Yotsuya Kaidan is arguably one of the most famous Japanese ghost stories ever told. It’s been adapted for the cinema at least thirty times and continues to influence and inspire. It’s a tale of betrayal written as a kabuki play by Tsuruya Nanboku IV in 1825. One of the most famous adaptations comes from director Tai Kato in 1961 with the film The Tale of Oiwa’s Ghost.
Radiance Films has added the title to their ever-growing list of classic Japanese films being released to Blu-ray for the first time to English-speaking audiences. For someone like me, who has followed Japanese genre cinema since my late teens, it’s great to see the movies that have inspired some of my favorite filmmakers from the Land of the Rising Sun.
When the daughter of an elite family takes a liking to the down-on-his-luck samurai Tamiya (Tomisaburo Wakayama), he sees more than just romance; he sees a path out of poverty and into power. But there’s one obstacle: his loyal and loving wife, Oiwa (Yoshiko Fujishiro). Blinded by ambition, Tamiya poisons her and dumps her body in a nearby swamp, believing he’s buried the past for good. Yet Oiwa’s love curdles into fury beyond the grave.
On the night of his new marriage, she returns, her face twisted by death and betrayal, to torment Tamiya with unrelenting vengeance. As guilt festers and reality unravels, Tamiya learns that some sins don’t stay buried, and some spirits refuse to rest.
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There’s a lot going on in The Tale of Oiwa’s Ghost as far as the story is concerned. There are numerous twists as well as a plethora of drama and character work. Wakayama, who many will remember from his powerhouse performance in the Lone Wolf and Cub film series, is just as, if not more so, brilliant in here. It’s no wonder his career in film spanned five decades, working right up until his passing in 1992.
Director Kato beautifully captures the story in an interesting way. It seems that the interiors and exteriors were all filmed on a soundstage, which lends to the feeling that it was a filmed stage production. The High-Definition Digital transfer gives it a crystal-clear, dream-like quality that adds to the surreal images.
Radiance has produced a fantastic Limited-Edition disc that includes an introduction by and an interview with Mari Asato, a visual essay by Lindsay Nelson, a new English subtitle translation, a reversible sleeve featuring new and original artwork, and a limited-edition booklet with new writing by Tom Mes.
The Tale of Oiwa’s Ghost is a haunting tale that’s only highlighted by the transfer and presentation.
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