祝・映画化！原作小説『国宝』について語りたい！｜歌舞伎×任侠

祝・映画化！原作小説『国宝』について語りたい！｜歌舞伎×任侠

Welcome to Free Atelier Sei! This is Sei. Yesterday, on June 6, 2025, the movie “Kokuho” was released. Ryo Yoshizawa plays the main role, and Ryusei Yokohama plays the rival role. Has anyone gone to see it yet? This time, I would like to talk in detail about the novel “National Treasure” by Shuichi Yoshida, which is the original work of this movie! I would like to convey the charm of the original work to those who have seen the movie and those who have not yet seen it. First, let’s talk about the movie. The director is Lee Sang-il, who also directed “Villain” and “Anger”, and this is the third film adaptation of Shuichi Yoshida’s work. Ryo Yoshizawa, who plays the main character, plays the rare female Kabuki actor Kikuo Tachibana. Just by watching the trailer, you can feel the beauty and power of the role. And Ryusei Yokohama, who co-stars with him, plays Shunsuke Ogaki. Born as the heir to a prestigious Kabuki family, he is in a completely different situation from the protagonist, but they are good rivals who help each other improve. The relationship between these two is the main axis of the story, and as someone who has read the original work, I am really curious to see how it will be visualized. The kabuki instructor is Nakamura Ganjiro, who was awarded the Medal with Purple Ribbon in 2019. In fact, Nakamura Ganjiro is the person that the original author, Yoshida Shuichi, interviewed for three years. In order to write “National Treasure,” Yoshida-sensei had a black costume made by Nakamura Ganjiro, and traveled around the country almost every month, thoroughly interviewing the inside of the kabuki world, from the dressing room to backstage. This work, “National Treasure,” was born from that interview experience. And now, Ganjiro himself is in charge of kabuki instruction for the film, and he also appears in the role of kabuki actor Azuma Sengoro in the film. It is clear that the original work and the film are closely related. As for the film, I will make a video about my impressions as soon as I go to see it again! Now, let’s talk in detail about the original work “Kokuho” . In the first half, I will talk about my impressions without spoilers for those who haven’t read it yet, and in the second half, I will talk about spoilers for those who have already read it! This work is a masterpiece of about 800 pages in total, and it is a masterpiece that won the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Art Encouragement Prize and the Chuokoron Literary Prize in 2019. It is also positioned as a work commemorating the 20th anniversary of Mr. Shuichi Yoshida’s career as a writer. The story is set in about 50 years from the 1964 Tokyo Olympics to the present day. The protagonist is a man named Kikuo Tachibana, who was born into the world of the yakuza in Nagasaki, but lives as a kabuki actor. The book depicts his life from the age of 14 to his 60th birthday in detail. When I finished reading it, I cried many times, and just remembering the last scene made me cry again. It was such a work. As I mentioned earlier, Mr. Shuichi Yoshida’s research in order to write this work is truly amazing. Mr. Yoshida said that he didn’t know much about kabuki to begin with. When he first started watching the stage, he was not used to the slow pace of time that is unique to Kabuki, and he often fell asleep in his seat. However, thanks to the kindness of Nakamura Ganjiro, he was able to make a black costume for himself, and as he accompanied Ganjiro to theaters around the country almost every month, he became completely fascinated with the world of Kabuki! In the morning, he changed into a black costume and spent the whole day at the theater. He was literally interviewed from the backstage to the pit, and even got a ride on the shuttle bus that connected the local theater and the hotel. The set and costumes that he could see up close from the wings of the stage, the movements of the well-trained actors, the sounds of the instruments… it was like “New Year’s Day,” a different world that made him forget reality. “National Treasure” was written with the sole desire to recreate this in a novel. Thanks to the research, it is easy to understand even for beginners to Kabuki, and yet it is very realistic. What is particularly impressive about this work is its unique writing style. In an interview, Yoshida said that the first thing he struggled with was the writing style. Should it be first person or third person? He had been trying and testing for a few months before he started writing, searching for a suitable narrative style for the story. At that time, he heard a Kabuki actor on TV, with a polite and slightly old-fashioned tone, and thought, “Ah, this is it.” When he tried it out, the image of “a story of another world is about to begin” arose from the first line, and the story progressed at a rapid pace. When you actually read it, it is written in a narrative style, as if someone standing on the stage is explaining to the audience, “This is the story, isn’t it?” The camera work is also unique, and the story progresses from a freely adjustable perspective, from being close to the characters, moving to the audience, and sometimes climbing onto the roof of the Kabukiza. When you read it, you feel as if you are really watching a Kabuki performance. Yoshida says that he had an image of traditional performing arts novels being high-minded and difficult, so he wanted to do the exact opposite. Kabuki performances are originally super entertainment, and the production is flashy and easy to understand. He wanted to make the scenes that make you cry as much as possible, and the scenes where the characters die as exaggerated and over the top as possible. In fact, it is a classic story, but it is an extremely interesting work. The protagonist has a rival, a