The Insect Woman
にっぽん昆虫記
“She lives by instinct with no sense of right or wrong.”
Synopsis
A woman, Tome, is born to a lower class family in Japan in 1918. The title refers to an insect, repeating its mistakes, as in an infinite circle. Imamura, with this metaphor, introduces the life of Tome, who keeps trying to change her poor life.
Top Cast
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Sachiko Hidari
Tome Matsuki
Jitsuko Yoshimura
Nobuko
Shoichi Ozawa
Ken
Hiroyuki Nagato
Matsunami
Kayoko Honoo
Miyako
Masumi Harukawa
Midori
Emiko Aizawa
Rui
Emiko Higashi
Kane
Daizaburo Hirata
Kamibayashi
Seizaburō Kawazu
Karasawa
Teruko Kishi
Rin
Tanie Kitabayashi
Madam
Kazuo Kitamura
Chuji
Masakazu Kuwayama
Owagawa En's Lover
Sumie Sasaki
En
Taiji Tonoyama
Foreman
Asao Koike
Sawakichi
Shigeru Tsuyuguchi
Honda
Release History & Theatrical Window
June 29, 1964
Wide Cinema Exhibition
Key Information & Fast Facts
- Director
- Shōhei Imamura
- Screenplay & Story
- Shōhei Imamura, Keiji Hasebe
- Original Score
- Toshirō Mayuzumi
- Original Title
- にっぽん昆虫記
- Country of Origin
- Japan
- Spoken Languages
- Japanese
- Runtime
- 2h 3m
- Production Studios
- Nikkatsu Corporation
Creative Leadership & Key Crew
Shōhei Imamura
Shōhei Imamura, Keiji Hasebe
Toshirō Mayuzumi
Shinsaku Himeda
Mutsuo Tanji
Jirô Tomoda, Kano Otsuka
Department Leadership Roster
Shōhei Imamura
Director
Shōhei Imamura
Writer
Keiji Hasebe
Writer
Jirô Tomoda
Producer
Kano Otsuka
Producer
Toshirō Mayuzumi
Original Music Composer
Shinsaku Himeda
Director of Photography
Mutsuo Tanji
Editor
Age Classification & Content Advisories
Official viewer rating standards and content warnings across international classification boards.
NR: Not Rated — Evaluated outside standard classification boards.
International Certification Matrix
FSK 18 — Restricted to adults 18 and older.
Tous publics — Universal audience.
Not Rated — Evaluated outside standard classification boards.
Production Stills & Gallery
Official cinematic photography and background stills for The Insect Woman.
Featured In Curated Collections
Editorial lists, community rankings, and cinematic collections featuring The Insect Woman.
Criterion Collection
The Complete Criterion Collection. The Criterion Collection is a video distribution company that sells 'important classic and contemporary films' in editions that offer the highest technical quality. This list contains only the featured films released on DVD, BluRay and 4K Criterion releases — no supplements are included. Organized by spine number with the newest releases first. CC标准收藏完整收录版： 收录标准收藏（Criterion Collection）发行的重要经典及当代电影。仅包含正片（涵盖 DVD、蓝光及 4K 版本），已排除花絮补充内容。按 CC 发行编号倒序排列（最新发行在前）。 *注：榜单源数据中包含部分剧集/迷你剧，由于本片单只收录纯电影，故不再收录以下非电影条目：* • [#214] Mangrove (2020) • [#215] Lovers Rock (2020) • [#216] Red, White and Blue (2020) • [#217] Alex Wheatle (2020) • [#486] Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day (1972) • [#647] Dekalog (1989) • [#944] World on a Wire (1973) • [#1187] Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980) • [#1338] Fanny and Alexander (1984) • [#1341] Tanner '88 (1988) • [#1371] Scenes from a Marriage (1973) *注：以下影片因 TMDB 尚未收录，暂不在此片单中展示：* • [#531] First (2012) • [#1699] Ulysse (1983) *(Updated via Automated ETL Pipeline: 2026-10-11 07:39:08 UTC+8)*
ALLL MOVIESSS
Nikkatsu
Films produced or released by Nikkatsu, from Wikidata and Wikipedia.
Nikkatsu
Films produced by Nikkatsu, from Wikidata production-company data.
Japanese New Wave
Films of the Japanese New Wave, late 1950s through the 1970s.
The Criterion Collection
Every film released by The Criterion Collection on DVD, Blu-ray or 4K, including box sets and Eclipse. Enumerated from Wikidata and Wikipedia.
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Frequently Asked Questions About The Insect Woman
Quick factual answers about cast, synopsis, director, box office, and release information.
What is The Insect Woman about?
A woman, Tome, is born to a lower class family in Japan in 1918. The title refers to an insect, repeating its mistakes, as in an infinite circle. Imamura, with this metaphor, introduces the life of Tome, who keeps trying to change her poor life.
Who directed The Insect Woman?
The Insect Woman was directed by Shōhei Imamura.
Who stars in The Insect Woman?
The principal cast of The Insect Woman includes Sachiko Hidari, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Shoichi Ozawa, Hiroyuki Nagato, Kayoko Honoo.
When was The Insect Woman released and how long is it?
The Insect Woman was released in 1963 with a total runtime of 2h 3m.
Who composed the musical score for The Insect Woman?
The original motion picture soundtrack for The Insect Woman was composed by Toshirō Mayuzumi.
What is the age rating and content advisory for The Insect Woman?
The Insect Woman holds official age classifications: DE: 18 (FSK 18 — Restricted to adults 18 and older.); FR: U (Tous publics — Universal audience.); US: NR (Not Rated — Evaluated outside standard classification boards.).