The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959) User Reviews (17)

A Nutshell Review: The Ghost Story of Yotsuya

[DICK STEEL · 8/10 · 29 August 2009]

Touted to be one of the most famous traditional Japanese ghost stories set in the Edo era, there's a certain staged feeling in the way the film got presented, probably because of its Kabuki roots, expanded to include some on location outdoor shoots. Otherwise the story could conveniently unfold on stage for all and sundry, given the limited number of characters involved in a pretty straightforward narrative. In fact, amongst all the films screened during this year's festival, this is the most conventional of the lot.

The main protagonist of the film is an anti-hero with enough reasons for anyone to dislike him from the onset. Iemon Tamiya (Shigeru Amachi) opens the film as a murderer, killing just because he got faced with a "No" answer to his desire of marrying Oiwa (Kazuko Wakasugi), and then cooks up an elaborate story just to gain her trust, which involves more murder and the pining of the blame to a criminal on the loose.

An ambitious man, he continues looking for a way to better his life and status as a lowly samurai, and sees the quickest way is to marry into a rich family by asking for the hand of Oume (Junko Ikeuchi) in marriage. The complication here is of course his wife whom we had seen him go to great lengths to well, win her over, and the only way to gain a shortcut to the higher class, is to bump her off through an accusation of adultery that he sets up with Takuetsu (Jun Otomo).

Directed by Nobuo Nakagawa, the film runs under 80 minutes, and the hauntings well placed only toward the last act where they come quite fast and furious. The bulk of the film gets stuck in setting up how repulsive Iemon is as a person, who will stop at nothing in order to fulfill his desires, never for once hesitating that his grand plan is nothing short of immoral. Being a significant role later, time is also devoted to how virtuous Oiwa is as a wife, bringing to life the mantra of for better or worse, and believing that one day her husband would make it good. Little does she know of course that she doesn't figure in his future plans at all.

Much of the horror comes from Iemon's guilt consciousness in constantly seeing visions of his disfigured wife and friend whom he had sent in the act of seduction. Stylistically the appearance of ghostly apparitions are done in old school fashion with plenty of make-up and lighting effects at play, especially since this is a revenge flick where the guilty gets punished because the spirits come back to settle their unfinished business, being wrongly accused and punished. Iemon is quite the fine swordsman that he is, and his swiftness with the sword would prove to be his downfall as he hacks and slashes at his ghostly visions.

Naturally the fun comes in the haunting of Iemon, but amongst the artistic presentation of the other films in this year's festival, The Ghost of Yotsuya stood out for its simplicity, and turned out to be very much enjoyable.

Entertaining, but no knockout blows

[gbill-74877 · 7/10 · 4 June 2018]

The classic tale of 'The Ghost of Yotsuya' is entertaining enough, and zips along in its 76 minute run time, but it didn't deliver any knockout blows. The story is fairly black and white, with a ronin and his sidekick committing murder to get the women they want, but the depth of the blackness in their hearts is surprising, and makes it effective. Personally, I didn't find their supernatural comeuppance all that frightening, and felt that director Nobuo Nakagawa relied too much on the shock value of visuals, instead of creating real tension. The visuals are decent, but they're also dated, and we rarely fail to see what's coming. The performances were also generally over-done, though I understand my perspective is from another culture. Anyway, fans of the genre will probably enjoy this one.

Interesting and enjoyable but flawed version

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 7/10 · 29 October 2012]

Tired of living in poverty with his wife, a samurai hatches a scheme to kill her off so he can marry a wealthier woman which he carries out successfully, but her ghost returns to torment him for the wrongful death and must find a way to stop it before he is condemned for eternity.

This is one of the most enjoyable and faithful variations of the story. Even though most of them are going to be pretty much similar to what happens, this one goes for a straight retelling of the story which comes off decently. With the first half retelling their life in poverty together, these reinforcements of the society gap between the two becomes heavily integrated with the original story which isn't that action-packed yet wholly sets up the ghostly vengeance later on. When the murder happens and the ghostly stuff starts to happen, it gets infinitely better through the use of actually having stuff happening as those allow this one to surprisingly become far more watchable. With the last part of the film taken up by this use of classic Gothic horror tropes as the visions of the two ghosts appearing around the huts or appearing out of the swamp, moaning and madness all start to come into play here in a series of long, extended scare scenes that take on a fine form of revenge against him and even does correct some flaws found here. It doesn't have too many flaws about it to hold it back. The first half of this film has absolutely nothing of any real value as a horror film at all, looking absolutely like a lame drama about the social standing rather than anything to do with a ghost story, and it makes for some utterly boring and not at all interesting times. The endless talks of him trying to get a better life, the prodding from his friend who knows too much and the interactions with the wife all compound together to make this a pretty bland part of the story. As well, the film also really looks it's age with the set-based look of the villages and the cramped, confined feel completely destroys the intent of being out in the countryside the way it should be. The positives counteract some of these issues but not all of them, leaving this as a rather interesting take on the story but overall not much else.

Rated Unrated/PG-13: Violence.

`O, the fury of a maddened woman is truly the greatest horror there is.'

[Watuma · 24 February 2003]

And who can fault Iwa's fury? Her husband Iemon murders her father to marry her, deceives her into parting from her sister, fathers her child, pays another man to seduce her, then administers a disfiguring poison so he can marry another woman. Yet Iemon is not wholly wicked - he suffers pangs of conscience, and most of his crimes are the result of his servant's goading. Whilst our sympathy goes to Iwa, our empathy extends to Iemon. The film is endowed with the dimensions of a classical tragedy, as the director undoubtedly intended. In fact, the picture's opening scenes are unabashedly stage-bound, before it shifts subtly into an engrossing cinematic experience. Although the story has been adapted to film many times in Japan, this is generally considered the definitive version.

Besides its dramatic power, this version of Ghost Story of Yotsuya is visually sumptuous and thrillingly scored, the scope compositions are masterly, and the female phantom's appearance is truly nightmarish.

This is easily the most accomplished, frightening and satisfying of Nakagawa's period ghost stories.

An Evil Man's Deeds Coming Back to Haunt Him

[Uriah43 · 7/10 · 21 January 2023]

This film essentially begins with a young samurai by the name of "Iemon Tamiya" (Shigeru Amachi) asking a more high-level samurai named "Samon Yotsuya" (Shinjiro Asano) to marry his daughter "Iwa Yotsuya). In response, Samon angrily refuses because he considers Iemon to be much too hedonistic and of low-moral character. Not surprisingly, this infuriates Iemon and, as if to prove Samon's point-he furiously draws his sword and kills the older man on the spot. Having witnessed the murder and wanting to capitalize on it, a cunning peasant named "Naosuke" (Shuntaro Emi) appears from the shadows and advises Iemon on exactly what to do next. Needless to say, Iemon listens quite intensely and in relatively little time he does, in fact, marry Iwa. Likewise, Naosuke also gets closer to realizing his ambition of marrying Iwa's sister "Sode" (Noriko Kitazawa) who was always out of reach for him due to his low status in life. However, what neither Iemon or Naosuke realize is that, eventually, their evil deeds will catch up to them--and when they do--they come in a most bizarre manner. Now, rather than reveal any more, I will just say that this was a good horror film which took a bit of time laying down the foundation of the story before really increasing in intensity later on. Admittedly, the costumes and makeup used pale in comparison to the CGI and special effects found in more modern films of today. No question about it. But even so, I thought that the overall movie was still quite entertaining, and I have rated it accordingly.

Nagakawa vividly brings a Japanese legend to life

[dustinkdye · 6/10 · 15 July 2013]

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS, NECESSARY AS THE STORY WOULD HAVE ALREADY BEEN FAMILIAR TO Japanese AUDIENCES AT THE TIME

The Japanese have some of the world's most inventive and exotic ghost stories. Without a shared cultural basis for these stories, they appear especially disquieting to Western audiences. This largely adds to the appeal of "The Ghost of Yotsuya."

"The Ghost of Yotsuya" is based on a popular Japanese folk tale, with a basis on an actual murder. The folk tale has been the subject of numerous woodblock prints and ukiyo-e paintings, and was most famously adapted in the kabuki play by Tsuruya Nanboku IV.

The story would have been well-known to Japanese audiences at the time. Knowing the story in advance, the audience would have been watching for subtle twists in the plot and mentally comparing it to other stagings.

In a nutshell, the story is about Iemon, a ronin samurai whose wife, Oiwa, is weak and ailing after giving birth to their child. Iemon falls in love with the granddaughter of his wealthy neighbor. The neighbor gives Iemon some medicine that will purportedly heal his wife, but instead leaves her disfigured and eventually kills her. Iemon also kills Oiwa's sympathetic masseur, Kohei, who is a possible witness. He then nails their bodies to opposite sides of a shutter and throws their bodies in a lake.

Iemon proceeds to marry his neighbor's granddaughter, but his guilty conscience haunts him. At their wedding, he sees Oiwa and decapitates her. But after inspecting her body, he discovers to his horror that he has killed his bride. He then confronts his new grandfather-in-law, but finds Kohei instead. He then decapitates his in-law, thinking he's Kohei. Iemon goes on a killing spree as he sees Oiwa's disfigured face on everybody.

Iemon can't escape Oiwa's vengeance, and retreats to life as a hermit on Mt. Hebiyama (Snake Mountain). Even here he is not safe. When he goes fishing, he pulls out the shutter with the two bodies nailed to it. In the iconic finale, the ropes and vines around Iemon turn into snakes (symbolizing the world of death and revenge), and Oiwa's face confronts him on a lantern. Iemon's brother-in-law finally avenges Oiwa and Kohei at the end.

It is a moralistic story. In a culture where women had virtually no legal repercussions against abusive husbands, "The Ghost of Yotsuya" warns about the supernatural consequences for cruelty against women.

This 1959 film directed by Nobuo Nakagawa is considered the definitive screen adaptation of the story. "The Ghost of Yotsuya" is more or less faithful to the legend, although the filmmakers have added some flares of their own. There are minor changes to names and details. Iemon and Oiwa's relationship is also given a bloody back-story, and it takes almost an hour for the movie to get to the heart of the legend. Nakagawa uses vivid colors reminiscent of a woodblock print, which effectively lend a distinct look to the film.

I had a few problems with this film. One was the acting. Japanese acting, even today, tends to be very affected. The style was developed for the kabuki theater, and looks unnatural on screen. I realize this is a cultural difference. It looks like horrible overacting to an American viewer, but if the Japanese think it's good, then it's good. The execution of the story also left something to be desired. Nakagawa seemed to rely more on shocking, gory imagery rather than create a sufficiently creepy atmosphere necessary for a ghost story.

"The Ghost of Yotsuya" should please die-hard fans of Japanese horror films, and could be seen as a forerunner to "Ringu" (remade in the U.S. as "The Ring") and "Ju-on" (remade as "The Grudge"), both of which take cues from the legend of Oiwa.

An okay flick with amazing, hallucinatory visuals

[rdoyle29 · 7/10 · 1 November 2022]

Shigeru Amachi wants to marry Katsuko Wakasugi, the daughter of prominent samurai Shinjirô Asano. Asano refuses the request, belittling Amachi who promptly murders him. Shuntarô Emi witnesses the murder and promises to help him cover it up, if he in turn helps him marry Wakasugi's sister. The two tell Wakasugi that her father was murdered by a notorious criminal and they will help her get revenge. Instead, they murder her sister's fiancé and Emi runs off with her.

Months later, Amachi and Wakasugi are married and living in Edo. Amachi has fallen for Junko Ikeuchi, the daughter of a nobleman, and hatches a plan to rid himself of Wakasugi. He hires Jun Ôtomo to seduce her so that he can legally kill her, but the plan goes awry. Ôtomo ends up dead and Wakasugi is poisoned causing hideous facial deformities before she also dies. Amachi marries Ikeuchi, but the spirits of Wakasugi and Ôtomo haunt him leading him to ruin.

