Directed by Kinuyo Tanaka • 1953 • Japan
Starring Masayuki Mori, Juzo Dosan, Yoshiko Kuga
Released a year after the American occupation of Japan ended, Kinuyo Tanaka’s directorial debut explores the professional and personal conflicts of Reikichi (Masayuki Mori), a repatriated veteran who searches for his lost love (Yoshiko Kuga) while translating romantic letters from Japanese women to American GIs. As adapted from a novel by Fumio Niwa, LOVE LETTER depicts with incisive complexity the fraught adaptation of Japanese soldiers to a changed society as well as the moral condemnation of Japanese women who became involved with the enemy.
Up Next in Directed by Kinuyo Tanaka
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The Moon Has Risen
Directed by Kinuyo Tanaka • 1955 • Japan
Starring Chishu Ryu, Shuji Sano, Hisako YamaneFor her second film, Kinuyo Tanaka directed a script by legendary collaborator and mentor Yasujiro Ozu. Though informed by Ozu’s singular take on familial relationships, THE MOON HAS RISEN also possesses Tana...
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Forever a Woman
Directed by Kinuyo Tanaka • 1955 • Japan
Starring Yumeji Tsukioka, Masayuki Mori, Ryoji HayamaWidely considered Kinuyo Tanaka’s first personal film, FOREVER A WOMAN tells the story of a recent divorcée (Yumeji Tsukioka) who is diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer. In adapting the real-life s...
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The Wandering Princess
Directed by Kinuyo Tanaka • 1960 • Japan
Starring Machiko Kyo, Eiji Funakoshi, Yomei RyuKinuyo Tanaka’s first film in both color and CinemaScope is an epic about a woman caught in the torrents of history. Based on the memoirs of Hiro Saga, THE WANDERING PRINCESS tells the story of Ryuko (Machik...
