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Drama

Sing a Song of Sex (1967): Cast & Plot

Sing a Song of Sex (1967) movie poster

Sing a Song of Sex is a 1967 drama directed by Nagisa Ôshima, starring Ichiro Araki as Toyoaki Nakamura, Kōji Iwabuchi and Kazuyoshi Kushida. It runs 1 hour 43 minutes.

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Sing a Song of Sex (1967) movie poster
Released
Runtime
1h 43m (103 min)
Director
Nagisa Ôshima
Genre
Drama
Original language
Japanese
Studio
Sozosha
After the credits
No No extra scene
The story

What Is Sing a Song of Sex About?

The premise of Sing a Song of Sex without spoilers. The whole story is in the plot summary further down.

Four restless high‑school students, consumed by sexual curiosity and anxiously studying for their university entrance exams, encounter a drunk teacher who leads them in bawdy drinking songs. The night’s reckless revelry diverts them from their studies and steers them onto a decidedly unacademic, trouble‑filled trajectory.

Sing a Song of Sex Themes & Keywords

· 22 tags
  • beer
  • drinking song
  • bar
  • female topless nudity
  • teenage girl
  • school
  • singing
  • song
  • university
  • exam
  • japanese new wave
  • brechtian
+10 more
  • unsynchronized sound
  • funeral
  • petition
  • murder
  • vietnam war
  • death
  • rape fantasy
  • rape
  • japanese culture
  • suspense
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Cast & crew

Sing a Song of Sex Cast & Characters

Ichiro Araki leads the cast as Toyoaki Nakamura, with Kōji Iwabuchi as Hideo Uede and Kazuyoshi Kushida as Katsumi Hiroi. Directed by Nagisa Ôshima; 10 actors are credited in all.

Also Starring in Sing a Song of Sex

· 6 more
From the director

More from Nagisa Ôshima

More films directed by Nagisa Ôshima, best-rated first: Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, Taboo, Max My Love and Empire of Passion.

Full filmography
Plot

Sing a Song of Sex Plot Summary

What happens in Sing a Song of Sex from start to finish, spoilers included, with a timeline of 12 key events. The opening is below; the full summary is a 2-minute read.

Spoilers ahead

The film opens with a stark image: red liquid dripping onto a red background, immediately setting a graphic mood that frames the story to come. It unfolds on February 11, 1967—the day Japan first marks National Foundation Day as an annual holiday—an opening motif that primes the viewer for a tale about youth, rebellion, and consequence.

Four high school students travel to Tokyo on a snowy day to take their university entrance exams: Nakamura, Ichiro Araki; Ueda, Kōji Iwabuchi; Hiroi, Kazuyoshi Kushida; and Maruyama, Hiroshi Sato. They aren’t politically engaged and openly mock both an anti-Vietnam petition and a march protesting National Foundation Day’s holiday status, showing a mix of teenage indifference and bravado that threads through their journey.

Full summary

The whole story of Sing a Song of Sex, scene by scene

Read the full summary
Videos

Sing a Song of Sex Trailers & Videos

The trailer of Sing a Song of Sex.

SING A SONG OF SEX Trailer (1967) - The Criterion Collection
Quiz

How Well Do You Know Sing a Song of Sex?

10 questions about the story, each with a hint if you get stuck. Pick an answer to see whether you were right.

Question 1 of 10

  1. Question 1: not answered
  2. Question 2: not answered
  3. Question 3: not answered
  4. Question 4: not answered
  5. Question 5: not answered
  6. Question 6: not answered
  7. Question 7: not answered
  8. Question 8: not answered
  9. Question 9: not answered
  10. Question 10: not answered

Why do the four high school students travel to Tokyo at the start of the film?

Details

Sing a Song of Sex Also Known As

9 alternative titles, including “A Treatise on Japanese Bawdy Songs” and “Nihon shunka-kô”.

Also known as
  • A Treatise on Japanese Bawdy Songs
  • Nihon shunka-kô
  • Tratado sobre canciones japonesas obscenas
  • Canta una canción erótica
  • Sulle canzoni sconce giapponesi
  • À propos des chansons paillardes au Japon
  • Исследование непристойных песен Японии
  • 일본춘가고
  • Canções Lascivas do Japão

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FAQ

Sing a Song of Sex FAQ: Cast, Runtime & Release Date

Runtime, release date, director, cast, post-credit scenes and language of Sing a Song of Sex, each answered in a sentence.

How long is Sing a Song of Sex?

Sing a Song of Sex runs 1 hour 43 minutes (103 minutes).

When was Sing a Song of Sex released?

Sing a Song of Sex was released on February 23, 1967.

Who directed Sing a Song of Sex?

Sing a Song of Sex was directed by Nagisa Ôshima.

More films by Nagisa Ôshima

Who is in the cast of Sing a Song of Sex?

Sing a Song of Sex stars Ichiro Araki as Toyoaki Nakamura, Kōji Iwabuchi as Hideo Uede and Kazuyoshi Kushida as Katsumi Hiroi, among 10 credited actors.

Does Sing a Song of Sex have a post-credit scene?

No. Sing a Song of Sex has no extra scene during or after the credits.

What language is Sing a Song of Sex in?

The original language of Sing a Song of Sex is Japanese.

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