Contemporary Japanese Cinema
Zen’in Seppuku
Dir. Toyoda Toshiaki
Japan 2021, 26’
Subtitles: Polish & English
Completing Toshiaki Toyoda’s politically urgent Resurrection Trilogy following Wolf’s Calling and The Day of Destruction, this electrifying short follows a man tasked with assisting in the ritual suicide of a samurai who won’t die without condemning the corrupt powers that be.
Born in Osaka Prefecture, Toyoda was first a prodigy in the game of shogi or Japanese chess. He attended the Japan Shogi Association's apprenticeship (Shōreikai) from age 9 with the aim of becoming a professional player. But his interest turned to film and he quit when he was 17. Moving to Tokyo at age 21, he began working with producer Genjirō Arato and director Junji Sakamoto, assisting the latter on the shogi-related film Ōte, for which he helped pen the script. He debuted as a director with the film Pornostar in 1999, a film that earned him the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award. His career continued to rise through films like Blue Spring and 9 Souls, but he suffered a setback when he was arrested on drug charges just before Hanging Garden was released in 2005. He resumed directing with the 2009 film The Blood of Rebirth.
Filmography
2000 Unchain
2009 Yomigaeri no chi
2012 I'm Flash!
2019 Wolf's Calling (Short)
Cast & Crew
Director: Toyoda Toshiaki
Screenplay: Toshiaki Toyoda
Cinematography: Maki Kenji
Music: Mars89, Nakagome Kena, Pistols Seppuku, Sumiyoshi Yuta
Costume Design: Masae Miyamoto
Cast: Kubozuka Yōsuke, Shibukawa Kiyohiko
Producer: Toyoda Toshiaki, Muraoka Shinichiro
Production: Toyoda Films
Language: Japanese
Colouration: Colour
