Kwaidan

Bizarre, unearthly, terrifying - a nation's legend, an author's imagination, a director's creation manifest in the superlative - Kwaidan

Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.

Michiyo Aratama

First wife (segment "Kurokami")

Misako Watanabe

Second Wife (segment "The Black Hair")

Rentaro Mikuni

Husband (segment "Kurokami")

Kenjirō Ishiyama

Father (segment "Kurokami")

Ranko Akagi

Mother (segment "The Black Hair")

Fumie Kitahara

(segment "Kurokami") (uncredited)

Kappei Matsumoto

(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)

Yoshiko Ieda

(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)

Otome Tsukimiya

(segment "Kurokami") (uncredited)

Kenzô Tanaka

(segment "Kurokami") (uncredited)

Kiyoshi Nakano

(segment "The Black Hair") (uncredited)

Tatsuya Nakadai

Mi nokichi (segment "Yuki-Onna")

Keiko Kishi

Yuki the Snow Maiden (segment "The Woman of the Snow")

Yūko Mochizuki

Minokichi's mother (segment "Yuki-Onna")

Kin Sugai

Village woman (segment "Yuki-Onna") (uncredited)

Noriko Sengoku

Village woman (segment "Yuki-Onna") (uncredited)

Akiko Nomura

(segment "Yuki-Onna") (uncredited)

Torahiko Hamada

(segment "Yuki-Onna") (uncredited)