The Lights of Asakusa

The Lights of Asakusa

1937 · 77 min · ★ 6.0 · Drama

Pre-war Asakusa was a riotous district of cabarets, dance-halls and brothels - a striking backdrop for Shimazu's story of innocence and experience. Pretty, young Reiko is the new dancer in an infamous theatre troupe, and her fellow performers try to protect her virtue in a land of vice. Meanwhile, an ageing actor wants to be a hero off stage as well as on, and the troupe matriarch Marie has to keep them all together.

Directed by Yasujirō Shimazu · Written by Tadao Ikeda

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

2h 14m together

The Lights of Asakusa

So Goes My Love

Both from Yasujirō Shimazu.

More from Yasujirō ShimazuSee all →

A World of TwoA World of Two · 1940
A World of Two
10.01940
MovieDramaRomance
White HeronWhite Heron · 1941
White Heron
9.01941
Movie
OSHINO, the beautiful daughter of restaurant owners, is in love with SHIRASAGI the painter. But there is another young man, the son of a moneylender family, who is desperately in love with Oshino...
So Goes My LoveSo Goes My Love · 1938
So Goes My Love
8.51938
MovieDrama
Shigeo is an aspiring writer living with his girl friend Minako and hoping for success and a better tomorrow every day. Both live on what Minako earns from working in a café. Shigeo is not happy with the situation and neither is his family who do not approve of Minako. Especially his uncle tries to convince him to leave Minako, even using his influence behind the scenes. Things start to change when Shigeo's sister pays the young couple a visit, being the first member of Shigeo's family to actually get to know Minako in person.
A Brother and His SisterA Brother and His Sister · 1956
A Brother and His Sister
8.01956
MovieDrama
In a household of three the husband is a salaryman who lives with his younger sister and wife in Tokyo. He is returning home late in the evenings because he plays go, or a Japanese version of chess, with his boss. The wife and sister are unhappy about this. The man's co-worker advises him to stop the late evenings out with the boss, but the man cares less. His sister works at a foreign firm and speaks English. When a man who had earlier visited her workplace returns and asks her out for dinner, she rejects him by lying about a husband. He had made impolite comments about her in English during his earlier visit not realizing she understands him.
First Steps AshoreFirst Steps Ashore · 1932
First Steps Ashore
7.51932
MovieDrama
The story of a sailor who begins a love affair with a woman he saves from suicide.
Our Neighbor, Miss YaeOur Neighbor, Miss Yae · 1934
Our Neighbor, Miss Yae
7.41934
MovieDrama
Keitaro is a law student and Yaeko is a high school girl. They are neighbors, and their friendship is starting to develop into something more romantic. Then, Yaeko's sister Kyouko has a breakup with her husband and returns home. Kyouko is clearly interested in Keitaro and Yae becomes anxious.
Fisherman's FireFisherman's Fire · 1939
Fisherman's Fire
7.01939
MovieDrama
Fisherman Choon-sam (Yoon Buk-yang) is suffering financially because of a prolonged scarcity of fish. Pestered by miserly Mr. Jang to pay back his debt, Choon-sam goes out to sea in hopes of a catch but meets a watery end instead. As payment for the debt, Mr. Jang tries to take Choon-sam's daughter In-soon as his second wife. Meanwhile, In-soon (Park Noh-kyung) is mutually in love with Chun-suk (Park Hak), but torn about the suggestion of Ok-bun (Chun Hyo-bong), who lives in Seoul, to join her in the city. In order to get a job and pay back her father's debt, In-soon follows Mr. Jang's son Chul-soo to Seoul, not knowing that he harbors illicit intentions toward her.
Men vs. WomenMen vs. Women · 1936
Men vs. Women
7.01936
MovieComedyMusic
Three couples connected to rival business and theatrical families navigate complicated romances, workplace disputes, and family opposition.
The Trio's EngagementsThe Trio's Engagements · 1937
The Trio's Engagements
7.01937
MovieComedy
Three men vying for the same job end up chasing the same girl in this comedy-drama from noted Japanese director Yasujiro Shimazu.
Love, Be with Humanity: Part 1Love, Be with Humanity: Part 1 · 1931
Love, Be with Humanity: Part 1
7.01931
Movie
The three-hour Ai yo jinrui to tomo ni are / Love, Be with Humanity (1931) starts as a satire of alienation in the world of money, develops into a lumberland epic with a forest fire on Sakhalin Island, turns into a tragedy of King Lear dimensions, and manages to amaze the blasé audience with a happy end in the Wild West.
Okoto and SasukeOkoto and Sasuke · 1935
Okoto and Sasuke
6.81935
MovieDrama
A period piece about the love of a wealthy blind woman, a teacher of koto and shamisen, and her devoted manservant. Based on a novella by Tanizaki Junichiro.
ABC LifelineABC Lifeline · 1931
ABC Lifeline
6.71931
Movie
Japanese silent film directed by Yasujirô Shimazu, originally released as a two-part movie on December 11, 1931.
My NightingaleMy Nightingale · 1944
My Nightingale
6.51944
MovieMusicDrama
Sumida is separated from his wife and daughter when conflict erupts in Harbin. Years later, he finds that his wife passed away and her daughter was adopted by his friends at the Russian opera company.
My Elder BrotherMy Elder Brother · 1934
My Elder Brother
6.01934
MovieDrama
Jyuta, an honest owner of a taxi company, has a younger half-brother who is involved in the yakuza world and doesn’t get along well with his mother. Jyuta tries to correct him…
A Brother and His Younger SisterA Brother and His Younger Sister · 1939
A Brother and His Younger Sister
6.01939
MovieDramaComedy
A man who works late hours at a deadening job lives together with his wife and his younger sister. The younger sister's a modern girl who's starting to receive romantic attention from one of her co-workers.
Vermilion and GreenVermilion and Green · 1937
Vermilion and Green
5.31937
MovieDrama
A businessman’s daughter falls in love with one of her father’s employees.

