A geisha sets up schemes to get rid of a bankrupt businessman being supported by her sister.

Widely regarded as Kenji Mizoguchi’s best pre-war film, Sisters of the Gion marks the beginning of the acclaimed director’s mature style.  Filled with compositions as exquisite as they are realistic, the story of two geisha sisters illuminates the plight of women in Japan.  The older sister, Umekichi, is conservative, traditional, and dependent on her patrons.  Omocha, the modern younger sister, exploits her customers as much as she can.  Written by Mizoguchi and his longtime collaborator Yashikata Yoda, the story makes it clear that the sisters’ attitudes have no real impact on their circumstances.  In the end, both women remain trapped in a cruel existence.  Made as follow-up to Osaka Elegy, Sisters of the Gion benefits from the same talented crew and cast, including the magnificent Isuzu Yamada as Omocha.

Sisters of the Gion follows the parallel paths of the independent, unsentimental Omocha (Isuzu Yamada) and her sister, the more tradition-minded Umekichi (Yoko Umemura), both geishas in the working-class district of Gion. Mizoguchi’s film is a brilliantly shot, uncompromising look at the forces that keep many women at the bottom rung of the social ladder.