KOKUHO | Trailer 2 – In theatres February 2026
KOKUHO
Nominee for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 98th Oscars®
A film by Sang-il Lee
Now playing in theatres
Follow @kokuhofilm for more updates
https://brnw.ch/21wX2pe
Nagasaki, 1964. After the death of his father, the leader of a yakuza gang, 14-year-old Kikuo is taken under the wing of a famous Kabuki actor. Alongside Shunsuke, the actor’s only son, Kikuo decides to dedicate himself to this traditional form of theatre. Across decades, the two young men grow and evolve together – from acting school to the grandest stages – amid scandals and glory, brotherhood and betrayals, as each pushes to become the greatest living Kabuki master.
From acclaimed director Sang-il Lee (Pachinko), KOKUHO (meaning “national treasure”) is a film of awe-inspiring scope and sumptuous beauty, and a monument to the artists who would sacrifice everything in the pursuit of the ultimate performance.
41 Comments
この予告が1番の正解
Congratulations on the New Year's Eve screening at the Tokyo Kabukiza Theater.👏👏 💐The trailer, which begins with Hanjiro's monologue, is surprisingly well-made and draws you into the world of the film. 🎬The film also includes famous Kabuki plays such as "Dojoji" and "Sagi Musume," as well as Chikamatsu Monzaemon's "Sonezaki Shinju." Perhaps the artistic spirit residing in the protagonist, Kikuo, is the incarnation of a beautiful devil. Shunsuke also delivers a fantastic performance. 👏👏I hope it makes it to the Oscars.💐💐💐
内容は良く良く考えてみると何じゃこりゃ？な感じだけど面白く感じました。演技力でストーリーをカバー。
It will be a Historic ‼️‼️😭😭😭👍㊗️🌸🌸🌸
寺島しのぶのけっこ〜嫌な性格してんなコイツ！って役が昔から上手いから、もう素なんじゃないかとさえ思えてくる😂
I wanna be KOKUHO‼️😭
The production design is beautiful
昔から歌舞伎座や国立劇場などに通っていたものです。個人が前に出る世界ではなくあくまでもその家の芸を受け継ぎ次の世代へ引き継ぐことが本質。日本で一番うまい歌舞伎役者にしてくれという願い方自体にある種の現代的あるいは日本的ではない個のあり方を感じてしまった。悪魔との取引という発想自体が異質。西洋的異端の美学的文脈を、監督が自然と入れ込んだのだと感じます。外部からあるいは周縁から中心へ向かう運動には監督ご自身の人生も反映されているのかもしれません。そういう違和感も含めて、現実の歌舞伎の世界とは少し異なる美学を有している映像作品なのかなと思いました。歌舞伎を題材としつつ独立した作品世界なのだと受け取りました。
悲しさや同情で泣くことは何度もあったけど、美しさに圧倒されて勝手に涙が出てきた映画はこれが初めてだったな
小説読んで欲しい
They lost me when he did a deal with the Devil…. Seriously everyone is spellbound by supernatural darkness. The evil world of self again and again.
This is a fascinating topic
❤❤❤
After watching this movie, seeing Bando Tamasaburo’s performance (who I suspect was the inspiration for the film) makes you realize he is on an entirely different level. The real thing far surpasses the movie, highlighting his true greatness. His face, posture, movement, and costumes—everything is the absolute ultimate. It’s easy to see why Yukio Mishima handpicked him. He might be the embodiment of "The Ultimate Japan" that would leave even Europe in awe.
Forget Hamnet this is a better star crossed lover period piece for actors to really go over the top
https://youtube.com/@lifesurroundings1209?si=3f9vIuIhY_T7yGDK
Does it come out on February in Japan ?? And November in u.s or what???
It is evident Director Lee's Korean heritage/roots influenced how this film was directed and portrayed — more visceral and visually enticing and bold.
He did a great job showing the parallels between Kabuki and Yakuza –both operate with the same power mechanics:
– Hierarchy above individuality (talent alone doesn’t free you. Your place is determined by position, not selfhood)
– Lineage over merit (belonging is inherited or granted — never earned freely)
– Ritualized suffering (pain isn’t accidental.
It’s evidence of commitment)
– Silence is survival (speaking out ends your future; endurance is rewarded; dissent is betrayal)
– Ritual as disguise (Yakuza: ceremonies mask coercion as honor. Kabuki: beauty and tradition mask coercion as culture. The difference is aesthetic, not structural.)
Kabuki is filmed like an institution that consumes people, not one that elevates them.
The uncomfortable realization — When you strip away reverence, nationalism, beauty what’s left is:
a closed male power system that survives by discipline, silence, and ritual.
That resemblance to Yakuza isn’t insult —
it’s exposure of structure.
Kabuki feels like Yakuza because both are systems where:
– hierarchy outranks humanity
– loyalty replaces freedom
– ritual disguises control
And once you see that, kabuki stops looking like art —
and starts looking like organized power wearing makeup.
この予告が好きすぎて中毒のように毎日見に来てる
最近「素晴らしき世界」観てこれ観たから糖尿病はヤベぇって事が良くわかった。
❤❤❤
これみて、その後坂東玉三郎(多分この映画のモチーフ)の芸見たら、本物は映画を軽く超えていて、さらに玉三郎のすごさがわかる。
顔、体幹、所作、衣装――すべてが究極。三島由紀夫 に抜擢されたのも頷けました。
ヨーロッパも黙る「日本の究極」とは、こういう存在かもしれない。
出来るなら円盤ではなく劇場で見てほしい
Masterpiece
Want this film to be shown in Germany soon ❤
will i be able to watch it in mexico!?
昨日見てきました。
曽根崎心中で横浜流星が糖尿で具合悪そうなの見て、めっちゃ具合悪なって途中退出しました。
屈みながら退出する時、横目で映画見たら横浜と吉沢亮も舞台場から退出してるからクソ恥ずかしかった。
映画の内容全部吹き飛んだ。
万菊「でもあれですよ」
→「 But ae careful」
丁寧な翻訳だなぁ
あれ、は簡単な説明できないからね
This was too boring and I felt tortured watching it as i battle sleepiness. The story is so dull and characters were too boring. Not something to spend time on. Wasted money and time. 3/10..3 is for good cinematography
2回観たけど、また観たくなった
小説も面白い
いやー本間にええ映画やったわ
a masterpiece!
Wow! Intriguing trailer. Hope to see it soon.
Can't wait to see it! I love kabuki theater. ❤️
Well… This means next is for the director… B4 ww2 … Takara… The Michener book kinda post ww2 in it. Ohh .. anyway .. that's my first read on not Kabuki but all female theater .. i went there …fixated .. all Scottish bricks… That was disappointing but … It was all closed still. Nothing like this expectation of this grand Kabuki in Japan even how where exactly… Hello even after this movie i wouldn't know … So that was weird when i went there to that exact same place in Micheners book. Sayonara. Tokori… In modern cgi oh i can't WAIT TO SEE THE REAL STAR WARS THING OMG COPIED TO A TEE TAKE THE GLORY OF THOSE DEAD UNBELIEVABLE BUT ITS TRUE. OMG. THRU THE RIDGES OMG. Wow. Anyway indiaba blah. I forgot the city in the book so FORGETABLE i went to Kyoto etc amazing. Houses just like ours in Busan never ever was fuzen bleached. They called that keoje kochi. So like them pimps n whores anywhere so TYPICAL. Eech. Boring as F. But what's missing here is that we all know it. From the metropolis of Greece to Rome, the gay life and loves behind, and even later married us missing. But so undeniable in Kabuki. Undeniable. And male geishas in theater prostitution so high esp theater. So a lot missing here but one story line of of one son and the other… The classic Ben Huric in the Kabuki realm is just way too gauche.
So like Memoirs of a Geisha but instead of 2006, it’s 2026!
just saw it today. incredible movie. i'll watch again if they show it on imax here in the states.
Memoirs of a Geisha is great but Kokuho is refreshing not gonna lie, I cried. This movie showed different types of love.
久しぶりに狂気の美しさを感じました。
もう、なかなかなかなか産まれない圧巻の大作だと思っています。
Went to watch it last night. Good storytelling and lovely Kabuki artistry, but I couldn’t get past the protagonist being an absolute tool. I was mad 80% of the movie. 😅
I was able to finally watch this movie in theaters in the USA. I knew very little about Kabuki or its history, but this trailer left quite the impression on me, I just had to see it for myself. Can definitely say I left the theater with my jaw slack! It was all so emotional and beautiful!