Times of Joy and Sorrow

Times of Joy and Sorrow
Hideko Takamine and Keiji Sada

Kanji	喜びも悲しみも幾歳月

Directed by	Keisuke Kinoshita
Written by	Keisuke Kinoshita
Produced by	Shochiku
Cinematography	Hiroshi Kusuda
Music by	Chuji Kinoshita
Release date	1 December 1957 (1957-12-01) (Japan)^[1]
Running time	162 minutes
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

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]

YouTube Encyclopedic

1/3
Views:
66 605
809
251 194

Transcription

Plot

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

Hideko Takamine as Kiyoko Arisawa
Keiji Sada as Shiro Arisawa
Takahiro Tamura as Mr. Nozu
Katsuo Nakamura as Kotaro
Yōko Katsuragi as Fuji Tatsuko
Kōji Mitsui as Mr. Kanemaki
Kuniko Igawa as Itoko Suzuki
Shizue Natsukawa as Mrs. Natori
Masako Arisawa as Yukino
Hiroko Itō as Masako
Noboru Nakaya as Shingo Natori
Takeshi Sakamoto as Postmaster
Ryūji Kita as Natori
Mutsuko Sakura as Mrs. Kanemaki

Featured Lighthouses

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]}

Kannonzaki Lighthouse - Miura Peninsula, Kanagawa
Ishikari Lighthouse - Ishikari, Hokkaido
Izu Oshima Lighthouse - Izu Ōshima, Izu Islands
Mizunokojima Lighthouse - Bungo Channel, Oita
Meshima Lighthouse - Gotō Islands, Nagasaki
Hajiki Saki Lighthouse - Sado Island, Niigata
Omaesaki Lighthouse - Omaezaki, Shizuoka
Anorisaki Lighthouse - Shima, Mie
Ogijima Lighthouse - Seto Inland Sea, Kagawa
Hiyoriyama Lighthouse - Otaru, Hokkaido

Legacy

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

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

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