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August 12, 2026
 

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KOKUHO

Hairstylist and makeup artist Kyoko Toyokawa (center) and other creative staff members of the film ¡°Kokuho¡± face reporters in Los Angeles on Saturday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Mar 16, 2026
¡®Kokuho¡¯ misses out on Oscar for makeup and hairstyling
The kabuki-focused film¡¯s hair and makeup artists were the first Japanese nationals from a Japanese movie to be nominated in the category.
Ryo Yoshizawa accepts the award for best actor at the Japan Academy Film Prize ceremony on Friday.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Mar 14, 2026
¡®Kokuho¡¯ dominates Japan Academy Film Prize with 10 wins
Â鶹´«Ã½ answer to the Oscars crowns Lee Sang-il¡¯s kabuki drama after its historic box-office run.
Lee Sang-il's "Kokuho" won big at this year's Japan Academy Film Prize awards.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Mar 14, 2026
The 49th Japan Academy Film Prize winners: Full list
Lee Sang-il¡¯s kabuki epic ¡°Kokuho¡± led this year¡¯s ceremony. See every award recipient from Â鶹´«Ã½ biggest movie night.
Nakamura Takanosuke performs as an "onnagata," the term for male kabuki actors who portray women, in "The Wisteria Maiden."
CULTURE / Stage
Feb 24, 2026
After ¡®Kokuho¡¯: Nakamura Takanosuke to take kabuki¡¯s ¡®onnagata¡¯ tradition to Europe
Following renewed interest, a young actor offers overseas audiences a rare look behind the scenes.
Released in June last year, "Kokuho," directed by Lee Sang-il, has continued to extend the all-time record for Japanese live-action movies that it set last November.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Feb 17, 2026
¡®Kokuho¡¯ earns ?20 billion at Japan box office
The film now ranks 10th among all-time box office hits in Japan, including Western films and anime.
Actors Danielle Brooks and Lewis Pullman announce the nominees for the 98th Academy Awards on Thursday. Kabuki drama "Kokuho" scored a nod for best makeup and hairstyling.
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Jan 23, 2026
¡®Kokuho¡¯ leads Japan Academy Film Prize nominations but falls short at the Oscars
The hit kabuki drama had been on the shortlist for best international feature, but still received recognition for hair and makeup.
Despite long lines and occasional issues with transportation, the Osaka Expo earned top honors in the Nikkei Marketing Journal's annual ranking of products, services and topics that captivated Japanese consumers.
LIFE / Lifestyle / 2025 IN REVIEW
Dec 13, 2025
Osaka Expo and ¡®Kokuho¡¯ top 2025¡¯s sumo-style consumer interest rankings
The expo¡¯s ?3 trillion economic impact and the three-hour kabuki film captivated shoppers in Japan this year.
In 2025, ¡°Demon Slayer¡± and ¡°Kokuho¡± broke box-office records, while films such as ¡°Renoir,¡± A Pale View of the Hills¡± and ¡°Two Strangers, Two Seasons¡± garnered acclaim on the international film festival circuit. The year¡¯s biggest loss was the death of Tatsuya Nakadai, an highly regarded actor who had worked with nearly all of the top directors of Japanese cinema¡¯s postwar golden age.
CULTURE / Film / 2025 IN REVIEW
Dec 4, 2025
2025 was the year Â鶹´«Ã½ box office returned
Anime ruled the screens once again, but a kabuki drama surprised us all.
Doll-maker Kyugetsu unveiled its 2025 wooden paddles, featuring Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani, on Wednesday in Tokyo¡¯s Taito Ward.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2025
Hagoita paddles depicting newsmakers of 2025 unveiled
Wooden paddles featuring Shohei Ohtani, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and 10 others were unveiled by Tokyo-based doll-maker Kyugetsu on Wednesday.
A scene photo from the film ¡°Kokuho¡±
CULTURE / Film
Nov 25, 2025
Oscar entry ¡®Kokuho¡¯ breaks 22-year-old Japan box-office record
¡°Kokuho¡± has won over critics with its lush cinematography and portrayal of the little-known world of kabuki.
Kabuki has been trying for years to attract a new generation of fans. One way to do this has been to adapt manga and anime franchises, such as ¡°Naruto,¡± for the stage.?
CULTURE / Stage
Oct 3, 2025
The summer kabuki came roaring back
A hit film and shifting demographics are drawing new audiences to kabuki, sparking hopes for a revitalized future.
Filmmakers Chloe Zhao and Lee Sang-il will receive the Kurosawa Akira Award, given to filmmakers who have ¡°left their marks in cinema and will be entrusted with the film industry's future,¡± at this year's edition of the Tokyo International Film Festival.
CULTURE / Film
Sep 24, 2025
Tokyo film festival to open with Everest and close with some Shakespeare
Â鶹´«Ã½ main movie event kicks off Oct. 27 with the true story of the first woman to summit Mount Everest. It closes Nov. 5 with Chloe Zhao¡¯s ¡°Hamnet.¡±
A woman walks past the poster of Lee Sang-il¡¯s kabuki drama "Kokuho" outside a cinema in Tokyo's Roppongi district.
CULTURE / Film / Wide Angle
Sep 18, 2025
From high risk to record-breaker, ¡®Kokuho¡¯ defied expectations to become a megahit
Lee Sang-il¡¯s three-hour kabuki drama overcame doubts over subject matter to find its audience.
A scene from "Kokuho"
CULTURE / Entertainment news
Aug 19, 2025
¡®Kokuho¡¯ rakes in over ?10 billion at the box office
¡°Kokuho¡± is now the third-highest-grossing Japanese live-action movie ever after the 2003 film ¡°Bayside Shakedown 2¡± and the 1983 movie ¡°Antarctica.¡±
Lee Sang-il¡¯s "Kokuho" stars Ryo Yoshizawa as an orphan from a yakuza clan who rises through the world of kabuki to become a star performer.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 8, 2025
¡®Kokuho¡¯ finds riveting drama on and off the kabuki stage
Ryo Yoshizawa and Ryusei Yokohama deliver stage performances that are both convincing as kabuki and arresting as drama in Lee Sang-il¡¯s ambitious film.
Lee Sang-il¡¯s ¡°Kokuho,¡± which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this year, follows the life of an "onnagata," a male kabuki actor who plays female roles, from his childhood as the son of a yakuza boss in 1960s Nagasaki to his official designation as a living national treasure.
CULTURE / Film
Jun 6, 2025
¡®Kokuho¡¯ illuminates the high price of becoming a national treasure
Director Lee Sang-il turns a long-held vision into reality with his sumptuously shot film that reveals the dedication, sacrifice ¡ª and loneliness ¡ª behind kabuki greatness.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
Yasukuni Shrine introduces ban on military attire and cosplay
People gather in front of thousands of lanterns on display at Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo on July 15 during the Mitama Matsuri, one of the capital's largest summer o-Bon festivals.
Many Indonesians named after Japanese anime characters
Some people in Indonesia are named Doraemon, the name of a lead character of the blockbuster anime series with the same title.
Strong wind and heavy rain forecast as tropical storm approaches Japan
Tropical Storm Chan-hom is expected to make landfall in northern Kanto between late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.
J. League enters new era as league kicks off first fall-spring campaign
Players from each J. League club pose during a kickoff event on Monday ahead of the start of the 2026-27 campaign.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
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By Alex K.T. Martin

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