Demon Pond (1979)
Masahiro Shinoda
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Demon Pond is a 1979 Japanese romantic fantasy film directed by Masahiro Shinoda. It is an adaptation of the 1913 play of the same name by Izumi Kyōka, with an adapted screenplay written by Haruhiko Mimura and Tsutomu Tamura. The film stars Tsutomu Yamazaki, Go Kato, and Kabuki actor Tamasaburo Bando. It follows a schoolteacher named Gakuen Yamasawa who arrives in a drought-stricken village. He discovers his long-lost friend Akira, who is married to Yuri, a woman tied to a dragon god that demands a daily bell toll to prevent flooding; as the villagers consider sacrificing Yuri for water, the story unfolds with themes of love, sacrifice, and the supernatural.