Sansho Dayu

This text looks at Kenji Mizoguchi's film Sansho Dayu, a version of a famous Japanese folk-tale about an eleventth century feudal official forced into exile by his political enemies. In his absence, his children fall under the corrupting influence of the malevolent Sansho.

This text looks at Kenji Mizoguchi's film Sansho Dayu, a version of a famous Japanese folk-tale about an eleventth century feudal official forced into exile by his political enemies. In his absence, his children fall under the corrupting influence of the malevolent Sansho.

Dudley Andrew is the founder of the Institute for Cinema and Culture at the University of Iowa. He is the author of Major Film Theories (1976) and Mists of Regret: Culture and Sensibility in Classic French Film (1995). Carole Cavanaugh is Associate Professor of Japanese at Middlebury College. She has published widely on Japanese literature and film.