Appassionata

Appassionata

145 mins | Drama | Jan. 14, 1984

This story is based on the novel "Jo no mai" by Tomiko Miyao which is based on the life of painter Shōen Uemura (1875–1949), the first woman to be awarded the Order of Culture. The title refers to the masterpiece bijinga ("picture of a beautiful woman") that Uemura painted at the age of 61. The main character, Tsuya Shimamura, is born in Kyoto as the second daughter of a tea trader who dies before her birth. Tsuya, who loves painting more than anything and is hopeless at housework, attends art school and at age 15 receives the name Shōsui (from the characters for "pine" and "green") from her teacher. The crown prince of England purchases one of her works, propelling her to fame overnight. The novel portrays the remainder of her stormy life, during which she is impregnated by her teacher and raises a fatherless child; through it all she devotes herself to her painting, undaunted.

Appassionata

145 mins | Drama | Jan. 14, 1984

Appassionata
This story is based on the novel "Jo no mai" by Tomiko Miyao which is based on the life of painter Shōen Uemura (1875–1949), the first woman to be awarded the Order of Culture. The title refers to the masterpiece bijinga ("picture of a beautiful woman") that Uemura painted at the age of 61. The main character, Tsuya Shimamura, is born in Kyoto as the second daughter of a tea trader who dies before her birth. Tsuya, who loves painting more than anything and is hopeless at housework, attends art school and at age 15 receives the name Shōsui (from the characters for "pine" and "green") from her teacher. The crown prince of England purchases one of her works, propelling her to fame overnight. The novel portrays the remainder of her stormy life, during which she is impregnated by her teacher and raises a fatherless child; through it all she devotes herself to her painting, undaunted.
Producers Toei Company, Ltd.
Original title 序の舞
Directors Akira Shimizu, Sadao Nakajima
Writers Tomiko Miyao, Hirô Matsuda

Cast

Yûko Natori

as Tsuya Shimamura

Aki Mizusawa

as Shima Shimamura

Mariko Okada

as Sei Shimamura

Ayako Kobayashi

as Sei as a girl

Kōjirō Kusanagi

as Sei's uncle

Tomiko Ishii

as Midwife

Mineko Maruhira

as Neighborhood lady

Mitsue Wakabayashi

as Sei's grandmother

Kayoko Tominaga

as Kura Shimamura

Mieko Hoshino

as Neighborhood lady

Aki Sawa

as Neighborhood lady

Mayumi Tokunaga

as Neighborhood lady

Mayumi Eda

as Waitress

Keiko Nanase

as Girl

Hiroshi Tanaka

as Postman

Michihiro Kinoshita

as Rickshaw man

Makoto Asai

as Rickshaw man

Etsuko Ichihara

as Narrator (voice)