Ballad of Orin (1977)
Masahiro Shinoda's stark, poetic portrait of a blind musician cast out by society in Taisho-era Japan.
Ballad of Orin - Movie Information
- Original Title: はなれ瞽女おりん
- Release Year: 1977
- Directed by: Masahiro Shinoda
- Type: Movie
- Genres: Drama
- Runtime: 1h 58m
- Original Language: Japanese
- Spoken Languages: Japanese
- Release Date (Theatrical): November 19, 1977 (Japan), October 1, 1978 (United States)
- Alternative Titles: 오린의 노래 (KR), Orine, la proscrite (FR), Hanare goze Orin (JP), Banished Orin (US)
- Production Companies: TOHO, hyogensha
- Production Countries: Japan
Ballad of Orin - Plot
A blind traveling musician is abused and oppressed wherever she goes, even as the modern world imposes change around her.
Ballad of Orin - Trailer
Watch the official trailer and see Shinoda's haunting vision unfold:
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Ballad of Orin - Cast & Crew
Director(s)
- Masahiro Shinoda
Main Cast
- Shima Iwashita
- Yoshio Harada
- Tomoko Naraoka
- Taiji Tonoyama
- Tōru Abe
- Jun Hamamura
- Kaoru Kobayashi
- Rie Yokoyama
- Hatsuo Yamaya
- Toshiyuki Nishida
Writers
- Masahiro Shinoda
- Keiji Hasebe
Producers
- Kiyoshi Nonomura
Ballad of Orin - FAQs
Who plays Orin in Ballad of Orin?
Shima Iwashita plays the title role of Orin, a blind itinerant shamisen player. Her performance is widely regarded as one of the most powerful in Japanese cinema, conveying profound vulnerability and resilience through restrained, deeply physical acting across the film's demanding Taisho-era landscape.
What is Ballad of Orin about?
Ballad of Orin follows a blind female musician who wanders rural Japan during the Taisho period, enduring abuse and social exclusion at every turn. As modernity encroaches on traditional life, Orin's journey becomes a meditation on marginalization, freedom, and the cost of existing outside society's accepted boundaries.
Where can you stream Ballad of Orin?
Ballad of Orin is available to stream on the Criterion Channel, which offers a curated library of world cinema classics. The Criterion Channel is a subscription-based platform dedicated to arthouse and international films, making it an ideal home for Masahiro Shinoda's celebrated 1977 drama.
Who directed Ballad of Orin?
Ballad of Orin was directed by Masahiro Shinoda, one of the leading figures of the Japanese New Wave movement. Shinoda co-wrote the screenplay with Keiji Hasebe, adapting the story into a visually austere and emotionally devastating portrait of a marginalized woman in early twentieth-century Japan.
Is Ballad of Orin based on a true story?
Ballad of Orin is not based on a single true story, but draws on the historical reality of goze — blind female musicians who traveled Japan performing traditional music. These women formed their own guilds and lived under strict social codes, and their documented existence grounds the film in authentic cultural history.
What is the significance of the goze tradition in this film?
The goze were blind women who traveled feudal and early modern Japan as itinerant musicians, bound by rigid guild rules that included banishment for breaking codes of conduct — including sexual relations. Orin's expulsion from her guild forms the film's moral and dramatic core, exploring how institutions can punish the very people they claim to protect.
Who composed the music for Ballad of Orin?
The score for Ballad of Orin was composed by Toru Takemitsu, Japan's most celebrated twentieth-century composer. Takemitsu's music blends traditional Japanese instrumentation with contemporary textures, creating a soundscape that mirrors Orin's isolation and the tension between ancient custom and encroaching modernity throughout the film.
How was Ballad of Orin received by critics?
Ballad of Orin earned considerable critical acclaim, particularly for Shima Iwashita's lead performance and Kazuo Miyagawa's luminous cinematography. The film was recognized internationally as a landmark of Japanese art cinema, praised for its unflinching portrayal of social exclusion and its rigorous, poetic visual style rooted in the Japanese New Wave tradition.
More About Ballad of Orin
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