The man who bottled adrenaline and planted 3,000 trees in enemy soil.
Takamine is a biopic about Dr. Jokichi Takamine, the late biochemist known for successfully crystallizing and isolating adrenaline, which is also called epinephrine. Dubbed the father of modern biotechnology, Takamine also produced Takadiastase, a digestive enzyme still used as an ingredient in medicines. He was also enthusiastic about establishing friendly relations between Japan and the United States. He was responsible for a gift of 3,000 cherry trees in the U.S. capital, Washington D.C.
Acting
Saburo Shinoda's restrained dignity carries decades of sacrifice.
Production
Period detail makes lab coats feel like period costumes.
Writing
Makes enzyme isolation genuinely moving, somehow.
Director
Tōru Ichikawa
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The real 1912 cherry tree gift was actually orchestrated by Takamine after an earlier 1909 shipment died—he personally funded the replacement trees.
Takamine's adrenaline discovery made him wealthy enough to become one of the first Japanese homeowners in Manhattan's Upper East Side, yet he's nearly forgotten in both countries.
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