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