Takahisa Zeze's Sukiyaki Opens Tokyo Film Festival
The new drama depicts the creation of the 1961 ballad that became the first Asian track to top the U.S. charts.
By Justin Brooks ·
Takahisa Zeze’s new drama, titled Sukiyaki, serves as the opening film for the 2026 Tokyo International Film Festival. The movie depicts the history of the 1961 song that sold more than 13 million copies worldwide and became a symbol of Japan’s postwar recovery.
The film centers on composer Hachidai Nakamura, played by Junichi Okada. It traces his partnership with lyricist Rokusuke Ei, portrayed by Tori Matsuzaka, and their collaboration with singer Kyu Sakamoto, played by Taiga Nakano. The story explains how an ill-fated recital left Nakamura in debt and addiction during the rise of rockabilly. He found success by writing a rockabilly score for a 1959 Toho movie, a studio that is also distributing the 2026 film.
In 1961, Nakamura and Ei wrote Ue o Muite Aruko, which translates to I look upwards as I walk. Nakamura blended traditional Japanese scales with jazz chords and U.S. pop influences. Ei drew his melancholic lyrics from the failure of the Anpo protests to stop a security treaty that maintained a large American military presence in Japan. Sakamoto, who received the sheet music only two hours before the July 21, 1961, premiere at Tokyo’s Sankei Hall, added his own distinct style. He sang in a minor key, altered the rhythm, and arrived a beat late, mimicking the balladeers of his childhood.
The single sold 300,000 copies in Japan between November 1961 and January 1962. British label executive Louis Benjamin heard the track in 1962 and gave it to Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen. Their instrumental version, titled Sukiyaki, reached the British top ten in February 1963. Capitol Records later released the original Japanese version in the United States on May 3, 1963. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in June, making Sakamoto the only Japanese artist to achieve a U.S. number one until 2020.
The song’s global success coincided with Japan’s double-digit economic growth and the rise of brands like Sony and Toyota. Toshiba reissued the single with the title Sukiyaki in katakana, labeling it a global hit. International cover versions followed in Chinese, Spanish, German, and French. In 1981, A Taste of Honey topped the Billboard R&B chart with a version using lyrics provided by Ei.
Sakamoto died on August 12, 1985, in Japan Air Lines Flight 123, the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in aviation history. The song has since appeared in various media, including a 2011 Ghibli film and a 2021 Tokyo Olympics closing ceremony. The new film opens in Japan on Christmas Day, reuniting the trio of characters that Sakamoto reportedly wanted to bring back together before his death.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
