Yoso

               
Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa
Year: 1963
Rating: 8.0
Aka - Bronze Magician

Aka - Priest and Empress

It was a bit of luck coming upon this film (Yoso) on YouTube when it popped up under a search for "Japanese English subtitle". Something I do periodically. I downloaded it having no idea what it was but it turns out to be a classic from director Teinosuke Kinugasa whose film career stretched back to the silent period which included his famous experimental film A Page of Madness (1926). His other best-known film available to non-Japanese speakers is the 1953 Gate of Hell. In reading about Teinosuke it seems he somehow fell between the cracks for Western viewers though he is critically acclaimed in Japan. On IMDB he has about 125 directorial credits but many have been lost and very few have been transferred to DVD with subs. At least on the basis of this one, that is a shame. This film is masterfully done - all aspects of it from the acting, the dramatically pounding soundtrack (Akira Ifukub, who did many for the Kaiju films but literally over 280 others), the cinematography and the elegant but minimal set designs.



It is a very somber slow moving period film that is based on a true incident back in the 800's in which a monk gained a great deal of influence over the Empress Koken-Shotuko. She was the ruler of the nation. By taking on this subject Teinosuke explores themes of religion, gender, politics, government's responsibility to the people, corruption and man's fallibility to desire.  Most Japanese period films dealing with royalty that I see are filled with lavish detail - spectacular castles, costumes and décor. This was shot in black and white and is simplicity itself. No grand sets at all - just an outdoor courtyard, meeting spaces, hallways, a place to pray and the Empress's bedroom. No walls - just light gauzy material to separate the rooms. Which allows little privacy and a lot of spying. This makes it feel theatrical and in truth it could be performed on a stage.



The film begins with a Buddhist monk in a cave declaring that he has spent ten years studying his dead Master's work and is now ready to enter the world and do good. He uses his prayer beads to zap a rat and a snake. This is Dokyo (played with severe authority and a deep baritone voice by Ichikawa Raizô, very famous for his action roles in the Sleepy Eyes of Death series and the  Shinobi No Mono films). Dokyo is a Christ figure to some degree with a strong flavoring of a benign Rasputin and even a side order of Franklin D Roosevelt. He cures the sick, raises the dead, cares for the poor - and his acts are brought to the attention of the court. The Empress (Fuji Yukiko) has been sick since childhood and may be dying. But is still stunningly beautiful.




Around her are a number of officials who are waiting for that to happen in order to put the Prince on the throne (a wooden chair). This group is led by the Prime Minister (Wakayama Tomisaburô, also in his share of action films) who wants to rule the country with a puppet on the throne. But using some inner force Dokyo returns the Empress to health and gains her trust and authority. This does not set well with others - especially when he talks of a New Deal and no taxes on the poor. Conspiracies are hatched to kill him and the Empress. It all moves slowly with some sense of inevitability but it builds up to a great dramatic ending.