This story is based on the novel “Jo no mai” by Tomiko Miyao which is based on the life of painter Shōen Uemura (1875–1949), the first woman to be awarded the Order of Culture. The title refers to the masterpiece bijinga (“picture of a beautiful woman”) that Uemura painted at the age of 61. The main character, Tsuya Shimamura, is born in Kyoto as the second daughter of a tea trader who dies before her birth. Tsuya, who loves painting more than anything and is hopeless at housework, attends art school and at age 15 receives the name Shōsui (from the characters for “pine” and “green”) from her teacher. The crown prince of England purchases one of her works, propelling her to fame overnight.
Director: Sadao Nakajima. AKA 序の舞 / Appassionata
Writers: Hirô Matsuda, Tomiko Miyao.
Stars: Mariko Okada, Yûko Natori, Morio Kazama, Kei Satô, Mieko Takamine, Kunihiko Mitamura, Yoshiko Mita, Kin Sugai, Aki Mizusawa, Mikio Narita, Ayako Kobayashi, Etsuko Ichihara.
Classic. Thank you for posting this. I have been looking for this movie for many years.