Bushi no ichibun (2006)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Yôji Yamada

Writers:

Shûhei Fujisawa (novel)
Yôji Yamada (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

2 November 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

A look at the relationship between a young blind samurai (Kimura) and his wife, who will make a sacrifice in order to defend her husband's honor.

Plot Keywords:

Being Followed | Based On Novel

Awards:

12 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Takuya Kimura	...	Shinnojo Mimura
Rei Dan	...	Kayo Mimura
Mitsugoro Bando	...	Toya Shimada
Takashi Sasano	...	Tokuhei
Kaori Momoi	...	Ine Hatano
Nenji Kobayashi	...	Sakunosuke Higuchi
Ken Ogata	...	Shinnojo's fencing instructor
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Makoto Akatsuka
Toshiki Ayata	...	Kanjuro Takigawa
Yasuo Daichi
Tokie Hidari
Koen Kondo
Nobuto Okamoto	...	Togo Hatano
Hiroko Tai

Directed by
Yôji Yamada

Writing credits
Shûhei Fujisawa		(novel)
Yôji Yamada		(written by) and
Emiko Hiramatsu		(written by) &
Ichirô Yamamoto		(written by)

Produced by
Hiroshi Fukazawa	....	producer
Junichi Sakomoto	....	executive producer
Ichirô Yamamoto	....	producer

Original Music by
Isao Tomita

Art Direction by
Naomi Koike		(principal art director)

Music Department
Isao Tomita	....	conductor

Production Companies

• Bushi no Ichibun Seisaku Iinkai
• Shochiku Kinema Kenkyû-jo

Distributors

• Bigger Picture, The (2007) (USA) (theatrical) (limited release)
• Eleven Arts (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• FUNimation Entertainment (2007) (USA) (theatrical) (subtitled)
• Golden Village Entertainment (2007) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• ImaginAsian Pictures (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Odeon (2007) (Greece) (theatrical)
• Shochiku Company (2007) (Japan) (theatrical)
• trigon-film (2007) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• trigon-film (2008) (Austria) (theatrical)
• trigon-film (2008) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Celestial Pictures (2007) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Madman Entertainment (2007) (Australia) (DVD)
• Notro Films (2007) (Spain) (all media)
• Shochiku Home Video (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• trigon-film (2008) (Germany) (DVD)
• trigon-film (2008) (Switzerland) (DVD) (special edition)

Other Companies

• Hoei Sangyo Co. Ltd.  film supplied by
• Tokyo Laboratory Co. Ltd.  digital intermediate
• Warp Station Edo  exterior sets

Also Known As:

Love and Honor (International: English title)

Runtime:

Germany:121 min (Berlin International Film Festival)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Hong Kong:IIA | Singapore:PG | Australia:M (2007) | USA:PG-13 | Switzerland:7 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12

Filming Locations:

Osaka, Japan

Company:

Bushi no Ichibun Seisaku Iinkai

Movie Connections:

Follows Kakushi ken oni no tsume (2004)

Better not to know?

Do we need to know everything? Would our lives be better if there were certain things we didn't know? These are matters addressed in this story of a samurai family and life in feudal Japan. It was the duty of certain lower level samurai to taste the food before serving it to the lord of the clan in case it might be poisoned. When Shinnojo Mimura, one of the food tasters, eats some tainted sashimi of an off-season shellfish, he falls ill. After a period of unconsciousness, he awakes to find that he is unable to see. At first, he tries to hide the fact from his deeply loyal wife, Kayo, for fear of worrying her. When she understands that, she protests that she is his wife and it is her duty to worry for her husband. However, when she learns from the doctor, who has withheld the truth from his patient, that this blindness is permanent, she also avoids telling her husband, in order to spare his feelings. There are certain truths that are better for us not to confront. Gossip, however, is another matter. When Mimura's busybody aunt comes with news that Kayo has been seen in the company of another man, he throws the aunt out of the house, but he is left with doubts. Is such a thing true about his loving wife? Mimura decides it is something he must know, regardless of consequences, so he sends his servant to follow her and report back to him. The rest of the film deals with what must be done in order to restore honor. It is a fascinating look at life, duty and honor during the samurai era and well worth watching. Takuya Kimura (Mimura), Rei Dan (Kayo) and Takashi Sasano, the loyal but sometimes confounded servant, all give memorable performances.