An Autumn Afternoon
Encyclopedia
is a 1962 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu
. It stars Ozu regular Chishu Ryu
as the patriarch of the Hirayama family who oversees the wedding of his daughter, played by Shima Iwashita. It was Ozu's last film; he died in the following year. It was shot using Agfacolor
.
The credits of the film are placed before a backdrop of sketched or painted frond
s instead of the usual sackcloth used in most of Ozu's films since A Story of Floating Weeds
in 1934.
) is an aging widower with a married eldest son, Koichi (Keiji Sada
), and two unmarried children – a 24-year-old daughter Michiko (Shima Iwashita) and a younger son Kazuo (Shinichirô Mikami). Since marriage Koichi has shifted out with his wife, leaving Kazuo and Hirayama in Michiko's care.
Hirayama and his fellow classmates Kawai (Nobuo Nakamura
) and Horie (Ryuji Kita) go to a class reunion where one of their teachers, Sakuma (Eijiro Tono
), nicknamed the "Gourd", is in attendance. The friends tease Horie who has married a much younger wife. They reminisce about the past and Sakuma has too much to drink, and Kawai and Hirayama have to bring him home. They meet his spinster daughter Tomoko (Haruko Sugimura
), who has missed the chance to marry when young, and is now too old to marry.
Koichi borrows 50,000 yen from his father to buy a refrigerator
, but plans to use the excess money to buy second-hand golf club
s. His wife Akiko (Mariko Okada
) is in disagreement, but finally relents. However, she decides ill-temperedly to use some of this extra money to buy for herself a white leather purse as well.
Sakuma tells his former pupils that it is owing to his own selfishness that his daughter is now an old spinster. Troubled by Sakuma's daughter's example, Hirayama decides on an arranged marriage for Michiko. He asks Koichi if Koichi's colleague Miura (Teruo Yoshida), whom Michiko is fond of, is interested in Michiko. Unfortunately, Miura is already engaged. Koichi and Hirayama break the news to a visibly upset Michiko, and later ask her if she is willing to go for a matchmaking session with a candidate Kawai has selected. Michiko agrees.
In one of the ellipses
Ozu is famous for, the film forwards to Michiko's wedding day. (Michiko clearly has agreed to marry, though her bridegroom is never shown.) Michiko prepares to wed in a traditional wedding kimono. (The actual ceremony is never shown.) Hirayama goes to a bar to celebrate her wedding afterwards and ends up drunk. When he returns, Koichi and his wife go off, leaving behind Kazuo who duly goes to bed, and a melancholic Hirayama sitting in the middle of the night.
Yasujiro Ozu
was a prominent Japanese film director and script writer. He is known for his distinctive technical style, developed during the silent era. Marriage and family, especially the relationships between the generations, are among the most persistent themes in his body of work...
. It stars Ozu regular Chishu Ryu
Chishu Ryu
was a famous Japanese film actor, a favourite of the director Yasujiro Ozu. From 1928 to 1992 he appeared in at least 155 films, including Ozu's Tokyo Story and Yoshitaro Nomura's Castle of Sand...
as the patriarch of the Hirayama family who oversees the wedding of his daughter, played by Shima Iwashita. It was Ozu's last film; he died in the following year. It was shot using Agfacolor
Agfacolor
thumb|An Agfacolor slide dating from the early 1940s. While the colors themselves hold up well after 60 years, damages visible include dust and [[Newton's rings]].Agfacolor is a series of color photographic products produced by Agfa of Germany...
.
The credits of the film are placed before a backdrop of sketched or painted frond
Frond
The term frond refers to a large, divided leaf. In both common usage and botanical nomenclature, the leaves of ferns are referred to as fronds and some botanists restrict the term to this group...
s instead of the usual sackcloth used in most of Ozu's films since A Story of Floating Weeds
A Story of Floating Weeds
is a 1934 silent film directed by Yasujiro Ozu which he later remade as Floating Weeds in 1959 in color.-Plot:The film starts with a travelling kabuki troupe arriving by train at a provincial seaside town. Kihachi Ichikawa , the head of the troupe, is a very popular actor...
in 1934.
Plot
Shuhei Hirayama (Chishu RyuChishu Ryu
was a famous Japanese film actor, a favourite of the director Yasujiro Ozu. From 1928 to 1992 he appeared in at least 155 films, including Ozu's Tokyo Story and Yoshitaro Nomura's Castle of Sand...
) is an aging widower with a married eldest son, Koichi (Keiji Sada
Keiji Sada
was a Japanese actor. He won the award for best actor at the 7th Blue Ribbon Awards for Anata kaimasu and Taifū sōdōki. He was the father of the actor Kiichi Nakai.-Filmography:* Kane no naru oka: Dai san hen, kuro no maki...
), and two unmarried children – a 24-year-old daughter Michiko (Shima Iwashita) and a younger son Kazuo (Shinichirô Mikami). Since marriage Koichi has shifted out with his wife, leaving Kazuo and Hirayama in Michiko's care.
Hirayama and his fellow classmates Kawai (Nobuo Nakamura
Nobuo Nakamura
was a Japanese actor, who made notable appearances in the films of Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu in the 1950s and 1960s. Perhaps his most famous roles were those of the callous deputy mayor in Kurosawa's Ikiru , and the hairdresser's henpecked husband in Ozu's Tokyo Story .Nakamura is famous for...
