Special kabuki night returns to this year’s Tokyo International Film Festival!

16.September.2017 | SPOT

The next Tokyo International Film Festival will run from October 25th to November 3rd. The annually loved “Kabukiza Special Night” will also make a return this year on Thursday October 26th.

This year marks the festival’s 30th run. The Japanese film “Gate of Hell” (1953) will be shown this year in 4K and with English subtitles. The film was directed by Japanese movie master Teinosuke Kinugasa, who won the Palme d’or at the 7th Cannes Festival as well as the Academy Honorary Award and Academy Award for Best Costume design for the 27th Academy Awards.

“Gate of Hell” was praised as an artistic achievement by Jean Cocteau who acted as Jury President at the Cannes film festival. It’s a story of hell fire passion burning in the tenacity of love. The kabuki show will unravel the loves and hates of humans and be performed against the backdrop of picture scrolls from Genpei Jōsuiki.

Ichikawa Ebizō XI will also be present to perform his kabuki dance piece “Otokodate Hana no Yoshiwara.” The dance tells of a chivalrous man named Goshono Gorozo and his many rendezvous with his lover.

 

The program for the kabuki night can be enjoyed by kabuki first-timers and frequenters.

▼Comment from by Ichikawa Ebizo XI (translated from Japanese by MMN)

“It is an honour and a privilege for me to be able to perform at the Kabukiza Special Night event to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Tokyo International Film Festival. I will be performing Otokodate Hana no Yoshiwara, a piece I create 3 years ago. It comes from the Sewa-Kyogen piece Gosho no Gorozou by Kawatake Mokuami. It tells of the charm and disposition of a chivalrous man going to see his lover. I hope you will enjoy the stylised beauty of kabuki which overflows with elegance. Many people come from all over the world every year to see Kabukiza Special Night, so I am very much looking forward ot it. I hope to deliver the wonder of Japanese culture to first-timers of kabuki and the rest of the world.”

A line-up of films for the Japanese Classics Sections has also been announced for this year.

 

This includes “Kagemusha,” directed by Akira Kurosawa, which has won many awards including the Grand Prix at the 33rd Cannes Film Festival, “Sansho the Bailiff,” directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, winner of the Silver Lion at Venice Film Festival; and “The Ballad of Narayama,” directed by Shohei Imamura, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival; and other famous films.

“Kagemusha”

The film takes place during the Sengoku Period. Daiymo of the Takeda clan, Shingen Takeda, cheats death and orders his death to be kept a secret for 3 years. A body double must take the place of the great Shingen Takeda as a decoy against the rise and fall of Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu.

 

“Sansho the Bailiff”

An internationally renowned film and winner of the Silver Lion at the 15th Venice Film Festival. The film has been restored in 4K by The Film Foundation founded by Martin Scorsese.

 

“The Ballad of Narayama”

The film tackles the universal human themes of life and death and the human relations of parent and child. Shohei Imamura paints a touching tale of the soul locked within the abyss of our hearts that humanity has always sought.

 

The Tokyo International Film Festival is a time for people around the world to enjoy their favourite medium together. It’s also a time for Japan to showcase their own famous movies as well as the art of kabuki to the rest of the world.

 

◼︎Information 
30th Tokyo International Film Festival
Dates: October 25, 2017 to November 3, 2017
Venues: Roppongi Hills (Minato-ku), EX Theater Roppongi, and elsewhere
Official Website: www.tiff-jp.net/ 
General tickets on sale from Saturday October 14th!
※Select tickets will be sold via a lottery system from the end of September.
For full details, please visit the official website.

 

30th Tokyo International Film Festival presents Kabukiza Special Night
Date: Thursday October 26th at 17:30
Program: Performance of “Otokodate Hana no Yoshiwara” (by Ichikawa Ebizo XI) + special screening of “Gate of Hell” (digitally restored in 4K)
Tickets: On sale from Friday September 22nd!
Price: Special A-Seat – ¥12,500 / A-Seat – ¥10,000 / B-Seat – ¥7,500 (tax incl.) *includes bento

 

【Buying Tickets】 
・Tickets via phone: https://www.shochiku.co.jp/play/ticket-p/  (*automated, so anyone from any country can call)
0570-000-489 or 03-6745-0888 (10:00-18:00)  
※Accepting from September 24th at 10am
※Tickets cannot be set aside and kept for a later date

・Tickets online: http://www.ticket-web-shochiku.com/pc/ (24/7 reception. Available at 10am from the first day of sales.)

