Watching the Origin of 'Kokuhou' After Reading the Original Work: 'The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum'

This is one of the masterpieces by director Kenji Mizoguchi, who adapted the 1939 film from the novel of the same name by Kofu Muramatsu, based on the tragic love story of the second Onoe Kikunosuke, the same director who made 'Ugetsu'.
After reading the original novel 'Kokuhou', I saw in the commentary that this work was the origin of 'Kokuhou', so I decided to watch it.

The story is

Kikunosuke, raised as the adopted son of the fifth Onoe Kikugoro, opens his heart to Otoku, his younger brother's nanny, who frankly points out his lack of skill in acting. However, their love, which crosses social classes, is fiercely opposed by those around them, and Kikunosuke takes refuge with a great master in Osaka. A year later, Otoku follows him, and they live together, but when the great master in Osaka passes away, they are driven out of the Osaka theater. Four years later, they continue to tour as a traveling troupe, but the troupe leader runs away in the middle of the night...

It's quite long at 2 hours and 22 minutes, but it is definitely a masterpiece.

It was clear that several of the developments influenced 'Kokuhou'.

The protagonist is adopted into a Kabuki family and is pampered because of his family's fame, but behind his back, people say his acting is mediocre. Just as he is getting sick of this superficial popularity, Otoku, his younger brother's nanny, becomes his confidante, and he falls for her. This incurs his parents' anger, and he leaves home to take refuge with a great master of the Kansai Kabuki world. Even there, his reputation is mediocre, and the theater owner is looking for any excuse to remove him from his roles. When the great master dies, he is told there are no roles for him at the theater, so he joins a traveling troupe. After four years of living a rough life on the road, the protagonist, who has become completely jaded, loses his place when the troupe leader runs away. Otoku arranges for him to perform after finding a Kabuki actor touring in that area, and he shows that he has truly grown by performing in 'Tsumikoi Suzunomori' with that troupe, leading to his triumphant return to the Tokyo Kabuki world.
Behind his success, Otoku disappears and goes to Kansai. They reunite during a tour in Kansai, but Otoku passes away from tuberculosis...

It is a story of tragic love.

A film based on a true story

This work is based on the true story of the second Onoe Kikunosuke, and I thought that the fact that Shinobu Terajima, who carries that bloodline, appears in 'Kokuhou', and that the protagonist's name is Kikuo, might have come from Kikunosuke.
The sight of the protagonist losing his place after the great master in Kansai dies overlaps with Kikuo losing his place after Hanjiro dies.

There is also a connection to 'Kokuhou' in the performances.

The fact that the performance Kikunosuke uses to make his comeback is 'Tsumikoi Suzunomori', and that he performs 'Renjishi' afterwards, connects to the first half of Kikuo in 'Kokuhou'.

The image of Otoku supporting Kikunosuke from the shadows feels like it is projected onto Harue and the other women involved with Kikuo, but after all, since this one is such a masterpiece, the 'digest' feel of 'Kokuhou' leaves a rather disappointing impression.

Although 'Kokuhou' was mediocre, I feel glad I watched it, considering it was the catalyst for encountering this masterpiece.

4th viewing of 'Kokuhou'

I watched 'Kokuhou' for the fourth time after reading the original work.
Until now, I felt frustrated every time I watched it, but this time I was able to watch it relatively calmly.
The episodes involving Tokuji have been cut across the board, the episodes from the youth to adulthood of Ayano, the daughter of Fujikoma involved with him, have disappeared, and there is a final reappearance that is not in the original work.
After reading the original work, the scenes that frustrated me before were mostly the same as in the original, so instead of frustration, my reaction was 'it's the same'.
Even so, the overuse of close-ups, excessive background music and editing, and lines that tend to explain feelings stand out, and my feeling that it's tacky hasn't changed.
But I realized that this cheesiness is probably the reason for its success.