Rinko Kikuchi added to the cast of “Ogawa no Hotori”
Lest anyone think Rinko Kikuchi has nothing better to do than pose for obscure magazines or engage in public displays of affection with Spike Jonze, she’s once again defied expectations by joining the cast of a traditional jidaigeki drama. Today it was announced that Kikuchi will play the heroine in Tetsuo Shinohara’s Ogawa no Hotori, opposite Noriyuki Higashiyama.
The film is based on a short story by Shuhei Fujisawa (The Twilight Samurai, Love and Honor). Shinohara previously directed an adaptation of Fujisawa’s “Yamazakura” in 2008 which also co-starred Higashiyama.
Set in the fictional Unasaka domain, the story involves a samurai who’s obligated to follow an order that could destroy his relationship with his own younger sister.
Kikuchi, who had to dye her hair from blond back to black for the role, has never appeared in a jidaigeki drama before now. “The screenplay is very good,” she said. “Being born Japanese, I’ve always wanted to be in a jidaigeki. I’m very happy to have this work etched in my career.”
Kikuchi joined the shoot in Chiba on September 19th. The rest of the cast includes Ainosuke Kataoka, Machiko Ono, Chieko Matsubara, Takashi Sasano, Tokuma Nishioka, and Tatsuya Fuji.
Toei will be releasing “Ogawa no Hotori” in Japan sometime early next summer.
source; NIPPONCINEMA