More Like This

Nobody KnowsNobody Knows · 2004
Nobody Knows
8.02004
MovieDrama
In a small Tokyo apartment, twelve-year-old Akira must care for his younger siblings after their mother leaves them and shows no sign of returning.
Lost in TranslationLost in Translation · 2003
Lost in Translation
7.42003
MovieDramaComedy
Two lost souls visiting Tokyo -- the young, neglected wife of a photographer and a washed-up movie star shooting a TV commercial -- find an odd solace and pensive freedom to be real in each other's company, away from their lives in America.
SakuranSakuran · 2006
Sakuran
6.52006
MovieHistoryDrama
Kiyoha rises from the lowly courtesan ranks to the high class position of Oiran in the steamy red-light district of Yoshiwara. She is determined to stand on her own two feet and live life as she pleased.
Early SpringEarly Spring · 1956
Early Spring
7.51956
MovieDramaRomance
A young salaryman and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship while he embarks on an extramarital affair.
Ocean WavesOcean Waves · 1993
Ocean Waves
6.41993
MovieAnimationDrama
At Kichijōji Station, Tokyo, Taku Morisaki glimpses a familiar woman on the platform opposite boarding a train. Later, her photo falls from a shelf as he exits his apartment before flying to Kōchi Prefecture. Picking it up, he looks at it briefly before leaving. As the aeroplane takes off, he narrates the events that brought her into his life...
Tokyo StoryTokyo Story · 1953
Tokyo Story
8.11953
MovieDrama
The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.
The Ramen GirlThe Ramen Girl · 2008
The Ramen Girl
6.52008
MovieRomanceComedy
An American woman is stranded in Tokyo after breaking up with her boyfriend. Searching for direction in life, she trains to be a ramen chef under a tyrannical Japanese master.
Thirty Seconds Over TokyoThirty Seconds Over Tokyo · 1944
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
6.71944
MovieWarDrama
In the wake of Pearl Harbor, a young lieutenant leaves his expectant wife to volunteer for a secret bombing mission which will take the war to the Japanese homeland.
Always - Sunset on Third StreetAlways - Sunset on Third Street · 2005
Always - Sunset on Third Street
7.72005
MovieComedyDrama
In 1958 postwar Tokyo, the residents of a humble Third Street neighbourhood struggle, dream, and grow together as rapid modernisation transforms their lives beneath the shadow of the newly rising Tokyo Tower.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter