Hiroshi Shimizu Part II: The Postwar and Independent Years
The John and Miyoko Davey Classic Film Series
Hiroshi Shimizu – Part II: The Postwar and Independent Years
May 16—June 1
| Born the same year as his close friend Yasujiro Ozu, Hiroshi Shimizu (1903-1966) remains one of the forgotten masters of Japanese cinema, praised by contemporaries including Sadao Yamanaka and Kenji Mizoguchi but neglected despite his radical spirit and versatile talent. With over 160 films directed over a 35-year-career that spanned the silent era into the golden age of Japanese cinema, Shimizu is distinguished by his unconventional approach to plotting—one loosely sketched and carefree—and a roaming camera that drifts through the open airs of provincial Japan. Shimizu’s world is suffused with an innate naturalism—one populated by pastorals and country passages—and a lyrical humanism that observes the journeys of children, working women, outcasts and travelers alike. The second half of a two-part retrospective on the major filmmaker (the first part The Shochiku Years presented at MoMI starting May 4), The Postwar and Independent Years tracks Shimizu’s career after leaving Shochiku, embarking on a new path into self-financed films, independent productions, and contract work at Shintoho and Daiei studios. Shimizu’s postwar filmography encapsulates the everyday tragedies of life, the delicate sentiments of love and loss in the wake of the war, and the pains that befall common people—from the hardships of motherhood to the ostracization of disability. Capturing Japan in a changing of eras, these films illustrate a nation trying to pull itself together, weaving themes of collective struggle and hope while focusing on the lives of the dispossessed. Bookmarked by his self-produced Beehive trilogy—a poetic trilogy that chronicles the lives of war orphans and starred orphans raised by Shimizu himself after the war at his Beehive orphanage (named for the excited “buzz” of children that emanated from the home)—The Postwar and Independent Years features rare screenings of the director’s late-career period. Shimizu’s postwar films have seldom screened internationally, despite being achievements on equal footing with his prewar years. As part of the series, Japan Society has commissioned new English subtitles for five films—some never-before-seen in English-speaking countries. Previously the organizers of the first U.S. Shimizu retrospective in 1991, Japan Society is proud to co-present the largest ever focus on Shimizu in North America. |
| Born the same year as his close friend Yasujiro Ozu, Hiroshi Shimizu (1903-1966) remains one of the forgotten masters of Japanese cinema, praised by contemporaries including Sadao Yamanaka and Kenji Mizoguchi but neglected despite his radical spirit and versatile talent. With over 160 films directed over a 35-year-career that spanned the silent era into the golden age of Japanese cinema, Shimizu is distinguished by his unconventional approach to plotting—one loosely sketched and carefree—and a roaming camera that drifts through the open airs of provincial Japan. Shimizu’s world is suffused with an innate naturalism—one populated by pastorals and country passages—and a lyrical humanism that observes the journeys of children, working women, outcasts and travelers alike. The second half of a two-part retrospective on the major filmmaker (the first part The Shochiku Years presented at MoMI starting May 4), The Postwar and Independent Years tracks Shimizu’s career after leaving Shochiku, embarking on a new path into self-financed films, independent productions, and contract work at Shintoho and Daiei studios. Shimizu’s postwar filmography encapsulates the everyday tragedies of life, the delicate sentiments of love and loss in the wake of the war, and the pains that befall common people—from the hardships of motherhood to the ostracization of disability. Capturing Japan in a changing of eras, these films illustrate a nation trying to pull itself together, weaving themes of collective struggle and hope while focusing on the lives of the dispossessed. Bookmarked by his self-produced Beehive trilogy—a poetic trilogy that chronicles the lives of war orphans and starred orphans raised by Shimizu himself after the war at his Beehive orphanage (named for the excited “buzz” of children that emanated from the home)—The Postwar and Independent Years features rare screenings of the director’s late-career period. Shimizu’s postwar films have seldom screened internationally, despite being achievements on equal footing with his prewar years. As part of the series, Japan Society has commissioned new English subtitles for five films—some never-before-seen in English-speaking countries. Previously the organizers of the first U.S. Shimizu retrospective in 1991, Japan Society is proud to co-present the largest ever focus on Shimizu in North America. |
Co-organized with Museum of the Moving Image, the National Film Archive of Japan, and the Japan Foundation, New York
Hiroshi Shimizu – Part I: The Shochiku Years, covering Shimizu’s years as a studio filmmaker and featuring some of his best-known work, opens at Museum of the Moving Image from May 4-19, 2024.
