Castle Orgies

Castle Orgies (色暦大奥秘話, Irogoyomi ōoku hiwa) aka Eros Schedule Book: Concubine Secrets and Sensual History: Shogun's Harem Secret Story is a 1971 Japanese film in Nikkatsu's Roman porno series, directed by Isao Hayashi and starring Setsuko Ogawa and Yoichi Nishikawa. Part of Nikkatsu's first Roman porno double-bill release, it was the first film in the 9-film Eros Schedule Book series, and actress Setsuko Ogawa's debut film.

Castle Orgies
Theatrical poster for Castle Orgies (1971)
Directed byIsao Hayashi[1]
Produced byRō Miura
Written byJirō Niizeki
Masayasu Ōebara
StarringSetsuko Ogawa
Yoichi Nishikawa
Music byHajime Kaburagi
CinematographyKenji Hagiwara
Distributed byNikkatsu
Release date
November 20, 1971
Running time
67 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Synopsis

Sae is a girl in love with a samurai in Edo period Japan. Her father sends her to the Shogun's court, where she is intended to serve as a concubine to the Shogun. When her rivals start rumors that Sae is not a virgin, the Shogun angrily banishes her to a nunnery. With help from her samurai boyfriend, Sae escapes, and the two flee together.[2][3]

Cast
  • Setsuko Ogawa: Sae[2][4]
  • Yōichi Nishikawa
  • Yasuko Matsui
  • Megumi Fuji
  • Midori Mori
  • Kōju Ran

Background and legacy

Though Apartment Wife: Affair In the Afternoon (1971) is usually credited as the first of Nikkatsu's line of Roman Porno films, the films were released in double- or triple-bills,[5] and Castle Orgies was Apartment Wife's partner release.[6] These two productions indicated two directions that Nikkatsu intended to explore in its venture into the pink film genre. Apartment Wife represented the contemporary, urban stories, and Eros Schedule Book the historical period film. Both films were immediately successful with critics and audiences.[7] Apartment Wife inspired 20 official sequels, several unofficial sequel series, and created a new theme in Japanese erotic cinema-- the "Apartment wife".[8] Eros Schedule Book was followed by eight direct sequels.[7] The film was actress Setsuko Ogawa's debut. Ogawa become one of Nikkatsu's first idols, focusing on historical erotic dramas throughout her career with the studio.[9][10]

Availability

Castle Orgies was first released theatrically in Japan on a double-bill with Apartment Wife: Affair In the Afternoon, on November 20, 1971.[6] It was released on VHS in Japan on December 21, 1988,[11] and again on January 14, 1994.[12]

Along with Coed Report: Yuko's White Breasts (1971)-- part of Nikkatsu's second double-bill-- Castle Orgies was the subject of "Japan: Ancient and Modern", a feature in the March 1973 issue of the British journal Continental Film Review.[13] The film was released by Tai Seng on all-region DVD on April 17, 2001 with Chinese and English subtitles.[4][14]

Bibliography

English
  • Castle Orgies at AllMovie
  • "Castle Orgies". UniJapan Film Quarterly. 15 (1): 22. January 1972.
  • Fentone, Steve (1998). "A Rip of the Flesh: The Japanese 'Pink Film' Cycle: Castle Origes". She. 2 (11): 9.
  • "IROGOYOMI - OHOKU HIWA". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2009-05-26. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  • "IROGOYOMI OOKU HIWA". Complete Index to World Film. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  • Irogoyomi ooku hiwa (1971) at IMDb
  • Sharp, Jasper (2008). Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema. Guildford: FAB Press. ISBN 978-1-903254-54-7.
  • Weisser, Thomas; Yuko Mihara Weisser (1998). Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films. Miami: Vital Books : Asian Cult Cinema Publications. ISBN 1-889288-52-7.

Japanese

Notes
  1. Infobox data from "色暦大奥秘話". Japanese Cinema Database (Agency for Cultural Affairs). Archived from the original on 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2009-08-29.
  2. Fentone, Steve (1998). "A Rip of the Flesh: The Japanese 'Pink Film' Cycle: Castle Origes". She. 2 (11): 9.
  3. "IROGOYOMI - OHOKU HIWA". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2009-05-26. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  4. Sharp, Jasper (2008). Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema. Guildford: FAB Press. p. 344. ISBN 978-1-903254-54-7.
  5. Yūji Tajiri, quoted in Sharp, p. 315 indicates that the Roman Pornos, following the pattern set up in pink films were shown in triple-bills. When only two Nikkatsu films were released for a particular month, the third film was an independently-produced film distributed by Nikkatsu.
  6. Sharp, p. 123.
  7. Weisser, Thomas; Yuko Mihara Weisser (1998). Japanese Cinema Encyclopedia: The Sex Films. Miami: Vital Books : Asian Cult Cinema Publications. p. 127. ISBN 1-889288-52-7.
  8. Sharp, Jasper (2008). Behind the Pink Curtain: The Complete History of Japanese Sex Cinema. Guildford: FAB Press. pp. 272, 291. ISBN 978-1-903254-54-7.
  9. Weisser, p. 57.
  10. Sharp, p. 132.
  11. 色暦大奥秘話 (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  12. 色暦大奥秘話 (in Japanese). Amazon.co.jp. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
  13. Sharp, pp. 179, 200.
  14. "Castle Orgies (1971)". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
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