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
Michiyo Aratama
First Wife (segment "The Black Hair")
Yūko Mochizuki
Minokichi's Mother (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Kunie Tanaka
Yasaku (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Ichirō Nakatani
(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Seiji Miyaguchi
Old Man (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Kazuo Kitamura
Tomomori (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Yōsuke Kondō
Benkei (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Hideyo Amamoto
(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Kenjirō Ishiyama
Father (segment "The Black Hair")
Kyōichi Satō
(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Misako Watanabe
Second Wife (segment "The Black Hair")
Noriko Sengoku
Village Woman (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Jun Hamamura
(segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Osamu Takizawa
Author / Narrator (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Akiji Kobayashi
(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Yoshirō Aoki
(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Atsuo Nakamura
(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Shizue Natsukawa
Tokiko (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Fumie Kitahara
(segment "The Black Hair")
Otome Tsukimiya
(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)
Haruko Sugimura
Madame (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Jun Tazaki
Kannai's Colleague #1 (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)
Tokue Hanazawa
(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Torahiko Hamada
(segment "The Woman of the Snow") (uncredited)
Tetsuro Tamba
Warrior (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Shigeru Kōyama
(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Junkichi Orimoto
(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Aiko Nagayama
(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Noboru Nakaya
Shikibu Heinai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Kei Satō
Ghost Samurai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Rentaro Mikuni
Husband (segment "The Black Hair")
Yoichi Hayashi
Attendant (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Eiko Muramatsu
Kenreiinmon (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Kiyoshi Yamamoto
(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Kan'emon Nakamura
Kannai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Takashi Shimura
Head Priest (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Tatsuya Nakadai
Minokichi (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Keiko Kishi
Yuki the Snow Maiden (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Isao Tamagawa
(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Ganjirō Nakamura II
Publisher (segment "In a Cup of Tea")