Kokuho

KOKUHO 🎭 国宝 

From Yakuza heir to kabuki stage play extraordinaire, Japan’s official submission for the upcoming Academy Awards, KOKUHO, is a historical drama about a young man’s ruthless pursuit of excellence, and the demons that shaped him.

Based on Shuochi Yoshida’s novel (2018), the film unfolds like a true-to-life biopic while plunging audiences into the vivid, labyrinthine world of kabuki—and the complex, cunning, and compelling players that reside within it.

After witnessing his father’s murder at the hands of a rival yakuza gang, the key player in this story, Kikuo Tachibana, is adopted by a decorated kabuki actor (Ken Watanabe) who sees his potential. Despite Kikuo’s bloodline, the kabuki actor chooses to invest in the boy’s future, setting him on a path of rigorous training using his relentless ambition. This decade-spanning story is built around Kikuo from his early days as a celebrated young protégé to his later years, where he reflects on the life that forged him.

KOKUHO delves deep into the psyche of an actor who is devotedly obsessed with their craft, revealing the thin line between brilliance and madness. At its heart, the film traces Kikuo’s ambitious journey, where every wound becomes a brushstroke, and that pain becomes his art—a story that will grip audiences even as it attempts to fit a lifetime into three hours.

The kabuki world itself is mesmerizing: every gesture, costume and set design radiates grace and elegance, brought vividly to life by a production that refuses to cut corners. None of it would work without Ryo Yoshizawa’s captivating performance as the rising star turned cast-away Yakuza son, a role that should, in any just world, earn him an Academy Award nomination.

There’s honestly so much to love about this film, the performances are undeniably breathtaking, the cinematography stages kabuki like poetry in motion, and how the story manages the peaks and valleys of life is masterful. Yet, the film (like Kikuo) suffers from over ambition. It’s the wrong medium for such a sprawling story, the narratives depth cries for the intimacy of a serialized format or the stage itself.

KOKUHO had the potential to be an all-time great film, but in trying to contain a lifetime within three hours, it just falls short—leaving the audience in awe of its beauty, and aching for what could’ve been. 

Enjoy!

7/10 🍿 🎥

Runtime: 2hrs55mins

Where:  Now Playing In Select Theatres. Releasing Nation-Wide in Early 2026.

Kokuho Review (2025) The Richmond Reviewer - December 4th, 2025.

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