The Ghosts of Kagami Pond
             
Director: Masaki Môri
Year: 1959
Rating: 7.0
This Kaiden revenge tale only runs 61 minutes, but it manages to squeeze in multiple murders, tragedies, ghost apparitions and perverse human greed. In that way, it falls into the traditions of many Kaiden films of its period. The director is Masaki Môri, who I am not at all familiar with but he seems to have directed at least two ghost films before this. All three were for Shintoho Production Company - the same studio that produced the horror films of Nobuo Nakagawa - the Father of Japanese Horror. I would be curious to see who influenced who as this is very similar stylistically and atmospherically to Nakagawa's black and white period ghost films. It even has a black cat licking blood off a sword that just killed. Besides the supernatural elements, this film has interesting aspects that touch on the culture at the time, the rigid family obligations/hierarchy and the secondary position of women in society. All in 61 minutes.  



Yasujiro (Shôzaburô Date) and his father have just arrived in Edo after the father fell afoul of the Shogun who took everything away from them. Near penniless, Yasujiro is happy to take a job as a clerk in a clothing store for an older married couple. They take a liking to Yasujiro and when they see him with an old female friend from years ago, the adorable Kiku (Noriko Kitazawa), they decide to leave the shop to them if they get married. But then the trouble begins. Kiku's sister Sato (Reiko Seto) is getting married and buys a wedding kimono from the head clerk, Kinbei (Jôji Ôhara) of the shop. But he intentionally sells her inferior material and at her wedding the kimono begins to unravel and her husband to be and his family are so shamed that they call off the wedding. She goes to Kagami Pond to drown herself but along comes Kinbei and when she attacks him, he kills her and tosses her body in. We all know what happens to murdered bodies in swamps.



Kinbei isn't done yet as he wants to inherit the shop and murder gets easier after the first time. Along with his mistress (Keiko Hamano who has the most devilish evil smile ever) they conspire to kill anyone in their way. Ghosts start popping up out of swamps and wells but that seems to be the extent of their power. Just terrify. The old man who took Yasujiro in turns out to be a scumbag as well trying to rape Kiku and molest the maid - the mistress who has taken that job. Sooner or later vengeance must be served. Come on ghosts. Get to work. There is much to avenge here.