Tanaka Kinuyo (1909-1977) entered the Shochiku studio as an actress at the age of 14. Her illustrious cinematic career spanned over five decades, during which she acted in at least 258 titles and directed six feature films. Her diverse on-screen presence played a crucial role in shaping the Golden Age of Japanese cinema in the 1950s, starring in films by masters such as Mizoguchi Kenji and Ozu Yasujiro. Renowned cultural critic Kawamoto Saburo contends that Tanaka's films connected the eras before and after WWII, informing the collective identity and memory of the Japanese people.

Actress Kinuyo: Blossoming Screen Personas

During the silent film era, Tanaka rose to stardom as the leading ingénue in Shochiku's Kamata Studio, captivating audiences with her girl-next-door image. She starred in the first Japanese all-sound film, The Neighbor's Wife and Mine (1931) by Gosho Heinosuke, as well as other romance classics such as The Dancing Girl of Izu (1933) and Aizen Katsura (1938).

After the outbreak of WWII, Tanaka transitioned to more mature roles, notably portraying a sorrowful mother in Kinoshita Keisuke's Army (1944), while her tear-jerking performance faced a ban due to suspected "anti-war" sentiments. During the American Occupation of Japan (1945-1952), the GHQ initiated a democratization project that propounded the message of female independence. Tanaka, with her popularity and diverse screen personas, became the face of Mizoguchi's "Women's Liberation Trilogy," subverting her previous image as a Yamato nadeshiko. Despite facing severe criticism upon her return from the U.S. tour in 1950, she continued to break barriers with her compelling acting skills, collaborating with Mizoguchi in classics such as The Life of Oharu (1952), Ugetsu (1953), and Sansho the Bailiff (1954), all of which garnered accolades at the Venice Film Festival.

Director Tanaka: The Path of a Female Auteur

Tanaka was not content with being just the muse under the masters' male gaze. Despite strong opposition from Mizoguchi, she ventured into directing and became the second female director in the history of Japanese cinema. Her directorial endeavors were not frivolous experiments. Before shooting Love Letter (1953), her directorial debut, she apprenticed on Naruse Mikio's film sets and attempted to invite his screenwriter Mizuki Yoko, a rare female screenwriter of the time, to write for her film. Her second work. The Moon Has Risen (1955) was a project initiated and co-written by Ozu, who assisted Tanaka in resolving the contractual dispute among the big studios to bring this project to fruition. Despite Ozu's signature plot and influence of visual language, Tanaka infuses delicate female sensibilities and realistic observations in this delightful romantic comedy.

After her collaborations with male masters, Tanaka's subsequent three films all feature literary sources and scripts written by women, exploring women's issues and targeting female audiences. In Forever a Woman (1955), The Wandering Princess (1960), and Girls of the Night (1961), she actively sought out female authors' works, inviting esteemed female scriptwriters like Tanaka Sumie and Wada Natto to craft resilient and authentic female characters, exploring diverse perspectives of women across different eras and social strata.

This special feature program comprises the complete package of Tanaka's six directorial works. Additionally, four classic films in which she collaborated with directors who influenced her career have been selected to provide a comprehensive view of her cinematic journey both on and off the screen. Actress (1987), a semi-fictionalized biographical film featuring Yoshinaga Sayuri, the inaugural recipient of the Tanaka Kinuyo Award in 1986, and A Woman We Talk About (2022) a documentary focusing on her directorial career, have also been included to piece together a holistic portrait of this trailblazing filmmaker whose legacy is indelible in Japanese film history.

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[Correction]

● The Wandering Princess (1960) is a non-English language film with no English subtitles.  Please take this into consideration before purchasing your ticket.