Ghost stories and stories of the paranormal have held public interest for centuries. Every culture has “wive’s tale” or other warnings for children based in the supernatural. Most societies have part of their foundations based at least partly on the existence of otherworldly beings, and Japan is no different. European author Lafcadio Hearn specialized in folklore in the mid 1800s. After moving to the US in 1869, his journeys took him to Japan. Hearn became so entranced with Japanese culture and history that he legally changed his name to Yakumo Koizumi in 1895. It was a Koizumi that the author published a gathering of Japanese folk stories grounded in the supernatural entitled “Kwaidan.”

The film version of “Kwaidan” contains only four stories, but the storytelling is only the beginning of the project’s worth. This is quite literally one of the most beautiful films that anyone could hope to see. Filmmaker Masaki Kobayashi had been known for social and political movies on topics stemming from the 2nd World War. “Kwaidan” is something completely different. This project was shot entirely on meticulously designed giant sound stages, much of which was hand painted by Kobayashi himself. This is a statement where words can not really do justice to the film as the traditional Japanese settings are washed in a sort of “Disney meets Argento” color scheme. The atmosphere drifts in and out of a dream-like state the adds to the surrealism of the storytelling. Kobayashi even handled the recording of the post-audio, and did the synching himself. Truly, his vision was undeniable, as the film garnered many awards and recognitions, including the 1965 Cannes Film Festival Special Jury Prize.

“The Black Hair”

This is a tale of a disgruntled samurai, true to form for the end of an era. The skilled warrior is in the same state as many samurai of that day, penniless and starving. The main difference is that this “hero” has settled down and married. His wife is as good as any woman could be, providing food, shelter, earning money, and doing her best to keep the fallen samurai pleased. It is unfortunate that this man still has upward mobility on his mind, which leads him to not only take a high paying position in a court far away, but to divorce his loving wife in the process.

With a new position of honor, a new, young bride, and a new life, the samurai is on top of the world. However, things soon begin to deteriorate. The new bride is brash and obnoxious, and the new position reeks of tediousness. Slowly, the samurai’s mind wanders back to poorer, but happier times with his former wife. Finally, the samurai decides to leave his new post and return to his true love, but he finds more than he bargained for upon his return.

“The Woman of the Snow”

The second story finds two woodsmen traveling through the forest. After making their way towards home, a terrible blizzard engulfs the man and they become lost. Miraculously, they find their way to a cabin and collapse, hoping the shelter will save their lives. Delirious, the youngest of the woodsmen awakens to find a beautiful woman in their haven. The mysterious figure shows her true form as she breathes cold air into the elder woodsman, taking his life. As the evil spirit approaches the younger man, she notices that he is trembling in fear. In a brief moment of pity, the woman in white decides to spare the young man’s life, but only on one condition: he must never tell anyone what has transpired on this evening, or she will come back to collect his life.

“Hoichi, the Earless”

The third tale is probably the most breathtaking of the series. The story opens with Hoichi, a blind musician, singing a narrative to stunning visuals. He is singing about a war between the Heike and Genji clans, whose brutal final battle claimed most of their lives in close proximity to the monastery where Hoichi resides. Hoichi’s singing of this tale becomes quite famous as representatives of courts come from miles around to hear. The fame takes Hoichi by surprise as he is summoned in the middle of the night to perform for a special court. As this continues for a few nights, the monasteries leaders become concerned and trail Hoichi to one of these “performances.” When the discovery of the court’s identity is made, the priests decide the only way to save Hoichi is to hide him in plain sight, drawing kanji filled spells all over his body, but is this enough to keep the musician safe?

“In a Cup of Tea”

The final story is another of the samurai genre as we find a warrior who is haunted by the reflection of an unfamiliar face in his tea. The story takes a Rod Serling-ish twist as the warrior eventually meets the man with that reflection. There are a couple of twists and turns that make the story interesting, but this is the weakest of the four.

As previously mentioned, this is an incredibly beautiful film. A lot of time and hard work was put into “Kwaidan” by the director, and much of that was first hand. In viewing this film, it is recommended that it be digested in parts. While it isn’t really that hard to comprehend story wise, each story clocks in at about ½ hour, and each has an entirely different visual tone. Considering each story as an entity unto itself, the viewer tends to come away with not only a higher level of personal enjoyment, but a higher level of aesthetic pleasure as well.

• FACT #1 – “Kwaidan” is another staple in the legendary TOHO library of films.
   
• FACT #2 – TOHO alumnus Takashi Shimura (“Gojira”/”Shichinin no Samurai”) portrays the head priest in “Hoichi, the Earless.”

For more info, check out the following:

• http://www.imdb.com – International Movie Database
• http://www.criterionco.com/ - Criterion Collection homepage; best DVD edition of the film
• http://gaslight.mtroyal.ca/kwaimenu.htm - Background on the original author of the “Kwaidan” story collection, as well as a translation of some of the stories
• http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/gutbook/lookup?num=1210 – Project Gutenberg E-Text version of the “Kwaidan” stories, available for download.

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