MovieChat Forums > Kaidan (1965) Discussion > I See Red: Symbolism?

I See Red: Symbolism?


I've been re-watching some Japanese horror films, and have noticed that the color red shows up on ghosts (a couple of K. Kurosawa's films) or around ghosts (Kwaidan). Does anyone know what kind of symbolism (if any) this might be in Japan?

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Can't answer the question I'm afraid, but red is also used in other films, western cinema (I don't mean westerns...!). For example Don't Look Now, Schindler's List, Sixth Sense... Just the first off the top of my head.

I wonder if there is something more universal about the colour red that is used to highlight key scenes, or points within a scene. In this film, the use of red in the snowy story is really visually stunning - where the rest of the story has almost no colour at all, it makes for some captivating imagery. I wonder if it's just that, and to read more into it is looking for something that's not necessarily there.

I might be completely barking up the wrong tree, and would be interested if anyone else can offer a different take on it.

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Red in Japan usually means Life and I believe it's clearly used here to mean that opposed to the other world of the dead: i.e. in the "Miminashi Hôichi no hanashi" all the red flags are burned and holed at the end of the battle and while Hoichi is singing...

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