Eijanaika (1981)

6.2/10 151 min Drama

Overview

The film depicts carnivalesque atmosphere summed up by the cry "Ei ja nai ka" ("Why not?") in Japan in 1867 and 1868 in the days leading to the Meiji Restoration. It examines the effects of the political and social upheaval of the time, and culminates in a revelrous march on the Tokyo Imperial Palace, which turns into a massacre. Characteristically, Imamura focuses not on the leaders of the country, but on characters in the lower classes and on the fringes of society.

Cast

Shigeru Izumiya

Genji

Kaori Momoi

Ine

Masao Kusakari

Itoman

Ken Ogata

Furukawa

Norihei Miki

Masuya

Junzaburō Ban

Toramatsu

Mitsuko Baisho

Oko

Shigeru Tsuyuguchi

Kinzo

Ако

Oyoshi

Shōhei Hino

Magoshichi

Shino Ikenami

Yoshino

Etsuko Ikuta

Nui

Hiroshi Inuzuka

Roku

Chōichirō Kawarasaki

Nakazawa

Kazuo Kitamura

Koide

Nenji Kobayashi

Matakichi

Yasuaki Kurata

Hanjiro

Shoichi Ozawa

Sakunojo

Sanshō Shinsui

Densuke

Kazuko Shirakawa

Yamikumo-dayu

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