is a 1951 black-and-white Japanese film

Cinema of Japan

The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...

 directed by Mikio Naruse

Mikio Naruse

was a Japanese filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer who directed some 89 films spanning the period 1930 to 1967.Naruse is known for imbuing his films with a bleak and pessimistic outlook...

. It follows the life of a quite geisha

Geisha

, Geiko or Geigi are traditional, female Japanese entertainers whose skills include performing various Japanese arts such as classical music and dance.-Terms:...

,single mother of a young boy, in the lively Tokyo quarter of Ginza

Ginza

is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi.It is known as an upscale area of Tokyo with numerous department stores, boutiques, restaurants and coffeehouses. Ginza is recognized as one of the most...

. The film is based on a novel by Tomoichiro Igami and also on screenwriter Matsuo Kishi and director Mikio Naruse's personal knowledge of Tokyo's Ginza district.

Plot

Yukiko Tsuji (Kinuyo Tanaka

Kinuyo Tanaka

was a Japanese actress and director.Tanaka was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. She became a leading actress at an early age, appearing in Yasujirō Ozu's I Graduated, But... in 1929...

) is a gentle, affectionate take on a middle aged bar hostess, struggling to bring up a child alone and facing financial, sexual and end of career issues, as well as the implied disapproval of society.

Cast

• Kinuyo Tanaka
  Kinuyo Tanaka
  was a Japanese actress and director.Tanaka was born in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. She became a leading actress at an early age, appearing in Yasujirō Ozu's I Graduated, But... in 1929...
  
   as Yukiko Tsuji
• Ranko Hanai as Shizue Sayama
• Kyōko Kagawa
  Kyôko Kagawa
  is a Japanese actress. She has appeared in leading and supporting roles in such films as Akira Kurosawa's The Bad Sleep Well and High and Low, Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story, and Kenji Mizoguchi's Sansho the Bailiff.- Filmography :...
  
   as Kyôko
• Eijirô Yanagi as Seikichi Kineya
• Eijirô Tôno as Hyôbei Sugano
• Yoshihiro Nishikubo as Haruo

External links

• Uhlich Keith. "Ginza Cosmetics review." Slant Magazine, 6 February 2006.
• Ginza Cosmetics at Japan Movie Database
• Ginza Cosmetics on Mubi (website)