Children of the Beehive

『蜂の巣の子供たち』
Hachi no su no kodomotachi

Imported 35mm Print. The most celebrated of Hiroshi Shimizu’s postwar output, Children of the Beehive is a momentous work depicting the shattered state of Reconstruction-era Japan. A nameless soldier repatriated to his occupied country undertakes a cross-country odyssey as he brings a ragtag band of orphans to the Introspection Tower, the reformatory school of his youth (and namesake of Shimizu’s earlier 1941 feature). Coursing a wayward path through the backwaters of Japan, along coastlines, railways and mountain roads, Shimizu captures wanderers in the midst of a nation in ruin, resilient in their desire to live and rebuild a future together. Self-produced by Shimizu after his departure from Shochiku and casting children raised at the orphanage he founded, Shimizu’s first postwar feature is a heart-wrenching study of the cataclysmic effects of war at home. Screening followed by Opening Night Reception.

Print courtesy of the Kawakita Memorial Film Institute.

Dir. Hiroshi Shimizu, 1948, 86 min., 35mm, b&w, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Shunsaku Shimamura, Masako Natsuki, Shinichiro Kubota. 

Part of the John and Miyoko Davey Classic Film Series
Hiroshi Shimizu – Part II: The Postwar and Independent Years
May 16—June 1, 2024

© 1948 Kobe Planet Film Archive

Hiroshi Shimizu is co-presented with Museum of the Moving Image, the National Film Archive of Japan, and Japan Foundation, New York.

Hiroshi Shimizu – Part II: The Independent and Postwar Years is generously supported by The John and Miyoko Davey Endowment Fund for Classic Japanese Film.

Japan Society programs are made possible by leadership support from Booth Ferris Foundation, and 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, 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 and Friends of Film. Transportation assistance is provided by Japan Airlines, the official Japanese airline sponsor of Japan Society Film. Housing assistance is provided by the Kitano Hotel, the official hotel sponsor of Japan Society Film.