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| Festival Year |
Festival Section |
| 2013 |
Special Events - Ichiro Kataoka, Benshi |
| Film Title |
CHIKEMURI TAKATANOBABA (versione ridotta/condensed version) |
| Alternative Title 1 |
[Il duello a Takata-no Baba] (versione ridotta) |
| Alternative Title 2 |
[Blood-Splattered Takatanobaba] (condensed version) |
| Alternative Title 3 |
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| Country |
Japan |
| Release Date |
1927 |
| Production Co. |
Nikkatsu |
| Director |
Daisuke Ito |
| Format |
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Speed (fps) |
| 35mm |
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16 |
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| Footage |
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Time |
| 4327 ft. |
|
7' |
| Archive Source |
National Film Center, Tokyo |
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| Print Notes |
(da/from 16mm)
Didascalie in giapponese, con sottotitoli in inglese / Japanese intertitles, with English subtitles |
| Cast |
| Denjiro Okochi (Yasube Nakayama), Enichiro Jitsukawa (Rokuroemon Sugano, zio di/uncle of Nakayama), Harue Ichikawa (domestica/maidservant), Junzaburo Ban (cittadino/townsman) |
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| Other Credits |
| scen., sogg./story: Daisuke Ito; f./ph: Hiromitsu Karasawa |
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| Other Information |
| Commento benshi / Benshi commentary: Ichiro Kataoka; mus: John Sweeney |
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| Program Notes |
Chikemuri takatanobaba (Blood-Splattered Takatanobaba) was originally a feature-length film, but all that remains is this drastically shortened version.
Yasube Nakayama (played by Denjiro Okochi) is a masterless samurai (ronin), living in the poor section of Edo. He spends his time drunk on sake, and ekes out a living by breaking up fights and then later claiming compensation for his efforts. One day Yasube returns home drunk and finds a letter from his uncle saying that he has been challenged by some samurai to a fight at Takatanobaba. Yasube immediately sobers up, and rushes towards Takatanobaba at breakneck speed in order to try to save his uncle.
Yasube Nakayama was an actual historical figure, who became a servant to Asano Takuminokami, and later a member of the legendary 47 ronin, the former retainers of Lord Asano who avenged their master’s death after he had been obliged to commit seppuku, and then had to commit suicide themselves.
The story depicted in Blood-Splattered Takatanobaba is part of the folklore surrounding the samurai in Japan, and has been made into several films over the years. This version established Denjiro Okochi (1898-1962) as one of Japan’s top stars of jidai-geki (period dramas), a position he would hold until the early 1950s. – Johan Nordström
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