, also known as ''Once In a Blue Moon'' in Japan, is a 2011 Japanese comedy mystery film directed by

Kōki Mitani is a Japanese playwright, screenwriter, actor and film director and was previously married to Japanese actress Satomi Kobayashi. He was named after ''Taihō Kōki'', the youngest sumo wrestler to become yokozuna. He studied dramatics at Nihon ...

Plot

Emi Hosho, a third-rate lawyer without much of a future, is tasked with defending Goro Yabe, a man arrested for the murder of his wife. Without much hope of winning, Yabe proclaims his innocence, saying that he was under sleep paralysis at the time of the murder. Emi heads to the inn where Yabe stayed and encounters the ghost of fallen samurai Rokubei Sarashina, who claims he was the one holding Yabe in sleep paralysis. Rokubei is brought to the court as a witness. However, the prosecution denies the existence of the occult, asserting that Rokubei's testimony is inadmissible in court. So begins the struggle to prove Yabe's innocence.

Cast

Eri Fukatsu is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the 18th Yokohama Film Festival for '' Haru'' and the best actress award at the 2010 Montreal World Film Festival for her performance in ''Villain''. She also received acclaim for her r ...

- Emi Hosho (lawyer) *

Toshiyuki Nishida is a Japanese actor. He has won two Japanese Academy Awards for best actor, for '' The Silk Road'' (1988) and ''Tsuribaka Nisshi 6'' (1993). He has also won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor for '' Get Up!'' and '' Tsuribaka Nisshi 14'' (200 ...

- Rokubei Sarashina (fallen samurai) * Hiroshi Abe - Yu Hayami (lawyer) *

Kiichi Nakai is a Japanese actor. His name was given by Yasujirō Ozu. His father, Keiji Sada, also a movie actor, died when Nakai was only two years old. Nakai started his acting career while he was still in university and was awarded the Rookie of the Ye ...

- Tooru Osano (prosecutor) *

Yūko Takeuchi was a Japanese actress. She is known for her roles in television series ''Asuka'' (1999), ''Pride'' (2004), ''FlashForward'' (2009), and '' Miss Sherlock'' (2018) as well as films such as '' Ring'' (1998), '' Yomigaeri'' (2003), and ''Dog in a ...

- Suzuko Yabe (murder victim), Fuuko Hino (sister of the deceased) *

Tadanobu Asano , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor. He is known for his roles as Dragon Eye Morrison in ''Electric Dragon 80.000 V'', Kakihara in ''Ichi the Killer'', Mamoru Arita in '' Bright Future'', Hattori Genosuke in ''Zatoichi'', Kenj ...

- Kenichi Kido (historian, Rokubei's descendant) *

Tsuyoshi Kusanagi is a Japanese actor, singer, television host, and a former member of SMAP, one of the best-selling boy bands in Asia. Early life Kusanagi grew up in Kasukabe, Saitama, Japan. Career Music In 1987, at age 13, Kusanagi auditioned to enter John ...

- Teruo Hosho (Emi's father) *

Fumiyo Kohinata is a Japanese actor. Filmography Film * '' Begging for Love'' (1998) * '' Give It All'' (1998) * '' Ring 2'' (1999) - Dr. Kawajiri * '' Audition'' (1999) - Television producer * ''Minna no Ie'' (2001) * '' Turn'' (2001) * '' Dark Water'' (2002 ...

- Jouji Danda

References

External links

* - * 2010s comedy mystery films 2011 films Films directed by Kōki Mitani Films with screenplays by Kôki Mitani Films produced by Kazutoshi Wadakura Japanese comedy mystery films Japanese courtroom films 2010s Japanese films 2010s Japanese-language films {{2010s-comedy-film-stub