“Ozu and I create films through hard work, but Shimizu is a genius.” —Kenji Mizoguchi
“I can’t shoot films like Shimizu.” —Yasujiro Ozu
Admission Information
Tickets: $16/$12 members
Screening of Children of the Beehive with Reception: $18/$14 members
Tickets for Part II: The Postwar and Independent Years on sale now!.
All in-person screenings will take place in Japan Society’s auditorium, located at 333 E. 47th Street in New York, NY.
Full Lineup
 | Children of the Beehive 蜂の巣の子供たち Thursday, May 16, 7 pm Imported 35mm Print. Shimizu’s most celebrated postwar feature concerns a nameless soldier and band of children on a journey through a nation in ruin. Reflecting on the destroyed lives in Occupation and Reconstruction-era Japan, Children of the Beehive is a momentous work that renders the war’s devastating impact at home. 1948. 86 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizui. |
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| Children of the Beehive 蜂の巣の子供たち Thursday, May 16, 7 pm Imported 35mm Print. Shimizu’s most celebrated postwar feature concerns a nameless soldier and band of children on a journey through a nation in ruin. Reflecting on the destroyed lives in Occupation and Reconstruction-era Japan, Children of the Beehive is a momentous work that renders the war’s devastating impact at home. 1948. 86 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizui. |
| Tomorrow There Will Be Fine Weather 明日は日本晴れ Friday, May 17, 7 pm International Premiere; Imported 35mm Print. Lost for over 70 years, Tomorrow There Will Be Fine Weather was rediscovered in 2022. Shimizu’s second postwar film recalls his earlier Mr. Thank You, tracking an autumnal bus ride through a mountain pass. Filled with passengers from all walks of life, the jaunty bus breaks down, forcing them to talk to each other—revealing the war’s scars as they look towards an uncertain future. 1948. 65 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |  |
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| Tomorrow There Will Be Fine Weather 明日は日本晴れ Friday, May 17, 7 pm International Premiere; Imported 35mm Print. Lost for over 70 years, Tomorrow There Will Be Fine Weather was rediscovered in 2022. Shimizu’s second postwar film recalls his earlier Mr. Thank You, tracking an autumnal bus ride through a mountain pass. Filled with passengers from all walks of life, the jaunty bus breaks down, forcing them to talk to each other—revealing the war’s scars as they look towards an uncertain future. 1948. 65 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
 | A Mother’s Love 母情 Friday, May 17, 9 pm Imported 35mm Print. A mother with three children from different fathers goes on a roadtrip to pass her children off to relatives, but cannot seem to rid herself of her incontinent son. Manohla Dargis marveled at Shimizu’s “ability to inject a mundane gesture with breathtaking possibility” within the film. 1950. 83 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
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| A Mother’s Love 母情 Friday, May 17, 9 pm Imported 35mm Print. A mother with three children from different fathers goes on a roadtrip to pass her children off to relatives, but cannot seem to rid herself of her incontinent son. Manohla Dargis marveled at Shimizu’s “ability to inject a mundane gesture with breathtaking possibility” within the film. 1950. 83 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
| The Sentimental Idiot 人情馬鹿 Saturday, May 18, 3 pm New Remaster. Shimizu’s first Daiei production transforms midway through into a moral drama of selfless sacrifice as a cabaret singer attempts to make amends with victims of her patron’s embezzlement scheme in a bid to save him from a life in prison. 1956. 71 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |  |
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| The Sentimental Idiot 人情馬鹿 Saturday, May 18, 3 pm New Remaster. Shimizu’s first Daiei production transforms midway through into a moral drama of selfless sacrifice as a cabaret singer attempts to make amends with victims of her patron’s embezzlement scheme in a bid to save him from a life in prison. 1956. 71 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
 | Dancing Girl 踊子 Saturday, May 18, 5 pm A raucous country girl’s arrival to her sister’s shitamachi apartment stirs trouble as she delights in the new wonders of city life as well as its vices. Starring legendary actress Machiko Kyo, Dancing Girl features some of the director’s most stunning cinematography as he captures the everyday streets, drinking holes and alleyways of Asakusa. 1957. 96 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
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| Dancing Girl 踊子 Saturday, May 18, 5 pm A raucous country girl’s arrival to her sister’s shitamachi apartment stirs trouble as she delights in the new wonders of city life as well as its vices. Starring legendary actress Machiko Kyo, Dancing Girl features some of the director’s most stunning cinematography as he captures the everyday streets, drinking holes and alleyways of Asakusa. 1957. 96 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
