Yamazakura, The Cherry Tree in the Hills (2008)
Based on a short story written by Shuhei Fujisawa (who also wrote Twilight Samurai, The Hidden Blade, Love and Honor), the film depicts the uneasy life of Noe Isomura (Rena Tanaka) with the difficult family she has married into after her former husband passed away. One day as she tries to brake off a branch of a cherry tree, she is aided by a samurai who she does not recognize but who recognizes her. He turns out to be a former suitor that she never met named Yaichiro Tezuka (Noriyuki Higashiyama) and who teaches swordsmanship to the local samurai. Meanwhile, the powerful new chief retainer of the village enacts land policies that threaten the survival of the local farmers.
Director:
Tetsuo Shinohara
Writers:
Yasuo Hasegawa, Kenzaburô Iida.
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Rena Tanaka as Noe Isomura |
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Noriyuki Higashiyama as Yoichiro Tezuka |
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Tetsuya Chiba as Shouzaemon Isomura |
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Fumi Dan as |
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Sumiko Fuji as Shizu Tezuka |
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Reika Fujisawa as |
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Ben Hiura as |
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Takahiro Hōjō as |
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Kojun Ito as |
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Nao Minamisawa as |
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Kunio Murai as |
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Eiko Nagashima as |
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Saburo Shinoda as |
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Choei Takahashi as |
| Directing | Tetsuo Shinohara | Director |
| Writing | Yasuo Hasegawa | Screenplay |
| Writing | Shuhei Fujisawa | Novel |
| Writing | Kenzaburô Iida | Screenplay |
| Production | Satoshi Kono | Co-Producer |
| Sound | Udai Shike | Original Music Composer |
| Camera | Tokushō Kikumura | Director of Photography |
| Editing | Yoshiyuki Okuhara | Editor |
| Art | Katsumi Kaneda | Production Design |
| Art | Kazumi Osaka | Decorator |
| Directing | Toshihisa Yamada | Assistant Director |
