The Romance of Yushima

The Romance of Yushima (婦系図 湯島の白梅, Onna keizu: Yushima no shiraume; lit. "Genealogy of women: White plums of Yushima) is a 1955 Japanese romance drama film directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa. It is based on the 1907 novel Onna keizu by Kyōka Izumi.^[1][2]

The Romance of Yushima
Japanese movie poster
Directed by	Teinosuke Kinugasa
Written by	Teinosuke Kinugasa Jun Sagara Kyōka Izumi (novel)
Produced by	Asata Fujii
Cinematography	Kimio Watanabe
Music by	Ichirō Saitō
Production company	Daiei Film
Release date	28 September 1955 (1955-09-28) (Japan)[1][2]
Running time	116 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Plot

The film follows the tragic love story between student Chikara and his mistress Otsuta, a geisha.

Cast

• Fujiko Yamamoto as Otsuta
• Kōji Tsuruta as Chikara Hayase
• Masayuki Mori as Shunzo Sakai
• Sumiko Fujita as Taeko Sakai
• Yasuko Kawakami as Yukiko Matsumura
• Haruko Sugimura as Koyoshi
• Daisuke Katō as Menoso

Background

Izumi's novel, first published in serialised form in 1907, became popular as a shinpa play the following year, which added the title giving Yushima^[a] setting originally not contained in the book.^[3]

TV version

A TV dramatisation was broadcast between Thursday 9 June and Thursday 16 June 1966, again starring Fujiko Yamamoto.^[4]

Notes

1. A district in Bunkyō ward, Tokyo.