花のあと - After the Flowers

Continuing on my post on Kitagawa Keiko, I discovered that she starred in this movie in 2010, which is based on 藤沢周平 Fujisawa Shuhei's eponymous book set in Japan, during the late Edo period. The eldest of three dutiful daughters, Terai Ito (Kitagawa Keiko) has been personally trained in swordcraft since a child by her father, clan elder Terai Jinzaemon (Kunimura Jun). One day, while admiring the cherry blossom outside town, she's approached by low-level samurai Eguchi Magoshiro (Miyao Shuntaro), who hopes that one day she will give him the pleasure of a match. Ito's father agrees, and she and Magoshiro have a private match with bamboo swords in the courtyard of her home. Ito acquits herself well and also falls for the handsome young samurai, but later hears from her father that Magoshiro is planning to marry one of her friends, Kayo (Ito Ayumi). The extremely ambitious Magoshiro rises swiftly through the samurai ranks, and Ito's father feels used and betrayed. However, one day Ito by chance learns that Kayo is having an affair with clan leader Fujii Kageyu (Ichikawa Kamejiro), who may be plotting against Magoshiro. When her worst fears are realised, she asks samurai Katagiri Saisuke (Komoto Masahiro), whom her father wants her to marry, to help her exact revenge.It is a period piece, set in the Tokugawa period, where women are forced to undergo arranged marriages. Despite being a woman fencing skills that put many a man to shame she falls in love with a lower class Bushi. This story is about Ito finding love, losing it, and the aftermath. This work depicts how she grows into a mature woman through this short love.

There was a very good review of it here - on film business Asia, stating If Jane Austen had ever written an Edo period love story, and Ozu Yasujiro (小津安二郎) had ever directed a swordplay drama, it might have looked a little like After the Flowers (花のあと). All I will say is that the climatic fight scene was very well executed and although I would say some of the earlier scenes lacked strength in the sword movements, the final scene was like a real sword fight, and a nice change from all the special effects and wirework you see in movies from Hong Kong and China.  

She spent about a year learning, kenjutsu, tea ceremony and etiquette. For the fight choreography, she studied under 高瀬　将嗣 Masatsugu Takase Sensei who teachers 波濤流 and has choreographed over 12 movies. You can find more information regarding his background here.