The Daughter of the Samurai
The Daughter of the Samurai | |
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Japanese theatrical release poster | |
Directed by | |
Produced by |
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Written by | Arnold Fanck |
Starring | |
Music by | Kosaku Yamada |
Cinematography |
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Edited by | Arnold Fanck |
Production company |
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Distributed by | T&K Telefilm |
Release dates |
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Running time | 120 minutes |
Country | Japan, Germany |
Language | Japanese, German |
The Daughter of the Samurai (German: Die Tochter des Samurai, Japanese: Atarashiki Tsuchi, 新しき土 (The New Earth)) is a 1937 German-Japanese drama film directed by Arnold Fanck and Mansaku Itami and starring Setsuko Hara, Ruth Eweler and Sessue Hayakawa. Its Japanese title was Atarashiki tsuchi, meaning "New Earth." It was the first of two co-productions between Japan and Nazi Germany. Franck, who was famous for making mountaineering films, was possibly chosen as director because of his connections to the Nazi Party.[1] Fanck and Itami clashed a great deal during the film's production, and in effect created two separate versions for release in their respective countries.[2]
Plot
Yamato Teruo (Isamu Kosugi) returns to Japan after spending six years at an agricultural college in Germany. Teruo is the adopted son of an old samurai family, and is expected to marry the eldest daughter, Mitsuko (Setsuko Hara). However, Teruo has become infected with the idea of Western individualism during his stay in Europe, and refuses to bow to the demands of society. Instead, he confounds his future father-in-law Yamato Iwao (Sessue Hayakawa) by announcing that he intends to marry a German journalist, Gerda Storm (Ruth Eweler), whom he met on the ship back to Japan. Gerda, however, is a blond, chaste, Aryan woman, and will not agree to a mixed-race relationship. She attempts to convince him of his duty to the Japanese race and traditions and to reconcile him with his family.
Meanwhile, Mitsuko, feeling dishonored by Teruo's rejection, attempts to commit suicide by throwing herself into a volcano. She is rescued at the last second by Teruo, and the couple is romantically reunited. Sometime later, the young couple and their baby are now living in Manchukuo, the "New Earth", working on a farm under the benevolent gaze of a vigilant soldier guarding against the ever-present threat of Bolshevism.
Cast
- Setsuko Hara as Misuko Yamato
- Ruth Eweler as Gerda Storm
- Sessue Hayakawa as Iwao Yamato
- Isamu Kosugi as Teruo Yamato
- Eiji Takagi as Kosaku Kanda
- Haruyo Ichikawa as Hideko Kanda
- Yuriko Hanabusa as Oiku, the maid
- Kichiji Nakamura as Ikkan, the priest
- Max Hinder as German teacher
- Misako Tokiwa as Teruo's mother
- Kanae Murata as Child
Reception
The film was poorly received in Japan. It was viewed as a condescending treatment of Japan as an exotic Oriental nation that needed German political ideas as if it had none of its own, and the racist ideology of blood and soil was considered disturbing.[3] One reviewer wrote:
Holding up a Buddhist manji to resemble a Nazi swastika, he portrayed temples as if they were the sole repository of the Japanese spirit. Great Buddhist statues were treated as if they wielded an absolute power. He applied the Nazi spirit of self-sacrifice indiscriminately to the Yamato spirit ... it is Germany that is requiring this New Order.[3]
References
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Hull, David Stewart. Film in the Third Reich: a Study of the German Cinema, 1933-1945. University of California Press, 1969.
- Mayo, Marlene J. & Rimer J. Thomas & Kerkham, H. Eleanor. War, Occupation, and Creativity: Japan and East Asia, 1920-1960. University of Hawaii Press, 2001.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atarashiki tsuchi. |
- The Daughter of the Samurai at the Internet Movie Database
- Infos about the shooting of The Daughter of The Samurai with link to the photogallery
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