So easygoing, aren t you? goes one song. Give up, do give up, goes another.
Written by balladeer Azenbo Soeda (1872-1944), the songs featured in the film were big hits during the Meiji (1868-1912) and Taisho (1912-1926) eras.
Born in the Kanagawa Prefecture town of present-day Oiso, Soeda satirized politics and society at the height of the Jiyu Minken Undo (movement for civic rights and freedom) of the 1880s, endearing himself to the frustrated and discontented masses. I never have money. You have no money, either, goes one of his ditties. What brought you to this life? To pay taxes and interest.
Jan. 8
Scripted by Kaori Tanimoto, the film simplifies the history of the riots, airbrushing out male participation. It does, however, highlight the real bravery of the female protestors, who fought not only ingrained sexism, but also the deep poverty that put their families at risk of starvation.
The perky score and broad gags are familiar from the many TV and film
jidaigeki (period dramas) that try to brighten up an often-grim past, as are the teary developments that appear in the film’s latter, more serious scenes.
The film’s heroine is Ito Matsuura (Mao Inoue), a woman whose kindhearted fisherman husband (Takahiro Miura) leaves with other village men to work in the rich fishing grounds off Hokkaido and Sakhalin, then partially a Japanese colony. Left to fend for themselves, Ito and the other fishermen’s wives lug heavy bales of rice to the shore for transfer to waiting boats. Their daily wages are barely enough to buy rice. Then the price of this key staple starts risi