best friend, some obstacles, and a fair number of relationships with women, and it is a classic coming-of-age story in which he reaches the top in his path despite facing difficulties. Speaking for myself, I have only seen Kabuki three times so far, and I am by no means familiar with the plays. The first time was at the Kabukiza, the second time at a local hall, and the third time at the Minamiza in Kyoto. I can vaguely picture the atmosphere of the stage and the theater, and the actors, but I knew very little about the plays that appear in the work. Still, the type of play is explained in an easy-to-understand way each time, and each play is closely related to the story of the characters, so I was able to enjoy reading it to the end without any negative reactions or giving up because it was difficult. Even if you don’t know anything about Kabuki, you can still enjoy it, and there are plenty of ideas for people who don’t know the plays or the roles. It’s no problem if you don’t know anything about Kabuki! In fact, it’s nice to feel like you know a little about Kabuki by reading this novel. Of course, you’ll enjoy it even more if you know more about it. The story is set in a period of about 50 years, from the year of the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 to the present day. Behind the drama of the growth of Kabuki actors, the changes in the world of chivalry and yakuza are also depicted, making it a very layered structure. It is also an era of upheaval in the entertainment world, from stage to film to television, and the protagonists experience many joys and despairs in this turbulent era as they rise to the pinnacle of their art. This work was serialized in the Asahi Shimbun, and it seems to have received a great response since it was serialized. What was refreshing for Mr. Yoshida was that characters such as Kikuo and Shunsuke had fans who were their “favorites.” Just like with real Kabuki actors, readers rooted for certain characters. Also, although the main characters were men, many people sympathized with the women who supported them behind the scenes. From here on, I will share my thoughts, including spoilers. If you haven’t read it yet, please read it before coming back! I would be happy if those who have seen the movie and those who have read the original work, if possible. To be honest, at first, I expected a simple revenge story. Kikuo had a tattoo on his back and spent his childhood as a member of a gangster family. After his father was killed, he became absorbed in the art of Kabuki without knowing the true culprit. When I saw this setting, I thought it would be a story about taking revenge on the true culprit. Even when his master, Hanjiro Hanai, died, the true culprit was not revealed, and the fact was dragged on until the final chapter. But in the end, Kikuo did not seek revenge. I’m sure it would have been different if he had heard about the true culprit in his teens or twenties. But Kikuo was too old, and more than anything, he was fascinated by the arts. I felt ashamed of my shallow thoughts when I finished reading the first volume. This was not a simple revenge story, but a much deeper story of a man who lives for the arts. I cried many times in the second volume. Kikuo grew older, and while he met new people such as his grandchildren and disciples, he also had to say goodbye to his loved ones one after another. I cried every time they left. I cried when his master, Hanjiro Hanai, died in the first volume, but the frequency of this was not comparable in the second volume. The three people who made an impression on me were: The first was Onogawa Manju, who died quietly in an unknown place. I liked the way he died. The last place he stayed was a cheap inn in the outskirts of the town. None of the people staying there knew that Manju was a rare female impersonator. It seemed strangely calming, and perhaps Manju was also a person who was fascinated, possessed, and suffered by the arts, just like Kikuo at the end. However, at the end, perhaps as a remnant of the entertainment from the previous night, her face is smeared with white powder and lipstick as she passes away. The depiction was beautiful, and I thought he died as an actor until the end. The second is Shunsuke, Kikuo’s rival and best friend. Although both his legs were necrotic and amputated due to diabetes, he stood on the stage with prosthetic legs and burned his life, and his end was truly spectacular. In his case, it was not the end as a person, but the end as an actor. His feelings for the stage. His strong will to see it through. Ah, I thought that the spoiled Shunbon from the first volume of the novel is no more. I’m curious to see how Yokohama Ryusei will play him in the movie. And the third and last is the main character, Kikuo. Kikuo, who was fascinated by the art and became empty, but continued to stand on the stage and dance until the end in search of a certain “scenery”. It’s no good. Even now, I start to cry just thinking about the last scene. Yoshida Shuichi says that Kabuki carefully depicts the idea of ​​death. The French artist Jean Cocteau once said, “Kabuki is basically deformed, but the moment of death is depicted vividly.” I see , that’s why the deaths of the characters in this work, which is told in comparison to kabuki plays, are so vivid, shocking, and memorable. In a sense, Kikuo’s end could be said to be a double suicide with his art. I think it represents such an extreme life. To be honest, Kikuo as a lover, husband, and father may be the worst person. He was a man who lived for his art no matter what it cost. But that is the path to becoming the best actor and a living national treasure. Humans cannot have everything. We are faced with such a harsh reality. Professor Yoshida says that as he continued writing, the question “What does it mean to be first-class?” came to