Eijanaika

Eijanaika

1981 · 151 min · ★ 6.2 · Drama

The film depicts carnivalesque atmosphere summed up by the cry "Ei ja nai ka" ("Why not?") in Japan in 1867 and 1868 in the days leading to the Meiji Restoration. It examines the effects of the political and social upheaval of the time, and culminates in a revelrous march on the Tokyo Imperial Palace, which turns into a massacre. Characteristically, Imamura focuses not on the leaders of the country, but on characters in the lower classes and on the fringes of society.

Directed by Shōhei Imamura · Written by Shōhei Imamura

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Criterion Channel

Cast

Make it a double feature

4h 41m together

Both from Shōhei Imamura.

More from Shōhei ImamuraSee all →

Tokyo StoryTokyo Story · 1953
Tokyo Story
★ 8.21953
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.
Early SummerEarly Summer · 1951
Early Summer
★ 7.91951
MovieDrama
In postwar Tokyo, Noriko lives with her extended family. Although she enjoys her career and her social life, her more traditional family worries about her single marital status at the advanced age of 28. 40-year-old business associate Takako proposes, Noriko's family press her into accepting, but when her widowed childhood friend Kenkichi returns to the neighborhood, she finds her heart leading in another direction.
Black RainBlack Rain · 1989
Black Rain
★ 7.61989
MovieDramaHistory
Shigematsu Shizuma, who lives with his family in a village near Fukuyama, was in Hiroshima with his wife and niece just after the devastating atomic bombing, a tragedy that cruelly took the lives of thousands of people and forever marked the harsh existence of the survivors.
The Emperor's Naked Army Marches OnThe Emperor's Naked Army Marches On · 1987
The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On
★ 7.61987
MovieDocumentary
Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old anarchist veteran of the New Guinea campaign in World War II, sets out to conduct interviews with survivors and relatives to find the truth behind atrocities committed by Japanese military, in particular the unexplained killing of two Japanese privates in his unit.
The Flavor of Green Tea Over RiceThe Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice · 1952
The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice
★ 7.51952
MovieDrama
The arranged marriage between a capricious woman from Tokyo high society and a quiet rustic man is tested by a marital crisis.
The Ballad of NarayamaThe Ballad of Narayama · 1983
The Ballad of Narayama
★ 7.51983
MovieDrama
In a small village in a valley everyone who reaches the age of 70 must leave the village and go to a certain mountain top to die. If anyone should refuse they would disgrace their family. Old Orin is 69. This winter it is her turn to go to the mountain. But first she must make sure that her eldest son Tatsuhei finds a wife.
Vengeance Is MineVengeance Is Mine · 1979
Vengeance Is Mine
★ 7.51979
MovieCrimeDrama
A thief, a murderer, and a charming lady-killer, Iwao Enokizu is on the run from the police.
Profound Desires of the GodsProfound Desires of the Gods · 1968
Profound Desires of the Gods
★ 7.41968
MovieDrama
Tokyo engineer Kariya arrives on a primitive tropical island, where he interacts with the Futori clan, to drill a well to power a sugar mill.
The PornographersThe Pornographers · 1966
The Pornographers
★ 7.31966
MovieComedyDrama
A former Buddhist monk turned erotic filmmaker, Subuyan lives with hairdresser Haru and her two teenage children. Shooting two skin flicks per day, he somehow manages to stay out of the clutches of the yakuza, but real trouble starts when Haru discovers him lusting after her daughter.
The Insect WomanThe Insect Woman · 1963
The Insect Woman
★ 7.21963
MovieDrama
A woman, Tome, is born to a lower class family in Japan in 1918. The title refers to an insect, repeating its mistakes, as in an infinite circle. Imamura, with this metaphor, introduces the life of Tome, who keeps trying to change her poor life.
Pigs and BattleshipsPigs and Battleships · 1961
Pigs and Battleships
★ 7.11961
MovieCrimeDrama
In the city of Yokosuka, Kinta and his lover Haruko, both involved with yakuza, brave the post-occupation period with a goal to be together.
Intentions of MurderIntentions of Murder · 1964
Intentions of Murder
★ 7.01964
MovieDrama
The neglected common-law wife of a Japanese librarian is repeatedly harassed by a young man with a heart condition who seduces her with the prospect of a better life.
A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu EraA Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era · 1957
A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era
★ 7.01957
MovieComedy
Saheji, a man-about-town, gets stuck at a high-class brothel when he can’t pay the bill. He makes the best of his situation by performing various tasks amidst the tumult of the end of the shogunate—but always by making sure to get a “commission” for his troubles.
The EelThe Eel · 1997
The Eel
★ 6.91997
MovieDramaCrime
A businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After his release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking to almost no one except for an eel he befriended while in prison.
The Moon Has RisenThe Moon Has Risen · 1955
The Moon Has Risen
★ 6.91955
MovieDramaRomance
Mokichi Asai is a widowed father living in Nara with three daughters—Chizuru, Ayako, and Setsuko. The youngest, Setsuko, plays matchmaker for her older sisters, leading to humorous and awkward romantic entanglements.
Endless DesireEndless Desire · 1958
Endless Desire
★ 6.81958
MovieDramaComedy
Set in post-war Japan, a group of five, four men and one woman, gathers in the basement of a butcher shop to dig up a cache of morphine buried during the war. A grimly humorous tale of twisted relationships as one by one each of the group is eliminated.

More Like This

Lady SnowbloodLady Snowblood · 1973
Lady Snowblood
★ 7.51973
MovieActionCrime
A strikingly beautiful young woman is trained from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.
The Twilight SamuraiThe Twilight Samurai · 2002
The Twilight Samurai
★ 7.82002
MovieDramaRomance
Seibei Iguchi leads a difficult life as a low ranking samurai at the turn of the nineteenth century. A widower with a meager income, Seibei struggles to take care of his two daughters and senile mother. New prospects seem to open up when the beautiful Tomoe, a childhood friend, comes back into he and his daughters' life, but as the Japanese feudal system unravels, Seibei is still bound by the code of honor of the samurai and by his own sense of social precedence. How can he find a way to do what is best for those he loves?
HarakiriHarakiri · 1962
Harakiri
★ 8.51962
MovieActionDrama
Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.
When the Last Sword Is DrawnWhen the Last Sword Is Drawn · 2003
When the Last Sword Is Drawn
★ 7.42003
MovieActionDrama
Kanichiro Yoshimura is a samurai and family man who can no longer support his wife and children on the low pay he receives from his small-town clan. He is forced by his love for his family to leave for the city in search of higher pay to support them.
11 Rebels11 Rebels · 2024
11 Rebels
★ 6.92024
MovieActionDrama
When the brutal Boshin War breaks out in Japan, a group of inmates on death row unite to defend a fortress against the Imperial army.
SilenceSilence · 2016
Silence
★ 7.12016
MovieDramaHistory
In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.
Samurai SpySamurai Spy · 1965
Samurai Spy
★ 6.41965
MovieActionDrama
Years of warfare end in a Japan unified under the Tokugawa shogunate, and samurai spy Sasuke Sarutobi, tired of conflict, longs for peace. When a high-ranking spy named Tatewaki Koriyama defects from the shogun to a rival clan, however, the world of swordsmen is thrown into turmoil. After Sasuke is unwittingly drawn into the conflict, he tracks Tatewaki, while a mysterious, white-hooded figure seems to hunt them both. By tale’s end, no one is who they seemed to be, and the truth is far more personal than anyone suspected. Director Masahiro Shinoda’s Samurai Spy, filled with clan intrigue, ninja spies, and multiple double crosses, marks a bold stylistic departure from swordplay film convention.
Sword of the BeastSword of the Beast · 1965
Sword of the Beast
★ 7.51965
MovieActionDrama
Legendary swordplay filmmaker Hideo Gosha's Sword of the Beast chronicles the flight of the low-level swordsman Gennosuke, who kills one of his ministers as part of a reform plot. His former comrades then turn on him, and this betrayal so shakes his sense of honor that he decides to live in the wild, like an animal. There he joins up with a motley group who are illegally mining the shogun’s gold, and, with the aid of another swordsman, gets a chance not just at survival but to recover his name and honor.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter