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| name = Madadayo
| name = Madadayo
| image = MADADAYO.JPG
| image = MADADAYO.JPG
| caption = ''Kurosawa's own artwork''
| caption = Theatrical Release Poster
| alt =
| native_name = <!-- {{Infobox name module|language|title}} or {{Infobox name module|title}} -->
| director = [[Akira Kurosawa]]
| director = [[Akira Kurosawa]]
| producer = {{Plainlist|
| producer = Hisao Kurosawa
| writer =
* [[Yuzo Irie]]
| screenplay = {{plainlist|
* [[Yo Yamamoto]]
* Hisao Kurosawa}}
| writer = {{Plainlist|
* Akira Kurosawa
* Akira Kurosawa
* [[Ishirō Honda]] (uncredited)
* [[Ishiro Honda]]{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=382}}}}
| story =
* [[Hyakken Uchida]] (essays)}}
| starring = {{Plainlist|
| based_on = {{Based on|Literary works|[[Hyakken Uchida]]}}
| starring = {{plainlist|
* [[Tatsuo Matsumura (actor)|Tatsuo Matsumura]]
* [[Tatsuo Matsumura (actor)|Tatsuo Matsumura]]
* [[Kyōko Kagawa]]
* [[Kyōko Kagawa]]
* [[Hisashi Igawa]]
* [[Hisashi Igawa]]
* [[George Tokoro]]}}
* [[George Tokoro]]}}
| music = [[Shin'ichirō Ikebe]]
| music = [[Shinichiro Ikebe]]{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=382}}
| cinematography =
| cinematography = {{plainlist|* [[Takao Saito (cinematographer)|Takao Saito]]
* [[Shoji Ueda (cinematographer)|Shoji Ueda]]{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=382}}}}
| editing = Akira Kurosawa
| studio = [[Daiei Film]]
| editing =
| production_companies = {{plainlist|
* [[Daiei]]
* [[Dentsu|Dentsu, Inc.]]
* Kurosawa Production{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=382}}}}
| distributor = [[Toho]]
| distributor = [[Toho]]
| released = {{Film date|1993|4|17}}
| released = {{Film date|df=yes|1993|4|17|Japan}}
| runtime = 134 minutes
| runtime = 134 minutes{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=382}}
| country = Japan
| country = Japan
| language = Japanese
| language = Japanese
| budget = ¥1.3 billion<ref name="Nishimura">{{cite book|last=Nishimura|first=Yuichiro|title=Akira Kurosawa: Sound and Visuals|date=December 12, 1998|publisher=[[:ja:立風書房|Rippu Shobo Publishing]]|edition=Second|page=438|isbn=978-4651700809|language=Japanese}}</ref>
| budget = [[United States dollar|US$]]11,900,000
| gross =
| gross = ¥300 million<ref name="Nishimura"/>
}}
}}

{{nihongo|'''''Madadayo'''''|まあだだよ|Mādadayo|"Not Yet"}} is a 1993 Japanese comedy-drama film. It is the thirtieth and final film to be completed by [[Akira Kurosawa]]. It was screened out of competition at the [[1993 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2587/year/1993.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Madadayo |accessdate=2009-08-25|work=festival-cannes.com}}</ref> The film was selected as the Japanese entry for the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] at the [[66th Academy Awards]], but was not accepted as a nominee.<ref>Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences</ref><ref name="Variety">{{cite journal | last = Frook | first = John Evan | title = Acad inks Cates, unveils foreign-language entries | journal = [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=30 November 1993| url = http://www.variety.com/article/VR116185.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 | accessdate =25 August 2008}}</ref>
{{nihongo|'''''Madadayo'''''|まあだだよ|Mādadayo|"Not yet"}} is a 1993 Japanese [[Comedy drama|comedy-drama]] film. It is the thirtieth and final film to be completed by [[Akira Kurosawa]]. It was screened out of competition at the [[1993 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/2587/year/1993.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Madadayo |access-date=2009-08-25|work=festival-cannes.com}}</ref> The film was selected as the Japanese entry for the [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] at the [[66th Academy Awards]], but was not accepted as a nominee.<ref>Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences</ref><ref name="Variety">{{cite journal | last = Frook | first = John Evan | title = Acad inks Cates, unveils foreign-language entries | journal = [[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] | date=30 November 1993| url = https://www.variety.com/article/VR116185.html?categoryid=13&cs=1 | access-date =25 August 2008}}</ref> Many of the movie's vignettes, like the search for a missing cat and the time Uchida spent in a one-room hut after his home was destroyed in a bombing raid, come from Uchida's own writings, but the movie also gives Kurosawa the chance to comment on aspects of modern Japanese history like the [[occupation of Japan|American occupation of Japan]] that he had only been able to explore indirectly in his earlier works.<ref>Conrad, David A. (2022). ''Akira Kurosawa and Modern Japan'', 219-225, McFarland & Co.</ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==
The main story of the film is based on the life of a Japanese academic and author [[Hyakken Uchida]] (1889–1971). The film opens with him resigning as [[professor]] of [[German language|German]], in the period immediately before the [[Second World War]]. The plot is centered on his relationship with his former students, who care for him in his old age.
The film is based on the life of Japanese academic and author [[Hyakken Uchida]] (1889–1971). While playfully teaching a class as a [[professor]] of [[German language|German]] in the period immediately before the [[World War II|Second World War]], Uchida tearfully announces his retirement to his crestfallen students. In 1943, he moves into a spacious house but his wife is concerned about the safety of the neighborhood. Two students arrive to pretend to burglarize the home, but instead find a series of directions written by Uchida on how to break in to the house.


