Office Lady Diary: Affair of a She-Cat

1972 1h 15m JA

😐

5.1

MID

★5.1TMDB · 7

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An unstable office lady imprisons her manager in her apartment and tries to seduce him.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Rie Nakagawa
Shinobu Kirino
Katsurô Yamada
Shiro Oribe
Moeko Ezawa
Taeko, Shiro's wife
Junko Miyashita
Eiko
Toshihiko Oda
Kusumi
Mitsuko Aoi
Shinobu's mother
Hiroshi Gojo
Aiko Kano

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Akira Kato
Writers: Akira Kato
Languages: Japanese
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 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

Part of the "OL nikki" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Akira Kato, shot by Shinsaku Himeda. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Hajime Kaburagi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Akira Suzuki shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Rie Nakagawa and Katsurô Yamada and Moeko Ezawa carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Akira Kato directs. Shinsaku Himeda behind the camera. Hajime Kaburagi scores. Akira Suzuki cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Tight 75-minute runtime — shorter than most television pilots.
254 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Part of the "OL nikki" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Akira Kato, shot by Shinsaku Himeda. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Hajime Kaburagi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Akira Suzuki shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Rie Nakagawa and Katsurô Yamada and Moeko Ezawa carry the top of the cast.
9IMDB entry: tt0227158 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 7 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Shinsaku Himeda
Original score: Hajime Kaburagi
Editing: Akira Suzuki
Runtime: 75 min · 1h 15m
Status: Released
Original language: JA
IMDB: Office Lady Diary: Affair of a She-Cat (1972)

Part of

OL nikki

These films center on eroticism involving office ladies in Japanese corporations, depicting their mundane lives and hidden desires. The characters often uncover latent sexual desires, leading to illicit satisfaction. The films offer a glimpse of 1970s Japanese office culture, highlighting societal expectations and limitations on these women. The characters range from unfulfilled housewives to deviant individuals, showcasing the impact of sexual desire on different personalities. The films are narrated through diaries or journals, providing intimate first-person perspectives on the characters' struggles with societal norms and clandestine desires. These works critically portray the societal limitations imposed on office ladies and their quest for fulfillment, offering a nuanced perspective on sexual liberation and societal stagnation.