Demon Pond

Demon Pond (Yasha-Ga-Ike) (1979)

Runtime: 124 minutes

Directed by: Masahiro Shinoda (RIP)

Starring: Tamasaburo Bano, Go Kato, Tsutomi Yamazaki, Hisashi Igawa, Fujio Tokita

From: Shochiku

A belated RIP to director Masahiro Shinoda. A few years ago, I saw his 1964 Pale Flower, a very good Yakuza film which played on Turner Classic Movies. I did not do a subsequent deeper dive into his filmography. Late March of this year, Shinoda passed away at the age of 94. The presumption is that he is a director who deserves more attention on the world stage. This film in particular has a backstory that will be elaborated upon at the end.

Demon Pond was a rather intriguing tale. In 1913, a teacher is on vacation and wants to visit the titular pond, a place w/ supernatural lore of a dragon residing at the bottom. It is located at a remote village currently suffering from a drought. There’s an old friend & a lady (Yuri) who acts peculiar. That seems normal enough… then the pond spirits appear. Yes, guys who are dressed like crabs, a carp, a catfish, etc. Tamasaburo Bano appears as both Yuri and “The Dragon Princess” at the bottom of the lake, the latter in kabuki makeup. Note that IRL, Bano is a male actor.

Yes, Demon Pond was also weird at times, although in comparison to something like Hausu or really WTF material like Funky Forest that only clips have been viewed of—normal in comparison. Pond is still a methodically-paced dream-like experience; don’t rush the trip and you might become enveloped in this kooky world also, filled w/ stunning sets. A big asset there was what I called during the film “trippy 70’s music.” More on once I thought, “hmmm, this sounds like Isao Tomita,” the Japanese electronic music pioneer. Afterwards, I saw on Wiki that the composer was… Isao Tomita. No wonder it was a rippin' score.

The presumption is that the movie won’t be for all tastes. Me, the finale made the journey well worthwhile. After the movie released to cinemas, it was only played once on television. The efforts of Shinoda and Bano several years ago were required to restore the movie for television & physical media. Just half a year ago, Criterion released Demon Pond on disc. In the future, I’d like to do a deeper dive into the filmography of the late Masahiro Shinoda.