Ishinaka sensei gyojoki (1950)

A film consisting of three short romantic stories in which Ishinaka sensei, a novelist, plays a small but pivotal role. My first impression is that this is a pleasant and picturesque romantic comedy with the, as usual, slightly odd (in my opinion) Naruse direction. But, curious about this Ishinaka sensei, I did some research:

Ishinaka seems to be a not-so-disguised stand-in for the story’s real writer, Yojiro Ishizaka. I have never heard the name, but he seems to have been a popular Japanese post-war novelist. Ishizaka was born in Hirosaki, Aomori Prefecture, which happens to be the the area in which this story takes place. The film, in fact, subtly highlights this setting. The first of the three stories, for example, takes place in an apple orchard; Hirosaki is renowned for its apples. Festivals, processions, and dances also appear in the film’s background, notably the Nebuta Festival, a festival of floats Aomori is famous for (and the floats of 1950 look quite different from the floats of today). What I found most interesting was the presence of Mt. Iwaki (see screencap), which dominates the rural scenery in the film and, presumably, of the Hirosaki area.

Rather than being a simple romantic comedy, this is a love letter from Ishizaka to his home town. A fascinating and enjoyable film.