The Abe Clan (1938 film)

The Abe Clan (阿部一族, Abe ichizoku) is a 1938 Japanese historical period film directed by Hisatora Kumagai and released by Toho. It is an adaptation of the 1913 Japanese short story "Abe ichizoku" by Mori Ōgai.[1]

The Abe Clan
Directed byHisatora Kumagai
Produced byMasanobu Takeyama
Written byMasao Adachi
Screenplay byHisatora Kumagai
Based on"Abe ichizoku" by Mori Ōgai
StarringChōjūrō Kawarasaki
Kan'emon Nakamura
Shizue Yamagishi
Music byShirō Fukai
CinematographyHiroshi Suzuki
Edited byYoshitama Imaizumi
Production
company
P.C.L.
Toho Eiga
Distributed byToho Eiga Distribution Corp.
Release date
1938
Running time
105 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Plot

Set during the Tokugawa period, Hosokawa Tadatoshi, feudal lord of the Higo Province, falls ill but forbids his vassals from committing seppuku after he dies. They all defy his request and after Abe Yaichi'emon, the last loyal holdout, also commits seppuku, Mitsunao, Tadatoshi's son and the new feudal lord, punishes the Abe clan for Yaichi'emon's disobedience.

Cast
  • Chōjūrō Kawarasaki as Matajuro Emoto
  • Kan'emon Nakamura as Ygobei
  • Shizue Yamagishi as Toshi
  • Masako Tsutsumi as Osaki
  • Emitaro Ichikawa as Yaichi'emon Abe
  • Kunitarō Kawarazaki
  • Kosaburō Tachibana as Gonbei
  • Shinzaburo Ichikawa as Ichitayu
  • Daisuke Katō
  • Kosaburo Hashi
  • Shimajiro Yamazaki as Gotayu
  • Yuko Ichinose

Production

The film is an adaptation of the 1913 short story "Abe ichizoku" by Mori Ōgai[2] (translated into English under the titles The Abe Family as well as The Abe Clan),[3] which was inspired by the junshi loyalty suicides committed by the Russo-Japanese War hero General Nogi Maresuke and his wife on the day of the funeral of Emperor Meiji.[4][5][6] The same story was again adapted into a television film in 1995 directed by Kinji Fukasaku.

References
  1. "阿部一族 = The Abe clan". 28 November 2018 – via Open WorldCat.
  2. Karatani, Kōjin (28 November 2018). "History and Repetition". Columbia University Press – via Google Books.
  3. "Mori Ôgai: A Bibliography of Western-language Materials". Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. 28 November 2018 – via Google Books.
  4. Sharp, Jasper (13 October 2011). "Historical Dictionary of Japanese Cinema". Scarecrow Press – via Google Books.
  5. Bargen, Doris G. (28 November 2018). "Suicidal Honor: General Nogi and the Writings of Mori ?gai and Natsume S?seki". University of Hawaii Press – via Google Books.
  6. Mori, ?gai (28 November 1991). "The Historical Fiction of Mori ÅOgai". University of Hawaii Press – via Google Books.
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