Comedy, Drama, Period

Samurai Shifters

引っ越し大名！

Directed by: Isshin Inudo
2019 / 120 minutes / Unclassified all ages

Moving house is always stressful, but moving your whole town?!

Socially awkward Katagiri Harunosuke (Gen Hoshino; JFF 2018’s The Night is Short, Walk On Girl) is a samurai librarian stuck between a rock and the entire Echisen Matsudaira samurai clan. Threatened with harakiri, he is forced to take charge of a large-scale mission to relocate the whole town on horses and porters across the water and over 500 kilometres away. Thankfully Oran Itakura (Mitsuki Takahata; JFF 2018’s Destiny: The Tale of Kamakura), daughter of the former relocation chief understands how complex and thankless this role is and eventually gives into her compassionate side and helps the pitiful Katagiri. Now with the assistance of Oran and a very tight budget to work with, Katagiri must come up with ingenious ways to fund the move and persuade fellow civilians to pack light—including a decluttering approach Marie Kondo would adore.

Director Issin Inudo (The Floating Castle) brings together an all-star cast in a cheerful tale of friendship, democracy and banding together, proving that modern corporate culture isn’t that far evolved from the old samurai ways!