is a 1952 Japanese historical drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. The screenplay by Yoshikata Yoda is based on various stories from Saikaku Ihara's 1686 work The Life of an Amorous Woman. Kinuyo Tanaka stars as Oharu, a one-time concubine of a daimyō (and mother of a later daimyō) who struggles to escape the stigma of having been forced into prostitution by her father. Composer Ichirō Saitō received the 1952 Mainichi Film Award for The Life of Oharu, Inazuma, Mother and Himitsu.

Legacy

Mizoguchi's film was included in Kinema Junpo's 2009 "critics top 200" list and in the British Film Institute's 2020 "The best Japanese film of every year – from 1925 to now" list.

References

  • The Life of Oharu: Not Reconciled an essay by Gilberto Perez at the Criterion Collection