his mind. He said that he had been thinking about what kind of scenery would make Kikuo, a first-class kabuki actor, “the happiest thing he could see” until the last scene. The answer to that question was probably that last scene. I also paid attention to the women who supported the kabuki actors. There were three women who were closely related to Kikuo. The first was Harue, his lover from his time in Nagasaki, who followed him to Osaka. The second was Fujikoma, a geisha from Kyoto who had the only child with Kikuo. The third was Akiko, the daughter of a leading figure in the kabuki world, who looked up to Kikuo like an older brother. They were all independent women. They loved Kikuo, but they also understood that he loved the art more than they loved themselves. Although they may criticize them in a general sense, I really respect their generosity. There is no doubt that it was because of them that Kikuo was able to pursue his path in the arts. In relation to the women, I remember that the selfishness of weekly magazines and the media was also depicted. Kikuo was made into the villain so that Shunsuke, who had once run away from the path of kabuki, could make a spectacular comeback. It is revealed that he has a child out of wedlock and that he comes from a family of yakuza gangsters, and he becomes the subject of TV talk shows. There was a scene where Kikuo got angry at the reporters who were waiting for Shunsuke to die, and I think that is truly justified. However, behind the news we see every day, this kind of situation actually exists. Even nowadays, celebrity scandals are making waves in the world, and when I look at the social media posts I see, I feel really sad. I can’t help but think about it. I wonder if those words are something that can be said to someone face to face. I wonder if I have ever imagined how the person who said it felt. There are also critical comments that pretend to be sympathetic, such as “I feel sorry for XX,” but I think only the person in question can know whether they feel sorry or not. Unless we are directly acquainted with the person involved, we who watch the news are strangers. We are people who have nothing to do with them. In this film, when the news comes out that “Kikuo has a child out of wedlock,” I think that only Kikuo’s daughter and her mother have the right to be angry. In fact, there was a scene where the daughter complained about Kikuo not doing anything like a father would, but I feel that this was righteous anger and everything else was verbal violence. Even if you criticize others, you will not be happy, so let them be… This is just my opinion, but as I was reading this work, I felt that way. Well, the love of scandal in the world is not something that started in modern times, and there is even a saying that “other people’s misfortune is sweet,” so it is impossible to eliminate it. It is foolish human nature. When I looked at the cast of the movie version, the names of Tokuji and Benten were not there. It is a shame that they are likely not in it. Both were attractive characters. In particular, Tokuji was an important character, being Kikuo’s childhood friend, older brother, and attendant. He is loyal to Kikuo and is the one who recognizes his talent more than anyone else. I wonder if the two were able to meet again after the last scene. The ending was open to various interpretations. It could be interpreted that he was hit by a car as it was, but there was a description of a “scramble intersection with a changed traffic light,” so if the traffic light had just changed, cars wouldn’t have started moving right away, right? In other words, would he have been saved? That’s what I thought. However, in an interview with the author, he said, “I want him to die on the best stage,” so perhaps that’s why he ended up staying that way…? He didn’t meet Tokuji again for the first time in 20 years, and he didn’t know that he had become a Living National Treasure? I don’t know the truth, but I’d like to think that there was a future where they could meet again. There is an episode that comes up at the end, but it seems there was an interesting coincidence. At the beginning of the story, there is a restaurant in Nagasaki where Kikuo’s real father is killed in a conflict. In fact, it seems that the person who built the Kabukiza Theater lived in the town next to Hanamachi, where the restaurant is located. Yoshida Shuichi said in an interview that he decided on the location of the restaurant simply because it was close to his parents’ house, and that it was a complete coincidence. It was a strange coincidence, as if the god of Kabuki had colored the work. I think “National Treasure” is a monumental work of entertainment novels. From before writing to while writing, Shuichi Yoshida interviewed kabuki actors all the time, dressed in black, from backstage to dressing rooms . Perhaps because of his interviews, the story was very realistic and easy to understand even for beginners. It depicts what it means to live for one’s art, to become a living national treasure, and above all, to depict “death” beautifully. It is a masterpiece that depicts life itself through the traditional Japanese art of kabuki . I think the movie is also a wonderful work, but I would also like you to read the original work. I’m sure you will be able to spend the same time as Kikuo and see the same scenery. And even if you have seen the movie, I think you will find something different by reading the original work. It’s 800 pages long, but once you start reading it, you will read it all in one go . That’s my impression of Shuichi Yoshida’s “National Treasure”. Please see the movie at the theater! Please let me know what you think! If you thought this video was good , please subscribe to the channel and click the like button. Thank you for watching until the end! See you in the next video!

