KOKUHO

An unexpected box office sensation in Japan, KOKUHO is the long-gestating passion project of director Lee Sang-il, whose previous work is familiar with HIFF audiences like HULA GIRLS and the Japanese remake of UNFORGIVEN. Born from his 15-year fascination with kabuki and the onnagata tradition—men playing women on stage—Lee adapts Shūichi Yoshida’s serialized novel into an epic meditation on heritage, identity, and artistic devotion.

Set in Nagasaki in 1964, the film spans five turbulent decades and follows Kikuo, the teenage son of a slain yakuza boss. Taken in by a revered kabuki master, played with commanding gravitas by Ken Watanabe, Kikuo grows up alongside the master’s son and heir, Shunsuke. Their bond—part brotherhood, part rivalry—propels a story of ambition, sacrifice, scandal, and loyalty, culminating in the rise of a singular kokuho, or “national treasure.”

Ryo Yoshizawa delivers a transformative, fully embodied performance as Kikuo, trained over a year without doubles, while Ryusei Yokohama provides a dynamic counterpoint as Shunsuke. Through Lee’s lens, kabuki emerges as both exalted art form and ruthless business, steeped in lineage, hierarchy, and patriarchy.

Visually sumptuous and emotionally piercing, KOKUHO is a sweeping yet intimate saga of inheritance, reinvention, and the relentless pursuit of artistic greatness.

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