| The Shiinomi School しいのみ学園 Saturday, May 18, 7:30 pm Imported 35mm Print. Documenting the plight of disabled children, Shimizu’s socially conscious melodrama was a popular hit in Japan, starring actress Kyoko Kagawa as a teacher who joins two parents in opening a school for youth with disabilities. Shimizu’s tender treatment of his marginalized subjects is informed by an early declaration within the film: “There’s a limit to science but not for love.” 1955. 100 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |  |
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| The Shiinomi School しいのみ学園 Saturday, May 18, 7:30 pm Imported 35mm Print. Documenting the plight of disabled children, Shimizu’s socially conscious melodrama was a popular hit in Japan, starring actress Kyoko Kagawa as a teacher who joins two parents in opening a school for youth with disabilities. Shimizu’s tender treatment of his marginalized subjects is informed by an early declaration within the film: “There’s a limit to science but not for love.” 1955. 100 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
 | Sound in the Mist 霧の音 Thursday, May 23, 7 pm New English Subtitles. A tragic romance set in the Japanese Alps, Sound in the Mist details the doomed love between botany professor Kazuhiko and his former assistant Tsuruko. Divided into four chapters, each taking place on the same day spread across years, the film follows Kazuhiko as he returns on the autumn equinox to the mountain cabin he once shared with Tsuruko. Dominated by natural landscapes and silent emotions, Shimizu’s late-period melodrama is an undiscovered triumph. 1956. 84 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu |
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| Sound in the Mist 霧の音 Thursday, May 23, 7 pm New English Subtitles. A tragic romance set in the Japanese Alps, Sound in the Mist details the doomed love between botany professor Kazuhiko and his former assistant Tsuruko. Divided into four chapters, each taking place on the same day spread across years, the film follows Kazuhiko as he returns on the autumn equinox to the mountain cabin he once shared with Tsuruko. Dominated by natural landscapes and silent emotions, Shimizu’s late-period melodrama is an undiscovered triumph. 1956. 84 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu |
| The Sentimental Idiot 人情馬鹿 Thursday, May 23, 9 pm New Remaster. Shimizu’s first Daiei production transforms midway through into a moral drama of selfless sacrifice as a cabaret singer attempts to make amends with victims of her patron’s embezzlement scheme in a bid to save him from a life in prison. 1956. 71 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. | |
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| The Sentimental Idiot 人情馬鹿 Thursday, May 23, 9 pm New Remaster. Shimizu’s first Daiei production transforms midway through into a moral drama of selfless sacrifice as a cabaret singer attempts to make amends with victims of her patron’s embezzlement scheme in a bid to save him from a life in prison. 1956. 71 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
 | Mr. Shosuke Ohara 小原庄助さん Thursday, May 30, 7 pm Imported 16mm Print. A favorite of Shinji Somai, Hiroshi Shimizu’s delightful 1949 tragicomedy follows a good-natured wealthy man nicknamed “Shosuke Ohara-san” after a folkloric figure who squandered his fortune on drink and leisure. 1949. 97 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
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| Mr. Shosuke Ohara 小原庄助さん Thursday, May 30, 7 pm Imported 16mm Print. A favorite of Shinji Somai, Hiroshi Shimizu’s delightful 1949 tragicomedy follows a good-natured wealthy man nicknamed “Shosuke Ohara-san” after a folkloric figure who squandered his fortune on drink and leisure. 1949. 97 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
| Sound in the Mist 霧の音 Thursday, May 30, 9:15 pm New English Subtitles. A tragic romance set in the Japanese Alps, Sound in the Mist details the doomed love between botany professor Kazuhiko and his former assistant Tsuruko. Divided into four chapters, each taking place on the same day spread across years, the film follows Kazuhiko as he returns on the autumn equinox to the mountain cabin he once shared with Tsuruko. Dominated by natural landscapes and silent emotions, Shimizu’s late-period melodrama is an undiscovered triumph. 1956. 84 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. | |
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| Sound in the Mist 霧の音 Thursday, May 30, 9:15 pm New English Subtitles. A tragic romance set in the Japanese Alps, Sound in the Mist details the doomed love between botany professor Kazuhiko and his former assistant Tsuruko. Divided into four chapters, each taking place on the same day spread across years, the film follows Kazuhiko as he returns on the autumn equinox to the mountain cabin he once shared with Tsuruko. Dominated by natural landscapes and silent emotions, Shimizu’s late-period melodrama is an undiscovered triumph. 1956. 84 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
 | Children of the Beehive: What Happened Next その後の蜂の巣の子供たち Friday, May 31, 7 pm Imported 35mm Print. In Shimizu’s sequel to his 1948 masterpiece, a journalist arrives in the secluded foothills of his cherished Izu to find a hidden commune to ask, “What happened to the children of the Beehive?” Three years have passed and her question situates itself not only in the realm of Shimizu’s craft, but that of reality: What became of the war orphans Shimizu raised? 1951. 94 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
