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''The Wrath of the Gods'' is a 1914 American silent drama film directed by Reginald Barker, and starring Sessue Hayakawa, Tsuru Aoki, Frank Borzage, Thomas Kurihara and Henry Kotani in the lead roles. This was the first feature film appearance of Hayakawa and the directorial debut of Barker. The film is based on an American sailor who comes to the Yamaki family after his ship wrecks in the ocean. The sailor (Borzage) falls in love with the daughter (Aoki) of the family, unaware of the fact that she is cursed by God, such that if she marries, a nearby volcano will erupt and destroy the entire island on which the family lives. Writer and producer Thomas H. Ince got the idea for the film from the volcanic eruption on the island of Sakura-Jima in 1914. Hayakawa was paid $500 a week, the highest paid of all oriental stars at the time. Filming started on January 27, 1914 and was completed on February 13. The film was released to a warm reception on June 7 after a large-scale publicity campaign. The visual effects of the film were widely appreciated by critics. It premiered in Japan on 15 September 1918, where it was later banned for "bringing dishonor to the country". Hayakawa, who played Aoki's father in the film, married her before the film's premiere. == Plot == Baron Yamaki (Sessue Hayakawa) is a fisherman who lives along with his daughter Toya San (Tsuru Aoki) on an island. The island is inhabited by Buddhists and Yamaki had been cursed by Buddha for an affront by one of his ancestors who in a murderous rage, defiled an altar of Buddha in the nearby temple. The curse was that if his daughter married anyone, then the nearby volcano would erupt. Toya finds it difficult to form relationships with boys because the village prophet Takeo (Thomas Kurihara) has spread the rumour that she is cursed. She is therefore unwilling to continue her father's acceptance of the curse. When Yamaki takes Toya-san to the Buddha shrine in the garden of his house to pray and try to get the curse removed, she vents her feelings about the god's unfairness. An American sailor, Tom Wilson (Frank Borzage), whose ship has been wrecked in a storm comes to them for help and shelter. Wilson falls in love with Toya and teaches her about Christianity. To the consternation of her father, Toya decides to convert and marry Tom at the local Japanese-American mission. However, her father also converts. The locals, who have been stirred up by Takeo, go on a murderous rampage against the family. They first go to the chapel but the newlyweds evade them and so they go to the beach house instead. When the mob reaches his house, Yamaki throws out the Buddha statue he had set up in his house and puts a cross in its place. The villagers are infuriated by this; they beat him to death beneath the cross and burn his house. Eventually, the volcano erupts and the village is destroyed, and Takeo dies in an avalanche. Only Tom Wilson and Toya San survive. They are taken away from the destroyed village by a United States merchant vessel. At the end of the film, Tom tells his bride, "Your gods may be powerful, Toya San, but mine has proved his omnipotence. You are saved to perpetuate your race." 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Wrath of the Gods (1914 film)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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