Semiotic Reading of “Ran” and “Tokyo Story” With an Emphasis on Architectural Dimensions

The aim of the present study is semiotic analysis of place and architectural space in the movies “Ran” (1985) by Akira Kurosawa and “Tokyo Story” (1953) by Yasujirō Ozu. The methodology was qualitative: structured content analysis and its main approach is interpretive-visual semiotic analysis. The data collection method was based on library archival data and using book analysis instrument. Also, the type of findings is descriptive-analytical. The implication of the result of this research is in both architecture (in comprehending the concepts related to traditional architecture) and cinema (helping filmmakers to portray different types of spaces to induce different meanings). Semiotics is an instrument that is presented for film comprehension in three levels: 1- the meaning which is understood from the elements of space, discipline and the dominant structure between them, 2- the meaning that is originated from the peripheral values of the ground stage design, and 3- the meaning raised from the ideology dominant in the filmmaker’s thought in the form of architecture. The first meaning can be extracted from body elements and has a bolder objective dimension. The meanings of the next stages can be called implicatures which can be analyzed in the secrets of the architecture. In the movies “Ran” and “Tokyo Story”, to connect the elements and body/physical, cultural, social, historical, natural and religious space, physical spatial devices are applied. Hence, understanding the process of meaning-creation in movie and analyzing it is possible via the field of semiotics.