The Crucified Lovers

The Crucified Lovers (近松物語), also titled A Story from Chikamatsu, is a 1954 Japanese drama film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. It was adapted from Monzaemon Chikamatsu's 1715 bunraku play Daikyōji mukashi goyomi.

Plot
In Edo-period Japan, Mohei is an apprentice to Ishun, the wealthy grand scroll-maker of Kyoto. Ishun makes nightly sexual forays into the maid Otama's room, but she resists his advances, despite offers of goods and property, claiming to be engaged to Mohei. Mohei refuses to go along with the deception and tells Otama to accept the rape because they are both there to serve the household. As two adulterers are paraded through the streets on their way to be crucified, Mohei proclaims that they should not have betrayed morality.

When Ishun's brother-in-law asks for a loan, Ishun's wife Osan, knowing Ishun will refuse, seeks help from Mohei. Mohei begins forging a receipt attempting to obtain a loan in Ishun's name, but is caught. Ishun threatens to summon the authorities, but Otama asks him to forgive them, claiming that it was she that had asked for the money. Ishun uses the opportunity to blackmail Otama to get rid of a romantic rival and unwanted employee. Ishun orders Mohei imprisoned and brought up on charges in the morning.

When Osan thanks Otama for trying to help, Otama informs her of Ishun's behavior. Hoping to confront him, Osan switches rooms with Otama for the night. To her surprise, Mohei, who has escaped, sneaks into the room to thank Otama before fleeing. Osan attempts to persuade Mohei into staying but the two are interrupted by Sukeyemon, the head clerk, who, having learned of Mohei's escape and attempting to alert the head of the household, had uncovered Otama instead.

Mohei is chased away, and Ishun encourages his wife to commit suicide to protect his name. Osan flees the house only to again encounter Mohei. They later discover that Ishun has alerted the police. However, Mohei is only charged for forgery, rather than adultery, as Ishun is more concerned with their own reputation. Osan and Mohei decide to commit suicide together. They change their minds when Mohei professes his love for Osan.

They continue to flee on foot, having momentarily convinced Ishun that the suicide had been successful. Ishun sends Sukeyemon to recover the bodies and bring Osan's back so they can continue covering up the adultery. Unfortunately, a traveling chestnut salesman notifies Ishun's house of the whereabouts of the two lovers. Osan and Mohei reach the home of Mohei's father where he reluctantly feeds and shelters them. Ishun's men arrive and browbeat Mohei's father into giving them up. Mohei is bound and left for the police to find the next day while Osan is taken to her family home in route to Ishun.

Isan, a rival scroll maker, conspires with Sukeyemon to reveal Ishun's deception. While Osan refuses to return to Ishun's house, Mohei arrives at her family home, having been freed by his father. Osan's brother sneaks off to fetch Ishun and his men while their mother tries to convince Mohei to turn himself in. Just as Ishun's men arrives, the lovers escape one last time. They are captured by the police and confess to adultery.

The Shogunate Deputy erects a public notice declaring Ishun guilty of deceiving the authorities and is therefore banished from town, his property and wealth confiscated. While the servants are packing to search for new employment, they talk about Sukeyemon also being banished for his failures in not only keeping a better eye on the property, but also not reporting Ishun's negligence in his refusal to report the affair. Soon the servants hear another parade going on and head outside. The servants see Osan and Mohei holding hands as they are being ridden on horseback on their way to crucifixion and death. The other servants watch the parade and note that Mohei and Osan look happier than ever before.

Cast

 * Kazuo Hasegawa as Mohei
 * Kyōko Kagawa as Osan
 * Eitarō Shindō as Ishun
 * Eitarō Ozawa as Sukeyemon
 * Yōko Minamida as Otama
 * Haruo Tanaka as Gifuya Dōki
 * Chieko Naniwa as Okō
 * Ichirō Sugai as Genbei
 * Tatsuya Ishiguro as Isan
 * Hiroshi Mizuno as Kuroki
 * Hisao Tōake as Morinokoji
 * Ikkei Tamaki as Jūshirō Umegaki
 * Kimiko Tachibana as Umetatsu Akamatsu
 * Keiko Koyanagi as Okaya
 * Sayako Nakagami as Osono

Release
The Crucified Lovers was shown in competition at the 1955 Cannes Film Festival.

Awards

 * 1954 Blue Ribbon Award for Best Director Kenji Mizoguchi

Legacy
The Crucified Lovers was included in the 1999 "critics top 200" list of the best Japanese films of all time conducted by film magazine Kinema Junpo.

In 2017, a 4K digitally restored version of the film was presented at the Venice Film Festival and the Kyoto Historica International Film Festival. The restored version was also presented at the Film Forum, New York, in 2018 and at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive in 2021 as part of their retrospectives on cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa.