is a 1977 Japanese film directed by

Shirō Moritani was a film director and screenwriter from Japan. Born in Tokyo, he debuted as an assistant director in Akira Kurosawa's 1961 film ''Yojimbo''. His film '' Mount Hakkoda'' won Mainichi Film Award for Excellence Film in 1978. Filmography As ...

. Based on the novelist

Jirō Nitta is the pen name of popular Japanese historical novelist . He was born in an area that is now part of the city of Suwa, Nagano Prefecture, Japan.

's recounting of the

Hakkōda Mountains incident The occurred on January 23, 1902, when a group of Imperial Japanese Army soldiers became lost in a blizzard on the Hakkōda Mountains in Aomori Prefecture in northern Honshu, Japan, en route to Tashiro Hot Spring located in the Hakkōda Mountain ...

, the film tells the story of two infantry regiments of the

Imperial Japanese Army The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...

, consisting of 210 men, that tried to traverse the

Hakkōda Mountains The are an active volcanic complex in south-central Aomori Prefecture, Japan, in Towada-Hachimantai National Park. Often called or simply , the mountains are collectively listed as one of the 100 Famous Japanese Mountains. Its highest peak, ...

in the winter of 1902, in preparation for the anticipated

Russo-Japanese War The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...

. The film was Japan's submission to the

50th Academy Awards The 50th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1977 and took place on April 3, 1978, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 7:00 p.m. PST ...

for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

, but was not accepted as a nominee.

Cast

Ken Takakura , born , was a Japanese actor and singer who appeared in over 200 films. Affectionately referred to as "Ken-san" by audiences, he was best known for his brooding style and the stoic presence he brought to his roles. He won the Japan Academy Prize ...

as Captain Tokushima (徳島) *

Kin'ya Kitaōji is a Japanese actor. Biography Early life He was born in Kyoto, son of ''jidaigeki'' film star Ichikawa Utaemon, and graduated from Waseda University School of Letters, Arts and Sciences II in Tokyo. Acting career Kin'ya made his debut with ...

as Captain Kanda (神田) *

Yūzō Kayama is a Japanese popular musician, singer-songwriter and actor. Life and career Son of mid-twentieth century film star Ken Uehara,and actress Yoko Kozakura, ( ja) Kayama graduated from Keio University. Yuzo Kayama signed with Toho and made hi ...

as Captain Kurata (倉田) *

Rentarō Mikuni (also sometimes credited as 三国連太郎) (January 20, 1923 – April 14, 2013) was a Japanese film actor from Gunma Prefecture. He appeared in over 150 films since making his screen debut in 1951, and won three Japanese Academy Awards for ...

as Major Yamada (山田) *

Komaki Kurihara is a Japanese stage and film actress. She has appeared in 30 films since 1967. She starred in the 1974 film ''Sandakan No. 8'', which was entered into the 25th Berlin International Film Festival. In 1975 she was a member of the jury at the 9th ...

as Hatsuko Kanda (Captain Kanda's wife) *

Hideji Otaki Hideji (written: 秀治, 秀司 or ひで次) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese writer and playwright *, Japanese baseball player *, Japanese manga artist *, Japanese actor {{given name Japane ...

as Colonel Nakabayashi (中林) * Shōgo Shimada as General Tomoda, commander of the 4th Brigade (友田) *

Akira Hamada Akira may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Akira'' (franchise), a Japanese cyberpunk franchise ** ''Akira'' (manga), a 1980s cyberpunk manga by Katsuhiro Otomo ** ''Akira'' (1988 film), an anime film adaptation of the manga ** ''Akira'' (vide ...

as Lieutenant Tanabe (田辺) *

Mariko Kaga is a Japanese actress. Career Scouted in Shibuya, Kaga starred in the television drama ''Yonjū hassai no teikō'' in 1962. She became known for playing femme fatale characters in films such as '' Pale Flower'' and ''Getsuyōbi no Yuka''. She w ...

as Taeko Tokushima (Captain Tokushima's wife) *

Kenichi Kato is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Ken'ichi can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *賢一, "wise, one" *健一, "healthy, one" *憲一, "constitution, one" *謙一, "humble, one" *建一, "build, one" * ...

as Sublieutenant Takahata (高畑) * Ren Ebata as Apprentice Officer Funayama (船山) *

Gin Maeda (born February 21, 1944) is a Japanese actor. He had a regular role in the ''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' films, beginning with the first in the series (1969), as Sakura's husband. Filmography Film *''Otoko wa Tsurai yo'' series (1969–2019), Hiroshi S ...

as Corporal Saitō (斎藤) *

Kin Sugai (28 February 1926 – 10 August 2018) was a Japanese actress. She won the award for best supporting actress at the 9th Hochi Film Award for '' The Funeral''. Sugai is famous for her role as Sen Nakamura in the jidaigeki drama Hissatsu series. Sh ...

as Saitō's mother *

Ben Hiura is a Japanese actor and voice actor affiliated with the Seinenza Theater Company. Hiura is known for dubbing over Bruce Willis, Richard Dreyfuss, John Malkovich, Joe Pesci and many more. Filmography Films *''Goyokin'' (1969) – Rokuzo *'' Fuji ...

as Satō (佐藤) *

Kumiko Akiyoshi (born July 29, 1954), better known as , is a Japanese actress. She won the award for best actress at the 1st Hochi Film Award for ''Banka'', ''Saraba natsuno hikariyo'' and '' Brother and Sister''. Filmography Films * '' Tabi no omosa'' (19 ...

as Takiguchi Sawa, a local mountain guide from Utarube village (滝口さわ) * Hanasawa Tokue as Takiguchi Denzō, Utarube villager and adoptive father of Sawa (滝口伝蔵) * Yoshi Kato as Saemon, chief of Tamogino village (作右衛門) *

Jun Tazaki , born Minoru Tanaka, was a Japanese actor best known for his various roles in kaiju films produced by Toho, often portraying scientists or military personnel. Career Tanaka began his career as a traveling stage actor in the 1930s, perform ...

as Sadao Suzuki, master of the Sanbongi relay station (鈴木貞雄) *

Isao Tamagawa was a Japanese actor. He appeared in the Japanese film ''Branded to Kill'', as Michihiko Yabuhara: the yakuza boss that hires Hanada and seduces his wife. Upon the discovery that his diamond smuggling operation has been burgled, he employs Hanada ...

as Captain Okitsu (沖津) *

Takuya Fujioka was a Japanese actor. He is most famous for playing the role of Daikichi Okakura on the television drama series '' Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari''. Fujioka attended Kwansei Gakuin University but dropped out because of illness. His first starring r ...

as Major Monma, commander of the 1st Battalion (門間) *

Shigeru Koyama Shigeru (written: , , , in hiragana or in katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, a Japanese architect *, a Japanese voice actor *, Japanese karateka *, Japanese sport wrestler *, Japanese socialist ...

as Major Kinomiya, officer at the regimental headquarters (木宮) *

Katsutoshi Arata Katsutoshi (written: 勝敏, 勝利, 勝俊, 勝年 or 克俊) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese footballer *, Japanese sumo wrestler *, Japanese politician *, Japanese ice hockey player *, Japan ...

as Eto (江藤) * Michihiro Yamanishi as Noguchi (野口) *

Kensaku Morita is a Japanese politician, actor and singer. He was elected as the Governor of Chiba Prefecture in March 2009 to April 2021『』からリンクする知事選挙「開票結果」（Excelファイル）千葉県選挙管理委員会による知� ...

as Sublieutenant Mikami (三上) * Kohei Takayama as Apprentice Officer Nagao (長尾) *

Keiju Kobayashi was a Japanese actor who appeared in 253 films in a career spanning 67 years. Born in Gunma Prefecture, he began acting at the Nikkatsu studio after dropping out of Nihon University and made his film debut in 1942. In 1956 he moved to Toho film ...

as Commander Tsumura (津村) *

Ken Ogata , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor. Life Ogata was born in Tokyo, Japan. Ogata is well known for his roles in Peter Greenaway's ''The Pillow Book'', Paul Schrader's '' Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters'' and Shohei Imamura's ...

as Corporal Murayama (村山) *

Tetsurō Tamba was a Japanese actor with a career spanning five decades. He is best known in the West for his role in the 1967 James Bond film '' You Only Live Twice'' as Tiger Tanaka. Biography Tamba had a part-time job as an interpreter at Supreme Commande ...

as Colonel Kojima (小島) * Funahashi Saburō as Saikai Yūjirō, a war correspondent for the Tō-Ō Nippō (西海勇次郎)

References

External links

* * 1977 films 1970s Japanese-language films Films scored by Yasushi Akutagawa Films set in the Meiji period 1970s Japanese films {{1970s-Japan-film-stub

Cast

See also

References

External links