Special Series

Sisters Of The Gion

祇園の姉妹

Directed by: Kenji Mizoguchi
1936 / 69 minutes / PG

“Who wants to lose to men?”

Two geisha sisters scraping by in Kyoto’s Gion district, Umekichi and Omocha, hold very different attitudes towards men. While tradition-bound elder sister Umekichi believes in duty and obedience, her modern-minded younger sister Omocha does not subscribe to a subservient female role. When one of her clients, Furusawa, falls on hard times, Umekichi feels obliged to invite him into the sisters’ home, guided by the customs of her profession. However, Omocha is outraged by Furusawa’s presence and frustrated by Umekichi’s unwillingness to kick him out, leading her to devise a series of schemes to rid them of the bankrupt businessman. 

Delightfully witty and strikingly modern, this piercing drama serves as a companion piece to director Kenji Mizoguchi’s Osaka Elegy, also released in 1936, and would be voted Kinema Junpo’s Best Japanese Film of that year. Known for his uncompromising depictions of working-class women, Mizoguchi masterfully blends fluid cinematography and biting social commentary to examine the lives of women caught between duty and the desire for autonomy. A feminist lens ahead of its time, Sisters of the Gion poses the haunting question: In a world built by and for men, can women truly prevail?