Obscure Japanese Film #239Sachiko Hidari This Nikkatsu production stars Sachiko Hidari – best-known for The Insect Woman (1963) and A Fugitive from the Past (1965) – as Hatsu, a young woman from snowy Akita Prefecture who goes to Tokyo to work as a maid in the house of middle-class couple Kyohei (Shuji Sano) and his wife Umeko (Yukiko Todoroki). Shuji SanoYukiko TodorokiAt first, Hatsu seems like the stereotypically naive country bumpkin, but she’s also a hard-working, cheerful bundle of energy who turns out, in many ways, to be the perfect maid. The family also includes two young boys who have been left to their own devices by their parents and become totally out of control. When Hatsu develops a strong bond with the younger child, Katsumi (Teruo Iba), he begins to be mocked by his classmates, who call him the ‘son of a maid’... Teruo Iba Based on a just-published novel by female author Yuki Shigeko (1900-69), The Maid’s Kid was directed by the underrated Tomotaka Tasaka, who also co-wrote the screenplay together with Katsuya Susaki. Tasaka had a tendency to make long films, and this one is no exception at 142 minutes, but he also had a rare gift for never making them feel overlong. In fact, his readiness to linger on a shot feels quite modern today in the wake of the Slow Cinema movement. He also makes excellent use of real locations and elicits fine performances from all involved – most notably Hidari, of course; it’s difficult to imagine any other actor pulling this role off as well as she does here. It’s the sort of drama that stands or falls on its main performance, and Hatsu could easily have ended up seeming too unconvincingly saintly if played by a less skilled or less suitable star. Other familiar faces among the supporting cast include Chieko Higashiyama, Tanie Kitabayashi and, in one of his earliest film appearances, a pre-cheeky Joe Shishido. Perhaps the main point of the story is that a person’s social status bears no correlation to their worth as a person; Kyohei and Umeko say they don’t believe in titles like ‘master’ and ‘mistress’, but they act with oblivious selfishness and disregard for Hatsu, at times treating her more like a slave than a servant so that she barely gets a moment’s rest. At one point, she’s even rebuked for not understanding that some people are more important than others. However, another strength of the film is that, although the couple’s hypocrisy is quite evident to the viewer, they are not reduced to one-dimensional villains and are portrayed as basically decent, if misguided, people. Tasaka’s avoidance of melodrama and intelligent handling of the material is complemented by the work of his regular cinematographer Saburo Isayama as well as by Akira ‘Godzilla’ Ifukube’s fine score. The film was ranked 7th best of its year by Kinema Junpo magazine, but is less well-known than it deserves today. It was remade in 1976 as Dongurikko by director Katsumi Nishikawa in a version starring the singer Masako Mori. Thanks to A.K. If you enjoy reading this blog, feel free to Buy Me A Coffee!
Jan 5, 2026 • Subscribe
More like this
The Beauty and the Dragon (美女と怪龍, Kozaburo Yoshimura, 1955)
A clever princess takes advantage of a courtly crisis to save the kingdom and arrange her own marriage in Kozaburo Yoshimura’s adaptation of the well-known kabuki play Narukami.
Girls’ School (女子學校, Mimi Lee, 1982)
The transgressively close friendship between two teenage girls comes under scrutiny when a rumour circulates they are more than friends in Mimi Lee’s sensitive drama
“Ouji-sama Joshi” Yuri Anthology STAYGOLD (「王子様女子」百合アンソロジー STAYGOLD)
Who doesn’t love good “Girl Prince” story? Even when confined to school grounds, the archetype of the coolest girl gives everyone a chance to fall in love from…
Kodomo no me / 子供の眼 / (‘Eyes of a Child’, 1955)
Obscure Japanese Film #162 Hideko Takamine Kiyoko (Hideko Takamine) is a young woman living in Tokyo with her older brother, Shunji (Hiros...
The Swordsman and the Actress (大江戸千両囃子, Yasushi Sasaki, 1955)
Hibari Misora stars as an actress drawn into a complex battle for a precious fan in Yasushi Sasaki’s comic jidaigeki adventure
The Midnight Maiden War (真夜中乙女戦争, Ken Ninomiya, 2022)
An apathetic student is torn between nihilistic destruction and the desire for life in Ken Ninomiya’s futuristic drama.
Bad Women of China (中华坏女人, He Xiaopei, 2021)
He Xiaopei contemplates the lives of three generations of teenage women while attempting to reconcile with her distance mother in a very personal documentary.
