FILM · 1956 · JAPAN

ビルマの竪琴

Directed by

Kon Ichikawa

Runtime

117 min

Studio

Nikkatsu Corporation

11 archived facts · 3 topics · 1 source · Last reviewed Oct 2026

In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.

Summary: TMDB

• 

All facts (11)

1. #001

   Viewers familiar with Godzilla (1954) may recognize several cues in The Burmese Harp's score, as composer Akira Ifukube adapted Godzilla's elegy theme into several pieces heard throughout the film.

   DEEPER MEANING · SOURCED

   Sources (1)

   1. IMDb — IMDb kaydı

   ·Share·Report
2. #002

   Kon Ichikawa said the original novel was treated as a fantasy, but he chose to remove that aspect of the story.

   INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

   Sources (1)

   1. IMDb — IMDb kaydı

   ·Share·Report
3. #003

   The film was initially planned to be shot in three-strip color, but director Kon Ichikawa was worried the huge camera could break down on location and that he would be unable to repair it, so he shot in black and white.

   INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

   Sources (1)

   1. IMDb — IMDb kaydı

   ·Share·Report
4. #004

   Japan's official submission in the Best Foreign Language Film category at the 29th Academy Awards in 1957.

   CAREER & AWARDS · SOURCED

   Sources (1)

   1. IMDb — IMDb kaydı

   ·Share·Report
5. #005

   When Mizushima appears at the fence before the soldiers leave, they sing a common graduation song that Japanese students sing to bid farewell to their teachers. When he picks up the harp and joins in, they realize they are certain it is Mizushima.

   INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

   Sources (1)

   1. IMDb — IMDb kaydı

   ·Share·Report
6. #006

   The Burmese harp is a type of arched harp known as the Saung Gauk, or simply the Saung. Mizushima does a fair job of simulating playing it, but there is an obvious anomaly in that his intonation sometimes places low notes on the strings below the high notes, that is, backwards. The harp he plays also looks like a makeshift prop with strings too loose to produce the notes heard in the music. Later in the film, the harp first shown with the young boy (only an hour later) looks like an authentic instrument, yet Mizushima's sound-producing anomaly displays the same disconnect seen with the first harp. Chalk this up to artistic license.

   INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

   Sources (1)

   1. IMDb — IMDb kaydı

   ·Share·Report
7. #007

   It was selected by the Vatican in the "values" category of its list of 45 "great films."

   INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

   Sources (1)

   1. IMDb — IMDb kaydı

   ·Share·Report
8. #008

   The harp in this film is not a real playable musical instrument but a prop.

   INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

   Sources (1)

   1. IMDb — IMDb kaydı

   ·Share·Report
9. #009

   The film was nominated for an Oscar® in the Best Foreign Language Film category for 1956.

   CAREER & AWARDS · SOURCED

   Sources (1)

   1. IMDb — IMDb kaydı

   ·Share·Report
10. #010

    This film is part of spine number 379 of the Criterion Collection.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    Sources (1)

    1. IMDb — IMDb kaydı

    ·Share·Report
11. #011

    The Burmese Harp (1956) is a Japanese drama film directed by Kon Ichikawa. Adapted from Michio Takeyama's children's novel of the same name, the film tells the story of Japanese soldiers fighting in the Burma Campaign during World War II. One member of the group goes missing after the war, and the soldiers hope to discover whether their comrade survived and whether he is the same person as a Buddhist monk they saw playing a harp. The film was one of the first to show the losses of war from the perspective of a Japanese soldier.

    INTERESTING FACTS · SOURCED

    Sources (1)

    1. IMDb — IMDb kaydı

    ·Share·Report