) and Horie (Ryuji Kita) go to a class reunion where one of their teachers, Sakuma (Eijiro Tono
Eijirô Tono
was a Japanese actor who took supporting roles in such films as Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Yojimbo , as well as Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story and An Autumn Afternoon ....
), nicknamed the "Gourd", is in attendance. The friends tease Horie who has married a much younger wife. They reminisce about the past and Sakuma has too much to drink, and Kawai and Hirayama have to bring him home. They meet his spinster daughter Tomoko (Haruko Sugimura
Haruko Sugimura
was a Japanese stage and film actress, best known for her appearances in the movies of Yasujiro Ozu and Mikio Naruse from the late 1940s to the early 1960s...
), who has missed the chance to marry when young, and is now too old to marry.
Koichi borrows 50,000 yen from his father to buy a refrigerator
Refrigerator
A refrigerator is a common household appliance that consists of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump that transfers heat from the inside of the fridge to its external environment so that the inside of the fridge is cooled to a temperature below the ambient temperature of the room...
, but plans to use the excess money to buy second-hand golf club
Golf club (equipment)
A golf club is used to hit a golf ball in a game of golf. Each club is composed of a shaft with a grip and a clubhead. Woods are mainly used for long-distance fairway or tee shots; irons, the most versatile class, are used for a variety of shots; Hybrids that combine design elements of woods and...
s. His wife Akiko (Mariko Okada
Mariko Okada
Mariko Okada is a Japanese actress. She is married to film director Yoshishige Yoshida.Her father was the noted silent film actor Tokihiko Okada, who before his early death starred in Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Chorus...
) is in disagreement, but finally relents. However, she decides ill-temperedly to use some of this extra money to buy for herself a white leather purse as well.
Sakuma tells his former pupils that it is owing to his own selfishness that his daughter is now an old spinster. Troubled by Sakuma's daughter's example, Hirayama decides on an arranged marriage for Michiko. He asks Koichi if Koichi's colleague Miura (Teruo Yoshida), whom Michiko is fond of, is interested in Michiko. Unfortunately, Miura is already engaged. Koichi and Hirayama break the news to a visibly upset Michiko, and later ask her if she is willing to go for a matchmaking session with a candidate Kawai has selected. Michiko agrees.
In one of the ellipses
Ellipsis (narrative device)
Ellipsis is the narrative device of omitting a portion of the sequence of events, allowing the reader to fill in the narrative gaps.An ellipsis in narrative leaves out a portion of the story. This can be used to condense time, or as a stylistic method to allow the reader to fill in the missing...
Ozu is famous for, the film forwards to Michiko's wedding day. (Michiko clearly has agreed to marry, though her bridegroom is never shown.) Michiko prepares to wed in a traditional wedding kimono. (The actual ceremony is never shown.) Hirayama goes to a bar to celebrate her wedding afterwards and ends up drunk. When he returns, Koichi and his wife go off, leaving behind Kazuo who duly goes to bed, and a melancholic Hirayama sitting in the middle of the night.
Cast
- Chishu RyuChishu Ryuwas a famous Japanese film actor, a favourite of the director Yasujiro Ozu. From 1928 to 1992 he appeared in at least 155 films, including Ozu's Tokyo Story and Yoshitaro Nomura's Castle of Sand...
as Shuhei Hirayama - Shima Iwashita as Michiko Hirayama
- Keiji SadaKeiji Sadawas a Japanese actor. He won the award for best actor at the 7th Blue Ribbon Awards for Anata kaimasu and Taifū sōdōki. He was the father of the actor Kiichi Nakai.-Filmography:* Kane no naru oka: Dai san hen, kuro no maki...
as Koichi Hirayama - Mariko OkadaMariko OkadaMariko Okada is a Japanese actress. She is married to film director Yoshishige Yoshida.Her father was the noted silent film actor Tokihiko Okada, who before his early death starred in Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Chorus...
as Akiko Hirayama - Teruo Yoshida as Yutaka Miura
- Noriko Maki as Fusako Taguchi
- Shinichirô Mikami as Kazuo Hirayama
- Nobuo NakamuraNobuo Nakamurawas a Japanese actor, who made notable appearances in the films of Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu in the 1950s and 1960s. Perhaps his most famous roles were those of the callous deputy mayor in Kurosawa's Ikiru , and the hairdresser's henpecked husband in Ozu's Tokyo Story .Nakamura is famous for...
as Shuzo Kawai - Kuniko Miyake as Nobuko Kawai, his wife
- Eijirô TonoEijirô Tonowas a Japanese actor who took supporting roles in such films as Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai and Yojimbo , as well as Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story and An Autumn Afternoon ....
as Seitaro Sakuma, "The Gourd" - Haruko SugimuraHaruko Sugimurawas a Japanese stage and film actress, best known for her appearances in the movies of Yasujiro Ozu and Mikio Naruse from the late 1940s to the early 1960s...
as Tomoko - Kyôko KishidaKyoko Kishidawas a Japanese actress, voice actress, and writer of children's books.Her father was Kunio Kishida, a playwright and the founder of the Bungaku-za. She became an actress in 1950, and starred in a Yukio Mishima production of the 1960 film Salome. Her film and television drama credits number in the...
as Madam at "Kaoru" - Ryuji Kita as Shin Horie
- Michiyo Kan as Tamako, his second wife
- Toyoko Takahashi as Waitress at "Wakamatsu"
- Shinobu Asaji as Youko Sasaki, Shuhei's secretary