Sisters of Gion

Set in Kyoto's Gion district, this realist masterpiece portrays two geisha sisters with opposing views of the world—dutiful Umekichi (Umemura Yoko), who remains faithful to feudal society values, and her younger sister Omocha (Yamada Isuzu), who strives to forge an independent life—to deliver a penetrating critique of the patriarchal social order that governs their lives. Determined to create characters deeply rooted in the culture and speech of Kyoto, Mizoguchi once again collaborated with screenwriter Yoda Yoshikata, a Kyoto native with whom he had first worked on Osaka Elegy. Their partnership would go on to become one of the most celebrated director–screenwriter collaborations in Japanese cinema.