An Autumn Afternoon

『秋刀魚の味』
Sanma no Aji

Presented with the support of the John and Miyoko Davey Endowment Fund for Classic Film.

35mm Presentation. Evocative of a seasonal tide—its Japanese title meaning “the taste of sanma,” a type of mackerel eaten in autumn—Ozu’s final picture concentrates on a widower’s reluctance to let go of his only daughter, now of age to marry. Approaching his twilight years, quiet salaryman Hirayama (Chishu Ryu) lives comfortably with daughter Michiko (Shima Iwashita), but a number of occurrences leads him to contemplate whether he may be in the way of Michiko’s happiness. Conveying Ozu’s reflections on modernity and tradition through several outlets—as is the case with a set of circulating golf clubs (much to the discontentment of Mariko Okada’s fussy Akiko)—An Autumn Afternoon progresses in due course, revealing the natural ebb and flow of things, and the inevitable loneliness of it all. A bittersweet farewell, both to a master and to such formative stages in life, Ozu’s last film aligns with his deepest preoccupations—a meditation, like all of his great works, on the human condition.

Dir. Yasujiro Ozu, 1962, 113 min., 35mm, color, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Chishu Ryu, Shima Iwashita, Keiji Sada, Mariko Okada.

Part of John and Miyoko Davey Classics
Year-round screenings of beloved classics, restorations, and rediscoveries of classic Japanese cinema, offering a new cinematic canon from across the scope of Japanese cinema. Presented with the John and Miyoko Davey Endowment Fund for Classic Japanese Film.

Image: © Shochiku Co. Ltd.

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 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.