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Exit stage left: Is Japan losing its cultural soul?
A film on a dying art has triggered a wave of soul-searching in a country whose traditions are vanishing.
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A woman walking past a poster for the Japanese movie Kokuho outside a cinema in Tokyo's Roppongi district on Sept 4.
PHOTO: AFP
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TOKYO – A three-hour slow-burn epic about the ancient performing art of kabuki – classical Japanese theatre – has defied expectations, becoming a surprise box office smash at home.
The critically acclaimed Kokuho, which literally translates to National Treasure, also premiered to a standing ovation at Cannes and is Japan’s entry for Best International Feature Film at the 2026 Oscars, for which nominees will be announced in December.
