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The strongest ninja and his wife: New action film ‘Shinobi no Kuni’ stars Satoshi Ono, Satomi Ishihara
By Emi Yamada / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Blessed with unmatched battle skills and dubbed the strongest in the Iga ninja group, Mumon is greatly feared by his enemies. At home, however, he’s a bit lazy and a henpecked husband.
Mumon is the protagonist of the action film “Shinobi no Kuni” (Mumon: The Land of Stealth) based on the deadly 1579 battle between the clan governing Iga Province and the troops of a powerful feudal lord. The film is now showing in cinemas.
The movie is an adaptation of the novel by the same name by Ryo Wada, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. It’s set in the Sengoku warring states period when mighty warlord Oda Nobunaga was expanding his influence, placing one province after another under his rule.
Iga Province — part of what is now Mie Prefecture — is a hard nut to crack for Nobunaga. The province is home to Mumon, a ruthless ninja with extraordinary weapon yielding and fighting skills played by Satoshi Ono, the leader of the super idol group Arashi. Mumon lives with his strong-willed wife Okuni (played by Satomi Ishihara), who he fell in love with at first sight and brought over from another province.
One day, Oda Nobukatsu (played by Yuri Chinen), a son of Nobunaga, deploys 10,000 soldiers to suppress the province. Despite the extremely unfavorable situation, a ninja team led by Mumon works out a secret plan.
The cast also includes Ryohei Suzuki as Shimoyama Heibee, a rival ninja whose duel with Mumon is a highlight of the film, and Yusuke Iseya as Heki Daizen, Nobukatsu’s brave liege man.
The following are excerpts from a recent interview with Ono and Ishihara:
The Yomiuri Shimbun: The dialogue between the two of you in the first half of the film sounds like a romantic comedy. Okuni is stern with Mumon because he earns very little. She even doesn’t allow him to enter the couple’s house.
Satoshi Ono: Mumon is probably happy about his wife’s attitude, which makes him even more passionate about her. The protagonist is a poor provider, but he’s committed to defending his loved one from any imminent danger, in any way possible.
SLIDE 1 OF 2PREVNEXT
© 2017 eiga “Shinobi no Kuni” seisakuiinkai
A scene from the film “Shinobi no Kuni”
Satomi Ishihara: Mumon’s love is very sincere, like a little boy who loves his mother. Okuni sometimes cherishes him, while at other times she can’t help but urge him to pull himself together. Her love for him is similar to maternal love in the beginning, and changes to respect as the story unfolds.
Q: What do you think of a woman like Okuni?
Ono: Well, I’m rarely...
Ishihara: You’re rarely treated coldly [like Mumon]?
Ono: [Mumon] isn’t allowed to enter their house. It’s miserable. (Laughs.)
Ishihara: There’s a clear hierarchical relationship between the couple.
Ono: I don’t think I could stand [such a situation] ...
Ishihara: She’s only kind once in a while.
Q (to Ono): This is your first collaboration with director Yoshihiro Nakamura since the 2011 film “Kaibutsu-kun” (The monster kid). He said you were perfect for Mumon.
Ono: I don’t know why he said that. I was told to act natural, so I performed just as I usually do.
Ishihara: It seems Mr. Ono can do whatever he’s asked without much effort, even under the pressure of people’s great expectations. He may sometimes want to say, “I’ve made a lot of effort,” but he won’t say anything like that. He must have spent so much time and energy on performing better.
Ono: (Looks down shyly while rubbing his nose.)
Q: How did you figure out how to play the ninja role?
Ono: I figured out nothing!
Ishihara: See? It’s just how he is.
Ono: I’m not lying. I decided I would just let things go — I’d start the film shooting while keeping cool and just try to make myself more like the director’s image of my role.
Q: I was amazed to see [Mumon’s] powerful actions and acrobatic movements.
Ishihara: They were terrific. Watching the finished film, I was very excited and almost shouting: “Mumon, keep fighting! Never die!”
Ono: Mumon has a slight smile when he faces off against his enemies, who are desperate to attack him. I’d never been in action scenes without looking serious.
Ishihara: “Smile” was the most frequent instruction the director gave you during the shooting.
Ono: Even when I was tightly bound by wire [to perform in the air] and feeling like my ribs were almost broken.
Ishihara: The director also said things like “Smile to look a little more easygoing” and “Show your teeth more.” But in the duel with Heibee, Mumon suddenly becomes formidable-looking.
Ono: It took three days just to shoot that scene, which lasts only a few minutes in the film. Ryohei-kun [Suzuki] and I fought very close to each other [with daggers in our hands], so we could get hit right in the face if we made any wrong moves, so I was very tense. The two of us were always together [during the shooting of the scene], but we seldom talked to each other [even in our free time]. Instead, I always simulated the fight scene in my mind.
Q: How did you feel about this film?
Ishihara: It depicts ninja as a group of people who are greedy and savage. But even such guys can change if they have someone to defend, and can recognize that what they took for granted is not a matter of course.
