Otoko-tachi no Yamato
Encyclopedia
is a 2005 Japanese
war film
. It was directed by Junya Sato
and is based on a book by Jun Henmi
. With a framing story set in the present day, by flashbacks it tells the story of the crew of the World War II
Japanese battleship
Yamato
, concentrating on the ship's demise during Operation Ten-Go
.
's special expedition to the Yamato wreckage in 1999, then to a woman, Makiko Uchida, visiting the Yamato Museum
in Kure, Hiroshima
on 6 April 2005. She is looking for a boat to take her to the site where the Yamato sank, to honor the crew on the 60th anniversary of the ship's last battle. Katsumi Kamio, a survivor who is now a fisherman, agrees to take her after he discovers she was an adopted daughter of Petty Officer First Class
Mamoru Uchida, a crewman and close friend who he thought went down with the ship.
As Uchida, Kamio, and his teenage apprentice, Atsushi, travel to the site on his fishing boat, the narrative shifts between the present and Kamio's memories of his service as an air defense crewman aboard the warship during the Second World War.
In the spring of 1944, Kamio and other cadets, many of whom are only teenagers, are assigned to the Yamato and are subjected to harsh training and discipline at the hands of Petty Officers Uchida, Moriwaki, and Karaki, who have served on the vessel since it was launched in 1941. In October 1944, the Yamato sails as part of a large Japanese fleet to engage American forces at the Battle of Leyte Gulf
. During the battle, the Yamato sustains several hits, killing or injuring several crew. Yamato and the surviving ships return to Japan for repairs, while Uchida (who lost his left eye in the battle) is sent to a hospital to recover.
In March 1945, the crew hear rumors of a planned mission against the expected invasion of Okinawa
and are given a few days of shore leave
. During this time, Kamio returns home and learns of that his mother died protecting his cousin Taeko Nozaki during an air raid on Kure. Taeko confesses her love for Kamio when he explains that he must go to Okinawa, but gives him a special amulet for protection.
Uchida uses the shore leave as an opportunity to escape the hospital and rejoin the crew. Meanwhile, IJN
representative Vice-Admiral Ryūnosuke Kusaka arrives and briefs the admiral-in-charge of Yamato, Vice-Admiral Seiichi Itō
, and the other senior officers, of the details of Operation Ten-Go
. It will almost certainly be a suicide mission - and with no air cover, the Yamato and its escorts will be extremely vulnerable to Allied attacks, making it unlikely that they will even reach Okinawa. Fights break out among the crew as some believe the mission is futile, but an officer convinces them that the Yamato, as Japan's last operational battleship, must make every effort to defend the nation.
On the morning of April 7, the Yamato and its escorts assume battle stations after Task Force 58 detects it on the way to Okinawa. As hundreds of American fighters and bombers approach the ship, the crew opens fire with their anti-aircraft weapons. However, the sheer number of US aircraft overwhelm the defenses and the Yamato takes heavy damage from multiple bombs and torpedo hits. Kamio, Uchida, and Moriwaki continue to man a portside AA battery after strafing runs and accurate bomb hits kill much of the crew, including Karaki. After being told the ship is crippled and sinking, Admiral Itō and Captain Kōsaku Aruga give the order to abandon ship, although both choose to stay behind. Uchida and Moriwaki throw Kamio overboard despite his wish to stay with them to the end. The radioman attempts to call for support but water starts flooding the ship, which eventually capsizes and explodes.
The Yamatos remaining escorts start rescuing the survivors, but Kamio fails to save his friend Tetsuya Nishi, despite promising his mother that he would look after him. Moriwaki ties Kamio to be hoisted aboard a rescue vessel, and then swims away to drown himself.
The film flashes forward to the present day, the old Kamio has a heart attack, but Makiko and Atsushi revive him. He also discusses what happened to him during the final months of the war. He recounts that after the sinking, he went and told Nishi's mother that her son had died "a hero's death." Kamio expresses his grief that, despite risking his life in battle, he was ultimately unable to protect anyone whom he loved - Taeko died of radiation poisoning after the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima, where she worked at a munitions plant. However, she was able to see him before she died and suggested Asuka Maru (Tomorrow's fragrance) as the name for his boat.