RELATED ENTRIES

  • Utano Aoi to Star in Upcoming Film ‘Boku no Naka ni Saku Hanabi’

    31.August.2023 | MOVIE

    Actress Utano Aoi will star in the film Boku no Naka ni Saku Hanabi (The Fireworks That Blossom Within Me).

     

    The film is directed by Yuto Shimizu, who won the Best J. Horror Award at the Japan Film Festival Los Angeles 2022 at the young age of 20 for The Soloist. Set in his hometown of Gifu Prefecture, he penned the screenplay after being inspired by his own life experiences. This marks his first feature film as a director.

     

    After a painful incident, protagonist Minoru slowly begins to open up to his family and friends and gradually starts to accept his fear of death, deciding to live entirely in the present. The film focuses on the finite amount of time we have on this earth and Minoru’s knowing that even that nature around him will someday disappear, which is all the more reason to show love while you can. The heroine, Jyuri Mizuishi, is played by Utano Aoi.

     

    Crowdfunding for the film is currently underway.

    <Comment from Utano Aoi (Jyuri Mizuishi)>

    “Strength and weakness, harshness and gentleness…we must juggle these extremes in order to learn how to live in the midst of unfathomable loneliness and despair. I hope to show all sides of Akari with subtlety. I want to feel the sights, smells, people, and emotions of the city. At the moment, I can already feel the power that the cast and crew are bringing to the filmmaking process. I’m also looking forward to the emotional location. I’m so excited. Please look forward to the film!”

  • Nagomi Stars in tiit tokyo’s Short Film ‘ESCAPE’

    15.August.2023 | FASHION

    On August 10, the apparel brand tiit tokyo released a short film titled ESCAPE starring model and talent Nagomi.

     

    The film comes prior to tiit tokyo’s first solo pop-up shop at Shibuya PARCO, scheduled to open on August 24. The final scene of the film was filmed at Shibuya PARCO and features the location’s classic symbol–a neon ‘P.’

     

    The story follows a woman who lives a strictly controlled life who, after witnessing an incredible scene, begins planning her escape and a new beginning. Nagomi plays the main character, a female vampire.

    ESCAPE was written and directed by fashion event director and filmmaker Hajime Tsuda, who previously worked on the film Daughters. The creative director for tiit tokyo, Sho Iwata, served as fashion director.

       

    ESCAPE (Part One)

    *Part Two will be released on August 22

       
  • Sora Nomoto to Star in Upcoming Film ‘Fanfare’

    27.July.2023 | MOVIE

    Actress Sora Nomoto will star in the film Fanfare, set to premiere on November 17, 2023.   The film tells an emotionally-charged story as two women who have graduated from an idol group struggle to pursue new careers. Sora Nomoto will play the role of Rei Sudo, the former center of the idol group Fun☆Fare who left the group to pursue a career in fashion.   The film will be directed by Ryohei Yoshino, whose works include Spring Has Come (2015) and Eternally Younger Than Those Idiots(2021). The idol music, costumes, and choreography are all original to the film.   Crowdfunding is also underway to support the film's nationwide release.
  • Haruhi Ito to Appear in Rune Cinema’s Fourth Production ‘Matatakimade’

    14.July.2023 | MOVIE

    Actress Haruhi Ito will star in the upcoming film Matatakimade, which will be screened at Ikebukuro’s cinema rosa for one week only starting August 5.   The film is the fourth from the independent film production company Rune Cinema and follows Kazoku Awase, which received record attendance in 2019 despite its late-night run at cinema rosa. The company’s film Arano no Hate won three awards at the Kadoma International Film Festival in 2020, including Best Film, while Tooi Raimei appeared at numerous domestic and international film festivals and won Best Director at the 2022 Asian Film Festival. Matatakimade tells the story of a family through the events that take place in a single room in an apartment.   Ito will play the role of Chiho Matsui, a childhood friend of the main character Ami Tokita, a popular novelist.   <Comment from Haruhi Ito (Chiho Matsui)>

    “What is family? I’ve been thinking about that question since I read Matatakimade. Is it something ambiguous? Something solid, or corrupt, or something that’s warm and occasionally cold? I’ve thought about it so much, yet I haven’t found a complete answer. When you glimpse a family through a single telescope or a single book, I hope you’ll search for the answer too.”

