is a

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

historical History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

directed by

Kinji Fukasaku was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Known for his "broad range and innovative filmmaking," Fukasaku worked in many different genres and styles, but was best known for his gritty yakuza films, typified by the ''Battles Without Honor ...

. It is an adaptation of the 1913 Japanese short story " Abe ichizoku" by

Mori Ōgai Lieutenant-General , known by his pen name , was a Japanese Army Surgeon general officer, translator, novelist, poet and father of famed author Mari Mori. He obtained his medical license at a very young age and introduced translated German lan ...

, which had previously been adapted into a 1938 theatrical film directed by

Hisatora Kumagai was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Selected filmography * 1932 ''Dōinrei, Mobilization Orders'' (lost) * 1936 ''Takuboku, Poet of Passion'' * 1936 ''Many People'' * 1938 ''The Abe Clan (1938 film), The Abe Clan'' References Exter ...

and released by

Toho is a Japanese film, theatre production and distribution company. It has its headquarters in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. Outside of Japan, it is best known as the producer an ...

Plot

The film is set during the

Tokugawa period The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional ''daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characterize ...

. Hosokawa Tadatoshi, feudal lord of the Higo Province., falls ill in the spring of the 18th year of the

Kan'ei was a after ''Genna'' and before ''Shōhō.'' This period spanned the years from February 1624 through December 1644. The reigning emperors and empress were , and .Titsingh, Isaac. (1834) ''Annales des empereurs du japon'', p. 411./ref> Chang ...

era. Tadatoshi and his son Mitsunao both forbid Tadatoshi's vassals from committing

seppuku , sometimes referred to as hara-kiri (, , a native Japanese kun reading), is a form of Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. It was originally reserved for samurai in their code of honour but was also practised by other Japanese people ...

, yet after Tadatoshi's death his vassals one by one commit junshu loyalty suicide out of a sense of duty to their lord. The only one who obeys his lord's last wish is Abe Yaichi'emon. After he is treated as a coward by his comrades he also commits seppuku to honor his family. Mitsunao, who has succeeded his father and is now the new feudal lord, punishes the Abe clan for Yaichi'emon's failure to obey this order. The Abe clan shuts itself up in its manor in protest of the unfair treatment as Mituano's troops approach.

Cast

Tsutomu Yamazaki is a Japanese actor. He won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor in 1984 for '' The Funeral'' and '' Farewell to the Ark''. Yamazaki is well known for his role "Nenbutsu no Tetsu" on the television jidaigeki '' Hissatsu Shiokinin'' and ''Shin Hi ...

as Abe Yaichi'emon * Kōichi Satō as Abe Yagobei *

Hiroyuki Sanada is a Japanese actor and martial artist. He is best known to international audiences for his roles as Genbu in ''Ninja in the Dragon's Den'' (1982), Ryuji Takayama in ''Ring'' (1998), Seibei Iguchi in ''The Twilight Samurai'' (2002), Ujio in ''T ...

as Matashichirō *

Yumi Asō , better known by the stage name , is a Japanese actress. She is a niece of singer Chiyo Okumura. She married actor in March 2004, and they had one child. The couple separated less than two years later, and officially divorced in 2008. Biography ...

as Tae *

Mariko Fuji Mariko may refer to: Places * Mariko-juku (鞠子宿), a post station along the Tōkaidō * Mariko, Mali * Mariko (crater), an impact crater on Venus People * MC Mariko (Mari Pajalahti, born 1979), Finnish music group Kwan * Bourama Mariko (born ...

as O'ichi *

Renji Ishibashi , born is a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 15th Hochi Film Award for '' Rōnin-gai''. Filmography Film Television Video game * '' Yakuza: Dead Souls'' - Oyassan References External links * Renji Ishib ...

as Hayashi Geki *

Keizō Kanie was a Japanese actor. He won the award for best supporting actor at the 1st Yokohama Film Festival for '' Angel Guts: Red Classroom'' and '' Jūkyūsai no Chizu'' and at the 12th Yokohama Film Festival for '' Ware ni utsu yoi ari'' and ''Boku to ...

as Abe Gonbei *

Noboru Nakaya Noboru (written: , , , , in hiragana or katakana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, official in the government of Japan's Okinawa Prefecture *, former professional sumo wrestler and current politician fr ...

as Hosokawa Tadatoshi *

Tetta Sugimoto is a Japanese actor. Career Sugimoto was first a member of a rock band before he debuted as an actor in 1983 in the film ''Hakujasho''. For that film, he won a Japan Academy Prize best newcomer award. In addition to his work in film, he has als ...

as Takeuchi Kazuma

Production

The film is a television film adaptation of the 1913 short story " Abe ichizoku" by

(translated into English under the titles "The Abe Family" as well as "The Abe Clan"), which was inspired by the

junshi refers to the medieval Japanese act of vassals committing seppuku (a voluntary suicide) for the death of their lord. Originally it was only performed when the lord was slain in battle or murdered. Background The practice is described by Chines ...

loyalty suicides committed by

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 ...

hero General

Nogi Maresuke Count , also known as Kiten, Count Nogi (December 25, 1849September 13, 1912), was a Japanese general in the Imperial Japanese Army and a governor-general of Taiwan. He was one of the commanders during the 1894 capture of Port Arthur from Chin ...

and his wife on the day of the funeral of

Emperor Meiji , also called or , was the 122nd emperor of Japan according to the traditional order of succession. Reigning from 13 February 1867 to his death, he was the first monarch of the Empire of Japan and presided over the Meiji era. He was the figur ...

. The short story had previously been adapted as a 1938 theatrical film directed by Kumagai Hisatora and released by

, followed by three television adaptations broadcast in 1959, 1961, and 1993 before Fukasaku's production. Filming took place in 2003.

Broadcast

The television film was broadcast in Japan on the

Fuji Television JOCX-DTV (channel 8), branded as and colloquially known as CX, is a Japanese television station based in Odaiba today is a large artificial island in Tokyo Bay, Japan, across the Rainbow Bridge from central Tokyo. Odaiba was initially b ...

show ''Friday Entertainment'' at 9:00 p.m. on November 24, 1995.

Video release

The film was released on Region 1 DVD as part of the four-DVD collection ''深作欣二監督シリーズ1'' (''Fukasaku Kinji Works Vol.1'') on Aug 23, 2003. The film was released on DVD in Japan by Japan Video Distribution (JVD) Co. Ltd. on January 24, 2004. A Director's Cut is available. The film is available from the library of the

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

, where it is recommended viewing for a lecture on Mori Ōgai within the Seminar for East Asian Studies. The Director's Cut of the film is available in the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...

library.

Reception

The film was shown as part of the Historica Focus category for period films at the 7th Kyoto Historica International Film Festival, which described the film as "A true tragedy that happened within the Hosokawa clan during the early Edo era. The film captures various human reactions and the subtleties of the samurai's code. Director Kinji Fukasaku takes on the megaphone to turn Mori Ogai's historical novel into a piece of period entertainment. Tsutomu Yamazaki, Keizo Kanie and Koichi Sato take on the role to play out the tragedy of a vassal struggling to serve loyalty at the death of his lord. A masterpiece with a luxurious cast of veterans including Noboru Nakaya, Hiroyuki Sanada and Renji Ishibashi."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abe Clan, The 1995 television films 1995 films Japanese television films 1990s Japanese films 1990s historical drama films Japanese historical drama films 1990s Japanese-language films Films directed by Kinji Fukasaku Jidaigeki films Films set in the 1640s Samurai films Films set in Kumamoto Prefecture Films about suicide Films based on short fiction