A Tale of Archery at the Sanjusangendo

The Sanjusangendo is a temple in Japan famed for its thousand life-sized statues. In the Edo Era, it was also known for an archery contest. Five years before the events in this movie, Senshô Ichikawa's father, who had held the record, lost the competition and killed himself. Since then, Ichikawa has lived at a nearby inn, under the supervision of Kinuyo Tanaka, practicing every day in hope to win it back for his family. Yet his prospects, despite the encouragement of those around, look dim. The stress is eating him alive. The brother of the man who broke his father's record is hiring assassins to kill him before he can accomplish the feat. Up rolls Kazuo Hasegawa, who appoints himself Ichikawa's protector and archery coach. Why is he doing that?

This is not a typical movie by Mikio Naruse, with its concentration on men, but like most Japanese directors who came up in the late silent era, he could turn out a good, workmanlike movie in any genre..... and it being 1945, he was undoubtedly happy to have the work. Its subtext, about what constitutes honor and its costs, is not buried particularly deep; if Miss Tanaka seems like luxury casting for the role, this is her second time working with him.... and the first time in a dozen years!

The script is by Hideo Oguni. He had been writing screenplays since 1933, and would soon establish his celebrated collaboration with Akira Kurosawa. He would die in 1996, aged 91.