vennjoy.
← Back to discoveries
Kwaidan
Film / 1965

Kwaidan

Directed by Masaki Kobayashi
HorrorFantasyDrama

★ 7.7/10Audience rating

Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.

The story

Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.

Cast

See more cast
Keiko KishiYuki the Snow Maiden (segment "The Woman of the Snow") Yūko MochizukiMinokichi's Mother (segment "The Woman of the Snow") Kin SugaiVillage Woman (segment "The Woman of the Snow") Noriko SengokuVillage Woman (segment "The Woman of the Snow") Akiko Nomura(segment "The Woman of the Snow") (uncredited) Torahiko Hamada(segment "The Woman of the Snow") (uncredited) Jun Hamamura(segment "The Woman of the Snow") Katsuo NakamuraHoichi (segment "Hoichi the Earless") Tetsuro TambaWarrior (segment "Hoichi the Earless") Takashi ShimuraHead Priest (segment "Hoichi the Earless") Yoichi HayashiAttendant (segment "Hoichi the Earless") Eiko MuramatsuKenreiinmon (segment "Hoichi the Earless") Kunie TanakaYasaku (segment "Hoichi the Earless") Kazuo KitamuraTomomori (segment "Hoichi the Earless") Ichirō Nakatani(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Masanori Tomotake(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Tokue Hanazawa(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Shizue NatsukawaTokiko (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Shin Tatsuoka(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Makiko Kitashiro(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Masakazu Kuwayama(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Mutsuhiko Tsurumaru(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Akira TaniHuntsman #2 (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Yōsuke KondōBenkei (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Kiyoshi Yamamoto(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Kinji Omino(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Atsuo Nakamura(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Ginzô Sekiguchi(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Akio Miyabe(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Genya Nagai(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Toru Uchida(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Hikaru Jinno(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Toshio Fukuhara(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Kirô Abe(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Toshiro Yagi(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Yuriko Abe(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Yuri Satô(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Kyōichi Satō(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Nobuo Aikawa(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Taiji Kodama(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Nobuaki Maeda(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Teruhiko Shibata(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Haruo Kaji(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Michio Gina(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Seiji Tabe(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Mitsuko Narita(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Noriko Mikura(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Aiko Nagayama(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Michiko Nakahata(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited) Kan'emon NakamuraKannai (segment "In a Cup of Tea") Osamu TakizawaAuthor / Narrator (segment "In a Cup of Tea") Haruko SugimuraMadame (segment "In a Cup of Tea") Noboru NakayaShikibu Heinai (segment "In a Cup of Tea") Seiji MiyaguchiOld Man (segment "In a Cup of Tea") Kei SatōGhost Samurai (segment "In a Cup of Tea") Shigeru Kōyama(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited) Jun TazakiKannai's Colleague #1 (segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited) Junkichi Orimoto(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited) Akiji Kobayashi(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited) Yoshirō Aoki(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited) Isao Tamagawa(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited) Hideyo Amamoto(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited) Ganjirō Nakamura IIPublisher (segment "In a Cup of Tea")

More to discover

Film 7.9

Coraline

2009 · Animation · Family

Film 8.1

Soul

2020 · Animation · Family

Share in the feed ↗
VENNJOY / Selected

A few ideas just for you

Suggestions based on the genres of your favourites. Keep exploring: your tastes are never a box.

Create an account to keep your collection across devices.

Save your discoveries