is a 1990

Japanese film The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world; as of 2021, it was the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. In 2011 Japan produced 411 feature films that ea ...

, directed by

Haruki Kadokawa is a Japanese publisher, film producer, director and screenwriter. He was the son of Genyoshi Kadokawa and inherited the position of president of the publishing house Kadokawa Shoten in 1975. Under his guidance, the company soon branched into film ...

and starring

Takaaki Enoki is a Japanese actor and artist from Isa District, Kagoshima. He is known for his role as private detective Mitsuhiko Asami in the ''Asami Mitsuhiko Series''. He attended Musashino Art University but left before graduating and joined the Shiki The ...

Tsugawa Masahiko , born Masahiko Katō (加藤雅彦 ''Katō Masahiko''; January 2, 1940 – August 4, 2018) was a Japanese actor and director. Career Tsugawa was born January 2, 1940, in Kyoto, Japan. After acting as a child, he made his major debut at the age ...

Asano Atsuko is a Japanese actress.
, sponichi.co.jp; accessed September 3, 2015. Upon marrying Tsutomu Uozumi, a reputed ...

Zaizen Naomi is a Japanese actress. Filmography Films * (1989) * (1989) * '' Heaven and Earth'' (1990) * ''Best Guy'' (1990) * * (1991) * (1993) * (1994) * (1995) * (1997) * (1998) * ''Avalon'' (2001) * '' Ouran High School Host Club'' (2012) * ...

and Nomura Hironobu. The film was released in Japan in June 1990, and an English version was released in North America in 1991.

Ken Watanabe is a Japanese actor. To English-speaking audiences, he is known for playing tragic hero characters, such as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi in '' Letters from Iwo Jima'' and Lord Katsumoto Moritsugu in ''The Last Samurai'', for which he was nomi ...

was originally cast in the role of Kenshin but had to pull out due to his severe illness.

Plot

Set in feudal

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, the ''

daimyō were powerful Japanese magnates, feudal lords who, from the 10th century to the early Meiji era, Meiji period in the middle 19th century, ruled most of Japan from their vast, hereditary land holdings. They were subordinate to the shogun and n ...

'' Kagetora (Enoki) must protect his lands and his people from the ambitions of the

warlord A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

Takeda (Tsugawa). Kagetora is also known as

Uesugi Kenshin , later known as was a Japanese ''daimyō''. He was born in Nagao clan, and after adoption into the Uesugi clan, ruled Echigo Province in the Sengoku period of Japan. He was one of the most powerful ''daimyō'' of the Sengoku period. Known as ...

. In the film, Kagetora must defend his province of Echigo against

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...

. The famous battles include the

Battle of Kawanakajima The were a series of battles fought in the Sengoku period of Japan between Takeda Shingen of Kai Province and Uesugi Kenshin of Echigo Province from 1553 to 1564. Shingen and Kenshin contested each other for control of the plain of Kawanakaj ...

Cast

Masahiko Tsugawa , born Masahiko Katō (加藤雅彦 ''Katō Masahiko''; January 2, 1940 – August 4, 2018) was a Japanese actor and director. Career Tsugawa was born January 2, 1940, in Kyoto, Japan. After acting as a child, he made his major debut at the age o ...

Atsuko Asano is a Japanese actress.
, sponichi.co.jp; accessed September 3, 2015. Upon marrying Tsutomu Uozumi, a reputed ...

as Nami *

Naomi Zaizen is a Japanese actress. Filmography Films * (1989) * (1989) * '' Heaven and Earth'' (1990) * '' Best Guy'' (1990) * * (1991) * (1993) * (1994) * (1995) * (1997) * (1998) * ''Avalon'' (2001) * ''Ouran High School Host Club'' (2012) * ...

as Yae * Hironobu Nomura as Takeda "Tarō" Yoshinobu *

Taro Ishida Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afric ...

Takeda Nobushige was a samurai of Japan's Sengoku period, and younger brother of Takeda Shingen. He was known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen". Takeda Nobushige held the favor of their father, and was meant to inherit the Takeda lands, we ...

