A Contrast of Two Women — Gion Bayashi (1953)

Title: Gion Bayashi (Geisha)
By: Kenji Mizoguchi
Call Number: Other 791.4375 SAN

The geisha, viewed through the eyes of the Western world, has often been regarded as just a high-class prostitute. Gion Bayashi, a film which depicts the fortunes of a Gion geisha and her mentor during post-war Japan, offers a more nuanced insight of the courtesan profession and its association with sex.

Eiko Sawamoto, a young girl abused by her uncle and abandoned by her father, is taken in by Miyoharu, an ex-colleague of her deceased mother. Without a guarantor to pay for Eiko’s training, Miyoharu turns to her own mentor, Okimi, for financial help when the time for Eiko’s debut as a geisha arrives.

Gion offers a study of contrasts between the two women, who at first glance may seem to be diametric opposites. Miyoharu believes in upholding her duty as a geisha as dictated by social conventions. Eiko, the “post-war youngster”, questions whether her human right is being infringed upon if a client forces himself upon her.

However, this disparity in convictions makes no difference when confronted with the harsh realities of a patriarchal world. Eiko, after escaping her uncle’s demand that she sleep with him, is forced into a corner to take businessman Kusuda as her patron and sexual partner. Miyoharu comes under intense pressure to sleep with Kanzaki, a government official Kusuda is wooing in order to secure a lucrative government contract.

Both geisha are explicitly different in the handling of their individual problems — Eiko biting off Kusuda’s lip when he forces himself upon her, and Miyoharu’s subtle rebuff of Kanzaki. However, circumstances force them to bend, especially Miyoharu, when the powerful Okimi ostracizes them. Without Okimi’s approval, Miyoharu and Eiko are unable to find work at other teahouses. Even though Eiko manages to escape Kusuda’s advances, she finally realises that both Miyoharu and her destinies are more or less dictated by the fortunes of the men in their lives.

Kenji Mizoguchi has often been labelled as a feminist director, as his films, more often than not, revolve around women. Gion Bayashi marks his return to this familiar topic after Ugetsu Monogatari, but whether the film can be viewed as “feminist”, in conventional terms, is wide open for discussion.

Written By: Adeline Tan

Ed: This review was one of the entries for the NLB-SFS Japanese Film Review Contest.