is a

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; " Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discover ...

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

Seijun Suzuki , born (24 May 1923 – 13 February 2017), was a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are known for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility. He made 40 predo ...

. The "raccoon" of the English title is actually a translation for the

tanuki Tanuki may refer to: *Japanese raccoon dog (''Nyctereutes viverrinus'' or ''Nyctereutes procyonoides viverrinus''), a mammal native to Japan *Bake-danuki, a type of spirit (yōkai) in Japanese mythology that appears in the form of the mammal *A de ...

or Japanese raccoon-dog. It is a love story set in the musical genre and stars

Zhang Ziyi Zhang Ziyi (; ; born 9 February 1979) is a Chinese actress and model. She is regarded as one of the Four Dan Actresses of China. Her first major role was in '' The Road Home'' (1999). She later gained international recognition for her role in ...

as a tanuki princess and

Joe Odagiri , better known by his stage name , is a Japanese actor and musician. Personal life Joe Odagiri was born in Tsuyama, Okayama prefecture. Though he was accepted by Kochi University, he turned it down for an opportunity to study in the United States ...

as the banished prince she falls in love with. The film premiered at the

2005 Cannes Film Festival The 58th Cannes Film Festival started on 11 May and ran until 22 May 2005. Twenty movies from 13 countries were selected to compete. The awards were announced on 21 May. The Palme d'Or went to the Belgian film '' L'Enfant'' by Dardenne brothers. ...

Plot

The Lord of Castle Grace, Azuchi Momoyama ( Mikijiro Hira), is used to ask a prophetess ( Saori Yuki) to confirm he is the fairest of all living things. On one occasion, the prophetess reveals that his son Prince Amechiyo (

) will soon become the fairest. Azuchi Momoyama orders his son to be killed at Sacred Mountain. The plan fails when the assassin is trapped by racoon hunters. While Amechiyo sleeps, Princess Racoon (

), finds him and takes him to the Raccoon Palace. Soon, Amechiyo and the Princess are in love. The Racoons are against the romance because it is a known law that "No man should love a racoon. Even less should a racoon ever love a man". Azuchi Monoyama learns his son is still alive so he engages in a war to get him killed. Amechiyo has to look for a golden frog deep in the mountain to save the princess. It appears that the lovers' romance is doomed.

Cast

as Princess Raccoon *

as Amechiyo *

Hiroko Yakushimaru is a common feminine Japanese given name. Name meanings Hiroko can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *裕子, "kind child" *弘子, "Beautiful child" *寛子, " small child" *浩子, "large child" *博子, "wise child" *� ...

as Hagi * Mikijiro Hira as Azuchi Momoyama *

Tarō Yamamoto is a Japanese politician and former actor, who is the founder and current leader of the anti-establishment political party Reiwa Shinsengumi. Yamamoto served as a member of the House of Councillors from 2013 to 2019 and was a candidate in the 2 ...

* Gentaro Takahashi * Saori Yuki

References

External links

* ' *
Official website
at Kadokawa-Herald Pictures, Inc. {{Mainichi Film Award for Excellence Film 2005 films 2000s Japanese-language films 2000s Mandarin-language films 2000s musical fantasy films Films directed by Seijun Suzuki Japanese musical fantasy films Shochiku films Films scored by Michiru Ōshima 2000s Japanese films