A Cat, Shozo, and Two Women

A Cat, Shozo, and Two Women (Japanese: 猫と庄造と二人のをんな, Hepburn: Neko to Shōzō to futari no onna), also titled Shozo, a Cat, and Two Women, is a 1956 Japanese comedy film directed by Shirō Toyoda. It is based on Jun'ichirō Tanizaki's 1936 novella[4] A Cat, a Man, and Two Women.[1][2][5]

A Cat, Shozo, and Two Women
Directed byShirō Toyoda
Screenplay byToshio Yasumi
Based on
Produced by
  • Kazuo Takimura
  • Ichiro Sato
Starring
CinematographyMitsuo Miura
Music byYasushi Akutagawa
Production
company
Tokyo Eiga
Distributed byToho
Release dates
  • 9 October 1956 (1956-10-09) (Japan)[1][2]
  • November 1988 (1988-11) (US)[3]
Running time
135 minutes[1][2]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Plot

Kitchenware salesman Shōzō shows more affection for his cat Lily than for the people around him. When his disgruntled wife Shinako moves out, his mother Orin, who never got along with her daughter-in-law, encourages him to marry Fukuko, the young daughter of Shōzō's wealthy uncle Nakajima. Fukuko is soon enervated by her future husband's obsessive love for his cat. Shinako, who moved in with her sister, talks Fukuko into giving Lily to her, speculating that the couple will fall out with each other over the cat's absence, and that Shōzō will eventually take Shinako back. Although Shōzō and Fukuko do separate after repeated quarrels, he refuses to re-unite with Shinako. Lily escapes from Shinako's flat, and while Shōzō searches for her, Fukuko and Shinako get engaged in a fight. Thrown out of his home by Fukuko, whose father paid the mortgage for the house, he walks along the rainy beach, his cat in his arms.

Cast

Reception

In his 1959 compendium The Japanese Film – Art and Industry, film historian Donald Richie called A Cat, Shozo, and Two Women "warm, moving, and awfully funny, a winning combination of comedy and impeccable taste".[6]

Awards

Isuzu Yamada received the Kinema Junpo Award for Best Actress, the Mainichi Film Award for Best Actress[3] and the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actress.[7] Mitsuo Miura was awarded the Mainichi Film Award for Best Cinematography[3] and the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Cinematography.[7]

References
  1. "猫と庄造と二人のをんな (Neko to Shōzō to futari no onna)". Kinenote (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  2. "猫と庄造と二人のをんな (Neko to Shōzō to futari no onna)". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  3. Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography. Lanham, Toronto, Plymouth: Scarecrow Press. p. 125. ISBN 978-0-8108-6004-9.
  4. Gattig, Nicolas (6 February 2016). "A Cat, a Man, and Two Women". The Japan Times. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  5. "猫と庄造と二人のをんな (Neko to Shōzō to futari no onna)". Kotobank (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  6. Anderson, Joseph L.; Richie, Donald (1959). The Japanese Film – Art and Industry. Charles E. Tuttle Company. p. 282.
  7. "1956 Blue Ribbon Awards" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 7 February 2009. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
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