Husband and Wife

『夫婦』 
Fufu

Imported 35mm Print. Originally envisioned as a sequel to Repast until Setsuko Hara fell ill, Husband and Wife casts Yoko Sugi opposite Ken Uehara’s (Mr. Thank You) predictably apathetic husband. Naruse would note a change in “image and flavor” as a result, “but not the overall aim.” Relocating from their family home, married couple Isaku and Kikuko find temporary lodgings with Rentaro Mikuni’s widower Takemura, but Isaku begins to display jealousy when he senses Takemura’s affinity for Kikuko. With the intrusion of a third party, Naruse plays off the growing dissatisfaction between married partners—their irritations, jealousies and discontentment only seem to give marriage a deeper sense of loneliness rather than the promised companionship.

Print courtesy of The Japan Foundation.

Dir. Mikio Naruse, 1953, 87 min., 35mm, b&w, in Japanese with English subtitles. With Yoko Sugi, Ken Uehara, Rentaro Mikuni, Mariko Okada. Screenplay by Toshiro Ide, Yoko Mizuki.

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

© 1953 Toho Co., Ltd.

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.