Fireworks over the Sea

1951 Japanese film

Fireworks over the Sea

Japanese name
Kanji	海の花火

Directed by	Keisuke Kinoshita
Written by	Keisuke Kinoshita
Produced by	Takeshi Ogura
Starring	Michiyo Kogure Yōko Katsuragi Chishū Ryū Rentarō Mikuni
Cinematography	Hiroshi Kusuda
Edited by	Yoshi Sugihara
Music by	Chuji Kinoshita
Production company	Shochiku
Distributed by	Shochiku
Release date	25 October 1951 (1951-10-25) (Japan)^[1]^[2]
Running time	122 minutes^[1]^[2]
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Fireworks over the Sea a.k.a. Fireworks by the Ocean (海の花火, Umi no hanabi) is a 1951 Japanese drama film written and directed by Keisuke Kinoshita.

Plot

In Yobuko, Southern Japan, brothers Tarobei and Jinkichi are running a fishing business with two ships of their own. As the catch is too low to cover the expenses, caused by the corrupt ship captains, their business is threatened with bankruptcy when the investors demand their money back. In addition, the fishing association announces to withdraw the boats' license, as the nationwide number of licensed fishing boats is limited.

After firing the corrupt captains, Tarobei and Jinkichi hire Tsuyoshi and his younger brother Wataru to take over the commands on their ships. When a potential investor offers a loan on the condition that Tarobei gives his younger daughter Miwa as a bride to the investor's son, Tarobei gets into a conflict over his vow never to marry any of his daughters off for monetary reasons. Meanwhile, Miwa has fallen in love with Wataru, while Tsuyoshi has developed an affection for Mie, Miwa's older sister, who lost her husband in the war. After the new ship crews have successfully fought off the old ones, and Tarobei has finally been able to convince the association to renew the license (at the cost of his health), the ships can set sails.

Cast

Michiyo Kogure as Mie Kamiya
Yōko Katsuragi as Miwa Kamiya
Teruko Kishi as Sami
Chishū Ryū as Tarobei Kamiya
Isuzu Yamada as Kaoru Uozumi
Chieko Higashiyama as Mitsu
Takashi Miki as Shōgo
Keiko Tsushima as Yukiko Nomura
Rentarō Mikuni as Tsuyoshi Yabuki
Wataru Sakisaka as Wataru Yabuki
Haruko Sugimura as Kono Kujirai
Keiji Sada as Tamihiko Kujirai
Kōji Mitsui as Moriyama
Akira Ishihama as Ippei Nagisa
Toshiko Kobayashi as Midori
Takeshi Sakamoto as Jinkichi Aikawa
Yasushi Nagata as Genroku Karasawa
Seiji Miyaguchi as Gunzō Ishiguro

Awards

Mainichi Film Concour for Best Actor Chishū Ryū^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b "海の花火 (Fireworks over the Sea)". Japanese Movie Database (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 February 2021.
^ ^a ^b "海の花火 (Fireworks over the Sea)". Shochiku Cinema Classics (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 February 2021.
^ "6th Mainichi Film Awards". Mainichi.jp (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 February 2021.