Sansho Dayu - BFI Film Classics Author:Dudley Andrew, Carole Cavanaugh One of Kenji Mizoguchi's undisputed masterpieces, Sansho Dayu (1954) is a version of a famous Japanese folktale about an eleventh-century feudal official forced into exile by his political enemies. In his absence, his children fall under the corrupting influence of the malevolent Sansho.