Buy 3-Film Pass €21
The Japanese Film Festival Ireland returns for 2026 with a fantastic 3-film line-up at Garter Lane. Tue 28 April – Kokuho, Wed 29 April – The Curse and Thurs 30 April – Akira.
JFF is delighted to present Lee Sang-il’s dazzling portrait of Japan’s Kabuki theatre, Kokohu, as part of this year’s festival.
Aspiring teenage actor Kikuo Tachibana’s life is turned upside down when his yakuza father is killed in a raid by a rival gang. Initially hungry for revenge, Kikuo sets down a different path when he is taken under the wing of iconic kabuki actor Hanai Hanjiro II as an apprentice. Together with Hanai’s own son Shunsuke, Kikuo begins the rigorous, gruelling training to become an onnagata (a male kabuki actor who plays female characters). Kikuo and Shunsuke become inseparable, but over the years their fates diverge and their friendship is severely tested as they each navigate the cutthroat world of elite kabuki theatre.
The highest-grossing Japanese live action film of all time and winner of 10 Japanese Academy Film Prizes (including Best Film), Kokuho is an epic drama about friendship, love and the often punishing cost of fame and ambition. It also offers a fascinating insight into the world of kabuki theatre, including impeccably staged performance scenes that demand to be seen on the big screen.
Win Free Tickets – see our Haiku Film Review Competition on Insta/FB. Closes Fri 10 April.
Language: Japanese (English subtitles)
Director: Lee Sang-il
Cast: Ryo Yoshizawa, Ryuesi Yokohama, Ken Watanabe
