Koto, The Woman Samurai - 女剣士 中澤琴
Summary
My name is Koto. I was born as the daughter of a great swordsman. I was tougher than any other man. No man except my big brother could beat me. I always wanted to be the best Samurai, but the time was not ready... for me, for any woman. So, I decided to be a man to become Samurai. One of the witnesses who saw the end of the Samurai Period.Features
The fiction is based on the real woman Samurai, Nakazawa Koto, who lived from the middle of the 19th century to the early 20th century. Koto was born in Akagi, Gunma Prefecture. She learned Hoshinryu which is one of the sword-fighting styles. She joined Roshigumi with her big brother Nakazawa Ryonosuke Sadamasa. Roshigumi was one of the mercenaries made in Edo. Later it separated into Shinsengumi and Shinchogumi. Shinsengumi became the police officer of Kyoto and Shinchobumi became the police officer of Edo, current Tokyo.
Koto and Ryonosuke became members of Shinchogumi. Because Koto was a woman, she faked her gender as a man and joined Shinchogumi and followed Shogun until the end of the Meiji Restoration which is the last war of the Samurai. Because she was beautiful many men and women were attracted to her. She was very tall and also a great swordsman of Hoshinryu. She and her brother became the sword instructors of Shinchogumi. In the fall of Edo Castle and Shogunate, Koto, and Ryonosuke attended all the battles till the siege of Shinjo Castle.
After 8 years of fighting at Shinchogumi, she survived all the battles and was released when the Shogunate lost. After she came back to Akagi, many men wanted to marry her, but she always said that she only marry to Samurai who is stronger than her, and she never married. She taught her Hoshinryu sword-fighting to her nephew and died on October 12 1927.
To make this movie we visited her homeland and visited Ryonosuke's descendant to see all the documents related to her. Mami who plays Koto learn Hoshinryu's sword-righting style shows her fighting skill. Also, other sword-fighting such as Jigenryu sword-fighting style that her rival Satsuma used. The story represents how the Samurai era was hard for strong women, and how Koto and Ko, the lady of Satsuma who finished the Samurai society and built the new government in Japan, fought against the Samurai Society. How Koto finds out her identity as a sword-man, as Samurai, and as a woman.
Synopsis
In the middle of the 19th century, it was the time of the Samurai era. Koto was born in such a time. She learned Hoshinryu's sword style with her brother, Ryonosuke. She is one of the best, but the time of the Samurai period never allows her to be a strong sword man because she was a woman. When they are training hard at their dojo, Samurai from Edo, Tamaki, visits their dojo. He invites them to Edo to challenge their sword skills. Koto decides to be a man to seak the meaning of her life to answer her life. Now her life as a Samurai begins.
Detail
Staff and Cast
The staffDirector&Writer：Toshi Asaka
Composer：Yuri Shimoda
Kimono Coordinator : Kahori Saito
Producer：Toshi Asaka/Shuten Shimojo
Cast
Nakazawa Koto : Mami Hanano
Nakazawa Ryonosuke : Yojiro Yamanaka
Shimazu Ko ：Kahori Saito
Nakajima Goro ： Hiromi Yoshioka
Tamaki：Kohji Katoh
Detail
Completion：August. 2023
Length：103min.
Language：English（Japanese Sub）
Budget：500.00 USD
Category：Samurai Action
Produced by：MustLoveJapan
Location：Nagano, Kanagawa, Japan