The Kii River Explained

The Kii River
Native Name:	紀ノ川
Director:	Noboru Nakamura
Producer:	Masao Shirai
Screenplay:	Eijirō Hisaita
Music:	Toru Takemitsu
Cinematography:	Tōichirō Narushima
Editing:	Keiichi Uraoka
Studio:	Shochiku
Distributor:	Shochiku
Runtime:	173 minutes
Country:	Japan
Language:	Japanese

is a 1966 Japanese drama film directed by Noboru Nakamura, based on the novel The River Ki by Sawako Ariyoshi.

Cast

• Yoko Tsukasa as Hana
• Shima Iwashita as Fumio
• Chieko Higashiyama as Toyono
• Takahiro Tamura as Keisaku Maya
• Tetsuro Tamba as Kosaku Maya
• Yuki Arikawa as Hanako
• Kiyoshi Nonomura as Nobuki

Release

The Kii River premiered in Japanese cinemas on 11 June 1966. It was released on DVD in Japan in 2006.^[1]

Reception

The Kii River reached number three on Kinema Junpo's list of the ten best Japanese films of 1966.^[2]

In his Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors, Alexander Jacoby called The Kii River a "richly atmospheric and beautifully acted film".^[3] Film historian Donald Richie titled the film, along with Nakamura's Twin Sisters of Kyoto, a "persuasive" adaptation of its literary source.^[4]

Awards

• 1966 Blue Ribbon Award,^[5] Mainichi Film Award^{[6] [7]} and Kinema Junpo Award for Best Actress Yoko Tsukasa
• 1966 Blue Ribbon Award for Best Score Toru Takemitsu

External links

• • The Kii River at Shochiku.com (in Japanese)

Notes and References

1. Web site: 紀ノ川(DVD) (Kinokawa) . Shochiku . ja . 29 January 2024 . 29 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240129215553/https://www.shochiku-home-enta.com/c/japanese/DA0971 . live .
2. Web site: キネマ旬報 ベスト・テン 1966年・第40回 . Kinenote . ja . 30 January 2024 . 30 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240130115221/http://www.kinenote.com/main/award/kinejun/y1966.aspx . live .
3. Book: Jacoby, Alexander . 2008 . Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors: From the Silent Era to the Present Day . Berkeley . Stone Bridge Press . 978-1-933330-53-2 . 204.
4. Book: Richie, Donald . 2005 . A Hundred Years of Japanese Film . Tokyo, New York, London . Kodansha International . 179 . 978-4-7700-2995-9. Revised .
5. Web site: ブルーリボン賞 (1966 Blue Ribbon Awards) . 29 January 2024 . ja . https://web.archive.org/web/20090207075615mp_/http://cinemahochi.yomiuri.co.jp/b_award/1966/ . 7 February 2009.
6. Web site: 毎日映画コンクール 第21回（1966年） . Mainichi.jp . ja . 30 January 2024 . 15 October 2023 . https://web.archive.org/web/20231015023506/https://mainichi.jp/mfa/history/021.html . live .
7. Web site: 紀ノ川 (Kinokawa) . Kotobank . ja . 29 January 2024 . 29 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240129221055/https://kotobank.jp/word/%E7%B4%80%E3%83%8E%E5%B7%9D-51338#E3.83.87.E3.82.B8.E3.82.BF.E3.83.AB.E5.A4.A7.E8.BE.9E.E6.B3.89 . live .