Part of the 2026 season: Knowing Me, Knowing You
Hakkenden: Fiction and Reality
Hakkenden, 八犬伝
Director SORI Fumihiko
Cast YAKUSHO Koji, UCHINO Seiyo, TSUCHIYA Tao, KUROKI Haru
2024, 149 min, English subtitles
In early 19th-century Edo, celebrated novelist TAKIZAWA Bakin (YAKUSHO Koji) embarks on an ambitious story of eight samurai warriors, bound by a mystical orb that grants them supernatural powers to lift the curse afflicting the Satomi clan. Seeking an illustrator, Bakin turns to his close friend, the legendary ukiyo-e master KATSUSHIKA Hokusai (UCHINO Seiyo). Though Hokusai declines to collaborate, he continues to visit, eager to hear each new chapter as it unfolds.
Nearly three decades pass, but when his life’s work reaches its climax, Bakin’s private life takes its toll — in addition to family strife, he begins to lose his sight. Just as despair sets in, his devoted daughter-in-law, Omichi (KUROKI Haru), offers to assist him, rekindling his determination to complete the masterpiece.
Hakkenden has been adapted for film numerous times since the 1950s, but this adaptation is different. Masterfully directed by SORI Fumihiko (Ping Pong, 2002), it effortlessly blends the intimate true story of some of Japan’s most renowned artistic historical figures with the world of fascinating heroes Bakin created, alongside breath-taking visual effects.
Contains fictitious action sequences
©2024 “Hakkenden: Fiction and Reality” Film Partners
公式サイトはこちら:https://www.hakkenden.jp/
Past screenings
- Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) Saturday 7 February, 17:45
- Riverside Studios Wednesday 25 February, 20:00
- Exeter Phoenix Saturday 14 March, 15:30
- Brewery Arts Cinema Saturday 14 March, 17:00
- Cinema City Monday 23 March, 19:45
- City Screen Wednesday 25 March, 19:30
- Picturehouse @ FACT Wednesday 25 March, 19:30
- Firstsite Sunday 29 March, 11:00
If you like this you may like the following
All films in this season
A Bad Summer
Adabana
ANGRY SQUAD: The Civil Servant and the Seven Swindlers
Blue Boy Trial
Conflagration
Ghost Killer
Hakkenden: Fiction and Reality
I Am What I Am
Kaneko's Commissary
Like Asura
Love Doesn't Matter to Me
Missing Child Videotape
NEMURUBAKA: Hypnic Jerks
Petals and Memories
Sham
She Taught Me Serendipity
Silence of the Sea
Strangers in Kyoto
Teki Cometh
The Final Piece
The Hotel of My Dream
The Last Blossom
The Man Who Failed to Die
The Real You
Ura Aka: L'Aventure
What Should We Have Done?





The Hotel of My Dream
Teki Cometh
Conflagration