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| Children of the Beehive: What Happened Next その後の蜂の巣の子供たち Friday, May 31, 7 pm Imported 35mm Print. In Shimizu’s sequel to his 1948 masterpiece, a journalist arrives in the secluded foothills of his cherished Izu to find a hidden commune to ask, “What happened to the children of the Beehive?” Three years have passed and her question situates itself not only in the realm of Shimizu’s craft, but that of reality: What became of the war orphans Shimizu raised? 1951. 94 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
| Image of a Mother 母のおもかげ Friday, May 31, 9:30 pm New English Subtitles. The final film in Shimizu’s thirty-plus year career, Image of a Mother remains true to Shimizu’s central themes as a young boy must learn to form a relationship with his new stepmother. A rare scope feature from Shimizu, his final work forms a fitting farewell to a career so devoted to the lives of the misunderstood 1959. 89 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |  |
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| Image of a Mother 母のおもかげ Friday, May 31, 9:30 pm New English Subtitles. The final film in Shimizu’s thirty-plus year career, Image of a Mother remains true to Shimizu’s central themes as a young boy must learn to form a relationship with his new stepmother. A rare scope feature from Shimizu, his final work forms a fitting farewell to a career so devoted to the lives of the misunderstood 1959. 89 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
| | Dancing Girl 踊子 Saturday, June 1, 3 pm A raucous country girl’s arrival to her sister’s shitamachi apartment stirs trouble as she delights in the new wonders of city life as well as its vices. Starring legendary actress Machiko Kyo, Dancing Girl features some of the director’s most stunning cinematography as he captures the everyday streets, drinking holes and alleyways of Asakusa. 1957. 96 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
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| Dancing Girl 踊子 Saturday, June 1, 3 pm A raucous country girl’s arrival to her sister’s shitamachi apartment stirs trouble as she delights in the new wonders of city life as well as its vices. Starring legendary actress Machiko Kyo, Dancing Girl features some of the director’s most stunning cinematography as he captures the everyday streets, drinking holes and alleyways of Asakusa. 1957. 96 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
| Image of a Mother 母のおもかげ Saturday, June 1, 5:30 pm New English Subtitles. The final film in Shimizu’s thirty-plus year career, Image of a Mother remains true to Shimizu’s central themes as a young boy must learn to form a relationship with his new stepmother. A rare scope feature from Shimizu, his final work forms a fitting farewell to a career so devoted to the lives of the misunderstood 1959. 89 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. | |
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| Image of a Mother 母のおもかげ Saturday, June 1, 5:30 pm New English Subtitles. The final film in Shimizu’s thirty-plus year career, Image of a Mother remains true to Shimizu’s central themes as a young boy must learn to form a relationship with his new stepmother. A rare scope feature from Shimizu, his final work forms a fitting farewell to a career so devoted to the lives of the misunderstood 1959. 89 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
 | Children of the Great Buddha 大仏さまと子供たち Saturday, June 1, 8 pm Imported 35mm Print. The final film in the Beehive trilogy, Great Buddha chronicles war orphans working as tour guides amid the looming statues and temples of Japan’s ancient capital of Nara. Shimizu’s uncharacteristic hands-on approach to the film’s cinematography frames the sacred objects as “very real agents” in the children’s lives, resulting in a deeply moving and spiritual work that concludes his orphan saga. 1952. 102 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
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| Children of the Great Buddha 大仏さまと子供たち Saturday, June 1, 8 pm Imported 35mm Print. The final film in the Beehive trilogy, Great Buddha chronicles war orphans working as tour guides amid the looming statues and temples of Japan’s ancient capital of Nara. Shimizu’s uncharacteristic hands-on approach to the film’s cinematography frames the sacred objects as “very real agents” in the children’s lives, resulting in a deeply moving and spiritual work that concludes his orphan saga. 1952. 102 min. Directed by Hiroshi Shimizu. |
Artwork by Tony Stella.
Organized by Edo Choi, Associate Curator of Film, Museum of the Moving Image; Alexander Fee, Film Programmer, Japan Society; and Akinaru Rokkaku, Japan Foundation, New York.
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.
Special Thanks to Kate MacKay (BAMPFA); Mako Fukata; Akinaru Rokkaku & Shun Inoue (Japan Foundation, New York); Miki Zeze (Kadokawa); Yukiko Wachi (Kawakita Memorial Film Institute); Kenta Tamada and Rikako Kosugiyama (National Film Archive of Japan); Yoshio Yasui (Kobe Planet Film Archive); Osamu Minakawa (Kokusai Hoei Co.,Ltd.); Clément Rauger; Tony Stella; Hitomi Hosoda (Shochiku).
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.
