is a 1988 Japanese epic tokusatsu historical dark fantasy/science fiction filmReview Lee Broughton, DVD Savant, June 30, 2003 directed by Akio Jissoji, produced by "Exe" studios and distributed by Toho Studios. It is the first cinematic adaptation of the award-winning historical fantasy novel Teito Monogatari by Hiroshi Aramata. The film stars Kyūsaku Shimada, Shintaro Katsu, Kōji Takahashi, Jo Shishido, Junichi Ishida, Mieko Harada, Kō Nishimura, and Shirō Sano among others. With a budget of around 1 billion yen (roughly $8 million), the movie was one of the most expensive live action Japanese special effects films to have been produced during that decade (by contrast, the internationally released 1984 film The Return of Godzilla was only budgeted at $6.25 million).
The movie went on to become a notable success in Japan. It was one of the top ten highest grossing domestic motion pictures of 1988.John A. Lent. The Asian Film Industry, pg. 41, Christopher Helm Publishers Ltd, February 22, 1990 It continues to be regarded in the country as a respected cult film. "今は亡き天才漫画家が「世紀末のおもちゃ箱」と批評！原作者が伝説のカルト映画『帝都物語』の裏話を明か" May, 2015 A sequel, Tokyo: The Last War, was released the following year.
Plot The movie begins in 1912 with Yasumasa Hirai explaining to Baron Eiichi Shibusawa Tokyo's long history as one of the most haunted cities in all of Japan. He specifically warns Shibusawa that the vengeful spirit of Taira no Masakado, an ancient villain, must not be disturbed, as its spirit is powerful enough to destroy the city. In response to this heeding, Shibusawa allows the Tsuchimikado sect (土御門一門) to advise him on how to make Tokyo a blessed city. However, both Hirai's and Shibusawa's efforts are opposed by the oni Yasunori Kato, a former lieutenant in the Imperial Army, who wants to destroy Tokyo by awakening Masakado's spirit. To do this, he attempts to kidnap Yukari Tatsumiya, the descendant of Masakado, to use as a medium to communicate with the spirit. However, his plans are brought to attention to the Tsuchimikado by Koda Rohan. Hirai and his followers lock Yukari inside the Tsuchimikado temple and perform the monoimi (物忌) ceremony to defend her. Kato and his followers launch a frontal assault against the temple with shikigami. Kato escapes with Yukari and uses her as a medium, but Masakado rejects his offer. Ogai Mori diagnoses Yukari as pregnant with Kato's child. Emperor Meiji passes away, marking the end of the Meiji Era. In a dramatic display of devotion to the Meiji Emperor, Hirai commits seppuku. His act divines the year of Tokyo's destruction; 1923, the Year of the Pig.
The narrative moves to 1923, Tokyo. Kato retreats to Dairen, and he and his followers use magic to cause artificial seismic waves under Dairen that echo through the Earth to Japan. Kato returns to Tokyo to awaken Masakado's spirit by himself, but is interrupted by Koda Rohan and Junichi Narutaki, who use the Chart of Eight Directions (八陣圖), a form of Kimon Tonko sorcery, in an attempt to trap him. Kato escapes, but fails to awaken Masakado. The seismic waves generated in Dairen reach Japan, and the Great Kanto Earthquake is stimulated.
The setting moves to 1927. Torahiko Terada has been appointed by Noritsugu Hayakawa as manager of the construction of Japan's first Tokyo Metro Ginza Line. Hayakawa's construction workers run into Kato's shikigami provoking Terada to seek out the aid of Dr. Makoto Nishimura to use his creation Gakutensoku to finish construction for them. Masakado summons Keiko Mekata, a miko, to defend his grave from Kato. Keiko joins forces with feng shui master Shigemaru Kuroda, who discovers the location of Kato's hideout. While Kuroda fights an Asura statue guarding the place, Keiko rushes to stop Kato, but Kato summons his gohō dōji to fend her off. Kato attempts to awaken Masakado through Yukari's child, Yukiko, but even this is unsuccessful. Keiko explains to Kato that Yukiko is not his child, but rather the result of an incestuous union between Yukari and her brother Yoichiro making her uncontrollable by Kato. Gakutensoku self-destructs, cutting off the dragon vein connected to Kato's temple. Kato tries to use onmyodo magic one last time to stimulate an earthquake, but this is insufficient and he is severely wounded from the effort. Though his plans are foiled, Kato kidnaps Keiko and takes her with him to Manchuria. The film ends amidst another annual district wide festival celebrating the birth of the capital. The Tatsumiya Family hopes for Keiko's return while Kyoka Izumi predicts Kato's return.
