After Rashomonwon the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival, Yasuzo Masumura, an employee of Daiei Studios, was sent to study film in Italy, the first Japanese to do so. He studied under Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti and Michelangelo Antonioni at the Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia in Rome. On returning to Japan, he began his career as assistant director to Kenji Mizoguchi and Kon Ichikawa. His feature debut was in 1957, during the golden age of Japanese cinema, and he continued to direct masterpieces even as the Japanese cinema industry entered a period of decline and Daiei went into bankruptcy in 1971. His career spans 57 films in total. Seisaku no Tsuma is one of Yasuzo Masumura’s masterpieces starring his muse, Ayako Wakao; through the 20 titles they collaborated on, she became one of Japan’s leading actresses. Seisaku no Tsuma is certainly representative of the “women’s pictures” they made together. This film is set against the background of the Japanese-Russo war. An individualistic woman, who has lived under difficult circumstances for sake of her family, and a patriotic young man, the ideal of his village, fall in love. The tragedy that ensues resounds with a strong anti-war message as well as a critique of Japanese society of the time. Against the backdrop of war, this powerful human drama depicts a wife whose only purpose in life is her love for her husband, which drives her to extreme behavior. As the heroine, Ayako Wakao is particularly striking, standing out against the restrained cinematography and lighting. She embodies the resentment and bitterness of the world she inhabits in this key work.

Miki Zeze