Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

publishedVersion

Publication Date

11-2023

Abstract

This article studies the adaptations and applications of religious folklore in two mas-terworks of Japanese cinema: Kenji Mizoguchi’s Sansho Dayu (Sansho the Bailiff, JP 1954) and Kaneto Shindo’s Onibaba (JP 1964). While academic approaches will often draw a strict line between narrative genres and discursive forms, these films, I argue, draw creatively from Japanese tradition for both critical and constructive purposes in the postwar context. Besides mounting trenchant criticisms of Japan’s erstwhile militaristic violence and imperial ambitions, both filmmakers present their respective female protagonists as models for spiritual and sociocultural transformation in the face of anomie. Embodying humanistic compassion on the one hand and ontogenetic eros on the other, the two women compose complementary poles for reconstruction amidst the painful aftermath of war.

Keywords

Buddhism and Film, Japanese Cinema, Kaneto Shindo, Kenji Mizoguchi, Onibaba, Religious Folklore, Sansho the Bailiff

Discipline

Asian Studies | Film and Media Studies | Religion

Research Areas

Humanities

Publication

Journal for Religion, Film and Media

Volume

9

Issue

2

First Page

15

Last Page

39

ISSN

2414-0201

Identifier

10.25364/05.9:2023.2.2

Publisher

University of Graz

Copyright Owner and License

Authors-CC-BY-NC

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.25364/05.9:2023.2.2

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