A dead dad, a hair pin, and the most dramatic gelatin business in feudal Japan.
A boy loses his samurai father and gets adopted as an apprentice to a kanten shop in Osaka. A coming of age story about human bonds and the value of life. Based on the novel of the same name by Takada Kaoru.
Production
Meticulous recreation of 1800s Osaka merchant life.
Acting
Kanato Tsukishiro's stoic grief hits different.
Costume
Period textiles that actually look lived-in.
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kanten (agar) was precious cargo in Edo-period trade; the film treats this humble commodity with almost spiritual reverence.
Takada Kaoru's original novel spent 15 years out of print before this adaptation revived interest in merchant-class fiction.
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