Oshima’s magisterial epic, centering on the ambivalent surviving heir of the Sakurada clan, uses ritual and the microcosm of the traditional family to trace the rise and fall of militaristic Japan across several decades.
The Ceremony is a 1971 Japanese drama film directed by Nagisa Ōshima, starring Kenzo Kawarasaki and Atsuko Kaku. The film takes place in post-war Japan, following a family clan through their wedding and funeral ceremonies, and the lengths the elder generation goes to preserve their traditions in spite of the damage it causes to the younger.