Trivia / The Ballad of Narayama

• Dawson Casting: The 1958 and 1983 films feature several inversions:
  • Orin is supposed to be nearly 70 years old, but in the 1958 film, she was played by 49-year-old Kinuyo Tanaka,^note  Indeed, Tanaka didn't even live to be as old as Orin; she died of a brain tumour aged 67. and in the 1983 film, she was played by 46-year-old Sumiko Sakamoto.
  • Tatsuhei is supposed to be 45 years old, yet he was played by 32-year-old Teiji Takahashi.^note  Who likewise never reached his character's age; he died in a car accident a year after playing Tatsuhei.
  • Mata is supposed to be even older than Orin, having tried to dodge being dragged to Narayama, but his actor, Seiji Miyaguchi, was only 45 (and was just six years older than Yūnosuke Itō, who played his son).
• Dyeing for Your Art: In the 1983 film, Sumiko Sakamoto had four of her front teeth extracted so that she could more effectively portray Orin after she smashes her teeth out ahead of her journey to Narayama.

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