They arrive at the sinking coordinates the following day, where they hold a small ceremony. Makiko scatters Uchida's ashes and Kamio gives her a dagger that Uchida asked him to keep during the battle. The dagger was Uchida's most prized possession; Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
gave it to him when the Yamato was his flagship. The three head back to Japan after the ceremony.
The end credits show Makiko laying flowers at a memorial for those who died in the battle.
(Petty Officer First Class) Mamoru Uchida
. Approximately JPY 600 million was spent in building a 1:1 scale set of the forward section and the portside anti-aircraft guns. The starboard side, aft section and the barrels of the A turret were not built since the film only required scenes on the port side. However, compliance issues with Japan's Building Standards Act prevented the reproduction of the Yamato's pagoda tower. Instead, photographs of the Yamato Museum's own 1:10 Yamato model was used for post-production. The interior scenes were made on a sound stage, but a hall near the set shows the various rooms and props reproduced for the film.
The set was opened to the public on 17 July 2005. Approximately one million people visited the set by the time it closed doors on 7 May 2006. The dismantling of the set began four days later and finished on June 13. The gun replicas were transferred to the Yamato Museum while the city of Onomichi kept the props and costumes.
As part of the marketing for the film, Tamiya
released special editions of scale models of the battleship in conjunction with the film's release. The company also built a special 1:350 diorama of the Yamato wreck.
at the domestic box office. Mark Schilling of the Japan Times said the film was tailor-made for the home audience, and pulled strong performances from some of the characters.
Reviewers in the United States have described the film as a combination of Titanic
and Pearl Harbor
, with the finale being compared to the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan
.
2006 Hochi Film Awards
2006 Nikkan Sports Film Awards
2007 Yokohama Film Festival
2007 Japan Academy Awards
Cinema of Japan
The has a history that spans more than 100 years. Japan has one of the oldest and largest film industries in the world – as of 2009 the fourth largest by number of feature films produced. Movies have been produced in Japan since 1897, when the first foreign cameramen arrived...
war film
War film
War films are a film genre concerned with warfare, usually about naval, air or land battles, sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training or other related subjects. At times war films focus on daily military or civilian life in wartime without depicting battles...
. It was directed by Junya Sato
Junya Sato
is a Japanese film director.-Career:Born in Tokyo, Sato graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1956 with a degree in French literature. He joined the Toei studio and worked as an assistant to such directors as Tadashi Imai and Miyoji Ieki. He debuted as a director in 1963 with Rikugun zangyaku...
and is based on a book by Jun Henmi
Jun Henmi
, real name , was a Japanese writer and poet born in Mizuhashi , Toyama Prefecture, Japan. She was known for her works of fiction and nonfiction about people affected by World War II...
. With a framing story set in the present day, by flashbacks it tells the story of the crew of the World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Japanese battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
Yamato
Japanese battleship Yamato
, named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, was the lead ship of the Yamato class of battleships that served with the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. She and her sister ship, Musashi, were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing...
, concentrating on the ship's demise during Operation Ten-Go
Operation Ten-Go
was the last major Japanese naval operation in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Other renderings of this operation's title in English include Operation Heaven One and Ten-ichi-gō....
.
Plot
The film begins with footage from Asahi ShimbunAsahi Shimbun
The is the second most circulated out of the five national newspapers in Japan. Its circulation, which was 7.96 million for its morning edition and 3.1 million for its evening edition as of June 2010, was second behind that of Yomiuri Shimbun...
's special expedition to the Yamato wreckage in 1999, then to a woman, Makiko Uchida, visiting the Yamato Museum
Yamato Museum
The Yamato Museum is a nickname of the "Kure Maritime Museum" in Kure, Hiroshima, Japan.-History:The museum opened on April 23, 2005. It is nicknamed the Yamato Museum due to the display in the lobby of the large model ship Yamato Hiroba, a 1/10 scale model of the Japanese battleship Yamato...
in Kure, Hiroshima
Kure, Hiroshima
is a city in Hiroshima prefecture, Japan.As of October 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 240,820 and a population density of 681 persons per km². The total area is 353.74 km².- History :...
on 6 April 2005. She is looking for a boat to take her to the site where the Yamato sank, to honor the crew on the 60th anniversary of the ship's last battle. Katsumi Kamio, a survivor who is now a fisherman, agrees to take her after he discovers she was an adopted daughter of Petty Officer First Class
Naval ranks of the Japanese Empire during World War II
The following graphs present the rank insignia of the Japanese navy during World War II. These designs had been used from 1931-1945, but were discontinued after World War II, when the Imperial Japanese Navy had been dissolved....
