Takano Tofu

In the organizer's words:

高野豆腐店の春 Takano tôfuten no haru

Director: MIHARA Mitsuhiro
2023, 120 minutes, original language, Blu-ray

This drama about the owner of a tofu store is a heartwarming father-daughter story about the happiness of human relationships and ordinary life in a small Japanese town. In the male lead role, veteran star Fuji Tatsuya shines as a cranky master craftsman.

Takano Tatsuo is 76 years old and runs a tofu store in Onomichi with his only daughter Haru, who has recently returned home after her divorce. The two lead a peaceful and industrious life, but Tatsuo learns that his health is failing and worries about what will happen to Haru after his death. With the help of old friends from the shopping street, he looks around for potential partners for her and gets closer to an old acquaintance himself, whom he meets again by chance in the hospital.

Movie series
Sources of strength in life
New additions to the film library of the Japanese Cultural Institute

Where do people find strength when they hit rock bottom or suffer setbacks? The films from the Cultural Institute's film library show in a variety of ways what possibilities there can be to gain new perspectives and find a way out of difficult situations.

The first film is a drama about a seemingly intact family whose structure is disrupted by the mother's illness(Bokutachi no kazoku). A young physiotherapist also develops new perspectives as a result of his father's illness(Shiori).

However, it is not just about external wounds, but also internal ones. Two young girls find new self-confidence by playing the drums(Ai ni hibike) and two adult women are confronted with the question of how happiness and money are connected during a love affair(Ano ko wa kizoku). Understanding each other helps to overcome differences, as the stories about a young Korean woman(Tsumugu) and a tofu store owner(Takano tôfu ten no haru) show.

Fun entertainment is also provided, as a cat turns out to be a ninja in an action comedy in the style of a jidaigeki (historical film) and the employees in an office are trapped in a time loop(MONDAYS). Finally, a documentary provides rare insights into Japan's national sport(Sumôdô).

Price information:

Admission free