Seventeen  Years  after  "Shall  We  Dance?"  

an  entertainment-‐‑‒packed  return  to  form  

 (Tentative  Title)  

Lady  Maiko??  舞妓はレディ  

Masayuki  Suo's  keen  eye  for  human  foibles  and  incredibly  thorough  

research  skills  have  delivered  consistent  laughs  and  surprises  and  made  

him  into  one  of  Japan's  most  entertaining  directors.  Be  it  a  city  boy  

turned  trainee  Buddhist  monk  in  "Fancy  Dance"  (1989)  or  a  reluctant  

student  joining  in  the  tribulations  of  a  struggling  Sumo  club  in  "Sumo  Do,  

Sumo  Don't"  (1992),  his  underdog  heroes  have  never  failed  to  win  

audience's  hearts.  The  success  of  "Shall  We  Dance?"  (1996)  hardly  

needs  mentioning.  The  story  of  the  initially  hapless  would-‐‑‒be  ballroom  

dancer  not  only  brought  in  an  incredible  $35  million  at  the  domestic  box-‐‑‒

office,  it  also  created  a  nation-‐‑‒wide  dance  boom  and  went  on  to  be  the  

subject  of  a  big  budget  Hollywood  remake  which  put  Suo  in  the  

international  spotlight.    2007's  "I  Just  Didn't  Do  It"  took  Japan's  legal  

system  to  task  in  an  examination  of  perils  of  false  accusations  and  was  

rewarded  with  30  major  film  awards.  In  2009,  his  documentary  "Dancing  

Chaplin"  captured  the  eternal  charm  of  ballet.  "A  Terminal  Trust"  (2012)  

pitched  darker  in  its  portrayal  of  love  at  a  time  of  terminal  medical  care.  

 

And  now,  after  20  year's  gestation,  his  latest  project,  "Lady  

Maiko(tentative  title)"  has  finally  made  it  onto  film.  Initially  conceived  as  

the  third  in  a  loose  trilogy  of  "Fancy  Dance"  and  "Sumo  Do,  Sumo  Don't",  

Suo  says  he  was  motivated  to  make  a  film  about  women  striving  to  

succeed  against  all  odds.  His  mind  hit  upon  the  cloistered  world  of  

apprentice  geisha  or  "Maiko".  Although  he  set  about  finding  the  right  girl  

to  carry  the  role,  he  was  unsuccessful  and  the  project  went  onto  the  

back  burner.  Many  years  later,  he  was  to  have  an  encounter  that  

inspired  him  to  get  the  project  back  into  production.    

 

The  girl  Masayuki  Suo  waited  20  years  to  meet;  Mone  Kamishiraishi  

Casting  for  the  lead  role  began  in  

earnest  in  April  of  2012.  Over  

800  applications,  all  well-‐‑‒versed  

not  just  in  acting  but  singing  and  

dancing,  flooded  the  production  

office.  Of  these,  140  girls  were  

selected  to  go  through  four  

rounds  of  gruelling  auditions  

spanning  six  months.  As  

Kamishiraishi  performed  during  

the  35mm  film  test  of  the  last  

remaining  candidates,  Suo  said  

to  himself,  "I  can  start  filming  

the  movie  right  this  minute!".  

With  that  thought,  he  knew  his  

20  year  search  was  over.  

 

Like  the  character  Haruko  from  the  movie,  Kamishiraishi,  age  15  is  also  

from  Kagoshima  in  Southern  Japan.  Her  fantastic  voice  and  incredible  

presence  reminded  Suo  of  the  proverbial  diamond  in  the  rough.  Her  

dedication  to  the  journey  to  become  an  actress  under  Suo's  tutelage  is  a  

real  life  reflection  of  Haruko's  devotion  to  the  art  of  the  geisha.  

   

 

 

 

A  story  of  one  girls'  desire  to  attain  the  unattainable  by  

becoming  a  geisha  

 The  story  is  set  in  the  ancient  Geisha  quarters  of  Kyoto  named  

Shimohachiken.  "Bansuraku",  a  venerable  teahouse  of  the  old-‐‑‒school  has  

a  problem;  it  only  has  one  "Maiko"  left,  the  elderly  Momoharu  (Tomoko  

Tabata).  The  Madam  of  the  house,  Chiharu  (Sumiko  Fuji)  and  the  two  

Geishas,  Mameharu  (Eri  Watanabe)  and  Satoharu  (Tamiyo  Kusakari)  are  

in  a  fix.    

 

One  day,  while  the  town  throngs  to  the  festival  of  Setsubun  in  

celebration  of  the  coming  of  spring,  a  girl  comes  knocking  at  the  

teahouse  door.  A  young  country  girl,  Haruko,  is  begging  to  be  allowed  to  

apprentice  as  a  Maiko  but  tradition  dictates  that  it's  inconceivable  a  

clueless  nobody  would  be  taken  up  by  an  esteemed  teahouse  such  as  

theirs.  However,  it  just  so  happens  that  a  client  of  the  house  and  Doctor  

of  Linguists  (Hiroki  Hasegawa  -‐‑‒  nicknamed  "Prof")  is  intrigued  by  

Haruko's  contradictory  mixture  of  regional  accents.  In  a  fit  of  mischief,  

he  goads  his  friend  Kitano,  the  president  of  a  grand  clothing  firm,  into  

accepting  a  challenge  to  turn  this  girl  into  a  first-‐‑‒rate  Maiko.  

 

And  so  it  happens  that  Haruko  is  launched  into  the  harsh  world  of  Maiko  

apprenticeship.  Ancient  Kyoto's  strict  rules,  the  impenetrable  language,  

the  constant  scolding  not  to  mention  the  strenuous  training  in  dance  and  

singing  all  threaten  her  resolve.  The  straw  almost  breaks  the  camel's  

back  when  the  linguist's  assistant,  Shuhei  (Gaku  Hamada)  comes  out  and  

tells  her  that  she  is  simply  not  made  of  the  right  stuff.  Her  resolve  almost  

in  tatters,  what  is  it  that  keeps  Haruko  going?  This  depiction  of  one  

young  girl's  battle  with  adversity,  filled  with  laughter,  tears,  song  and  

dance  will  be  sure  to  entertain  audiences  everywhere.  It's  a  masterpiece  

of  support-‐‑‒the-‐‑‒underdog  entertainment.