Kwaidan (1965)

January 6, 1965 (JP) • Horror, Fantasy, Drama • 183m

Overview

Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.

Director

Masaki Kobayashi

Writers

Yōko Mizuki, Lafcadio Hearn

Top Billed

Michiyo Aratama

Keywords

samurai based on novel or book story teller snowstorm tea promise snow blind spirit vengeful ghost ghost story ghost sea battle japanese folklore naval battle horror anthology ghost in the woods

Where to watch

Free / Included

HBO Max Amazon Channel

Rent

Buy

Top Billed Cast

Michiyo Aratama

First Wife (segment "The Black Hair")

Rentaro Mikuni

Husband (segment "The Black Hair")

Misako Watanabe

Second Wife (segment "The Black Hair")

Kenjirō Ishiyama

Father (segment "The Black Hair")

Ranko Akagi

Mother (segment "The Black Hair")

Fumie Kitahara

(segment "The Black Hair")

Kappei Matsumoto

(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)

Yoshiko Ieda

(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)

Otome Tsukimiya

(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)

Kenzō Tanaka

(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)

Kiyoshi Nakano

(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)

Tatsuya Nakadai

Minokichi (segment "The Woman of the Snow")

Keiko Kishi

Yuki the Snow Maiden (segment "The Woman of the Snow")

Yūko Mochizuki

Minokichi's Mother (segment "The Woman of the Snow")

Kin Sugai

Village Woman (segment "The Woman of the Snow")

Noriko Sengoku

Village Woman (segment "The Woman of the Snow")

Akiko Nomura

(segment "The Woman of the Snow") (uncredited)

Torahiko Hamada

(segment "The Woman of the Snow") (uncredited)

Jun Hamamura

(segment "The Woman of the Snow")

Katsuo Nakamura

Hoichi (segment "Hoichi the Earless")

Tetsuro Tamba

Warrior (segment "Hoichi the Earless")

Takashi Shimura

Head Priest (segment "Hoichi the Earless")

Yoichi Hayashi

Attendant (segment "Hoichi the Earless")

Eiko Muramatsu

Kenreiinmon (segment "Hoichi the Earless")

Kunie Tanaka

Yasaku (segment "Hoichi the Earless")

Kazuo Kitamura

Tomomori (segment "Hoichi the Earless")

Ichirō Nakatani

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Masanori Tomotake

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Tokue Hanazawa

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Shizue Natsukawa

Tokiko (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Shin Tatsuoka

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Makiko Kitashiro

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Masakazu Kuwayama

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Mutsuhiko Tsurumaru

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Akira Tani

Huntsman #2 (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Yōsuke Kondō

Benkei (segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Kiyoshi Yamamoto

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Kinji Omino

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Atsuo Nakamura

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Ginzô Sekiguchi

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Akio Miyabe

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Genya Nagai

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Toru Uchida

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Hikaru Jinno

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Toshio Fukuhara

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Kirô Abe

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Toshiro Yagi

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Yuriko Abe

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Yuri Satô

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Kyōichi Satō

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Nobuo Aikawa

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Taiji Kodama

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Nobuaki Maeda

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Teruhiko Shibata

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Haruo Kaji

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Michio Gina

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Seiji Tabe

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Mitsuko Narita

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Noriko Mikura

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Aiko Nagayama

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Michiko Nakahata

(segment "Hoichi the Earless") (uncredited)

Kan'emon Nakamura

Kannai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")

Osamu Takizawa

Author / Narrator (segment "In a Cup of Tea")

Haruko Sugimura

Madame (segment "In a Cup of Tea")

Noboru Nakaya

Shikibu Heinai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")

Seiji Miyaguchi

Old Man (segment "In a Cup of Tea")

Kei Satō

Ghost Samurai (segment "In a Cup of Tea")

Shigeru Kōyama

(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)

Jun Tazaki

Kannai's Colleague #1 (segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)

Junkichi Orimoto

(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)

Akiji Kobayashi

(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)

Yoshirō Aoki

(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)

Isao Tamagawa

(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)

Hideyo Amamoto

(segment "In a Cup of Tea") (uncredited)

Ganjirō Nakamura II

Publisher (segment "In a Cup of Tea")

Crew

Yōko Mizuki

Screenplay

Shigeru Wakatsuki

Producer

Shigemasa Toda

Art Direction

Lafcadio Hearn

Novel

Tōru Takemitsu

Original Music Composer

Hisashi Sagara

Editor

Masaki Kobayashi

Director

Dai Arakawa

Set Decoration

Shigeyuki Sekine

Colorist

Masahiro Katō

Costume Design

Eiko Yoshida

Continuity

Akira Suzuki

Sound Designer

Shigeru Takagi

Makeup Artist

Akira Aomatsu

Gaffer

Kiyoshi Awazu

Title Designer

Shôjirô Kamohara

Second Assistant Camera

Yôichi Ukita

Production Supervisor

Masaharu Shioda

Sound Recordist

Yoshio Ueno

Costume Consultant

Kazuo Kuwahara

Production Supervisor

Toshiyuki Isobe

Assistant Camera

Kinji Tsuruda

Musician

Michiyoshi Takashima

Executive In Charge Of Production

Kuniharu Akiyama

Sound Designer

Hideo Nishizaki

Sound

Tatsuo Hotta

Martial Arts Choreographer

Gô Yoshida

First Assistant Director

Tadanosuke Sumida

Researcher

Ayako Sakurai

Hairstylist

Kiyoharu Matsuno

Set Designer

Naotake Satsumoto

Assistant Art Director

Shigenosuke Okuyama

Sound Designer

Kazutoshi Yagihashi

Sound Recordist

Yasuhiro Yoshioka

Still Photographer

Junichirô Ôsaka

Assistant Editor

Yoshio Miyajima

Director of Photography

Reviews

CinemaSerf

⭐ 7/10

December 2, 2024

I'm always a little daunted when I settle down in a cinema seat for a film that is 3 hours long - I fear the last glass of wine may have been one too many - but this simply flew by. It is a compendium of four different Japanese "poems" that deal with just about every emotion in the human panoply - love, hate, greed, joy, fear, envy, betrayal... You name it! Each story has a central theme that, perhaps not terribly sophisticated to anyone with a f… read the rest.

Loading…

Kwaidan (1965)

Yōko Mizuki, Lafcadio Hearn

Where to watch

Top Billed Cast

Crew

Reviews

CinemaSerf

Recommended Movies

The Last Samurai

Seven Samurai

Gintama the Movie 2026: Yoshiwara in Flames

Harakiri

Status

Original Language

Budget

Revenue

Rate This Movie

Rate This TV Show