This is probaby the best known adaptation of the kabuki play "Yotsuya Kaidan" (there are many). It's a fairly routine film from a story and characters perspective, but the film's vibrant colours and gory, hallucinatory visuals are really something.

a Pearl in the Crown of Japanese Slasher Flickage

[indianmansteamer · 10/10 · 19 May 2005]

Iemon Tamiya ( Shigeru Amachi, the hero of Jigoku ) is a samouraï without Master ( ronin ) who wishes to marry Iwa, the girl of the Samon lord. One evening, it waits on the property of Samon that this one returns to him, in order to ask him last once the hand of his daughter, but Samon wants nothing to know, and milked Iemon of libertine, doubled of an imbecile. Iemon perhaps, which does not have a row but does not remain about it less one man of honour, carries out Samon and its continuation at once, under the amused glance of its servant, Naosuke, which sees an occasion there to increase its capacity on its Master. The two men decide to make wear the hat in Usaburo, a samouraï of which any Okayama knows hatred towards the late one. Yomoshichi, whose father belonged to the guard of Samon, decides to avenge the death for his/her own father, but also for that which was on the point of becoming his/her father-in-law: indeed, it had obtained the hand of Sode, the sister of Iwa. The two couples in becoming get under way in order to avenge death for Samon, accompanied by Naosuke. Six months later, Naosuke, in love with Sode, decides to make sing Iemon so that it helps it to get rid of Yomoshichi - death that the two men put again on the back of Usaburo. Naosuke and Sode leave to the continuation the "culprit" while Iemon and Iwa, patient, settle in Edo. Two years pass, and the two sisters, from now on separated, still did not satisfy their thirst for revenge: Usaburo always runs. Iemon, married to Iwa, claims more not to have re-examined Naosuke whereas the two men find together means of tapping money with the Ito old man to remain, each one on their side. Iemon sees in EMU, the girl of this last, the possibility of obtaining a honourable position, and it is put consequently at the head to marry it. But for that, it must get rid of Iwa, become cumbersome - as well as faithful Naosuke suggests to him...

Tokaido-Yotsuyakaidan takes again a traditional history of phantoms to the Nakagawa sauce. One finds at the same time elements of Jigoku there , that the realizer would turn one year later, and of Borei-Kaibyoyashiki , filmed one year before. The three films put in scene a murder more or less reflected, made under an access of anger, which involves others of them before taking along the heroes to know the revenge on In addition to world. But the similarities do not stop with the topic. The character of Naosuke precedes that of Tamura in Jigoku , character of background which encourages the hero to make ignominies more and more. The end of the film, during which one rocks in pure film of horror, mixes the hallucinations of the assassin of Borei... and visual hallucinated hell of Jigoku . Moreover, Tokaido... is also a film rather gore for the time: that it is with the make-up of Iwa, properly horrible, or the torn off arm of Takuetsu, friend of Iemon victim of one of his machinations, Nakagawa never underestimates the impact of visual truly bloody.

But principal qualities of Tokaido... are of a visual nature: the realization is once more impeccable, modern for the time in its use of the framework and the out-field ( the scene where Iwa discovers the decomposition of its face in is an excellent example ), and contributes to make mount the trouillometer in a very convincing way for such an old film. The appearances of Iwa, nailed on the board on which it was drowned, show again some many modern "monsters". As for the last image of film, it returns as much to Jigoku as at the end of beyond Fulci ( very adequate comparison definitely for the study of the case Nakagawa ), with its ghostly figure within a monochromatic landscape which one guesses without difficulty infernal. A remarkable film of horror, which more is easily accessible to any fan from cinema from terror ( what is not inevitably the case of all films of the realizer ).

A lurid version of a classic tale.

[freakus · 9/10 · 18 April 1999]

This classic japanese tale has been filmed many times. It's the story of a samurai's betrayal of his wife and the ultimate vengeance her spirit seeks. The spectre of her ghost haunting the mind of her husband is almost like seeing a japanese "The Shining".

One of the best ghost flicks ever made

[ebeckstr-1 · 9/10 · 8 September 2021]

This excellent Japanese ghost flick is a perfect illustration of how the 90s J-horror cycle was rooted in a long Japanese cinematic tradition (and ancient folkloric tradition) of murdered women who hold serious postmortem grudges.

The first half of Tokaido Yotsuya Kaidan shows the antagonists' increasingly shocking moral depravity as it gathers momentum and raise the foundation for the second part of the movie. This second part consists of the revenge of the wrong spirit. It is equally shocking, gruesome, and horrifying. The production design is sumptuous, with striking use of color and sound, with a score that punctuates each shocking moment.

Easily one of the best Japanese horror movies ever made, and one that should be at the top of every list of top ghost story flicks.

