Ugetsu (雨月物語, Ugetsu monogatari?) ('Tales of Moonlight and Rain' or 'Tales Of The Pale And Silvery Moon After The Rain') is a 1953 film by Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi. The film, set in Medieval Japan, stars Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyō, and is inspired by short stories by Ueda Akinari and Guy de Maupassant. It is Mizoguchi's most celebrated film, regarded by critics as a masterwork of Japanese cinema.