Twenty-Four Eyes (Nijushi no hitomi)

1954, 154 min., b&w., 35mm.

Directed by Keisuke Kinoshita. Written by Keisuke Kinoshita, based on the novel by Sakae Tsuboi. With Hideko Takamine, Yumeji Tsukioka, Toshiko Kobayashi, Kuniko Igawa and Chishu Ryu. Print courtesy of The Japan Foundation with permission from Cowboy Pictures.

Keisuke Kinoshita’s film might truly be called “national” in the sense that it was immensely popular among Japanese audiences who enjoyed shedding tears along with its lovable characters. Based on Sakae Tsuboi’s popular novel, the film tells the moving story of a school teacher and her 12 pupils who live on a small inland sea island. Despite the tragedy of war affecting everyone’s lives, the loving ties between the teacher and her pupils remain strong through the difficult wartime years.

See press coverage of this series on the following pages of our press room:
The Village Voice, 1/23/03
The New York Times, 1/24/03