Tôkaidô Yotsuya kaidan: Passable adaptation

[Platypuschow · 5/10 · 9 February 2019]

The Ghost of Yotsuya is yet another adaptation of the timeless Japanese ghost story Yotsuya Kaidan. The trouble is there are so immensely many movies telling exactly the same story with few deviations from the source material.

Sadly truth be told I don't like the story, other than being overplayed it's just not all that interesting and I think Japan has considerably better ghost stories than this.

For those unaware it tells the story of a samurai who poisons his wife to further his deviant plans. She however returns from the grave and haunts him, gradually chipping away at his psyche until he's a broken wreck of a man.

Despite my average rating I think this is the best adaptation made replacing Illusion of Blood (1965). It plays out the horror well, the lead does his role competently and it all flows better than most (Partially due to the suitable running time).

For anyone who hasn't seen Yotsuya Kaidan on screen before I'd recommend this one. If however you have then perhaps skip this and the others as they are near carbon copies of one another.

The Good:

Manages the horror element well

Competent lead

The Bad:

Same old story

The second half will be cherished by the Gothic horror aficionado

[chaos-rampant · 14 October 2009]

Funny how things change. In 1949 Shintoho was producing prestige films like Akira Kurosawa's STRAY DOG. Ten years later they were producing scores of everything from lurid melodramas to nationalist war movies to cheap gangster flicks to kaidan period horror movies like this. Two years later, in 1961, they declared bankruptcy and closed shop, the first semi-big studio in postwar Japan to do so. Nobuo Nakagawa, along with Teruo Ishii who graduated from the film noir of the Chitai series into full blown sleaze and torture 10 years later, was one of those prolific studio filmmakers responsible for many of their kaidan pictures. His biggest call to fame is JIGOKU from the following year but this is an ample showcase of both the good and the bad of Shintoho film-making.

Based on the classic story by Nanboku Tsuruya about a conniving lowly samurai who is haunted by the ghost of the wife he murdered, a lot of the drama is hackneyed, the characters simple caricatures of good and evil, innocent and scheming, the dialogues delivered on-the-nose. Iemon, the murderous samurai, is played and depicted as the worst villain possible. No grey areas here, nothing morally ambiguous, the movie is melodrama played to the back of the house. And yet, the first appearance of the ghost sent chills down my spine. Ringu and Ju On didn't invent the pale-faced ghost that creeps along the edge of the frame. It was there 50 years ago and in Kabuki theater before that.

With the eye of a stylist, Nakagawa orchestrates a vision of hell on earth, ghosts rising from the ground or peering down from the ceiling, and it's all very stagey and theatrical probably to appeal to an audience already familiar with the story from Kabuki theater and as much creepy/atmospheric as it is graphic, certainly more graphic than American horror would dare to be for the next 10 years (we have blood gushing from wounds, facial deformities, and even an amputated limb), and while the whole is never as good as the parts, those parts should appeal to the horror fan who likes his lighting bright red and torquoise and his ghosts slow-moving and disfigured.

The ending samurai standoff sequence is epic and worthwhile.

[kevin_robbins · 8/10 · 20 June 2022]

The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959) is a Japanese samurai/horror movie that I recently watched on a random streaming service. The storyline follows an ancient Japanese fairytale about a murdered woman who haunts her home and husband. As the husband tries to move on he finds it difficult to determine what's reality and what isn't. As he starts to go mad he gets closer to closer to being reunited with his deceased wife.

This movie is directed Nobuo Nakagawa (Jigoku) and stars Shigeru Amachi (Girl Boss Blues: Queen Bee's Counterattack), Noriko Kitazawa (The Depths) and Katsuko Wakasugi (Black Breasts).

The samurai genre is my absolute favorite genre so I may be a little bias when it comes to these films. The background music in this is outstanding, as are the sets, makeup and there's a tremendous transformation scene that's absolutely a must see. I adore the way they make the ghosts face look and how it tortures the husband. The ending samurai standoff sequence is epic and worthwhile.

Overall this is a unique addition to the horror genre that's a must see. I would score this a strong 7.5/10 and recommend seeing it once. And yes, it's with subtitles.

