The Life of Muhomatsu Produced in 1943 Directed by Inagaki Hiroshi Starring Bando Tsumasaburo, Tsukigata Ryunosuke, Nagata Yasushi, Sonoi Keiko ☆Subscribe here / Classic Japanese Film Collection PD In the year 1897, there was a rickshaw puller called Muhomatsu in Kokura. Matsugoro had been banished from his hometown for gambling, but returned and got into a fight with a kendo teacher from the Wakamatsu police, splitting his head open, and was bedridden at a cheap lodging house called Uwajimaya. Matsugoro was known for being quick to fight, and one day, at a theater, he and his friend Kumakichi cooked garlic in the box seat to harass the gatekeeper, but he was mediated by Yuki Juzo and sincerely apologized. Matsugoro was a man of spirit and chivalry. Matsugoro saves a young boy named Toshio who had fallen into a moat and was injured. Toshio's father was Captain Yoshioka Kotaro, and through this connection Matsugoro began to frequent the Yoshioka household. However, Captain Yoshioka caught a cold during training in the rain and died suddenly. His wife Yoshiko was worried about Toshio's timid nature and relied on Matsugoro. Matsugoro devoted himself to his wife and Toshio. Soon Toshio became a fourth-year student at Kokura Junior High School, and on the day of the lantern parade celebrating the fall of Qingdao, he got into a fight with a student from another school, making his mother nervous, but Matsugoro was happy about it and joined the fight. After that, Toshio entered Fifth High School and became estranged from Matsugoro. On the day of the Kokura Gion Taiko festival, Toshio brought a teacher from Fifth High School back home for the summer vacation. Matsugoro, who was acting as a guide for the teacher who wanted to hear the real Gion Taiko, got on the float, picked up a bachi and played the drum. Nagareuchi, Yumikoma, and Abaraiuchi. The sound of the Gion drums, which had not been heard for a long time, echoed throughout the town. A few days later, Matsugoro visited the Yoshioka family and tried to confess his love for the Yoshioka lady, but she left him, saying, "My heart is polluted." After that, Matsugoro became addicted to alcohol and finally collapsed in the snow and died. Among his belongings were the bankbooks in the names of his wife and Toshio, and the gift money he had received from the Yoshioka family, untouched. Reviews and comments posted on Filmarks Fights at the theater, foot races at the sports day, helping out on the night of the festival, the Gion drums, and that ultra-avant-garde, sob-inducing montage. The life of Bando Tsumasaburo, whose only chance of death is the title, is recounted all at once, as it becomes wheels, runs, lanterns, festivals and fireworks, fights, and smiles, all of which bubble up like bubbles. ...I'm embarrassed to say that I had only heard the name before I started watching it, but it was so interesting that I got more and more absorbed in it. I was amazed by the power of the theater scene, and was deeply moved by the subsequent developments. It's a very simple work, and I think it could be the source of many other works. The version I saw was cut after censorship, and because it was cut, the essence of romance was diluted, and I think Matsugoro's purity was more emphasized. There are many wonderful scenes, but the sight of Matsugoro running at the sports day and Toshio cheering him on was incredibly moving. From the climax of the drum beats to the slideshow that follows, to the heartbreaking ending, it was interesting no matter where you looked. It was fantastic.