Conflagration

『炎上』
Enjo

Imported 35mm Print. Known as Ichikawa’s favorite of his own films, Conflagration is the pinnacle of the many acclaimed literary adaptations he and his wife Natto Wada worked on together. Based on Yukio Mishima’s novel The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, the film involves the spiritual and psychological breakdown of an introverted, troubled youth named Goichi (Raizo Ichikawa), whose desire for pure beauty leads him to Kyoto’s Shukaku temple, where he becomes an apprentice to the priest. Haunted by the trauma of his father’s death, Goichi is unable to reconcile the sacred beauty of the temple with postwar reality, and his absolutist ideals become increasingly distorted until they lead to destruction. Ichikawa’s stark, poignant film is unforgettably rendered in stunning black and white by cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa.

Dir. Kon Ichikawa, 1958, 99 min., 35mm, b/w, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Raizo Ichikawa, Tatsuya Nakadai, Ganjiro Nakamura.

Print courtesy of the Kawakita Film Institute.

Recommended Programming:

Yukio Mishima’s KINKAKUJI
September 11-20, 2025

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.

---

© 1958 Kadokawa Corporation

Conflagration is generously supported by The John and Miyoko Davey Endowment Fund for Classic Japanese Film.

Film programs are generously supported by Anime NYC, ORIX Corporation USA, 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 Jono Abrams and Elizabeth Linn, Ms. Ayumi Arafune, Darin Arita and Kanako Arita, Mike Audet, Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Catanzaro, The Globus Family, George P. Hirose, Akiko Koide and Shohei Koide, David Toberisky, Joseph Rajaratnam and Dharshini Iolanthe Sivakumaran, Japan Society Film Council, and other Film supporters.

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.

Japan Society arts and culture 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, and in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

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).