Yokohama-bashi from “Pale Flower” (1964)

Here are some stills from the wonderful yakuza-noir film, “Pale Flower” 乾いた花 Kawaita hana / “Withered Flower” (1964):

Here are annotated versions; the vertical sign is labelled 「横浜橋通商店街」 means “Yokohama Bridge Commercial District”.

With the help of  the following blog, 横浜映画 Yokohama movie, I confirmed the location as the former Yokohama-bashi (bridge) in the Maganecho district 真金町 of Yokohama (map). This bridge crossed over a canal that flowed through central Yokohama until at least the early 1960s. Today this street is a covered shopping arcade; you can visit the website at: 横浜橋通商店街 Yokohamabashi Shopping District. Today, the same location looks something like this:

This area is detailed on the following two maps. Note, the closest station is Bandobashi Station 阪東橋駅:

(Yokohama is not unusual for having filled-in its canals; extensive canals in Tokyo were filled-in after WW2; see: Canals of the Ginza: floating through time on Tokyo’s central waterways .)

Pale Flower was directed by Masahiro Shinoda 篠田正浩; some of his other films include:

• My Face Red in the Sunset (a.k.a. Killers on Parade) 夕陽に赤い俺の顔 (1961)
• The Petrified Forest 化石の森 “Kaseki no mori” (1973) / isolated man, isolated society, a man is killed; mom cleans love hotels
• Ballad of Orin はなれ瞽女おりん (1977) (YouTube)

Links:

• How should I spend a day in Yokohama, Japan?
• 横浜橋通商店街 Yokohama Bridge Commercial Street
• 横浜映画 Yokohama movie
• Photo: 横浜橋商店街のアメリカ兵 昭和29(1954)年12月 (American soldiers in the Yokohama bridge shopping district, December 1954)
• Photo of the shopping arcade entrance today
• 週刊 横濱80’ｓ Weekly Yokohama 80’s
• Further down the coast, old photos from Negishi area: 昔の根岸の町名
• Map of Yokohama, circa 1945-50
• Wonderful example of billboard architecture nearby (Twitter)
• About the nearby Noge neighborhood of Yokohama: a post-war black market that has continued as an entertainment district