ご視聴いただきありがとうございます！
（せい☃️）

🎙️声
　COEIROINK:晴星
（合成音声を使用しているため、イントネーション等におかしなところがございますが、ご了承ください🙇‍♀️）

📚ご紹介した作品(PR)
　📘『国宝　上　青春篇』吉田修一（朝日新聞出版）
　　Amazon ▶️ https://amzn.to/43zTF5l
　　楽天　　▶️ https://a.r10.to/hN9VFt

　📘『国宝　下　花道篇』吉田修一（朝日新聞出版）
　　Amazon ▶️ https://amzn.to/4kGBNvf
　　楽天　　▶️ https://a.r10.to/hghOk9

🎞️映画情報
公式サイト：https://kokuhou-movie.com/
本予告映像：https://youtu.be/DAiq_4YWXow?si=u6WmiNtEN-7UnPkT

原作：「国宝」吉田修一著（朝日文庫／朝日新聞出版刊）
脚本：奥寺佐渡子
監督：李相日
出演：吉沢亮
　　　横浜流星／高畑充希　寺島しのぶ　
　　　森七菜　三浦貴大　見上愛　黒川想矢　越山敬達
　　　永瀬正敏
　　　嶋田久作　宮澤エマ　中村鴈治郎／田中泯
　　　渡辺謙
製作幹事：MYRIAGON STUDIO
制作プロダクション：CREDEUS
主題歌：「Luminance」原摩利彦 feat. 井口 理（Sony Music Label Inc.）
配給：東宝
公開日：2025年6月6日(金)

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