Kwaidan

Directed by
Masaki Kobayashi
Masaki Kobayashi
Kwaidan

In the tradition of "RASHOMON" and "GATE OF HELL."

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.

Released 6 Jan 1965
Genres Drama, Horror, Fantasy
Runtime 3 hours, 3 minutes
Countries Japan

Liked by directors

Cast

Michiyo Aratama

Michiyo Aratama

First Wife (segment "The Black Hair")
Rentaro Mikuni

Rentaro Mikuni

Husband (segment "The Black Hair")
Misako Watanabe

Misako Watanabe

Second Wife (segment "The Black Hair")
Kenjirō Ishiyama

Kenjirō Ishiyama

Father (segment "The Black Hair")

Ranko Akagi

Mother (segment "The Black Hair")
Fumie Kitahara

Fumie Kitahara

(segment "The Black Hair")

Kappei Matsumoto

(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)

Yoshiko Ieda

(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)
Otome Tsukimiya

Otome Tsukimiya

(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)

Kenzō Tanaka

(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)

Kiyoshi Nakano

(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)
Tatsuya Nakadai

Tatsuya Nakadai

Minokichi (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Keiko Kishi

Keiko Kishi

Yuki the Snow Maiden (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Yūko Mochizuki

Yūko Mochizuki

Minokichi's Mother (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Kin Sugai

Kin Sugai

Village Woman (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Noriko Sengoku

Noriko Sengoku

Village Woman (segment "The Woman of the Snow")
Akiko Nomura

Akiko Nomura

(segment "The Woman of the Snow") (uncredited)
Torahiko Hamada

Torahiko Hamada

(segment "The Woman of the Snow") (uncredited)

Jun Hamamura

(segment "The Woman of the Snow")

Katsuo Nakamura

Hoichi (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Tetsuro Tamba

Tetsuro Tamba

Warrior (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Takashi Shimura

Takashi Shimura

Head Priest (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Yoichi Hayashi

Yoichi Hayashi

Attendant (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Eiko Muramatsu

Eiko Muramatsu

Kenreiinmon (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Kunie Tanaka

Kunie Tanaka

Yasaku (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Kazuo Kitamura

Kazuo Kitamura

Tomomori (segment "Hoichi the Earless")
Ichirō Nakatani

Ichirō Nakatani

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Masanori Tomotake

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Tokue Hanazawa

Tokue Hanazawa

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Shizue Natsukawa

Shizue Natsukawa

Tokiko (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 Tani

Akira Tani

Huntsman #2 (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Yōsuke Kondō

Yōsuke Kondō

Benkei (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Kiyoshi Yamamoto

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Kinji Omino

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Atsuo Nakamura

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

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

Aiko Nagayama

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Michiko Nakahata

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)
Kan'emon Nakamura

Kan'emon Nakamura

Kannai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Osamu Takizawa

Osamu Takizawa

Author / Narrator (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Haruko Sugimura

Haruko Sugimura

Madame (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Noboru Nakaya

Noboru Nakaya

Shikibu Heinai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Seiji Miyaguchi

Seiji Miyaguchi

Old Man (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Kei Satō

Kei Satō

Ghost Samurai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")
Shigeru Kōyama

Shigeru Kōyama

(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Jun Tazaki

Jun Tazaki

Kannai's Colleague #1 (segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Junkichi Orimoto

Junkichi Orimoto

(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Akiji Kobayashi

Akiji Kobayashi

(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Yoshirō Aoki

Yoshirō Aoki

(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Isao Tamagawa

Isao Tamagawa

(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Hideyo Amamoto

Hideyo Amamoto

(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)
Ganjirō Nakamura II

Ganjirō Nakamura II

Publisher (segment "In a Cup of Tea")

Crew