Actor Ryo Yoshizawa appeared at the completion report meeting for his starring movie "National Treasure" (directed by Lee Sang-il, to be released on June 6th) held in Tokyo on April 23rd. Yoshizawa, who plays the protagonist Kikuo in the film, who was born into a clan of yakuza but was adopted by a kabuki actor's family and devotes his life to the arts, said, "I would say this is the culmination of my acting career so far, and I've poured everything I've learned into this film."
Yoshizawa said that he faced the role of Kikuo for about a year and a half, including the filming period, after undergoing Kabuki rehearsals. "It's not easy to face one role as a character for a period of a year and a half, even if you try. I put my all into every production, but this one took a whole lot of time and energy. I went to the set with that much on my shoulders," he said of playing a Kabuki actor, saying, "I think there are many areas where I'm lacking technically, but I felt our reckless spirit and determination as Kikuo, and that's the point I want people to see."
Regarding Yoshizawa, who played Kikuo, his co-star Ken Watanabe praised him, saying, "After reading the original work, I thought that no one could play the role of Kikuo, but there he was. I even told the director, 'This will be Yoshizawa's masterpiece.' As a fellow actor, I have a lot of respect for him for creating something amazing."
Appearing at the event were Yokohama, Takahata Mitsuki, Terajima Shinobu, Ai Mikami, Tanaka Min, and director Lee.
The film is based on the novel of the same name by Shuichi Yoshida, known for works such as "Parade" and "Park Life." It is a major work of over 800 pages, serialized in the Asahi Shimbun newspaper from 2017 and published in book form in 2018. Set in postwar Japan during the period of rapid economic growth, the story follows the protagonist Kikuo (Yoshizawa), who was born into a clan of yakuza but was adopted by the family of kabuki actor Hanjiro Hanai (Watanabe), who meets Hanjiro's heir, Shunsuke (Yokohama). This epic story is about two men of opposing bloodlines who risk their lives to dedicate their lives to the arts.
