Jakoman and Tetsu (1964 film)

Jakoman and Tetsu (ジャコ萬と鉄, Jakoman to Tetsu), also known as One-Eyed Captain and Tetsu[1] is a 1964 Japanese film directed by Kinji Fukasaku based on an earlier screenplay by Akira Kurosawa[2] and Senkichi Taniguchi that was based on the novel Nishin gyogyo (English: Herring Fishery) by Keizo Kajino.[3] The screenplay had previously been filmed by director Senkichi Taniguchi in 1949.[4][2][3][5][6][7][8]

Jakoman and Tetsu
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKinji Fukasaku
Written byKeizo Kajino
Akira Kurosawa
Senkichi Taniguchi
Screenplay byAkira Kurosawa
Senkichi Taniguchi
Based onHerring Fishery by Keizo Kajino
StarringKen Takakura
Tetsurō Tamba
CinematographyMakoto Tsudoi
Edited byYoshiki Nagasawa
Music byMasaru Satō
Production
company
Distributed byToei
Release date
  • February 8, 1964 (1964-02-08)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Plot

In March 1947, the 21st year of the Shōwa era, aging fishery boss Kyubei is facing another year of financial uncertainty in Kamu Village on the Shimamui Coast on the Shakotan Peninsula in northern Hokkaido. Kyubei and his son-in-law Soutaro borrow money and hire a group of migrant workers as fisherman, but a one-eyed man named Jakoman arrives and throws Kyubei's fishing operation into disarray, terrorizing the other fishermen and vowing revenge on Kyubei for stealing his boat and leaving him nearly drowned at Sakhalin three years earlier. Near the end of the fishing season, Kyubei's young and rowdy son Tetsu, believed to be lost at sea in the Philippines, miraculously returns and decides to confront Jakoman.

Cast
  • Ken Takakura as Tetsu (鉄)
  • Tetsurō Tamba as Jakoman (ジャコ萬)
  • Isao Yamagata as Kyubei (九兵衛), Tetsu's father
  • Yōko Minamida as Masa (マサ), Tetsu's older sister
  • Kumeko Urabe as Taka (タカ), Tetsu's mother
  • Wakaba Irie as Young farm girl (牧場の少女)
  • Hizuru Takachiho as Yuki (ユキ)
  • Shinjirō Ehara as Osaka (大阪)
  • Shirō Ōsaka as Soutaro (宗太郎), Masa's husband and Tetsu's brother-in-law

Production

It was a very unusual project for Ken Takakura.[9][10] Takakura had seen the 1949 Toho version when it was first released and was so excited that he couldn't sleep at night, so he asked Shigeru Okada, then the director of Toei's Tokyo Studio, to let him do it. Okada had declared that he would make Takakura a 100-million-yen star in 1964,[11] and decided to produce the film to make Takakura the definitive Toei star of 1964.[12]

When the decision was made to make the film, Takakura Ken went to the Toho Studios to greet Toshiro Mifune, the star of the earlier 1949 adaptation filmed by director Senkichi Taniguchi.[13] Mifune, who happened to be alone in the room, stood up to welcome Takakura's visit and made him some tea.[13] Takakura, who was originally a fan of Mifune, was completely thrilled and came to respect Mifune thereafter.[13]

Takakura was just about to make his breakthrough, but he did not get along well with director Kinji Fukasaku.[14] After the shooting was complete, Fukasaku also said to those around him, "I will never use such a bad actor again."[14] For this reason, Takakura and Fukasaku have only worked together on three films: Jakoman and Tetsu, Wolves, Pigs and Men, and Kamikaze Man: Duel at Noon, in which Takakura made a special appearance. Yasuo Furuhata has said that Ken Takakura was originally intended to play the lead role in Battles Without Honor and Humanity, but Shigeru Shundo advised Ken that he should not take the role. The other reason why Ken decided not to appear in the film was because he did not get along well with Fukasaku following the filming of Jakoman and Tetsu.