     
     

    [Summary]

    Ami Tokita (Hitomi Maki), a popular novelist, is in the middle of dealing with a divorce settlement over custody of her only child, an elementary school student. One day, a mysterious man (Ryo Ikeda) appears at the apartment where she works, asking to rent a room for the night. Despite pushback from her editor, Reiko Iijima (Karin Nishina), Ami agrees to the man’s request out of curiosity. Strangely, the mysterious man intends to look through a telescope at the apartment building across the street. The next morning, Reiko casually peeks through the telescope left in her room, only to see a small child being abused. Ami’s best-selling novel, titled Snow, Moon and Flowers, tells the story of a young girl who was abused by her mother. Is what happened in the apartment across the street a coincidence? Or was it inevitable?

  • Gai Ueno to Star in Upcoming Film ‘Sensei! Kuchisake-onna desu!’

    12.May.2023 | MOVIE

    On July 7, the film Sensei! Kuchisake-onna desu!, starring Gai Ueno, will open in theaters.   The coming-of-age battle and horror film focuses on the unlikely relationship between an urban legend and a group of high school punks. After three punks steal a motorcycle, they realize that the owner of the bike is none other than a Kuchisake-onna–in Japanese folklore, this is an evil woman with her mouth slit from ear to ear. Gai Ueno plays the role of F1, a member of the high school gang and a hotwiring genius.

    <Comment from Gai Ueno (F1)>

    “I’m Gai Ueno, and I play the role of F1. Sensei! Kuchisake-onna desu! is truly a film that I want everyone to see. The characters are somehow cute and you’ll immediately love them–I’m confident that this is the cutest-ever Japanese film focused on high school delinquents. Even now, I wonder if I can personally get fired up and serious about the smallest things. Working on this movie reminded me to have the power to believe in myself. Please enjoy the movie and take the time to think back to your high school days! I’ll be waiting for you at the theater.”  

    <Comment from Director Yuu Nakamoto>

    “I guess it’s been about 10 years since I lived in Hiroshima, where I grew up. I’m really interested in motorcycles, and one day, I was just mindlessly driving along the country roads at night. Then, from the other side of the road, I heard a noise…and suddenly, there was a woman wearing a mask walking nearby. I had this intuition...I thought “she’s not from this world,” and in that moment, I lost consciousness. Before I knew it, I was here, directing this film. Hmm…strange, isn’t it?”   【STORY】 High school students Takeshi (Taisei Kido) and F1 (Gai Ueno) work part-time stealing motorcycles and selling them to a gang of delinquents for cash. One day, Ayaka (Reina Kurosaki) decides to join after transferring to the boy’s school, and business booms. While trying to steal a bike parked at a deserted apartment, the group is discovered by a masked woman who seems to be the motorcycle's owner. In a panic, Takeshi and his friends rush to escape but are quickly overtaken by the woman, who seems to have unbelievable physical abilities far beyond any other human. This woman running 100 meters in 6 seconds is actually the Kuchisake-onna, her mouth slit from ear to ear! What will happen to the group of high schoolers?! And just who is this Kuchisaka-onna?!
  • Fans Asked to Name Blimp Inspired by the Upcoming Film ‘Doraemon: Nobita’s Sky Utopia’

    20.January.2023 | ANIME&GAME / MOVIE

    The film Doraemon: Nobita’s Sky Utopia will be released on March 3, 2023. The 42nd Doraemon movie follows Doraemon, Nobita, and his friends as they venture off to find Utopia, a perfect land in the sky where everyone lines in joy and happiness. They do so using an airship with a time warp function on their adventure, and to commemorate the film’s release, the Flying Doraemon Project began on January 14. A real-life 17-meter-long Doraemon blimp will soon appear in the sky, and fans are being asked to decide on a name for the craft.   The blimp, inspired by the Doraemon movie, will feature popular characters including Nobita, Shizuka, Suneo, and Gian. The blimp is the largest unmanned airship in Japan.

    The message of the Flying Doraemon Project is to convey the feeling that in this day and age, children and adults alike can once again look upward and move forward toward their hopes and dreams.

     

    Fans are asked to contribute ideas for the blimps name during the application period. Check the website for more details!