Critics reviews

[Irezumi] is a fascinating curio of a film, and one that connoisseurs of Japanese cinema will want to seek out... Hopefully it will mark a renewed interest in the work of Masumura, and while not his best work, certainly this stands out as a fascinating entry point.

A showcase of Daiei film company’s golden-era powers, Masumura Yasuzô’s Irezumi is a worthwhile reflection of Japan’s changing post-war attitudes toward sex, art, and liberation.

Masumura doesn’t portray women as victims, and it is this that makes Irezumi a much more satisfying film to a female audience than The Life of Oharu or When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, which offer no hope, only resignation, to downtrodden women.

The story is a clash of sexuality and violence which, although heady and certainly extreme, feels naturally portrayed through its emotions, yet visually very stylish and unusual too.