936-04-30) (Japan)
[1][2]
Running time
87 minutes[1][2]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Cast

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Production

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The original idea for Kōchiyama Sōshun came from a Kabuki play by Kawatake Mokuami, known as Kochiyama to naozamurai. In the play, the two title characters are petty criminals from the Ueno district of Edo (now Tokyo).[3] Yamanaka changed some of the characters from the play to be more good-natured, in keeping with his film aesthetic.[4] He also modernized the Kabuki play by casting actors from the Zenshin-za Group, which aimed to bring modern acting techniques to traditional Kabuki plays.[3]

References

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  1. ^ a b "河内山宗俊 (Kōchiyama Sōshun)". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b "河内山宗俊(1936) (Kōchiyama Sōshun)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 14 August 2022.
  3. ^ a b c McDonald, Keiko (1994). Japanese classical theater in films. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. pp. 158–164. ISBN 978-0-8386-3502-5.
  4. ^ Richie, Donald (2005). A hundred years of Japanese film: a concise history, with a selective guide to DVDs and videos. Kodansha International. p. 73. ISBN 978-4-7700-2995-9.
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