Kwaidan
In the tradition of "RASHOMON" and "GATE OF HELL."
Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.
Director Masaki Kobayashi
Trailer
Cast
Osamu Takizawa
Author / Narrator (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Kei Satō
Ghost Samurai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Tetsuro Tamba
Warrior (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Michiyo Aratama
First Wife (segment "The Black Hair")
Kunie Tanaka
Yasaku (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Ichirō Nakatani
(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Yoichi Hayashi
Attendant (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Hideyo Amamoto
(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Haruko Sugimura
Madame (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Misako Watanabe
Second Wife (segment "The Black Hair")
Kan'emon Nakamura
Kannai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Noboru Nakaya
Shikibu Heinai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Noriko Sengoku
Village Woman (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Ganjirō Nakamura II
Publisher (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Fumie Kitahara
(segment "The Black Hair")
Tokue Hanazawa
(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Tatsuya Nakadai
Minokichi (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Yūko Mochizuki
Minokichi's Mother (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Eiko Muramatsu
Kenreiinmon (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Kyōichi Satō
(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Seiji Miyaguchi
Old Man (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Otome Tsukimiya
(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)
Akiji Kobayashi
(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Rentaro Mikuni
Husband (segment "The Black Hair")
Keiko Kishi
Yuki the Snow Maiden (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Aiko Nagayama
(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Kiyoshi Yamamoto
(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Takashi Shimura
Head Priest (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Yoshirō Aoki
(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Kin Sugai
Village Woman (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Akiko Nomura
(segment "The Woman of the Snow") (uncredited)
Jun Hamamura
(segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Junkichi Orimoto
(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Kenjirō Ishiyama
Father (segment "The Black Hair")
Torahiko Hamada
(segment "The Woman of the Snow") (uncredited)
Shizue Natsukawa
Tokiko (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Atsuo Nakamura
(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Jun Tazaki
Kannai's Colleague #1 (segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Isao Tamagawa
(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Kazuo Kitamura
Tomomori (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Yōsuke Kondō
Benkei (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Shigeru Kōyama
(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)