The Ghost of Iwa

[claudio_carvalho · 8/10 · 10 December 2022]

The ronin Iemon Tamiya (Shigeru Amachi) asks the father of Iwa (Kazuko Wakasugi) to marry his daughter, but the old man refuses, saying that he is worthless. Iemon kills him and his friend and together with the witness of the murder Naosuke (Shuntarô Emi), they lure Iwa and her sister Sode (Noriko Kitazawa) saying that the criminal Usaburô Ozawa (Yôzô Takamura) was the killer of their father. They head to Edo with Sode's fiancé Yomoshichi Satô (Haruhiko Nakagawa) seeking revenge. Along their journey, Iemon and Naosuke throw Yomoshichi off the waterfall cliffs in a river in order that Naosuke can marry Sode. Sometime later. Iemon and Iwa are married with a baby and Sode and Naosuke are living together without sex, but the sisters do not know that they are living in the same town. When Iemon knows the wealthy Ume Itô (Junko Ikeuchi), he plots with Naosuke to poison Iwa so that he can marry Ume. He also convinces the masseur Takuetsu (Jun Ôtomo) to seduce Iwa. Iemon kills them both and dump their bodies in the river. Iemon marries Ume but soon the ghost of Iwa haunts him.

"Tôkaidô Yotsuya kaidan", a.k.a. "The Ghost of Yotsuya", is a great horror movie specially if the viewer considers that this is a 1959 film. The make-up is impressive and the scenes after the death of Iwa are creepy. The former samurai Iemon Tamiya and his partner Naosuke are impressively evil and they deserve their fate. I believe this Japanese old tale is unknown for Westerns. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Fantasma de Yotsuya" ("The Ghost of Yotsuya")

A good quality horror movie

[Gravendal · 8/10 · 26 December 2022]

Fast summery of the movie, it's about a samurai who wants a woman as his wife, Doea the unthinkable and then does it again.

It's a good plot and great acting in it. And the scenes are very good! Specially the final part and the scenes and how it's filmed are really nice. The last part of this movie really made the movie shine and it was really good stuff.

It's a good revenge movie, the main villians you really hope to die as mercyless and themselves were. I liked this movie a lot, even though I was sitting after half the movie wondering were the ghost stuff were suppose to happen and man didn't i have to wait long.

All in all, great horror movie.

Great film -- excellent story, acting and direction.

[markb777 · 23 August 1999]

Great film -- very compelling, entertaining and thought provoking.

My wonderful girlfriend somewhat randomly picked this up from at the video rental -- excellent film, very interesting story and very well presented. Really liked the character development and camera work -- angles were great and simple film editing (1959) created some excellent special effects.

A classic ghost story with a very clear moral message -- if you double deal on your wife, she will get ugly on you.

Ghost Story of Yotsuya

[Michael_Elliott · 23 December 2008]

Ghost Story of Yotsuya (1959)

*** (out of 4)

Japanese horror film has a samurai (Shigeru Amachi) killing his wife (Kazuko Wakasugi) so that he can marry into a rich family. Soon after the second wedding the ghost of the dead wife seeks her vengeance. I haven't seen many of these Japanese ghost films but I've read this one has been made over eight times so it's apparently pretty popular. Since I haven't seen any of the others I can't compare them but I was still pretty impressed with this one. The movie runs a short 75-minutes but the first 55-minutes are devoted to the backstory of the samurai and his wife. Her murder doesn't happen until very late in the film and then it switches gears to the actual haunting, which takes place very fast. Some might say the film spends way too much time with the dramatic stuff but I think this is the reason the film works so well. Instead of just killing the wife at the start we get to know each character and we get to understand why the husband decides to kill her. We also see how the greed gets other people involved and how their lives are destroyed as well. When the hauntings do begin to happen they come at us very quickly and this here gives them a rather unsettling atmosphere, which works very well. It seems this film was influenced by the look and feel of the Hammer films out at the time since they were very popular in Japan. The violence of those Hammer films made their way into this as we get a pretty ghoulish murder of the wife where she's poisoned and pretty much has part of her face melt off. The performance by Amachi is extremely good as we certainly believe his breakdown once he begins to get haunted. It's Wakasugi who steals the show however as the tortured wife who will eventually seek revenge.