Karayuki-San, the Making of a Prostitute

1973 1h 15m JA

🙌

8.2

BANGER

★8.2TMDB · 2

Documentary

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Karayuki-san, the Making of a Prostitute is a 1975 Japanese film by director Shohei Imamura. It is a documentary on one of the Japanese "karayuki-san," who were women that were taken from their homes in Japan and used as prostitutes in the post-war period. Many of these women were told that they were doing this to support their families because of the extreme poverty that the war left much of Japan to live in. Imamura focuses on a particular such woman who was sent to Malaysia and never returned to Japan. Joan Mellen, in The Waves at Genji's Door, called this film, "Perhaps the most brilliant and feeling of Imamura's fine documentaries."

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Kikuyo Zendo
Herself
Shōhei Imamura
Himself

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Shōhei Imamura
Languages: Japanese, Malay
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

RUNTIME

Did you know

Tight 75-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

ERA

Did you know

53 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, Malay.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Kikuyo Zendo and Shōhei Imamura carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0073226 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

Only 2 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Shōhei Imamura directs. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese, Malay.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 75-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
253 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Japanese, Malay.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Kikuyo Zendo and Shōhei Imamura carry the top of the cast.
6IMDB entry: tt0073226 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
7Only 2 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.