Kwaidan

A collection of four Japanese folk tales with supernatural themes. This film contains four distinct, separate stories. "Black Hair": A poor samurai who divorces his true love to marry for money, but finds the marriage disastrous and returns to his old wife, only to discover something eerie about her. "The Woman in the Snow": Stranded in a snowstorm, a woodcutter meets an icy spirit in the form of a woman who spares his life on the condition that he never tell anyone about her. A decade later he forgets his promise. "Hoichi the Earless": Hoichi is a blind musician, living in a monastery who sings so well that a ghostly imperial court commands him to perform the epic ballad of their death battle for them. But the ghosts are draining away his life, and the monks set out to protect him by writing a holy mantra over his body to make him invisible to the ghosts. But they've forgotten something. "In a Cup of Tea": A writer tells the story of a man who keeps seeing a mysterious face reflected in his cup of tea. —Kathy Li "Black Hair": In ancient Kyoto, a samurai decides to leave his poor but beloved wife and become rich marrying a wealthy wife. He misses his loved wife, and years later, when he returns to her, he finds a surprise waiting for him. "The Woman in the Snow": An old and a young woodman are surprised by a snow storm, and the younger is saved by the spirit of a snow woman. He promises never telling what happened with him. Years later, he breaks his promise, telling the secret to his wife. "Hoichi the Earless": The blind Hoichi lives in a temple and magnificently plays his biwa and tells the sea battle of Dan-No-Ura between the clans of Genji and Heike. One night he is invited to perform his skills for a rich family and their guests in their house. "In a Cup of Tea": a samurai drinks water in a cup of tea, and he sees the soul of a former samurai. Later, he is haunted by the spirit. —Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil