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