The Butterfly

Travelling Actors was a comedy by Naruse Mikio centered on a troupe of travelling actors (duh), primarily the two men who portrayed the horse. Hyoroku takes his job very seriously as the head of the horse and when the costume is desecrated, things go awry.

Hyoroku and his protégé Senpai work very hard to bring the horse costume they inhabit to life. Hyoroku studies how horses look and move, even absent-mindedly stomping or walking like a horse off stage. He’s not always an easy man to get along with as his pride can get the better of him, especially when their new patron accidentally destroys part of their costume. His boss decides to use a real horse to replace Hyoroku and Senpai which leads to problems.

I had no issue with the premise of this simple film about stubborn men with too much pride. Where my attention wandered were all the drunken ramblings by different characters. It took a long time to get to the point and even then, I didn’t find the resolution very humorous. Humor is such a subjective thing, so I know others will find the actors’ antics hilarious. If you are a fan of Naruse Mikio, and would like to see one of his efforts at comedy, this shorter film (70 min) would be one to try.

7 February 2026