"Chushingura" is a famous tale of vengeance in Japan. Veteran actor Shinichi Tsutsumi and comedian Takashi Okamura star in "Kessan! Chushingura" (The 47 Ronin in Debt), the latest film adaptation of the history-based story currently showing in theaters.
The film has turned the period drama standard set during the Edo period (1603-1867) into a comedy about the 47 ronin, hard-pressed for cash to fund their revenge on a senior samurai lord who caused their lord to commit ritual suicide.
"We're short of cash!" "Do something!" -- Such dialogue is exchanged between the two central characters: Oishi Kuranosuke (Tsutsumi), the chief retainer of the Ako domain, and accountant Yato Chosuke (Okamura) who supports Oishi. They speak their lines in a Kansai-region dialect, which makes the story all the more hilarious.
The story takes place over 300 years ago. After the lord of the Ako domain, Asano Takuminokami, draws his sword and slashes lord Kira Kozukenosuke at Edo Castle, Asano commits suicide, and then the domain is ordered to shut down. Now jobless Kuranosuke and Chosuke, who are childhood friends, have an eye on the dowry brought by the deceased lord's wife, Yozenin, which amounts to 95 million yen today. Should they use the money to rebuild the domain or to avenge Asano's enemy Kira?
The film is directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura, who also wrote the script inspired by "Chushingura no Kessansho" (The financial statements of Chushingura), a book written by University of Tokyo Prof. Hirofumi Yamamoto. The unique book is based on an account book Oishi submitted to Yozenin, and converts many expenditures of the time into today's currency on the basis that the price of a bowl of soba noodles at the time, which was 16 mon, would be 480 yen today.
Tsutsumi, who has many films and theater productions to his credit, was born in 1964 and comes from Hyogo Prefecture. He first gained popularity with the TV serial drama "Pure" in 1996.
Okamura was born in 1970 and formed the manzai comedy duo Ninety-nine in 1990 with Hiroyuki Yabe. He has appeared in many films and TV shows as an actor as well.
The two recently spoke to The Yomiuri Shimbun about what makes the film appealing and shared some behind-the-scenes stories from filming.
The Yomiuri Shimbun: I was surprised that Oishi says "Sore nanbo?" ("How much is it?" in the Kansai dialect) many times because expenses become very big.
Tsutsumi: It's funny, isn't it? The 47 samurai are an elite troop fully prepared to die, and their leader, Oishi, has the aura of an absolute hero. But this film portrays them as very human and makes you think they could really have been like that. One of the samurai sells off his sword to have money to live on and, when the time comes for revenge, he makes a scene wondering what to do. They make meticulous plans, but they also have to earn a living.
Q: Mr. Okamura, your character is an accounting expert, and, what a surprise, you didn't goof around at all.
Okamura: When a comedian acts and tries to make people laugh [in a film], it becomes too comedy-like. I just did what the director told me to do, like, "Look worried" and "Look like you asked the person you are talking with, 'What the hell are you saying?'" Without his instructions, I'd act badly.
Tsutsumi: Not at all. I thought that with the way you spoke in a halting way, you were like [the late] Ken Takakura with an abacus.
Okamura: Really?! I adore Ken-san. I didn't sit down at all on the first day of shooting because that was the Ken Takakura style. I imitated him only in that way. Mr. Tsutsumi, you don't look at the script on the film set, do you?
Tsutsumi: I didn't in the past. When you get older, there're more and more times when I become like, "What?! Is this line mine?!" Now I'm more tempted to check it. You comedians are great with timing when acting.
Okamura: Are we?
Tsutsumi: When Oishi asked Yato for money, saying, "Can't you work this out?" The way you flatly said, "Nope" was very nice.
Okamura: That, too, was the director's intention. The only scene that I acted freely in was the scene with us two arguing and chasing after each other with a pillar between us. The serious argument somehow becomes comical.
Tsutsumi: We did that scene for quite a long time because the director took a long time before stopping the filming of it.
No mistake was allowed
Okamura: You had no blooper takes.
Tsutsumi: Well, not quite.
Okamura: I screwed up big time. My voice didn't come out in my first line. You looked like, "Hmm?" Usually, it's midway through the lines that I make a mistake, but, believe it or not, I botched the very first line.
Tsutsumi: That really was a surprise.
Okamura: There were as many as 90 samurai in the conference scene where they discussed the future of the Ako domain. The air was very strained because no mistakes were allowed whatsoever. Only the master comedian Kiyoshi [Nishikawa], who played the deputy chief retainer, appeared to be let to act freely.
Q: Mr. Okamura, this was the first time you acted in a period movie.
Okamura: Someone warned me that you have to bring a nice food gift to a studio in Kyoto, or you'll have your wig fastened tight on your head. I was scared.
Tsutsumi: No way. That never happens.
Q: Next year Mr. Okamura will appear in "Kirin ga Kuru," NHK's yearlong epic historical drama. Mr. Tsutsumi, do you have any advice for him?
Tsutsumi: Shooting [an NHK epic] is tough, isn't it. There are also many rehearsals, which is very important.
Okamura: This film was OK for me because the dialogue is in the Kansai dialect. But the NHK drama is in standard Japanese. I can't remember the lines at all. I was told that I looked as if I was just happy that I could say the lines.
Tsutsumi: You sound fine right now!
Okamura: Maybe. I was also told I should put more importance on the pacing of the lines and conveying the feelings. I have nothing but regrets, but I love acting, so I'll go on working hard at it!
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