The film was shot on location on Shimamui Coast on the Shakotan Peninsula[15] from December 1 to December 20, 1963.[16] In the summer the area is crowded with fishermen and swimmers from Sapporo, but in the winter it becomes a lonely fishing village.[17] The town of Irashatomachi welcomed the 80 people from Toei's film crew with a banner reading "Welcome Toei Film crew".[17] Every day the cast and crew were treated to a feast of seafood, including hockey pike, but Takakura hated fish and could only eat squid sashimi. The filming took place on the Shimamui Coast, over the rocky mountains from Irashatomachi. The unit of herring caught was called "one stone" or "two stones", but this area was once called "a thousand-stone fishing ground", and the wide coast was filled with herring. It was one of the best fishing grounds in Hokkaido, where tens of millions of dollars were made overnight. 40 million yen were spent to renovate a dilapidated herring house and a tunnel dug to transport herring by trolley.[17] The usual weather forecast is sunny, but this film was chosen to be shot when the waves of the Sea of Okhotsk were raging in order to bring out the desolate atmosphere of the extremely cold northern sea.[16]

Toshiro Mifune, who played Tetsu in the earlier 1949 film adaptation, had worn a rubber pants on his lower body and had been naked on his upper body,[18] but the night before the location shooting, Takakura claimed, "If it'll make a good movie, I'll do it in just a loincloth."[10][18] Fishermen go into the sea with grease covering their bodies, but Takakura simply jumped into the sea at minus 16 degrees Celsius, with people around him warning him that he would die.[10][12][18] He was immediately pulled out, regretting his decision. He slept for three days and almost died.[18]

Release

The film was released in Japan on February 8, 1964.

References
  1. Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film - D. Chris - Google Books. Bloomsbury Academic. 27 May 2005. ISBN 9781845110864. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  2. Richie, Donald (1965). "The Films of Akira Kurosawa". University of California Press – via Google Books.
  3. Galbraith, Stuart (16 May 2008). The Toho Studios Story. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9781461673743 – via Google Books.
  4. Outlaw Masters of Japanese Film - D. Chris - Google Books. Bloomsbury Academic. 27 May 2005. ISBN 9781845110864. Retrieved 2021-11-18.
  5. Limbacher, James L. (1979). Haven't I Seen You Somewhere Before? Remakes, Sequels, and Series in Motion Pictures and Television, 1896-1978. Pierian Press. ISBN 9780876501078 – via Google Books.
  6. Limbacher, James L. (1969). Remakes, Series, and Sequels on Film and Television. Audio-Visual Division, Dearborn Public Library – via Google Books.
  7. Anderson, Joseph L.; Richie, Donald (5 June 2018). The Japanese Film. Princeton University Press. ISBN 9780691187464 – via Google Books.
  8. Kurosawa, Akira (27 July 2011). Something Like an Autobiography. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 9780307803214 – via Google Books.
  9. 由原木七朗 (February 1964). "スタァと共に 血の通った人間を演りたいよ 高倉健インタビュー|和書". 映画情報. 国際情報社: 60.
  10. 由原木七朗(Tokyo Shimbun文化部)・小山耕二路(近代映画編集長) (April 1964). "月間映画評 『ジャコ萬と鉄』と『道場破り』は佳作|和書". 近代映画. 近代映画社: 221.
  11. 由原木七朗. "その日のスター(5) 高倉健|和書". 近代映画. 近代映画社 (January 1964): 158.
  12. "寒風吹きすさぶ北海道積丹半島に現地ロケを敢行して、逞しい意欲を見せる映画人魂 ジャコ萬と鉄 撮影快調|和書". 映画情報. 国際情報社: 35–36. March 1964.
  13. "人物リサーチ ナゼ離婚のうわさが出るのか 高倉健の4つの断面|和書". 週刊平凡. Magazine House (Oct. 3, 1966): 91.
  14. "～最後の銀幕スターが残した言葉～ 健さんを探して 苦手だった『理詰め』深作監督|和書". Nikkan Sports連載. 日刊スポーツ新聞社. February 17, 2015. p. 22.
  15. "新作グラビア ジャコ萬と鉄 深作欣二作品|和書". Kinema Junpo. キネマ旬報社 (February 1964): 60.
  16. "撮影所通信 ジャコ萬と鉄 深作欣二作品|和書". Kinema Junpo. キネマ旬報社 (January 1964): 85.
  17. 高倉健. "東映作品『ジャコ萬と鉄』北海道ロケの記真冬の北海道で荒海にザブン!|和書". 近代映画. 近代映画社 (March 1964): 75–77.
  18. 松島利行 (February 10, 1992). "〔用意、スタート〕 戦後映画史・外伝 風雲映画城／34 フンドシで海へ". Mainichi Shimbun夕刊. 毎日新聞社. p. 5.
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