He hosts a dinner for several of his students, but as a result of wartime shortages he is embarrassed that he and his wife can only serve venison and horse meat. Their house burns down as a result of [[United States|U.S.]] bombing raids, and Uchida and his wife are forced to live in a small shack with no indoor toilet with their few remaining possessions.
The title (''Not Yet'' in [[English language|English]]) is an allusion to an ancient [[History of Japan|Japanese]] [[legend]] mentioned in one scene of an old man who refuses to die. This story is referred to in the movie — every year on the old man's birthday his students throw him a party in which they all ask him, "''Mada kai?''" ("Are you ready?"). He responds by drinking a large ceremonial glass of beer and shouting "''Mada dayo!''" ("Not yet!"), implying that death may be near, but life still goes on. The movie also covers the events that transpire between these birthdays, such as his moving into a new house, his discovery of (and loss of) a beloved house cat, etc.


After the end of the war, his former students get together to host a banquet to honor him. Asked several times whether he is ready to die, he replies repeatedly, “Not yet", so naturally the banquet is named “the Not Yet Banquet.” At the end of the raucous celebration, two American military policemen arrive but smile after they see that everyone is enjoying themselves.
As the years progress, the annual celebrations shift from a fraternity party atmosphere to a gathering of families. The ceremonial large glass of beer that Uchida drinks changes as well, but he always completes his full glass.


With the help of his students, he builds a new house for himself and his wife with a pond that has a small island in the middle. A stray [[Cat|alley cat]] arrives and he eventually adopts the cat, aptly naming it Nora (from 'Nora neko', meaning 'alley cat' in Japanese).
== Cast ==
*[[Tatsuo Matsumura (actor)|Tatsuo Matsumura]] – Professor Hyakken Uchida
*[[Kyōko Kagawa]] – Professor's Wife
*[[Hisashi Igawa]] – Takayama
*[[George Tokoro]] – Amaki
*Masayuki Yui – Kiriyama
*[[Akira Terao]] – Sawamura
*[[Takeshi Kusaka]] – Dr. Kobayashi
*Asei Kobayashi – Rev. Kameyama
*[[Hidetaka Yoshioka]] – Takayama's son
*Yoshitaka Zushi – Neighbor
*[[Mitsuru Hirata]] – Tada
*Nobuto Okamoto – Ōta
*[[Tetsu Watanabe]]
*Norio Matsui
*[[Noriko Honma]] – Old lady holding a cat


The lot across from the couple is purchased by a developer who believes their house will be in the way and insists on purchasing it. Uchida refuses, and realizes that developing the lot will tower over his house. His students get together, purchase the lot, and return it to the seller who needed the money but also needed the lot. The seller promises not to disturb Uchida's view.
==Other uses==
''Madadayo'' is also the title of a collection of posthumously published essays by Uchida, which forms, together with his other [[autobiography|autobiographical]] works, the background material for the film's screenplay. The portrayal of Uchida in the film might be interpreted as a metaphor for [[Japan]] of the [[Meiji period|Meiji]], [[Taishō period|Taishō]] and early [[Shōwa period|Shōwa]] periods, trying to cope with the fast changing world of the later Shōwa period.