She is me, I am her (ワタシの中の彼女, Mayu Nakamura, 2022)
A gentle sense of haunting echoes through four tales of pandemic-era Tokyo in Mayu Nakamura’s ethereal anthology.
The Wolves (狼, Kaneto Shindo, 1955)
Post-war desperation drives a collection of otherwise honest men and women towards a criminal act that for all its politeness they are ill-equipped to live with in Kaneto’s…
Yuri Doujinshi: Yuricon Tabemono to Joshiben (ユリコン 食べ物と女子編)
What do you get when a bunch of the best adult-life Yuri artists get together and explore random themes, then collect them together into anthology doujinshi? You get…
Akira Toriyama (1955-2024)
The manga creator Akira Toriyama, who died on 1st March, was cited by the editor-in-chief of Weekly Shonen Jump as being the prime catalyst in driving the magazine…
Buichi Terasawa (1955-2023)
The manga artist Buichi Terasawa, who died on 8th September, enjoyed a meteoric rise to fame in the 1980s, becoming popular just as his particular brand of lurid,…
A Hole of My Own Making / /自分の穴の中で / Jibun no ana no nakade (1955)
Obscure Japanese Film #134 Rentaro Mikuni, Mie Kitahara and Jukichi Uno Tamiko (Mie Kitahara) is a young woman living at home with her s...
アニメの新しいゴールデンコンビ – 中村亮介x細居美恵子インタビュー
フランスのジャパン・トゥール・フェスティバルで、アニメ監督の中村亮介とキャラクターデザイナーの細居美恵子の才能ある二人組に出会った。この二人の素晴らしい二人組は、『ねらわれた学園』、『あいうら』、『灰と幻想のグリムガル』などの印象的な作品を生み出した。
Amy Howard Wilson (1955-2021)
It was the day of the big university oral examination, and the unnamed student was understandably flustered when the phone rang. When she picked up, there was a…
Godzilla Raids Again (1955) review
Thsi sequal lacks the impact of Honda’s classic, but Oda’s narrative does deliver enough action and destruction to satisfy any Kaiju fan.
菓子パン
Kashipan, kashipan as far as the eye can see - How to Japanese - May 2022
Disney+: The new kid in town.
Maybe Disney+ and anime are two things you wouldn’t see pictured together. As more people are turning more to streaming services than television, it makes sense that all…
Bakumatsu Joshikousei – Oni to Yoake, Volume 2 (幕末女子高生 鬼と夜明け 二)
Welcome to the wrongest way to read a series, part 3. ^_^ This series began in 2023, when I was wooed by the repeated appearance of girls with…
Bakumatsu Joshikousei – Oni to Yoake, Volume 1 (幕末女子高生 鬼と夜明け 一)
Back a the beginning of the year, I reviewed the second volume of a sequel to this series, Oni to Yoake Yuzikiyo (鬼と夜明け 夕月夜). Given that I knew…
Spiraken Manga News- Akira Toriyama 1955-2024
Tragic news. It has been announced that on March 1st 2024, Akira Toriyama has died. The Famed creator of Dr. Slump, Sand Land, & Dragonball died of an…
The Phantom Thieves Movie 1955 King-Menu Subs Holiday Special
A mysterious thief calling himself “The Devil’s Secret Agent” appears in the big city of Tokyo, and a series of incidents break out in which he steals diamonds…
Kid-Friendly Japanese Food
Renowned for its sophisticated presentation, taste and rich nutrients (that we believe are linked to longevity), there's much about Japanese cuisine that fascinates the foreign community. But kids…
Episode 705, “Kid & The Law” (with @rrodrigueslb)
On this week’s episode of The One Piece Podcast we have hosts Zach , Ed , Steve and Alex for our recap of One Piece Chapter…
Kid Buu is NOT The Strongest Buu
Vegetto beats Boohan beats Bootenks beats Gohan beats Super Boo beats Kid Boo beats Goku beats Fat Boo. Edited/Written by @TeeHallumsYT SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/totallynotmark FOLLOW…
Sachiko (さち子） – Lamp
Appears on their album 「Yume」. Sachiko Lyrics by Sakakibara Kaori Composed by Someya Taiyo Performed by Lamp The horizon at the end of summer and the sweet salt wind My newly shorn hair brushes pas…
How to 菓子パン
I just sent out the May newsletter. I wrote about my love of 菓子パン (kashipan). The croissant above I don’t think technically counts as 菓子パン? My theory is…
To Be Killed by a High School Girl (女子高生に殺されたい, Hideo Jojo, 2022)
A high school teacher hides a dark secret behind his handsome facade in Hideo Jojo’s outlandish giallo-esque mystery thriller
Episode 705, "Kid & The Law" (with Roberto Rodrigues)
On this week’s episode of The One Piece Podcast we have hosts Zach, Ed, Steve and Alex for our recap of One Piece Chapter 1038! This week we have Stephen Paul (English translator for…
Being a 90’s kid before the internet
Remembering life before the internet, 90’s sure were something
Six Kid-Friendly Places to Escape the Elements
Here is Savvy's list of some indoor places and activities to check out when the outdoor conditions are too much to bear.
