"A three-hour-long period drama about kabuki, a centuries-old form of Japanese theater, doesn't exactly sound like box office gold. But that's exactly what happened with Kokuho. Director Lee Sang-il's adaptation of the Shuichi Yoshida novel of the same name was a surprise hit last year, becoming Japan's top-grossing live-action film domestically. But star Ken Watanabe - a veteran actor known for Hollywood movies like Inception and Detective Pikachu - initially didn't think it was a good idea."
"'Don't do that,' he remembers telling Sang-il when he first pitched the idea. 'Kabuki is a very strict culture in Japan, and it's hard for a normal actor to play in a kabuki play.' Despite these reservations, it was a success, and now Kokuho has the chance to reach a wider audience, releasing in theaters across the US on February 20th."
Kokuho is a three-hour period drama centered on kabuki and directed by Lee Sang-il, adapted from Shuichi Yoshida's novel. The film became a surprise domestic hit and reached the status of Japan's top-grossing live-action film. Ken Watanabe plays legendary kabuki actor Hanjiro but initially resisted the role, expressing concern that kabuki's strict culture would not translate to film and that ordinary actors could not perform kabuki. The narrative follows two actors, including Kikuo Tachibana (Ryo Yoshizawa), an orphaned son of a yakuza boss who becomes Hanjiro's apprentice. The film expanded to US theaters on February 20th.
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