Nora disappears during a storm, which causes Uchiro to become heartbroken and sink into a deep depression. He conducts numerous searches, enlisting his students, local schools, and the townspeople, but aside several false leads, Nora is never seen again. Soon after, another cat appears. He names it Kurz (German for 'short') and with the new cat, his depression lifts.
==Romanization and usage==
The [[Kunrei-shiki Rōmaji|official romanization]] of まあだだよ is not ''madadayo'' but ''mādadayo'' (the additional あ "a" sound after ま "ma" draws it into a long 'a'). The meaning of the two spellings is the same except that the latter is an expression Japanese children use in the game [[tag (game)|tag]]. This usage shows the character with Uchida's humour.


His former students hold the seventeenth Not Yet Banquet. No longer an all-men's affair, children of his students present him with flowers, and the students' grandchildren present him with a large cake. After receiving the cake and giving his remarks, he collapses from arrhythmia. After being taken home to rest, he falls asleep and dreams of playing [[hide-and-seek]] as a child. The other children keep asking if he's ready while he is looking for a place to hide and he replies, "not yet". He finally finds a place to hide, and in so doing, looks out toward a golden sun.
==End credits==

The artwork during the end credits sequence was painted by the writer/director Akira Kurosawa and is coupled with [[Antonio Vivaldi]]'s [[L'estro Armonico]] Op. 3, Concerto No. 9.
== Cast ==
* [[Tatsuo Matsumura (actor)|Tatsuo Matsumura]] – Professor Hyakken Uchida
* [[Kyōko Kagawa]] – Professor's Wife
* [[Hisashi Igawa]] – Takayama
* [[George Tokoro]] – Amaki
* Masayuki Yui – Kiriyama
* [[Akira Terao]] – Sawamura
* [[Takeshi Kusaka]] – Dr. Kobayashi
* [[Asei Kobayashi]] – Rev. Kameyama
* [[Hidetaka Yoshioka]] – Takayama's son
* Yoshitaka Zushi – Neighbor
* [[Mitsuru Hirata]] – Tada
* Nobuto Okamoto – Ōta
* [[Tetsu Watanabe]]
* Norio Matsui
* [[Noriko Honma]] – Old lady holding a cat

==Release==
''Madadayo'' was distributed theatrically in Japan by [[Toho]] on 17 April 1993.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=382}} The film was exhibited at various American film festivals beginning on March 20, 1998.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=382}} It did not initially receive a wide theatrical release and was released directly to television by WinStar Cinema and first broadcast on [[Turner Classic Movies]] in September 1999.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=382}} It was reissued theatrically on September 1, 2000.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=382}}

English-subtitled [[DVD]]s have been released by Winstar and the [[The Criterion Collection|Criterion Collection]] in the U.S., [[Madman Entertainment|Madman]] in Australia, Yume Pictures in the UK, and [[Mei Ah Entertainment|Mei Ah]] in Hong Kong. A [[Blu-ray]] edition, without English subtitles, is available in Japan as part of a box set with ''[[Rashomon]]'', ''[[Ran (film)|Ran]]'', and ''[[The Quiet Duel]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.yesasia.com/us/kurosawa-akira-blu-ray-box-blu-ray-first-press-limited-edition-japan/1013727396-0-0-0-en/info.html|title=YESASIA: Kurosawa Akira Blu-ray Box (Blu-ray) (First Press Limited Edition) (Japan Version) Blu-ray - Nakadai Tatsuya, , Kadokawa Pictures - Japan Movies & Videos - Free Shipping - North America Site|website=www.yesasia.com|access-date=2018-06-29}}</ref>


==Reception==
==Reception==
===Critical response===
''Madadayo'' received generally positive reviews from critics, maintaining an 87% approval rating on [[Rotten Tomatoes]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/madadayo/|title=Madadayo (2000)|website=''Rotten Tomatoes''|accessdate=February 26, 2017}}</ref>
''Madadayo'' has an approval rating of 87% on [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 15 reviews, and an average rating of 7.2/10. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/madadayo/|title=Madadayo (2000)|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|access-date=February 26, 2017}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] assigned the film a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".<ref>https://www.metacritic.com/movie/madadayo?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa1c</ref>


