August 15, 1945, New Dawn For Japan (1952)
黎明八月十五日
July 1945. War‑exhausted Japan groans under the heel of a brutal military regime. Young journalist Saeki struggles to cling to a fading sense of justice. Writer Yoshida slowly loses his convictions to the darkness of unquestioning orders. Kimiko, a young woman, bears the scars of cruelty from the cold‑hearted military police. Private Yamada has deserted the army. His wife, Ryōko, is branded a traitor's wife and relentlessly hunted. When Yamada finally reaches home, he finds his sick child Toshiko lying in bed. The military police drag him away in front of his family; a struggle ensues, and Yamada is shot dead before his wife's eyes. Hiroshima is annihilated by an atomic bomb. Rumors spread of a final decisive battle on the mainland. The people clutch bamboo spears with gaunt hands. Then August 15th arrives: Japan's defeat is laid bare before the stunned populace.
- Date of release
- 1952-05-01
- Runtime
- 1h 38m
- Genres
- War
- Director
- Hideo Sekigawa
Casting
- Eiji Okada — Reporter Saeki
- Kyōko Kagawa — Kimiko Sasaki
- Yatsuko Tan'ami — Tsuruko Sasaki
- Kinzō Shin — Private Yamada
- Hatae Kishi — Ryoko Yamada
- Tokue Hanazawa — Tome-san
- Akitake Kōno — Junji Yoshida
- Masao Mishima — Toyama-san
- Haruko Toda — Kane-san
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