Shima no musume is a characteristic example of a form of saundo-ban in which popular song takes centre stage. Like two other contemporary films, Tokyo ondo and Sakura ondo, it features a hit song recorded by the most popular female singer of the 1930s, Katsutaro. Katsutaro (1904-1974) came from the pleasure quarters of Yoshicho, Tokyo, where she worked as a geisha, performing i...