===Awards and nominations===
==Home video==
In Japan, the film won the awards for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Lighting at the [[Japan Academy Film Prize|Japanese Academy Awards]].{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=382}} All these awards were given to their respective crews for their work on both ''Madadayo'' and ''Rainbow Bridge''.{{sfn|Galbraith IV|2008|p=382}}
English-subtitled DVDs have been released by Winstar and the Criterion Collection in the U.S., [[Madman Entertainment|Madman]] in Australia, Yume Pictures in the UK, and [[Mei Ah Entertainment|Mei Ah]] in Hong Kong. A [[Blu-ray]] edition, without English subtitles, is available in Japan as part of a box set with ''[[Rashomon (film)|Rashomon]]'', ''[[Ran (film)|Ran]]'', and ''[[The Quiet Duel]]''.<ref>[http://www.yesasia.com/us/kurosawa-akira-blu-ray-box-blu-ray-first-press-limited-edition-japan/1013727396-0-0-0-en/info.html]</ref>

For his performance in the film, [[George Tokoro]] received the [[Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actor]].


==See also==
==See also==
* [[Cinema of Japan]]
* [[List of submissions to the 66th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]]
* [[List of submissions to the 66th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]]
* [[List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film]]
* [[List of Japanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film]]


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin}}
* {{cite book| last=Conrad|first=David A.|title=Akira Kurosawa and Modern Japan|year=2022|publisher=McFarland & Co.|isbn=978-1-4766-8674-5}}
* {{cite book |last=Galbraith IV |first=Stuart |title=The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography |year=2008 |publisher=[[Scarecrow Press]] |isbn=978-1461673743}}
{{Refend}}


==External links==
==External links==
* {{IMDb title|0107474}}
* {{IMDb title|0107474}}
* {{tcmdb title|id=331280}}
* ''[http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1993/dq000720.htm Madadayo]'' {{ja icon}} at the [[Japanese Movie Database]]
* ''[http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1993/dq000720.htm Madadayo]'' {{in lang|ja}} at the [[Japanese Movie Database]]


{{Akira Kurosawa}}
{{Akira Kurosawa}}
{{Japanese submissions for the Academy Award}}

[[Category:1993 films]]
[[Category:1993 films]]
[[Category:1990s comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1993 comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Japanese films]]
[[Category:1990s Japanese films]]
[[Category:Japanese comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:1990s Japanese-language films]]
[[Category:Japanese-language films]]
[[Category:Films about birthdays]]
[[Category:Films about teacher-student relationships]]
[[Category:Films about cats]]
[[Category:Films set in Tokyo]]
[[Category:Films about educators]]
[[Category:Films about teacher–student relationships]]
[[Category:Films directed by Akira Kurosawa]]
[[Category:Films directed by Akira Kurosawa]]
[[Category:Screenplays by Akira Kurosawa]]
[[Category:Films scored by Shin'ichirō Ikebe]]
[[Category:Films set in 1943]]
[[Category:Films set in 1949]]
[[Category:Films set in 1950]]
[[Category:Films set in 1966]]
[[Category:Films set in Tokyo]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Akira Kurosawa]]
[[Category:Japanese comedy-drama films]]

Latest revision as of 01:44, 22 December 2024

Madadayo
Theatrical Release Poster
Directed byAkira Kurosawa
Screenplay by
Based onLiterary works
by Hyakken Uchida
Produced byHisao Kurosawa
Starring
Cinematography
Music byShinichiro Ikebe[1]
Production
companies
Distributed byToho
Release date
  • 17 April 1993 (1993-04-17) (Japan)
Running time
134 minutes[1]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Budget¥1.3 billion[2]
Box office¥300 million[2]

Madadayo (まあだだよ, Mādadayo, "Not yet") is a 1993 Japanese comedy-drama film. It is the thirtieth and final film to be completed by Akira Kurosawa. It was screened out of competition at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival.[3] The film was selected as the Japanese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 66th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.[4][5] Many of the movie's vignettes, like the search for a missing cat and the time Uchida spent in a one-room hut after his home was destroyed in a bombing raid, come from Uchida's own writings, but the movie also gives Kurosawa the chance to comment on aspects of modern Japanese history like the American occupation of Japan that he had only been able to explore indirectly in his earlier works.[6]

Plot

[edit]

The film is based on the life of Japanese academic and author Hyakken Uchida (1889–1971). While playfully teaching a class as a professor of German in the period immediately before the Second World War, Uchida tearfully announces his retirement to his crestfallen students. In 1943, he moves into a spacious house but his wife is concerned about the safety of the neighborhood. Two students arrive to pretend to burglarize the home, but instead find a series of directions written by Uchida on how to break in to the house.

