About Kwaidan

"Kwaidan" is a 1965 horror anthology film by Masaki Kobayashi. The film is based on Lafcadio Hearn's collection of classic Japanese folk tales. The term "Kwaidan" translates as "ghost stories". The film consists of four separate and unrelated stories:

• "The Black Hair": A poor samurai leaves his wife to marry a rich woman for wealth and position, but his guilt and memories of his first wife bring an eerie consequence.
• "The Woman of the Snow": A woodcutter's life is saved by a mysterious ghost-woman, but under one condition, he must never mention it to anyone.
• "Hoichi the Earless": Based on the story of a blind musician who is called by the spirits of the Heike clan to recite their tale, unaware of their ghostly form.
• "In a Cup of Tea": A writer finds a face of a man in his cup of tea, who then appears in his house and haunts him.

Making / Production

"Kwaidan" was produced by Shigeru Wakatsuki and Noriyaki Yokota. Director Masaki Kobayashi was acclaimed for his innovative use of colour and digital effects to suggest a world that is at once real and surreal, grounded and otherworldly.

Actors

• Jun Hamamura as the Second Husband in "The Black Hair". He played the character with a guilty conscience well, reflecting the moral underscore of the story.
• Machiko Kyô as the First Wife/Kei in "The Black Hair", she portrayed the dutiful and wronged wife with a chilling intensity.
• Katsuo Nakamura as Hoichi in "Hoichi the Earless", gave a heartfelt performance of a blind and innocent man, caught in a tale beyond his comprehension.
• Tatsuya Nakadai as the Publisher in "In a Cup of Tea", his individualistic performance added depth to the surreal narrative of the story.

Trivia / Interesting Facts

• The film was shot in a warehouse because of its unusually lengthy production period.
• "Hoichi the Earless" was intended to be a standalone feature film, but was included in "Kwaidan" instead.
• The makeup for "The Woman of the Snow", took four hours to apply each day.

Awards

"Kwaidan" won the Special jury prize at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 38th Academy Awards.

Quotes

• "Do you want to meet a ghost?" - Hoichi
• "I am the servant of the heirloom your lord spilled with his own hands." - Mysterious Samurai
• "He could not remember whether the moon had been full then or waning, cloudy or bright." - Narrator

Music, Soundtrack

• "Banshee Lament" - A haunting theme that is featured throughout the film.
• "Ballad of Hoichi" - A beautiful ballad sung by the character Hoichi in the film.
• "Snowfall" - A chilling and haunting piece used in "The Woman of the Snow".