The Cinematic Revelations of“Geido”: Art and the Artist in the Films of Kenji
Mizoguchi
Han Xiaoxue¹
（1. Han Xiaoxue Tarim Vocational and Technical College, Aral City, 1st Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps,China)
[Abstract] A core theme repeatedly emerges in Kenji Mizoguchi ’s films: the relentless pursuit of traditional artistry. Focusing on The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums, Naniwa Onna, and The Life of an Actor, along with works such as Utamaro and His Five Women, this study systematically examines the multifaceted theme of “Geido”(芸道, the way of art), tracing its trajectory from rigorous training and generational transmission to the conflict between art and worldly life, which ultimately culminates in the ultimate proposition of sacrificing one’s life for art. Through his repeated depiction of devoted artisanship, Mizoguchi constructs a nested narrative structure on the screen, offering a cinematic response to the question“what is art”: the characters’ dedication to traditional artistry mirrors the director ’ s own dedication to the art of cinema. Essentially a cultural translation, Mizoguchi's“ Geido ” cinema transfers the ethos of traditional Geido into the modern medium of film. His own rigorous, almost Geido-like dedication to filmmaking elevates these works into a self-reflexive discourse on cinema as an art form: while recounting stories of traditional Geido practitioners, they simultaneously refer back to his own filmmaking practice.
[Keywords] Kenji Mizoguchi; Geido; nested narrative; cultural translation; auteur theory
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