Mizoguchi -- what else survives?

[Chika Kinoshita]

This a belated addition to the Mizoguchi/Ojo Okichi issue.
I agree with Dick. I also saw Ojo Okichi's title roll. Mizoguchi  
didn't direct Ojo Okichi if we follow the commonly understood sense  
of "direction." What Mizoguchi exactly did as "hodo" to the film is  
unknown. It is possible that he was on set, but also he might well  
have just allowed the company to use his name. Hatsusugata, the lost  
film of the first woman director in Japan, Sakane Tazuko, who was  
Mizoguchi's continuity keeper and editor, is said to credit Mizoguchi  
in the same capacity. So it was probably a common practice in Daiichi  
eiga where both Ojo Okichi and Hatsu sugata were made. In addition, I  
didn't come across any contemporary critics who regarded Ojo Okichi  
as Mizoguchi's work. So it's just Mizoguchi-related.

Chika Kinoshita
University of Western Ontario
On Sep 24, 2006, at 10:49 PM, Dick Stegewerns wrote:

>
> Alexander Jacoby wrote:
>
>> It seems that the film in question turned up a couple of years ago  
>> and has even been shown on Japanese TV. The title of the film is  
>> Ojo Okichi (untranslateable - the name of the heroine), and it was  
>> made in 1935. It is so obscure that isn't even listed in any  
>> English language Mizoguchi filmography I've seen. The reason for  
>> this may be that it is actually another film co-directed by Mizo  
>> (the name of the co-director, who is little-known, has momentarily  
>> eluded me however).
>
> Ojo Okichi was shown on Sky Perfect earlier this year as part of  
> the Mizoguchi retrospective. The recently added credits rank  
> Mizoguchi as director before Takashima Tatsunosuke but the credits  
> of the original film give Takashima as director and Mizoguchi as  
> someone merely providing assistance/guidance (補導　hodo).
>
> Dick Stegewerns
> Osaka Sangyo University