Ejima and Ikushima

This period film is inspired by one of the most notorious scandals to have taken place in Edo-period Japan. The heroine, Ejima, was a lady of the Ooku, the harem of Edo Castle in which the Shogun’s mother, wife and concubines resided, forbidden from contact with any other man except in the presence of the Shogun. The institution played a key role in the Byzantine world of Japanese court politics during the Edo era. In 1714, Lady Ejima was sent to pay her respects at a Buddhist temple in the city, and chose to pay an unauthorised visit to the kabuki theatre – a violation of protocol that was to have tragic consequences.

Top Cast

Chikage Awashima

絵島

Ichikawa Danjūrō XI

生島新五郎

Mitsuko Kusabue

宇津

Mieko Takamine

月光院

Kuniko Miyake

天英院