Episode 705, "Kid & The Law" (with Roberto Rodrigues)
On this week’s episode of The One Piece Podcast we have hosts Zach, Ed, Steve and Alex for our recap of One Piece Chapter 1038! This week we have Stephen Paul (English translator for…
Horror Collector: The Faceless Kid Light Novel Review
With a couple of genuinely standout chapters and an interesting overarching plot, it's an easy choice for a reader just getting into horror fiction.
Under the Stars (星の子, Tatsushi Omori, 2020)
A young woman raised by devotees of a new religion comes to question her worldview when confronted with its otherness in Tatsushi Omori’s coming-of-age drama.
Asakusa Kid (2021) [Film Review]
Asakusa Kid; or, Make’em Laugh Listen, Take. Don’t suck up to your audience. You tell them what’s funny. I have been waiting patiently ...
Ichiko (市子, Akihiro Toda, 2023)
When a young woman disappears, it transpires that she never existed in the first place in Akihiro Toda’s twisty psychological mystery.
西宮硝子 (Nishimiya Shouko)
Who is Nishimiya Shouko? Nishimiya Shouko is the female protagonist of Koe no Katachi, a kind-hearted girl who was born deaf. Throughout her life, she faces bullying, isolation,…
古見 硝子 (Komi Shouko)
Who is Komi Shouko? Komi Shouko is the main protagonist of Komi-san wa, Komyushou desu. She is a high school girl admired by her peers for her beauty,…
九条櫻子 (Kujou Sakurako)
Who is Kujou Sakurako? Kujou Sakurako is the protagonist of Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru, a highly intelligent osteologist with a fascination for human remains.…
The Green Music Box (緑はるかに, Umetsugu Inoue, 1955)
A lonely little girl finds herself dragged into conspiracy when her father is kidnapped by spies in Umetsugu Inoue’s bizarre musical adventure.
The Seiyuu That Ladies Go Wild✨#中村悠一
Watch my full Nakamura Yuichi Seiyuu Highlights video here: https://youtu.be/jmwkcYTcJWo He is probably one of the most attractive voice actors in the industry. From playing a lightbearer in Genshin Impact,…
Seiyuu Highlights: Nakamura Yuuichi 中村 悠一
He has the charm, the look, and especially the voice. From playing plain ass jerks to charming high-school princes, his diverse range of roles have been the pinnacle…
Seiyuu Highlights: Rie Tanaka 田中 理恵
She's more than just your typical onee-sama in the Seiyuu industry. Rie Tanaka proves that you can be a middle-ages woman, yet still young and hip enough to…
When the Wimpy Kid Joins the MIB – elDLIVE Spoiler Review
Last year, I reviewed DearS, a show with a premise that vaguely reminded me of a western film, in that case District 9. They ended up being pretty…
Riot (of the World): Billy the Kid Versus Constant Hiatuses
No post summary was provided.
When the Wimpy Kid Joins the MIB – elDLIVE Spoiler Review
Last year, I reviewed DearS, a show with a premise that vaguely reminded me of a western film, in that case District 9. They ended up being pretty…
Lupin the 3rd: Part III 33 (Kid Fan! #LupinIII)
AstroNerdBoy reviews Lupin the 3rd: Part III 33. Lupin saves a prodigy boy, who turns out to be a big fan of Lupin and his gang.
She's the ideal woman😅甲斐田 裕子
Yūko Kaida can play all kinds of ideal women...
Dancing Girl (踊子, Hiroshi Shimizu, 1957)
The arrival of a free-spirited younger sister creates chaos in the live of a chorus dancer and her violinist husband in Hiroshi Shimizu’s elegantly lensed melodrama.
Love Live! Superstar!! 2.5: Cash Kid
Like Mia in NijiGaku 2 we got brief glimpses of Natsumi’s activities since her debut. Now her time to shine had come at last.
