The Evolution of the Image of a Geisha in Mizoguchi Kenji's Films

Mizoguchi Kenji (1898-1956) is a recognized master of Japanese cinema along with Kurosawa Akira and Ozu Yasujiro. The theme of women's fate and suffering is a kind of constant in the work of the director. One of the central images in Mizoguchi’s film career is the image of a geisha. The world of geishas in the director’s works becomes Japanese society in a nutshell. The director shows the problems that Japan faced in the first half of the 20th century, combining the fate of a geisha with the tragic consequences of the modernization process on the movie screen. This paper aims to trace the evolution of the geisha image in Mizoguchi Kenji’s works and determine the place and role of the geisha institution in the social and cultural life of Japanese society in the first half of the 20th century. To accomplish the designated goal, we set the following tasks: 1. to study the cultural phenomenon of a geisha and determine the features of their life, the understanding of which is necessary for a detailed analysis of the director’s films; 2. to determine the socio-political and historical conditions in which the geisha institute developed and underwent changes, which were reflected in the work of Mizoguchi Kenji; 3. to study the director’s biography in order to establish the reasons why the director decided to address the theme of the geisha; 4. to compare the director’s films and establish how the image of a geisha is represented in each of them; 5. to identify the principles of formation, basic methods, techniques, as well as means of expression, with the help of which the image of a geisha is presented; 6. to find out what problems of the geisha world were reflected in the films. As a result of the study, we have managed to study the biography of Mizoguchi Kenji and determine the reasons for the director's appeal to the theme of the geisha. In addition, we examined the socio-political situation in Japan, its influence on the institute of geishas in the first half of the 20th century, the director’s attitude to this, which reflected in such films as “Sisters of the Gion”, “Gion Festival Music” and “The Woman in the Rumor". Comparing the director’s films listed above, we identified similarities and differences between the geisha images presented in them and found out how this image develops throughout Mizoguchi’s films. We also identified the main artistic and cinematic techniques and methods used by the director to create the image of a geisha on the screen. Key words: Mizoguchi Kenji, geisha, Japanese cinema, Japanese woman