A Woman’s Sorrows

『女人哀愁』 
Nyonin Aishu

Imported 35mm Print. Naruse’s 1937 P.C.L. picture is set in the cosmopolitan stretches of a westernized Tokyo, as dance halls and Western music take hold along with more progressive, modern values. Young Hiroko’s (Takako Irie) conservative principles place her at odds with most modern women, as she has already submitted to her mother’s choice of man for any marriage prospect, admitting early on “since I cannot marry someone I love, anyone will do.” Married into an affluent family that practically treats her as a housemaid, locked away like a “doll” by her estimation, Hiroko’s own submission to traditional thinking brings contradictions to light as Naruse crafts a class drama—an art that critic Chris Fujiwara notes “is one of portraying conflicts that… have not yet erupted and become irreversible.”

Print courtesy of the National Film Archive of Japan.

Dir. Mikio Naruse, 1937, 74 min., 35mm, b&w, in Japanese with live English subtitles. With Takako Irie, Hideo Saeki, Heihachiro Okawa.

Part of the John and Miyoko Davey Classic Film Series
Mikio Naruse: The World Betrays Us – Part I
May 9—31, 2025

© Collection of NFAJ

Mikio Naruse: The World Betrays Us is co-organized by Japan Society, Metrograph and the Japan Foundation, New York.

Mikio Naruse: The World Betrays Us – Part I is generously supported by The John and Miyoko Davey Endowment Fund for Classic Japanese Film.

Japan Society’s 120th anniversary initiatives and related programs are generously supported by Champion Sponsor, MUFG Bank, Ltd.; Advocate Sponsor, Mizuho Americas; and Friend Sponsor, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas).

Japan Society programs are supported by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Film programs are generously supported by ORIX Corporation USA, public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Anime NYC and Yen Press. Endowment support is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader’s Digest Endowment Fund and The John and Miyoko Davey Endowment Fund. Additional season support is provided by Ms. Miyoko U. Davey, The Globus Family, George P. Hirose, David Toberisky, Joseph Rajaratnam and Dharshini Iolanthe Sivakumaran, and Film Circle members.

Transportation assistance is provided by Japan Airlines, the official Japanese airline sponsor of Japan Society Film Program. Housing assistance is provided by the Prince Kitano New York, the official hotel sponsor of Japan Society Film Program.