Zeze Takahisa’s ‘Sukiyaki’ opens 39th Tokyo film festival

By Marcus Bennett

Zeze Takahisa’s “Sukiyaki” is the opening film of the 39th Tokyo International Film Festival. The film revisits the Japanese song that first hit the charts in 1963, then traces the conflict behind its creation and international success.

What does the film change about the song’s legacy?

The film recasts the song’s legacy from a simple account of international success into a history of postwar cultural exchange, creative ambition and personal fracture in Japan. Takahisa introduced his subject through the title tune, “Ue o Muite Aruko” (“I’ll Walk with My Head Up”).

He described “Sukiyaki” as a worldwide hit and an enduring standard, with foreign-language versions that also topped charts. Its makers were lyricist Ei Rokusuke, composer Nakamura Hachidai and singer Sakamoto Kyu. Matsuzaka Tori plays Rokusuke, Okada Junichi plays Nakamura and Nakano Taiga plays Sakamoto.

The 689 trio

Japan knew them as the “689 trio,” a name drawn from the number characters in their names: Hachi for eight, Roku for six and Kyu for nine. Their collaboration produced hits, but “Sukiyaki” shows that their professional and personal relationships were not always harmonious.

The film repeatedly moves between the song’s public ascent and the private costs carried by its makers, giving the historical drama its emotional weight and tension.

Six decades on

In an interview at Toho’s headquarters, the film’s Japan distributor, Takahisa tied the story to a changed Japan six decades after the song’s first chart hit.

“Back then the country was recovering from the war and all sorts of influences were flooding in from abroad,”

“Those influences created an energy that propelled the popular culture here. Now Japan is absorbing fewer influences from abroad. The culture used to be wide open – now it’s become narrower.”

His concern connects to renewed interest in the Showa Era (1926-1989), the period of Emperor Showa’s reign, when Japanese popular culture reached a fertile peak. Takahisa said younger Japanese are discovering that energy alongside nostalgic Boomers.

Both groups appeared in the audience for “Godzilla Minus One,” the 2023 hit in the series, set in early postwar Japan. Yamazaki Takashi’s follow-up, “Godzilla Minus Zero,” is also a Centerpiece screening at TIFF. “It’s a kind of Showa boom,” Takahisa joked.

Success and collapse

“Sukiyaki” does not present the song as a smooth rise to fame. Its drama centers on Nakamura and Rokusuke, who joined forces on a series of hits during the 1960s, then quarreled and parted as Nakamura descended into alcoholism.

“Nakamura went through a tough period after ‘Sukiyaki’ became a hit so we show that,”

“If the film were just a success story, it wouldn’t be interesting – it has to have both ups and downs.”

Takahisa separated this private drama from the song’s international breakthrough. He traced the international work to three musical and lyrical sources rather than to the conflict alone.

Nakamura’s command of jazz piano, which he displayed in New York clubs, supplied one foundation. Sakamoto brought roots in early rock and his admiration for Elvis; Rokusuke supplied the poignant Japanese lyrics.

The protest inside the pop song

Takahisa said the song reached foreign listeners through its energy, even when its Japanese lyrics remained unintelligible to them and its political meaning was inaccessible.

“Of course people abroad didn’t understand the lyrics, but the song’s energy came across to them,”

“The lyrics reflect what was happening in Japan at that time.”

Rokusuke drew inspiration from the 1960 demonstrations against the Japan-US Security Treaty. According to Takahisa, the demonstrators called for peace but failed to stop the treaty’s ratification.

“He wanted them to ‘walk with their heads up,’ despite their defeat,”

“So the song has depth – it’s not just a cheery pop tune.”

Casting Sakamoto Kyu

Takahisa said casting began with emotional projection rather than physical resemblance, though Nakano captures Sakamoto’s exuberant stage persona with uncanny precision for viewers on screen.

“It was more about the feeling the actors projected,”

“But Taiga comes from a show business family with roots in film’s period so he had a natural affinity for the role. Also, when Sakamoto sings in the film, it’s Taiga’s voice you’re hearing – he has an amazing talent as a vocalist.”

The festival opening puts “Sukiyaki” in a more demanding public life: listeners encounter both its global energy and the contested Japanese history behind it.