Ejima and Ikushima
This period film is inspired by one of the most notorious scandals to have taken place in Edo-period Japan. The heroine, Ejima, was a lady of the Ooku, the harem of Edo Castle in which the Shogun’s mother, wife and concubines resided, forbidden from contact with any other man except in the presence of the Shogun. The institution played a key role in the Byzantine world of Japanese court politics during the Edo era. In 1714, Lady Ejima was sent to pay her respects at a Buddhist temple in the city, and chose to pay an unauthorised visit to the kabuki theatre – a violation of protocol that was to have tragic consequences.
Cast
Chikage Awashima
as 絵島
Ichikawa Danjūrō XI
as 生島新五郎
Mitsuko Kusabue
as 宇津
Mieko Takamine
as 月光院
Kuniko Miyake
as 天英院
Ichikawa Sadanji III
as 家宣
小林きよし
as 家継
阪東彦三郎
as 紀州公吉宗
Teiji Takahashi
as 間部越前守
Tatsuya Ishiguro
as 新井白石