Ono: [The Sengoku period] was a time when many people, including Mumon, didn’t feel guilty about killing people. However, I believe he will stop killing people in the days after the last scene of the movie. Perhaps changes of this kind have taken place over and over in history, helping to build a peaceful society today.Speech
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003804399
By Emi Yamada / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Blessed with unmatched battle skills and dubbed the strongest in the Iga ninja group, Mumon is greatly feared by his enemies. At home, however, he’s a bit lazy and a henpecked husband.
Mumon is the protagonist of the action film “Shinobi no Kuni” (Mumon: The Land of Stealth) based on the deadly 1579 battle between the clan governing Iga Province and the troops of a powerful feudal lord. The film is now showing in cinemas.
The movie is an adaptation of the novel by the same name by Ryo Wada, who also wrote the screenplay for the film. It’s set in the Sengoku warring states period when mighty warlord Oda Nobunaga was expanding his influence, placing one province after another under his rule.
Iga Province — part of what is now Mie Prefecture — is a hard nut to crack for Nobunaga. The province is home to Mumon, a ruthless ninja with extraordinary weapon yielding and fighting skills played by Satoshi Ono, the leader of the super idol group Arashi. Mumon lives with his strong-willed wife Okuni (played by Satomi Ishihara), who he fell in love with at first sight and brought over from another province.
One day, Oda Nobukatsu (played by Yuri Chinen), a son of Nobunaga, deploys 10,000 soldiers to suppress the province. Despite the extremely unfavorable situation, a ninja team led by Mumon works out a secret plan.
The cast also includes Ryohei Suzuki as Shimoyama Heibee, a rival ninja whose duel with Mumon is a highlight of the film, and Yusuke Iseya as Heki Daizen, Nobukatsu’s brave liege man.
The following are excerpts from a recent interview with Ono and Ishihara:
The Yomiuri Shimbun: The dialogue between the two of you in the first half of the film sounds like a romantic comedy. Okuni is stern with Mumon because he earns very little. She even doesn’t allow him to enter the couple’s house.
Satoshi Ono: Mumon is probably happy about his wife’s attitude, which makes him even more passionate about her. The protagonist is a poor provider, but he’s committed to defending his loved one from any imminent danger, in any way possible.
SLIDE 1 OF 2PREVNEXT
© 2017 eiga “Shinobi no Kuni” seisakuiinkai
A scene from the film “Shinobi no Kuni”
Satomi Ishihara: Mumon’s love is very sincere, like a little boy who loves his mother. Okuni sometimes cherishes him, while at other times she can’t help but urge him to pull himself together. Her love for him is similar to maternal love in the beginning, and changes to respect as the story unfolds.
Q: What do you think of a woman like Okuni?
Ono: Well, I’m rarely...
Ishihara: You’re rarely treated coldly [like Mumon]?
Ono: [Mumon] isn’t allowed to enter their house. It’s miserable. (Laughs.)
Ishihara: There’s a clear hierarchical relationship between the couple.
Ono: I don’t think I could stand [such a situation] ...
Ishihara: She’s only kind once in a while.
Q (to Ono): This is your first collaboration with director Yoshihiro Nakamura since the 2011 film “Kaibutsu-kun” (The monster kid). He said you were perfect for Mumon.
Ono: I don’t know why he said that. I was told to act natural, so I performed just as I usually do.
Ishihara: It seems Mr. Ono can do whatever he’s asked without much effort, even under the pressure of people’s great expectations. He may sometimes want to say, “I’ve made a lot of effort,” but he won’t say anything like that. He must have spent so much time and energy on performing better.
Ono: (Looks down shyly while rubbing his nose.)
Q: How did you figure out how to play the ninja role?
Ono: I figured out nothing!
Ishihara: See? It’s just how he is.
Ono: I’m not lying. I decided I would just let things go — I’d start the film shooting while keeping cool and just try to make myself more like the director’s image of my role.
Q: I was amazed to see [Mumon’s] powerful actions and acrobatic movements.
Ishihara: They were terrific. Watching the finished film, I was very excited and almost shouting: “Mumon, keep fighting! Never die!”
Ono: Mumon has a slight smile when he faces off against his enemies, who are desperate to attack him. I’d never been in action scenes without looking serious.
Ishihara: “Smile” was the most frequent instruction the director gave you during the shooting.
Ono: Even when I was tightly bound by wire [to perform in the air] and feeling like my ribs were almost broken.
Ishihara: The director also said things like “Smile to look a little more easygoing” and “Show your teeth more.” But in the duel with Heibee, Mumon suddenly becomes formidable-looking.
Ono: It took three days just to shoot that scene, which lasts only a few minutes in the film. Ryohei-kun [Suzuki] and I fought very close to each other [with daggers in our hands], so we could get hit right in the face if we made any wrong moves, so I was very tense. The two of us were always together [during the shooting of the scene], but we seldom talked to each other [even in our free time]. Instead, I always simulated the fight scene in my mind.
Q: How did you feel about this film?
Ishihara: It depicts ninja as a group of people who are greedy and savage. But even such guys can change if they have someone to defend, and can recognize that what they took for granted is not a matter of course.
Ono: [The Sengoku period] was a time when many people, including Mumon, didn’t feel guilty about killing people. However, I believe he will stop killing people in the days after the last scene of the movie. Perhaps changes of this kind have taken place over and over in history, helping to build a peaceful society today.Speech
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0003804399