Cast Shintaro Katsu as Eiichi Shibusawa: The famous industrialist who pioneered Western capitalism in Japan's economy. In the story, he is head of the Tokyo Improvement Project, an ambitious enterprise calling upon the minds of specialists from a variety of fields, with the ultimate goal of making Tokyo the most powerful city in East Asia. Kyūsaku Shimada as Yasunori Kato: An evil sorcerer wielding the power of several long dead mystics (such as Abe no Seimei) who wants to destroy Tokyo and cripple the Japanese Empire in order to fulfill a 2000-year-old curse. Mieko Harada as Keiko Tatsumiya: A shrine maiden summoned by the spirit of Taira no Masakado to defend the Tatsumiya Family. Junichi Ishida as Yoichiro Tatsumiya: An official in the Ministry of Finance. He is the direct descendant of Taira no Masakado, the husband of Keiko Tatsumiya, the brother of Yukari Tatsumiya and the secret father of Yukiko Tatsumiya. Shirō Sano as Junichi Narutaki: The close friend of Yoichiro Tatsumiya, he is in love with Yoichiro's sister, Yukari. He participates in the defense of the city by fighting with the Tsuchimikado Clan against Kato as well as joining Koda Rohan in the defense of Masakado's grave. Kōji Takahashi as Koda Rohan: The famous writer of the Meiji era whose work contributed to the reformation of modern Japanese literature Koda Rohan: Britannica and who also was a renowned scholar of the supernatural.Noriko T. Reider, The Appeal of Kaidan: Tales of the Strange Determined to stop Kato and protect Yukari, he joins the Tsuchimikado Clan as a student of the onmyoji. After the death of Yasumasa Hirai, he spends several years mastering the secret mystical techniques for the purpose of defending Tokyo. During the Year of the Boar, he attempts to halt Kato's advance to Masakado's grave. Haruka Sugata as Yukari Tatsumiya: The sister of Yoichiro and also a direct descendant of Taira no Masakado and a psychic. Due to her heritage and supernatural abilities, Kato abducts her and uses her as a medium to communicate with the spirit of Masakado. She gives birth to Yukiko Tatsumiya, who is believed to be the result of Kato using his magic on her, but revealed later to be the consequence of a secret incestuous encounter between her and her brother. Kō Nishimura as Makoto Nishimura: The renowned biologist who invented Japan's first functional robot, Gakutensoku. In the story, he uses his creation to help finish the construction of Japan's first subway tunnel. In the film, Makoto is portrayed by his real-life son, Kō Nishimura. Ken Teraizumi as Torahiko Terada: The famous physicist and essayist renowned for his eccentric ideas, wide range of studies and considered the father of "nonlinear physics" in Japan.Torahiko Terada At the Tokyo Improvement Project committee, he suggests the radical concept of creating an underground city as a backup plan in the event earthquakes should strike. He is laughed off by the other members. Later however, Noritsugu Hayakawa hears of his reputation and appoints him as one of the heads of the construction of Japan's first subway system. Mikijiro Hira as Yasumasa Hirai: A master onmyoji who is leader of the Tsuchimikado Clan and the direct descendant of the legendary Abe no Seimei. For the first part of the story, he serves as the primary foil to Yasunori Kato, having all his knowledge and understanding of his magics. After the death of the Meiji Emperor, he performs a fatal act of divination to predict year of Tokyo's destruction. Sanshi Katsura as Shigemaru Kuroda: A Feng Shui expert, who in investigating strange spiritual disturbances beneath Tokyo. He serves as Keiko's assistant in the final battle against Kato. Jo Shishido as Noritsugu Hayakawa: The businessman who founded Japan's first underground railroad system. During construction of the railway, his engineers run afoul of shikigami set by Kato. Faced with this obstruction, Hayakawa must seek out aid to see his project go through to completion. Katsuo Nakamura as Ogai Mori: Legendary writer and surgeon in the Japanese army. In the story, he performs an unsuccessful abortion on Yukari Tatsumiya after she has supposedly been impregnated with Kato's child. Tamasaburo Bando V as Izumi Kyoka: Mysterious writer and fortune teller with cryptic information about Keiko's destiny. Legendary Kabuki performer Bando V is a noted Izumi Kyoka scholar who has produced many plays based on his works. Kabuki Legend Tamasaburo Bando V to Receive 27th Annual Kyoto Prize for Lifetime Achievement in "Arts and Philosophy"
Other cast members include Seiko Ito as Wajiro Kon, Hideji Ōtaki as Oda Kanno, Hisashi Igawa as Ryokichi Tagami and Ai Yasunaga as Azusa Nishimura. Hiroshi Aramata does a cameo as a brasserie client.
Production
When producer Takashige Ichise finished The Legend of the Stardust Brothers in 1984 , the Saison Group provided funding, which led to Ichise becoming an employee of Seibu Department Store. From there, he transitioned to the movie studio EXE. A colleague at the studio suggested to him the idea of producing Teito Monogatari for their next motion picture. Ichise went on to recruit director Akio Jissoji for the project.
At the time, the Seibu Department Store was holding an exhibition for the works of Swiss artist H. R. Giger. Giger was visiting Japan at the time, and Ichise personally asked to provide designs for the film's creatures, to which he agreed. Originally, he showed interest in working directly on set, however his schedule would not permit it. His main contribution was the conceptual art for the gohō dōji.
Ichise alongside Koji Tsutsumi (the son of Seiji Ttutsumi), pitched the idea to Toho Studios to distribute the picture. According to reports, the proposal was laughed at by Toho executives, who didn't think the film was practical.
The script was originally written by screenwriter Kishida Rio, who was recommended by Akio Jissoji. However Ichise did not think Rio's script was entertaining enough. Instead Ichise recruited screenwriter Kaizo Hayashi to write the script. The two stayed at the Wakaba Inn in Kagurazuka and worked on the script together. Hayashi was asked to make a "picture scroll-like film with a star studded cast". It was also written in the spirit of a New Year's movie. Hayashi was inspired by the Toei Studios gangster film Junko's Retirement Memorial Film: Kanto Hizakura Ikka, one of his favorite movies.
Many staff members who worked on the Ultraman television series were involved in the production, including director Akio Jissoji, cinematographer Masao Nakahori, and special effects director Minoru Nakano. Minoru Nakano reportedly stated that he saw Tokyo: The Last Megalopolis as representing an evolution in traditional Eiji Tsuburaya tokusatsu special effects.
The movie was the first Japanese motion picture to employ Sony HDVS equipment for filming, make it the country's first full-scale high definition VFX film. Approximately six minutes of the final movie was filmed using this technology.Yasuda, Hiroshi. Signal Processing of HDTV.: Proceedings of the Fourth International Workshop on HDTV and beyond, Turin, Italy, 4–6 September 1991. 1992. Pg. 633に関する研究石田武久, 電気通信大学, 2011-03-24