©Courtesy of Toho

The Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan has chosen Kokuho, a film that depicts a Japanese traditional theater (“Kabuki”), to represent the country in the Best International Feature Film category at the Academy Awards next year.

Nine Japanese films were submitted to be taken into consideration for the international category. The life and career of a Kabuki performer are depicted in Kokuho, which stands for ‘national treasure’.

Based on a 2018 novel by Yoshida Shuichi, the film follows a Kabuki performer as he is born into a yakuza family and later adopted by a Kabuki actor. He later dedicates his life to the stage and ultimately seeks to achieve recognition as a living national treasure.

Set initially in 1964 Nagasaki, the film follows 14-year-old Kikuo who, after his yakuza father’s death, finds himself taken under the wing of a famous Kabuki actor. Alongside the actor’s son Shunsuke, Kikuo dedicates himself to the centuries-old theatrical tradition, with their relationship evolving through decades of performances — from acting school to prestigious stages — against a backdrop of “scandals and glory, brotherhood and betrayals.”

Lee Sang-il directed Kokuho, which stars Ryo Yoshizawa, Ken Watanabe, Ryusei Yokohama, Mitsuki Takahata, Shinobu Terajima, and Min Tanaka.

Since June, Kokuho has made a huge splash at the box office in Japan, with ticket sales topping 10 billion yen ($68 million), making it the second-highest-grossing Japanese live-action film.

At the Cannes Film Festival this year, the film was presented in the Directors’ Fortnight section. In 2022, Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Drive My Car” from Japan won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film.