Contemporary Japanese Cinema
Noroshi Ga Yobu
Dir. Toyoda Toshiaki
Japan 2019, 16’
Subtitles: No dialogues
After director Toyoda Toshiaki was arrested in April 2019 for unlawful possession of a handgun (which was actually a familial keepsake) and eventually released without charge, he responded with this 16-minute period drama based on his experience. A girl finds an old handgun in her attic and the symbolic object conjures a mystical scene of samurai (a stellar cast of actors joined by the 20-person Edo punk band Seppuku Pistols, who also provide the soundtrack) gathering within the moss-grown location of Kasosan Shrine in Tochigi Prefecture.
Toyoda Toshiaki
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!
2020 Go Seppuku Yourselves (Short)
Cast & Crew
Director: Toyoda Toshiaki
Screenplay: Toyoda Toshiaki
Cinematography: Kasamatsu Norimichi
Editing: Toyoda Toshiaki
Music: Seppuku Pistols
Costume Design: Miyamoto Masae
Cast: Shibukawa Kiyohiko, Asano Tadanobu, Matsuda Ryūhei, Kora Kengo, Nakamura Tatsuya, Seppuku Pistos
Producer: Toyoda Toshiaki
Production: Imagination
Language: No linguistic content
Colouration: Colour
