Kwaidan
1965
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Synopsis
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.
Key facts
Cast
Michiyo Aratama, Rentarô Mikuni, Misako Watanabe, Kenjirō Ishiyama, Ranko Akagi, Fumie Kitahara, Kappei Matsumoto, Yoshiko Ieda
Original language
Japanese
First release
January 6, 1965 (Finland)
Production companies
TOHO CO., Toho
Based on
Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things
Setting
Kyoto, Japan
Crew
Screenplay
Yōko Mizuki
Producer
Shigeru Wakatsuki
Cinematography
Yoshio Miyajima
Editing
Hisashi Sagara
Music
Tōru Takemitsu
Trailer
Stills
Reviews
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Festival History
- Festival du Nouveau Cinéma 2025 - Histories of Cinema
- Venice Film Festival 2025 generic
- Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival 2022 - Sitges Clàssics - Focus Macros Ocultas
- Seattle International Film Festival 1976 generic - Teshigahara retrospective
- International Film Festival Rotterdam 1975 generic
- Academy Awards 1966 academy_award
- Cannes Film Festival 1965 generic
Titles
| Original title | Kwaïdan | Japanese |
| Alternate title | Kwaidan : historias sobrenaturales | |
| Alternate title | Kaidan | |
| Alternate title | Ghost Stories | |
| Alternate title | Ghost Story | |
| Alternate title | Hoichi the Earless | |
| Alternate title | Weird Tales | |
| Alternate title | La Femme des neiges |
Releases & classifications
| Theatrical | Finland | January 6, 1965 |
| Theatrical | Japan | January 6, 1965 |
| Theatrical | Japan | February 27, 1965 |
| Theatrical | United States | July 15, 1965 |
| Theatrical | France | July 28, 1965 |
| Theatrical | Portugal | February 28, 1968 |
| Theatrical | Spain | May 13, 1968 |
| Theatrical | Japan | November 29, 1982 |
| Theatrical | Malaysia | July 30, 1994 |
| Theatrical | Philippines | September 1, 2005 |
| Streaming | United States | May 27, 2020 |
| Theatrical | France | July 1, 2026 |
| Classification | United Kingdom | 15 |
| Classification | United States | PG-13 |
Versions & editions
| Original version (Japanese) | ||
| Home video | United States | October 10, 2000 |
| Home video | Australia | March 15, 2006 |
| Home video | United Kingdom | May 29, 2006 |
| Home video | Netherlands | June 19, 2008 |
| Home video | United States | October 20, 2015 |
Full credits
| Director | Masaki Kobayashi |
| Cast | Michiyo Aratama, Rentarô Mikuni, Misako Watanabe, Kenjirō Ishiyama (Father (segment "The Black Hair")), Ranko Akagi (Mother (segment "The Black Hair")), Fumie Kitahara ((segment "The Black Hair")), Kappei Matsumoto ((segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)), Yoshiko Ieda ((segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)), Otome Tsukimiya ((segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)), Kenzō Tanaka ((segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)), Kiyoshi Nakano ((segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)), Tatsuya Nakadai (Minokichi (segment "The Woman of the Snow")), Keiko Kishi (Yuki the Snow Maiden (segment "The Woman of the Snow")), Yūko Mochizuki (Minokichi's Mother (segment "The Woman of the Snow")), Kin Sugai (Village Woman (segment "The Woman of the Snow")), Noriko Sengoku (Village Woman (segment "The Woman of the Snow")), Akiko Nomura ((segment "The Woman of the Snow") (uncredited)), Torahiko Hamada ((segment "The Woman of the Snow") (uncredited)), Jun Hamamura ((segment "The Woman of the Snow")), Katsuo Nakamura (Hoichi (segment "Hoichi the Earless")), Tetsuro Tamba (Warrior (segment "Hoichi the Earless")), Takashi Shimura (Head Priest (segment "Hoichi the Earless")), Yoichi Hayashi (Attendant (segment "Hoichi the Earless")), Eiko Muramatsu (Kenreiinmon (segment "Hoichi the Earless")), Kunie Tanaka (Yasaku (segment "Hoichi the Earless")), Kazuo Kitamura (Tomomori (segment "Hoichi the Earless")), Ichirō Nakatani ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Masanori Tomotake ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Tokue Hanazawa ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Shizue Natsukawa (Tokiko (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Shin Tatsuoka ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Makiko Kitashiro ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Masakazu Kuwayama ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Mutsuhiko Tsurumaru ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Akira Tani (Huntsman #2 (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Yōsuke Kondō (Benkei (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Kiyoshi Yamamoto ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Kinji Omino ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Atsuo Nakamura ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Ginzô Sekiguchi ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Akio Miyabe ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Genya Nagai ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Toru Uchida ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Hikaru Jinno ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Toshio Fukuhara ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Kirô Abe ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Toshiro Yagi ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Yuriko Abe ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Yuri Satô ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Kyōichi Satō ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Nobuo Aikawa ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Taiji Kodama ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Nobuaki Maeda ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Teruhiko Shibata ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Haruo Kaji ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Michio Gina ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Seiji Tabe ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Mitsuko Narita ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Noriko Mikura ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Aiko Nagayama ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Michiko Nakahata ((segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)), Kan'emon Nakamura (Kannai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")), Osamu Takizawa (Author / Narrator (segment "In a Cup of Tea")), Haruko Sugimura (Madame (segment "In a Cup of Tea")), Noboru Nakaya (Shikibu Heinai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")), Seiji Miyaguchi (Old Man (segment "In a Cup of Tea")), Kei Satō (Ghost Samurai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")), Shigeru Kōyama ((segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)), Jun Tazaki (Kannai's Colleague #1 (segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)), Junkichi Orimoto ((segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)), Akiji Kobayashi ((segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)), Yoshirō Aoki ((segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)), Isao Tamagawa ((segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)), Hideyo Amamoto ((segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)), Ganjirō Nakamura II (Publisher (segment "In a Cup of Tea")) |
| Screenplay | Yōko Mizuki |
| Producer | Shigeru Wakatsuki |
| Cinematography | Yoshio Miyajima |
| Editing | Hisashi Sagara |
| Music | Tōru Takemitsu |
| Sound | Akira Suzuki, Hideo Nishizaki, Kuniharu Akiyama, Shigenosuke Okuyama |
| Costumes | Masahiro Katō |
Additional data: TMDB.
Source: Cinémathèque québécoise, linked catalogue data (CC BY 4.0)
