Onna no saka / A Woman’s Uphill Slope

Kozaburo Yoshimura: 女の坂 / Onna no saka / A Woman’s Uphill Slope (JP 1960). Mother and daughter: Nobuko Otowa (Keiko) and Mariko Okada (Akie Tsugawa). Photo © Shochiku

女の坂 / [La salita di una donna] / Femmes de Tokyo / A Woman's Uphill Battle [title on print] / La batalla d'un dona costa amunt. 

    JP 1960. Prod.: Shochiku. 

    Director: Kozaburo Yoshimura. Sog.: dal romanzo di Hisao Sawano. Scen.: Kaneto Shindo. F.: Yoshio Miyajima. Scgf.: Junichi Osumi. Mus.: Toshiro Mayuzumi. Int.: Mariko Okada (Akie Tsugawa), Keiji Sada (Saburo Yaoi), Nobuko Otowa (Keiko), Kunitaro Sawamura (Kozo Fujisaki), Ganjiro Nakamura (Kiyosei III), Hizuru Takachiyo (Chiho), Momoko Kouchi (Yumi), Yataro Kitagami (Shuji). Col. 107 min

    Language: Japanese.

    35 mm print with English subtitles by Stuart J. Walton from: Japan Foundation

    Courtesy of Shochiku.

    Il Cinema Ritrovato, Bologna 2024: Kozaburo Yoshimura, Undercurrents of Modernity

    Viewed at Jolly Cinema with e-subtitles in Italian, 28 June 2024

Alexander Jacoby e Johan Nordström (Bologna Catalogue 2024): " One of Yoshimura’s tenderest, liveliest and most affirmative films, this drama was made at Shochiku rather than Daiei, but forms a fascinating tailpiece to the director’s ongoing exploration of Japan’s old capital of Kyoto, its traditional professions, and the role of women. An intricate script by Kaneto Shindo follows the fortunes of heroine Akie, who comes to Kyoto when she inherits a shop and factory which manufactures and sells traditional sweets. Her experience is juxtaposed with the lives of other female characters, as Shindo and Yoshimura explore the various options open to women in the Japan of 1960. "

" The plot was drawn from a novel by Hisao Sawano, the author of the book which had formed the basis of Yoru no kawa four years earlier. “Kinema Junpo” critic Heiichi Sugiyama noted that Onna no saka recapitulated the experimentation with colour which Yoshimura had attempted in the earlier film. Indeed, the cinematography by Yoshio Miyajima (1910-98), who also served as Masaki Kobayashi’s cameraman on Ningen no joken (The Human Condition, 1958-61), Seppuku (Harakiri, 1962) and Kaidan (Kwaidan, 1964) is one of the film’s most memorable properties; striking images capture the changing cityscape of a Kyoto in the throes of modernisation. The theme of tradition and modernity, the way in which they contrast with and complement each other, is effectively set up in a title sequence in which images of the famous Zen stone garden of Ryoan-ji temple are shown to the accompaniment of the avant-garde score by Toshiro Mayuzumi (1929-97). Picking up on these fruitful oppositions, Sugiyama wrote that “The combination of the old house and Okada’s red sweater and slacks is strangely harmonious and beautiful, without suggesting an ideological clash between feudalism and modernity.” "

" However, Mariko Okada (1933)’s vivid star performance is perhaps the film’s greatest asset; as the practical, liberated heroine, she personifies a postwar model of modern femininity. Akie’s mother, meanwhile, is played with characteristic skill by Nobuko Otowa (1924-94), Shindo’s wife and frequent star of the films he himself directed. " Alexander Jacoby e Johan Nordström (Bologna Catalogue 2024)

AA: My favourites among the Kozaburo Yoshimura movies I saw are Yoru no kawa and Onna no saka, both based on novels by Hisao Sawano. In contrast to the perennial geisha tales, both feature modern, independent Japanese women. Yoru no kawa was about design and textile industry, Onna no saka takes place in the world of the confectionery.

Akie Tsugawa (Mariko Okada) has an inspiring presence of female power. From the first glance we believe in her willpower and spirit of enterprise. A good boss who can instill enthusiasm and commitment to quality and service. Running the business makes her feel alive, and the feeling is infectious. 

In the field of romance things get complicated. Akie is turned on by the dashing Saburo Yaoi (Keiji Sada) and a passionate relationship starts, although it seems that Saburo is married with children. What's more, he is the lover of Akie's mother Keiko (Nobuko Otowa) and she is not going to give up on him.

In the Hisao Sawano stories, female protagonists seem actually to prefer lovers who are married - because they do not want to get married themselves. But sharing a lover with mother is a step too far.

This is the first Yoshimura film in scope that I have seen. The process is Shochiku Grandscope. Cinema Jolly is perfect for scope, and Onna no saka fills the screen. Maestro Yoshio Miyajima (Ningen no joken, Seppuku, Kaidan) knows about composition in the double carré format. The cityscapes and the three shots are a joy to the eye. Komorebi shots, the Zen garden and train scenes are constantly interesting in their visual design. The film is about modernity acknowledging tradition, and the clash and harmony of these dimensions is the foundation of the visual world.

The modernist score has been composed by Toshiro Mayuzumi (Uwasa na onna, Akasen chitai, Enjo, Ohayo, Onna no kaidan wo agaru toki, Buta to gunkan, Kohayagawa-ke no aki, Tokyo Olympics, The Bible, Reflections in a Golden Eye).

The combination of the music and the visual artistry is special. This is a story of a modern woman in traditional Kyoto, and the refined cinematography, guided by music, tells it in a purely cinematic way, not reducible to a discursive storyline synopsis. The lighting of Onna no saka evokes painting. The subtle colour world has affinities with watercolour. Woodblock art and charcoal drawing belong to the visual world, too. Gorgeous dresses, flowers in vases, fruit cocktails, bright red colours and Coca Cola are also among the visual elements. It is a story of hard work and business commitment, but beauty is a guiding force. The narrative is often driven and even dominated by music.