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is a 1993 feature film by Akira Kurosawa. It is the last feature film by the famous director. It was mentioned in the news again in January 2025 because an award-winning cameraman for the film, Masaharu Ueda, had died.
The story revolves around a Japanese teacher of the German language who is revered by his students. It takes place from 1943 onwards.
In Japan, the film won the awards for best set design, best cinematography and best lighting at the Japanese Academy Awards. For his performance in the film, George Tokoro received the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Hyakken Uchida

The film is based on the stories and autobiography of Hyakken Uchida (内田 百閒, 1889 - 1971). Uchida had a happy childhood in a wealthy family. In 1910 he entered the German Department of the Imperial University of Tokyo and joined the literary and intellectual circle around the famous author Natsume Sōseki. As a writer of haiku poems, he chose the pen name Hyakken. He worked as a teacher of German language and in 1920 was given a position at Hōsei University, which he gave up in 1934. He devoted himself to writing until the end of his life. In doing so, he particularly described psychological aspects, which are extensively presented in the film. He also exudes a large portion of sarcasm in the film.
In Japan, Uchida is known as a lovable eccentric. Already in the 1980s there was a Hyakken renaissance in Japan, today the author is considered the favorite writer of several successful authors.

The apple song

"Ringo no Uta" is a song from the Japanese film Soyokaze from 1945. It was the first huge hit in Japan after the Second World War. The song was originally planned to boost morale during the war. The authorities thought the melody was too soft and as the situation changed, the lyrics were changed. The singer is Michiko Namiki (1921-2001).
In the film, the song plays in the background during the unsuccessful search for the missing cat.

Aogeba Tōtoshi

Students sing the song Aogeba Tōtoshi (仰げば尊し, "looking up at Your Honor") in praise of their Sensei. The song is performed at graduation ceremonies in Japan. According to recent research, the theme and melody probably come from an American song collection from 1871.
After World War II, the song's lyrics, with their reverential attitude toward teachers, were seen as inappropriate for a democracy, especially during the student protests of the 1960s.
In 2007, the song was selected by the Agency for Cultural Affairs and the National Congress of Parents' and Teachers' Associations of Japan for the Nihon no Uta Hyakusen, "100 Songs from Japan."
The version shown here is from FORESTA 2021.

Ibana no shiro usagi

The White Rabbit of Inaba (因幡の白兎) is a character from two Japanese myths.
According to the story told in the Kojiki, the White Rabbit lived on the island of Oki. One day he decided to leave his island and go on land. To do this, he devised an artificial bridge. He challenged a crocodile to a comparison, because he wanted to know which of the two of them had more relatives. In order to count the crocodiles, the rabbit suggested that they lined up in a long line in the water from the island to the mainland. The rabbit jumped on the crocodiles and, counting the reptiles, crossed the water. When the rabbit jumped from the last crocodile onto land, he confessed his trick. The angry crocodile snapped at him and tore the fur from his body.
On land, the naked rabbit met the 80 brothers of the god Okuninushi, who were on their way to look for a bride. They advised the rabbit to bathe in sea water and lie down on a high rock. When the rabbit followed their advice, the sea salt dried on his skin and it became cracked. Okuninushi, who had followed his brothers, told the rabbit how to heal himself. He should bathe in clean water and wrap himself in the wool threads of the swamp plants.
In the film, this god is called Daikoku-sama (also Daikokuten) and the Sensei compares himself to the naked rabbit because of his extreme sensitivity.
Daikokuten came to Japan from India via China. In the Heian period, the imagination of Daikokuten merged with those of Okuninushi.

Kamo no Chōmei

was a Japanese writer (1155-1216). In 1181 he published a collection of over a hundred poems, one of which was included in the imperial collection Senzai-wakashū.
In his third decade of life, Chōmei withdrew from public life. He lived in a simple hut according to Buddhist teachings. Around 1200, Tennō Go-Toba became aware of him. He created a position for him that enabled him to retreat to the Ohara Mountains for several years. There he took the Buddhist name Ren’in. He finally lived in a hut on Mount Toyoma until his death.
Chōmei’s main work is Hōjōki (方丈記, Notes from my Hut), in which he describes wars, destruction and the decline of civilization in the Heian period as well as his own life as a hermit.
In the film, Sensei quotes from this work. In his emergency shelter he feels like a hermit in a clause and in a time of destruction without hope.

Oichi-ni no kusuri

オイチニの薬売り The song of the pharmacist, which the students perform in the film, is a mocking song about the traveling pharmacists who traveled through Japan from the Meiji period to the early Showa period. They drew attention to themselves with a type of accordion and sold remedies that were supposed to help against several ailments at once.
In the film, the song is sung in a polonaise in military marching step. The Oichi-ni (one, two) sets the rhythm. In addition to the standard text, the Sensei sings a few verses about the current situation after the war. In doing so, he sarcastically criticizes people's stupidity and corruption.

Maadadayo

The film ends with a dream that the sensei is dreaming, according to his students' assumptions. It is about hide-and-seek. A child, probably the sensei, is looking for a hiding place in the grain sheds that are set up in a field to dry. The searchers keep calling out "Maada kai?" to find out whether the child has already hidden himself, while the child always answers "Maadadayo!", "I'm not ready yet".
The film "Ai no korīda" from 1976 ends with an analogous situation of hide-and-seek - "Mada ii?", "Maadadayo!" - albeit in different images.