The Geisha House (Film)

The Geisha House (おもちゃ Omocha) is a 1999 film directed by Kinji Fukasaku on the Geisha culture and lifestyle.

Profile

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  Director: Kinji Fukasaku
• Writer: Kaneto Shindo
• Producer: Takashi Kasuga, Noriko Koyanagi, Izumi Toyoshima
• Cinematography: Daisaku Kimura
• Release Date: January 15, 1999
• Runtime: 113 min.
• Distributor: Toei
• Language: Japanese
• Country: Japan

Plot

Set in the late 1950s, when geisha culture was threatened by moral crusades, it tells the story of Omacha (Miyamoto Maki), a young girl who sees the geisha life as a way to lift her poverty-stricken family from their hand-to-mouth existence. Through her eyes, we see the protocols and complex financial relationships which dictate the running of the geisha house.

Cast

• Maki Miyamoto as Tokiko aka Omocha
• Junko Fuji as Satoe
• Kaho Minami as Terucho
• Mai Kitajima as Somemaru
• Masahiko Tsugawa as Yoshikawa
• Yumiko Nogawa as Michiko
• Mariko Okada as Hanaman's owner
• Takeshi Katô as Kitayama
• Noboru Mitani as Mikami
• Naomasa Rokudaira as Kayama
• Takashi Sasano as Kosaka
• Seizo Fukumoto as Police detective

Credits

• Produced by:
  • Kinji Fukasaku - planner
  • Takashi Kasuga - producer
  • Noriko Koyanagi - producer
  • Masao Sato - planner
  • Izumi Toyoshima - producer
• Art Direction: Yoshinobu Nishioka
• Assistant Director: Kenta Fukasaku
• Sound Department: Maiku Samata
• Gaffer: Kiyoto Ando

Trivia

• In the scene where Tokiko watches the geiko dancing, the fusuma (screen) in the background is Irises, by Ogata Kōrin.

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