He hosts a dinner for several of his students, but as a result of wartime shortages he is embarrassed that he and his wife can only serve venison and horse meat. Their house burns down as a result of U.S. bombing raids, and Uchida and his wife are forced to live in a small shack with no indoor toilet with their few remaining possessions.

After the end of the war, his former students get together to host a banquet to honor him. Asked several times whether he is ready to die, he replies repeatedly, “Not yet", so naturally the banquet is named “the Not Yet Banquet.” At the end of the raucous celebration, two American military policemen arrive but smile after they see that everyone is enjoying themselves.

With the help of his students, he builds a new house for himself and his wife with a pond that has a small island in the middle. A stray alley cat arrives and he eventually adopts the cat, aptly naming it Nora (from 'Nora neko', meaning 'alley cat' in Japanese).

The lot across from the couple is purchased by a developer who believes their house will be in the way and insists on purchasing it. Uchida refuses, and realizes that developing the lot will tower over his house. His students get together, purchase the lot, and return it to the seller who needed the money but also needed the lot. The seller promises not to disturb Uchida's view.

Nora disappears during a storm, which causes Uchiro to become heartbroken and sink into a deep depression. He conducts numerous searches, enlisting his students, local schools, and the townspeople, but aside several false leads, Nora is never seen again. Soon after, another cat appears. He names it Kurz (German for 'short') and with the new cat, his depression lifts.

His former students hold the seventeenth Not Yet Banquet. No longer an all-men's affair, children of his students present him with flowers, and the students' grandchildren present him with a large cake. After receiving the cake and giving his remarks, he collapses from arrhythmia. After being taken home to rest, he falls asleep and dreams of playing hide-and-seek as a child. The other children keep asking if he's ready while he is looking for a place to hide and he replies, "not yet". He finally finds a place to hide, and in so doing, looks out toward a golden sun.

Cast

[edit]

Release

[edit]

Madadayo was distributed theatrically in Japan by Toho on 17 April 1993.[1] The film was exhibited at various American film festivals beginning on March 20, 1998.[1] It did not initially receive a wide theatrical release and was released directly to television by WinStar Cinema and first broadcast on Turner Classic Movies in September 1999.[1] It was reissued theatrically on September 1, 2000.[1]

English-subtitled DVDs have been released by Winstar and the Criterion Collection in the U.S., Madman in Australia, Yume Pictures in the UK, and Mei Ah in Hong Kong. A Blu-ray edition, without English subtitles, is available in Japan as part of a box set with Rashomon, Ran, and The Quiet Duel.[7]

Reception

[edit]

Critical response

[edit]

Madadayo has an approval rating of 87% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 15 reviews, and an average rating of 7.2/10. [8] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 79 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[9]

Awards and nominations

[edit]

In Japan, the film won the awards for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Lighting at the Japanese Academy Awards.[1] All these awards were given to their respective crews for their work on both Madadayo and Rainbow Bridge.[1]

For his performance in the film, George Tokoro received the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actor.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Galbraith IV 2008, p. 382.
  2. ^ a b Nishimura, Yuichiro (December 12, 1998). Akira Kurosawa: Sound and Visuals (in Japanese) (Second ed.). Rippu Shobo Publishing. p. 438. ISBN 978-4651700809.
  3. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Madadayo". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-08-25.
  4. ^ Margaret Herrick Library, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
  5. ^ Frook, John Evan (30 November 1993). "Acad inks Cates, unveils foreign-language entries". Variety. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
  6. ^ Conrad, David A. (2022). Akira Kurosawa and Modern Japan, 219-225, McFarland & Co.
  7. ^ "YESASIA: Kurosawa Akira Blu-ray Box (Blu-ray) (First Press Limited Edition) (Japan Version) Blu-ray - Nakadai Tatsuya, , Kadokawa Pictures - Japan Movies & Videos - Free Shipping - North America Site". www.yesasia.com. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  8. ^ "Madadayo (2000)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  9. ^ https://www.metacritic.com/movie/madadayo?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa1c

Bibliography

[edit]
[edit]
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