*Binpachi Itō as

Kakizaki Kageie was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, who served the Uesugi clan of Echigo Province. He was one of the most important and well known generals of Uesugi Kenshin. He earned a reputation for being extremely ferocious warrior like Kato Kiyom ...

*Akira Hamada as

Naoe Kagetsuna (1509–1577) was an officer under the Uesugi clan in historic Japan.

*Hiroyuki Okita as Kōsaka Danjō *

Hideo Murota was a Japanese actor who specialized in playing villains and tough guys. In 1957, he signed a contract with Toei Studio and appeared in over 1000 films. He won the Best Supporting Actor award at the Yokohama Film Festival for his role in ''Shin ...

Obu Toramasa , known as the "Wild Tiger of Kai", was a Japanese samurai of the Sengoku period, who served the Takeda clan. He was known as one of the "Twenty-Four Generals of Takeda Shingen".Inoue, Yasushi. (2006) ''The Samurai banner of Furin Kazan,'' p. 7 Hi ...

Isao Natsuyagi was a Japanese film actor. He appeared in more than 100 films from 1963 to 2013. Career In 1960, Natsuyagi began attending the Bungakuza actors school while attending Keio University. He eventually left Keio before graduating and entered the H ...

as Yamamoto Kansuke *

Tsunehiko Watase (July 28, 1944 – March 14, 2017) was a Japanese actor known for portraying Rintaro Kano in ''Keishicho Sosa Ikka 9 Gakari'' ("Homicide Team 9"). He won the award for best supporting actor at the 2nd Japan Academy Prize for '' The Incident'' an ...

as Usami Sadayuki *

Morio Kazama is a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 2nd Yokohama Film Festival for ''Shiki Natsuko'' and ''Yūgure made'' and at the 6th and 7th Japan Academy Prizes. Filmography Films * ''Wanpaku Ōji no Orochi Taiji'' (1963 ...

Masatō Ibu is a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is sometimes credited as Masato Eve. Filmography Films * ''Love Hotel'' (1985) *''Maison Ikkoku'' (1986) *''Empire of the Sun'' (1987) – Sgt. Nagata *'' Sukeban Deka'' (1987) *'' Toki o Kakeru Shōj ...

Kyōko Kishida was a Japanese actress, voice actress, and writer of children's books. Career Kishida became an actress in 1950, and starred in a Yukio Mishima production of the 1960 film '' Salome''. Her film and television drama credits number in the hundreds ...

Hideji Ōtaki was a Japanese actor. He has served as President of the Mingei Theatre Company. Career After serving in World War II, he became interested in the theater and helped found the Gekidan Mingei troupe in 1950. He gained fame for his television work ...

Tomomichi Nishimura is a Japanese actor, voice actor and narrator who works for Arts Vision. He is most known for the roles of the Narrator of ''YuYu Hakusho'', Tsuchikage Ohnoki (''Naruto''), Mitsuyoshi Anzai (''Slam Dunk''), Shibaraku Tsurugibe (''Mashin Hero ...

as Narrator

Production

''Heaven and Earth'' was the most expensive Japanese production at the time with a budget of $40 million. The film was shot largely in Canada and was in production for a year and featured 1,000 horses and 3,000 extras.

Reception

In Japan, ''Heaven and Earth'' had sold tickets in pre-sales prior to release. It opened on 23 June 1990 on 215 screens in Japan and grossed $8.4 million, one of the largest openings in Japan at the time. It became the number-one Japanese film on the domestic market in 1990, earning ¥5.05 billion in

distributor rental A box office or ticket office is a place where ticket (admission), tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through a hole in a wall or window, or at a Wicket gate, wicke ...

income and in gross receipts. In the United States, the film grossed $307,775.

References

External links

* 1990 films 1990s historical adventure films 1990s Japanese-language films Jidaigeki films Samurai films Films with screenplays by James Miki Toei Company films War epic films Cultural depictions of Uesugi Kenshin Cultural depictions of Takeda Shingen 1990s English-language films 1990s Japanese films {{1990s-Japan-film-stub