Characters & Themes
The Ballad of Narayama (1958) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained
- Release, runtime and language
- 1958 · 98 mins · Japanese
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- Directed by
- Keisuke Kinoshita
- Starring
- Eijirô Tôno, Kinuyo Tanaka, Teiji Takahashi, Ken Mitsuda, Seiji Miyaguchi, Kō Nishimura
In a mountain village, food scarcity forces a ritual: relatives carry 70‑year‑old kin up Narayama mountain to die. Orin accepts her fate, but her son Tatsuhei cannot bear losing her and is urged to marry a widow. Her grandson Kesa, whose girlfriend awaits, selfishly hopes for her death. The Kabuki film asks if Orin’s spirit will ennoble her family.
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Characters, themes & setting
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The Ballad of Narayama (1958) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters
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