''Black Belt'' (2007), known as in Japan, is a Japanese film directed by

Shunichi Nagasaki is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Filmography Director * 1982 '' Yamiutsu shinzo'' a.k.a. ''Heart, Beating in the Dark'' *1988 '' Rock yo shizukani nagareyo'' *1988 '' Yojo no jidai'' *1989 '' Yuwakusha'' a.k.a. ''The Enchantmen ...

. It focuses mainly on the martial art of Karate. It is notable for excluding the usual exaggerations of the genre. The lead roles were played by karate experts, and no

special effects Special effects (often abbreviated as SFX, F/X or simply FX) are illusions or visual tricks used in the theatre, film, television, video game, amusement park and simulator industries to simulate the imagined events in a story or virtual wo ...

were used.

Plot

The events take place in 1932 in Japanese-occupied

Manchuria Manchuria is an exonym (derived from the endo demonym " Manchu") for a historical and geographic region in Northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day Northeast China (Inner Manchuria) and parts of the Russian Far East (Outer M ...

, in which the corrupt leaders of the Japanese army are trying to take over all the Karate dojos /training halls for their own benefit. The master Eiken Shibahara (Yosuke Natsuki), from one of these dojo located on the southernmost Japanese island of Kyushu, dies before passing on the Kuroobi/ black belt to his successor. Three of his pupils: Taikan (

Tatsuya Naka (born May 29, 1964 in Tokyo) is a Japanese master of Shotokan karate. He is a full-time instructor of the Japan Karate Association. He holds a 7th dan from JKA. He has also starred in films such as '' Kuro Obi'', '' High Kick Girl!'' and ''Kar ...

7th Dan JKA

Shotokan is a style of karate, developed from various martial arts by Gichin Funakoshi (1868–1957) and his son Gigo (Yoshitaka) Funakoshi (1906–1945). Gichin Funakoshi was born in Okinawa and is widely credited with popularizing "karate do" throug ...

karate), Giryu (Akihito Yagi 7th Dan

Meibukan {{short description, Style of karate Meibukan (明武舘) is a branch of Gōjū-ryū karate. It was created by Meitoku Yagi, a student of Gojyu-ryu's founder, Chojun Miyagi. Meibukan means "House of the pure-minded warrior." Yagi opened the first ...

Gōjū-ryū , Japanese for "hard-soft style", is one of the main traditional Okinawan styles of karate, featuring a combination of hard and soft techniques. Both principles, hard and soft, come from the famous martial arts book used by Okinawan masters du ...

Karate) and Choei (Yuji Suzuki, 1st Dan

Kyokushin is a style of karate originating in Japan. It is a style of stand-up fighting and is rooted in a philosophy of self-improvement, discipline, and hard training. Kyokushin Kaikan is the martial arts organization founded in 1964 by Korean-Jap ...

karate), have the task of deciding amongst themselves who deserves it most. After they bury their master, they are forced to leave the dojo and join the Japanese army. At this point, their journeys lead them on different paths both in life and in the understanding of their master's teachings of

martial art Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preserv ...

s. They are reunited in the end, to battle together against corruption and uphold tradition.

Cast

* Akihito Yagi - Giryu *

- Taikan * Yuji Suzuki - Choei *

Yosuke Natsuki was a Japanese actor. He had participated twice in the Dakar Rally as a racing driver. He did a lot of work for the Toho Company and made his debut in the film ''The H-Man''. He appeared in Akira Kurosawa's '' Yojimbo'' in 1961. In the same ye ...

- Sensei Eiken Shibahara * Fuyuhiko Nishi - Sensei Takaomi Togo * Shinya Owada - General Hidehisa Goda * Takayasu Komiya - Ohmoji * Hakuryu - Captain Kiichi Tanihara * Tarō Suwa - Kenkichi * Arashi Fukasawa - Kenta * Narumi Konno - Hana * Kimika Yoshino - Chiyo

References

External links

* 2007 films 2007 martial arts films 2000s Japanese-language films Karate films Japanese martial arts films Films set in Japan Films set in China Second Sino-Japanese War films Martial arts tournament films Films scored by Naoki Satō 2000s Japanese films {{martialart-film-stub