The Ballad of Narayama

Directed by Keisuke Kinoshita

Written by Shichirō Fukazawa, Keisuke Kinoshita

In a remote village where food is scarce, elders who reach the age of 70 are carried by their children to the top of a nearby mountain to die in solitude. Orin, a vibrant 69-year-old grandmother, has accepted her fate — but struggles to prepare the rest of her family for the ritual.

Cast

Kinuyo Tanaka

Orin

Teiji Takahashi

Tatsuhei

Yūko Mochizuki

Tamayan

Seiji Miyaguchi

Matayan

Yūnosuke Itō

Matayan's son

?

Ken Mitsuda

Teruyan

Danko Ichikawa

Kesakichi

?

Keiko Ogasawara

Matsu-yan

Eijirō Tōno

Messenger

Kō Nishimura

One of the villagers who Teaches Narayama's Manners (uncredited)

Masao Oda

One of the villagers who teaches Narayama's manners

?

Katsuyuki Hattori

Tatsuhei's son (uncredited)