Kurara - The Dazzling Life of Hokusai's Daughter

Join us for the Japanese Film Evenings for 2019!

Japanese films shown at the University of Auckland are usually screened on the last Thursday of the month from 7pm and are preceded by a documentary about Japanese culture from 6:45pm.

- All films have English subtitles.
- Booking is not necessary.
- Films, dates and times are subject to change due to unforeseen circumstances.

Please contact us to confirm details.
We hope that you will enjoy the films and gain a deeper insight into various aspects of Japanese culture.

May film: "Kurara"
(Director: Takao Kato, 2017, 76min. Rating: PG, Cast: Aoi Miyazaki, Ryuhei Matsuda)

An American magazine calls Katsushika Hokusai one of 100 people who left the most important achievements of the past millennium. Assisting him behind the scenes however was a woman: his daughter, O-Ei. For the first time, telling O-Ei's story.

Kurara: Japanese word for dazzling, mesmerizing brilliance.

The act of painting was always kurara to O-Ei, the daughter of the Edo period master painter Katsushika Hokusai. Since her childhood, she was captivated by painting. O-Ei marries a town painter, but she soon chooses art over marriage and divorces him. Once she returns to the family home, she begins assisting her father.

O-Ei is by his side as he completes his iconic "Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji" series. When Hokusai grew too old to wield his brush freely, O-Ei becomes his "brush" and paints on his behalf. It's during this time that she starts to grow a strong fascination with colors as she finally develops her own painting style.

Presented by the Consulate-General of Japan, the University of Auckland, the University of Waikato, Massey University and the Japan Foundation.

© NHK World - Japan