Mamoru Uchida, a crewman and close friend who he thought went down with the ship.
As Uchida, Kamio, and his teenage apprentice, Atsushi, travel to the site on his fishing boat, the narrative shifts between the present and Kamio's memories of his service as an air defense crewman aboard the warship during the Second World War.
In the spring of 1944, Kamio and other cadets, many of whom are only teenagers, are assigned to the Yamato and are subjected to harsh training and discipline at the hands of Petty Officers Uchida, Moriwaki, and Karaki, who have served on the vessel since it was launched in 1941. In October 1944, the Yamato sails as part of a large Japanese fleet to engage American forces at the Battle of Leyte Gulf
Battle of Leyte Gulf
The Battle of Leyte Gulf, also called the "Battles for Leyte Gulf", and formerly known as the "Second Battle of the Philippine Sea", is generally considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II and, by some criteria, possibly the largest naval battle in history.It was fought in waters...
. During the battle, the Yamato sustains several hits, killing or injuring several crew. Yamato and the surviving ships return to Japan for repairs, while Uchida (who lost his left eye in the battle) is sent to a hospital to recover.
In March 1945, the crew hear rumors of a planned mission against the expected invasion of Okinawa
Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa, codenamed Operation Iceberg, was fought on the Ryukyu Islands of Okinawa and was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific War of World War II. The 82-day-long battle lasted from early April until mid-June 1945...
and are given a few days of shore leave
Shore leave
Shore leave is the leave that professional sailors get to spend on dry land. It is culturally infamous for its excess. Sailors without family obligations and with basic lodging needs provided aboard ship may spend their wages for the journey in a brief period of extravagance ashore and return to...
. During this time, Kamio returns home and learns of that his mother died protecting his cousin Taeko Nozaki during an air raid on Kure. Taeko confesses her love for Kamio when he explains that he must go to Okinawa, but gives him a special amulet for protection.
Uchida uses the shore leave as an opportunity to escape the hospital and rejoin the crew. Meanwhile, IJN
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1869 until 1947, when it was dissolved following Japan's constitutional renunciation of the use of force as a means of settling international disputes...
representative Vice-Admiral Ryūnosuke Kusaka arrives and briefs the admiral-in-charge of Yamato, Vice-Admiral Seiichi Itō
Seiichi Ito
was an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and commander of the battleship on its final mission towards the end of World War II.-Early career:...
, and the other senior officers, of the details of Operation Ten-Go
Operation Ten-Go
was the last major Japanese naval operation in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Other renderings of this operation's title in English include Operation Heaven One and Ten-ichi-gō....
. It will almost certainly be a suicide mission - and with no air cover, the Yamato and its escorts will be extremely vulnerable to Allied attacks, making it unlikely that they will even reach Okinawa. Fights break out among the crew as some believe the mission is futile, but an officer convinces them that the Yamato, as Japan's last operational battleship, must make every effort to defend the nation.
On the morning of April 7, the Yamato and its escorts assume battle stations after Task Force 58 detects it on the way to Okinawa. As hundreds of American fighters and bombers approach the ship, the crew opens fire with their anti-aircraft weapons. However, the sheer number of US aircraft overwhelm the defenses and the Yamato takes heavy damage from multiple bombs and torpedo hits. Kamio, Uchida, and Moriwaki continue to man a portside AA battery after strafing runs and accurate bomb hits kill much of the crew, including Karaki. After being told the ship is crippled and sinking, Admiral Itō and Captain Kōsaku Aruga give the order to abandon ship, although both choose to stay behind. Uchida and Moriwaki throw Kamio overboard despite his wish to stay with them to the end. The radioman attempts to call for support but water starts flooding the ship, which eventually capsizes and explodes.
The Yamatos remaining escorts start rescuing the survivors, but Kamio fails to save his friend Tetsuya Nishi, despite promising his mother that he would look after him. Moriwaki ties Kamio to be hoisted aboard a rescue vessel, and then swims away to drown himself.
The film flashes forward to the present day, the old Kamio has a heart attack, but Makiko and Atsushi revive him. He also discusses what happened to him during the final months of the war. He recounts that after the sinking, he went and told Nishi's mother that her son had died "a hero's death." Kamio expresses his grief that, despite risking his life in battle, he was ultimately unable to protect anyone whom he loved - Taeko died of radiation poisoning after the Atomic bombing of Hiroshima, where she worked at a munitions plant. However, she was able to see him before she died and suggested Asuka Maru (Tomorrow's fragrance) as the name for his boat.
They arrive at the sinking coordinates the following day, where they hold a small ceremony. Makiko scatters Uchida's ashes and Kamio gives her a dagger that Uchida asked him to keep during the battle. The dagger was Uchida's most prized possession; Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto
Isoroku Yamamoto
was a Japanese Naval Marshal General and the commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II, a graduate of the Imperial Japanese Naval Academy and a student of Harvard University ....
gave it to him when the Yamato was his flagship. The three head back to Japan after the ceremony.
The end credits show Makiko laying flowers at a memorial for those who died in the battle.
Cast
- Kenichi Matsuyama - Katsumi Kamio at 15 years old
- Tatsuya NakadaiTatsuya Nakadaiis a Japanese leading film actor.He became a star after he was discovered working as a Tokyo shop clerk by filmmaker Masaki Kobayashi during the early 1950s...
- Katsumi Kamio at 75 years old - Shido NakamuraShido Nakamura, better known by the stage name , is a Japanese kabuki and film actor.- Background:Born in Tokyo, the son of kabuki actor Nakamura Shidō I, young Nakamura made his kabuki debut at the age of eight. He took the name Shidō the following year, following his father's retirement...
- 一等兵曹 Ittōheisō
(Petty Officer First Class) Mamoru Uchida
- Takashi SorimachiTakashi Sorimachiis a Japanese actor and singer. He is mostly famous for having portrayed Eikichi Onizuka in the live-action drama adaptation of the popular manga series Great Teacher Onizuka, and the assassin O in Hong Kong action film Fulltime Killer....
- Shohachi Moriwaki - Yū AoiYû Aoiis a Japanese actress and model. She made her film debut as Shiori Tsuda in Shunji Iwai's 2001 film All About Lily Chou-Chou...
- Taeko Nozaki - Jundai Yamada - Masao Karaki
- Kenta Uchino - Tetsuya Nishi
- Kyōka Suzuki - Makiko Uchida
- Sosuke IkematsuSosuke Ikematsuis a Japanese film, television, and theatre actor best known for his role as Higen, the young nephew of samurai leader Katsumoto, in the 2003 film The Last Samurai.- Biography :...
- Atsushi - Hiroyuki Hirayama - Tamaki
- Umitarou Nozaki - Executive Officer Nomura Jiro
- Tetsuya WatariTetsuya Watariis a Japanese stage, film, and television actor. He made his screen debut in 1964, in Isamu Kosugi's .He is now the president of Ishihara Promotion.He has a younger brother, Tsunehiko Watase, who is also an actor.-Filmography:-External links:* *...
- 海軍中将 Kaigun Chūjō (Vice-Admiral) Seiichi ItōSeiichi Itowas an admiral in the Imperial Japanese Navy and commander of the battleship on its final mission towards the end of World War II.-Early career:... - Eiji OkudaEiji Okudais a Japanese actor and film director. Born in Kasugai, Aichi, he was nominated for the Best Actor award at the 1990 Japanese Academy Awards for his performance in Sen no Rikyu...
- 海軍大佐 Kaigun Daisa (Captain) Kōsaku Aruga - Ryuzo Hayashi - 海軍中将 Kaigun Chūjō (Vice-Admiral) Ryūnosuke Kusaka
Production
Filming for Yamato took place from March to June 2005 at a closed-down shipyard of Hitachi Zosen Corporation in Onomichi, Hiroshima PrefectureHiroshima Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshu island. The capital is the city of Hiroshima.- History :The area around Hiroshima was formerly divided into Bingo Province and Aki Province. This location has been a center of trade and culture since the beginning of Japan's recorded...
. Approximately JPY 600 million was spent in building a 1:1 scale set of the forward section and the portside anti-aircraft guns. The starboard side, aft section and the barrels of the A turret were not built since the film only required scenes on the port side. However, compliance issues with Japan's Building Standards Act prevented the reproduction of the Yamato's pagoda tower. Instead, photographs of the Yamato Museum's own 1:10 Yamato model was used for post-production. The interior scenes were made on a sound stage, but a hall near the set shows the various rooms and props reproduced for the film.
