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Why Not? movie poster
19812h 31mJapanese

Why Not?

6.1
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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.

Use this page as a jumping-off point into drama movies from the 1980s in Japanese and keep drilling deeper through the linked discovery hubs below.

DirectorShōhei Imamura

Keywords

edo periodshogunatemeiji periodbakumatsu

Cast

Shigeru Izumiya as Genji

Shigeru Izumiya

Genji

Kaori Momoi as Ine

Kaori Momoi

Ine

Masao Kusakari as Itoman

Masao Kusakari

Itoman

Ken Ogata as Furukawa

Ken Ogata

Furukawa

Norihei Miki as Masuya

Norihei Miki

Masuya

Junzaburō Ban as Toramatsu

Junzaburō Ban

Toramatsu

Mitsuko Baisho as Oko

Mitsuko Baisho

Oko

Shigeru Tsuyuguchi as Kinzo

Shigeru Tsuyuguchi

Kinzo

Ако as Oyoshi

Ако

Oyoshi

Shōhei Hino as Magoshichi

Shōhei Hino

Magoshichi