Kabuki Film ‘Kokuho’ Hits ¥11 Billion at Box Office; Popularity Spreads to Original Novel, Live Shows

The Yomiuri Shimbun

6:00 JST, August 24, 2025

“Kokuho,” a film depicting the life of a kabuki actor, has made more than ¥11 billion at the box office, the second highest for a domestic live-action film, according to an announcement by distributor Toho Co.

It is the first domestic live-action film to top the ¥10 billion mark since “Odoru Daisosasen The Movie 2 Rainbow Bridge o Fusa Seyo!” (“Bayside Shakedown 2”) in 2003. The popularity of the film has spread to the novel it’s based on, as well as the kabuki world in general.

Directed by Lee Sang-il, the movie tells the story of a man born into a yakuza family. He is eventually adopted by a prominent family of Kamigata kabuki (kabuki in the Kansai region) and hones his skills with the family’s heir, who is the same age.

Ryo Yoshizawa, 31, stars alongside Ryusei Yokohama, 28, who plays the heir. Both actors underwent rigorous training in kabuki and performed all the dance scenes themselves, an additional talking point for the film.

Box office revenue reached ¥11 billion on Thursday, the 77th day since the film’s theatrical release on June 6, with more than 7.82 million people seeing the film. According to Kogyo Tsushinsha, a company that compiles box office information on Japanese films, “Kokuho” is the fourth domestic live-action film to top ¥10 billion at the box office.

In addition to the “Odoru Daisosasen” movie in 2003, the two other films to have done so are “Nankyoku Monogatari” (“Antarctica”) in 1983 and “Odoru Daisosasen The Movie” (“Bayside Shakedown”) in 1998.

“Kokuho” is based on the novel of the same name by Shuichi Yoshida, a winner of the Akutagawa Prize, one of Japan’s top literary prizes. The “Kokuho” book received the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize.

Publisher Asahi Shimbun Publications Inc. printed an additional 1 million copies of the novel’s bunko paperback edition in two volumes after the film’s release. The total number of copies printed so far, including hardcover editions, has now reached 1.4 million.

The ripple effect of the film’s success has spread to the kabuki world as well. Shochiku Co. said that since the film’s release in June, it has been inundated with inquiries from people who want to see live kabuki in person for the first time.

“Ticket sales increased by the day, and our advance sales for July grew substantially,” a Shochiku official said.

“Kabuki is attracting attention,” kabuki actor Ichikawa Danjuro, 47, told reporters this month. “I’ve seen more young people and couples in the audience than usual. I have a feeling that they’re identifying with Japanese culture.”

Ichikawa said he would stage “Ninin Fujimusume” (Two wisteria spirits), which was shown in the film, as part of his forthcoming kabuki show in Fukuoka and Kyoto in October.