Teaser for Japanese comedic historical-drama film The Floating Castle (のぼうの城, Nobō no Shiro ). Directed by Shinji Higuchi and Isshin Inudo, starring Mansai Nomura, and adapted from Ryo Wada’s 2007 novel of the same name. In theatres November 2012.
Oshi Castle
Set in feudal Japan, the story is based on the Siege of Oshi in 1590 [wiki].
It’s a battle between a small clan with 619 samurai and 2000 conscripts against a force of 23,000 troops. Hence the slightly off 20000 vs 500 tagline in the trailer.
Defending from the Oshi Castle, the minnows held on against the odds. And their fortress gained fame as The Floating Castle after surviving a huge flood attack, a siege tactic that often worked during that era.
They surrendered eventually because their main ruler lost the key battle in Odawara [wiki].
Not sure how the movie is going to end but from the trailer seems like they’ll not reach the surrender part.
The original Oshi Castle no longer exist. Gyoda City built a replica of the castle in 1998 to boost tourism and to serve as the city’s local history museum.
Movie cast
Famous stage actor Mansai Nomura plays Nagachika Narita, the genius castellan. Nana Eikura plays Lady Kai, a key leader of the small clan. Both were real figures but the personalities are fictional, since there’s not much historical data about that.
Other cast members include Hiroki Narimiya, Tomomitsu Yamaguchi, Yusuke Kamiji, Takayuki Yamada, Mana Ashida, and Koichi Sato etc. Popular veterans like Masachika Ichimura and Honami Suzuki also appear as cameo roles in the film.
[Update] The film racked up ten nominations at the 36th Japan Academy Prize, and won one award for Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction.
