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Times of Joy and Sorrow

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Times of Joy and Sorrow
Hideko Takamine and Keiji Sada
Kanji喜びも悲しみも幾歳月
Directed byKeisuke Kinoshita
Written byKeisuke Kinoshita
Produced byShochiku
CinematographyHiroshi Kusuda
Music byChuji Kinoshita
Release date
  • 1 December 1957 (1957-12-01) (Japan)[1]
Running time
162 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Times of Joy and Sorrow (喜びも悲しみも幾歳月, Yorokobi mo kanashimi mo ikutoshitsuki), also titled The Lighthouse in the UK, is a 1957 Japanese drama film written and directed by Keisuke Kinoshita.[1]

Plot

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In 1932, a young lighthouse keeper returns from his father's funeral with a new bride, who quickly learns the importance of the marital bond to members of her husband's profession, which is often characterized by the hardships of physical isolation and sudden reassignment. Over the next 25 years they transfer to ten different lighthouses throughout Japan, raising two children and befriending multiple colleagues and their families. They endure wartime attacks on the strategically relevant lighthouses as well as a tragedy involving one of their children, ultimately celebrating the other's marriage and settling together into middle age.

Cast

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The film was shot on location at 10 different lighthouses throughout Japan, including opening scenes at Kannonzaki, the site of the country's first lighthouse.[2] [better source needed]

Legacy

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Times of Joy and Sorrow has been remade three times for Japanese television,[3] and in 1986 Kinoshita himself reworked it as Big Joys, Small Sorrows.[4]

In 1993 a statue depicting the movie's two stars in an iconic pose from publicity materials was erected at Hajikizaki Lighthouse on Sato Island, one of the filming sites, as a tribute to lighthouse staff nationwide.[5][6]

Home media

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Although the film has not been released on disc or for streaming in the United States, Kinoshita's remake Big Joys, Small Sorrows was among the inaugural films available in Spring 2019 for streaming on The Criterion Channel.[7]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Times of Joy and Sorrow". Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 28 January 2009.
  2. ^ "Visit to the Kannonzaki lighthouse and coast". Education in Japan Community Blog. Education in Japan Community. 7 May 2009. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  3. ^ "喜びも悲しみも幾歳月". TV Drama Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 31 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Kinoshita's "Big Joys, Small Sorrows" (1986)". Reflections on Japanese Culture Blog. Wordpress.com. 23 April 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Hajikizaki Lighthouse". Lighthouse Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Hajikizaki Lighthouse". True Sado. Sado Tourism Association. Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  7. ^ "Big Joys, Small Sorrows". The Criterion Channel. Retrieved 5 September 2019.
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