The set was opened to the public on 17 July 2005. Approximately one million people visited the set by the time it closed doors on 7 May 2006. The dismantling of the set began four days later and finished on June 13. The gun replicas were transferred to the Yamato Museum while the city of Onomichi kept the props and costumes.
Release
Yamato was released on over 290 screens across Japan on 17 December 2005.As part of the marketing for the film, Tamiya
Tamiya Corporation
is a Japanese manufacturer of plastic model kits, radio controlled cars, battery- and solar-powered educational models, sailboat models, acrylic and enamel model paints, and various modeling tools and supplies...
released special editions of scale models of the battleship in conjunction with the film's release. The company also built a special 1:350 diorama of the Yamato wreck.
Reception
The film was a commercial success in the Japanese market, taking in a record 5.11 billion yenJapanese yen
The is the official currency of Japan. It is the third most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar and the euro. It is also widely used as a reserve currency after the U.S. dollar, the euro and the pound sterling...
at the domestic box office. Mark Schilling of the Japan Times said the film was tailor-made for the home audience, and pulled strong performances from some of the characters.
Reviewers in the United States have described the film as a combination of Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
and Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor (film)
Pearl Harbor is a 2001 American action drama war film directed by Michael Bay and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and Randall Wallace, who wrote the screenplay...
, with the finale being compared to the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan
Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, with a screenplay by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which depicts the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944....
.
Awards and nominations
2006 Blue Ribbon Awards- Best Director - Junya SatoJunya Satois a Japanese film director.-Career:Born in Tokyo, Sato graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1956 with a degree in French literature. He joined the Toei studio and worked as an assistant to such directors as Tadashi Imai and Miyoji Ieki. He debuted as a director in 1963 with Rikugun zangyaku...
(Won)
2006 Hochi Film Awards
Hochi Film Award
The are film-specific prizes awarded solely by the Hochi Shimbun.- Categories :*Best Picture*Best International Picture*Best Actor*Best Actress*Best Supporting Actor*Best Supporting Actress*Best New Artist*Special Award*Best Director- Winner :...
- Best New Actor - Kenichi Matsuyama (Won)
2006 Nikkan Sports Film Awards
- Yujiro Ishihara Award - Junya SatoJunya Satois a Japanese film director.-Career:Born in Tokyo, Sato graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1956 with a degree in French literature. He joined the Toei studio and worked as an assistant to such directors as Tadashi Imai and Miyoji Ieki. He debuted as a director in 1963 with Rikugun zangyaku...
(Won)
2007 Yokohama Film Festival
Yokohama Film Festival
The is a noticed yearly awards ceremony held in Japan. The festival was started as a small affair by fans and film critics, and first held on February 3, 1980. Ten films are chosen as the best of the year, and various awards are given to personnel...
- Best New Talent - Kenichi Matsuyama (Won)
2007 Japan Academy Awards
- Best Director - Junya SatoJunya Satois a Japanese film director.-Career:Born in Tokyo, Sato graduated from the University of Tokyo in 1956 with a degree in French literature. He joined the Toei studio and worked as an assistant to such directors as Tadashi Imai and Miyoji Ieki. He debuted as a director in 1963 with Rikugun zangyaku...
(Nominated) - Best Picture (Nominated)
- Best Supporting Actress - Yu AoiYû Aoiis a Japanese actress and model. She made her film debut as Shiori Tsuda in Shunji Iwai's 2001 film All About Lily Chou-Chou...
(Nominated; Won for Hula Girls) - Best Musical Score - Joe HisaishiJoe Hisaishi, known professionally as , is a composer and director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic,...
(Nominated) - Best Cinematography - Yoshinao Sakamoto (Nominated)
- Best Lighting Direction - Takeshi Okubo (Nominated)
- Best Art Direction - Toshiyuki Matsumiya, Naruyuki Kondo (Won)
- Best Sound Recording - Nobuhiko Matsukage, Tetsuo Segawa (Won)
- Best Film Editing - Takeo Yoneda (Nominated)
- Rookie of the Year - Kenichi Matsuyama (Nominated)