Orizo nan henge (1941) directed by Tamizo Ishida

Maya Grohn wrote:
The story is based on the serial novel by Tsunoda Kikuo, which was published in a magazine called “KING”, the most popular magazine of its time. This type of magazine was deemed too popular for serious literature lovers, who regarded it as beneath them. Once a girl, a long time ago, Maya could not understand it all, but through ageing I have begun to enjoy these thing in a quite different manner.

The film starts with a scene at a kabuki theatre at the end of the Edo period. A prologue, which is the introduction to a new actor. The two senior actors beg a favour for their junior, as his custodians. The real top stars, Hasegawa Kazuo and Kurokawa Yataro play the senior actors who appear in this scene only.

The story is rather complicated and might be difficult to follow. The complexity is not logical complexity, but simply everything conveniently mixed up. This, however, is the charm of the adventure novel, though I am afraid it does not appeal to modern people anymore.

In the film its excitement is found not in action, but in the mystic identity of Haranosuke, man or woman, one or other twin, a secret hidden in the orizuru (folded paper crane of the title).