``Yatsu Tomb Village'' (1977 edition) What happened in the midst of the Yokomizo boom and Kadokawa films? [That's when movies were born Vol.3 middle part]

First filming of "The Village of Eight Graves"

On August 16, 1976, filming for The Village of the Eight Graves began at Shin-Osaka Station. Although scenery shots had been taken in advance, this was the first day of filming with actors in frame. The schedule was set to begin filming at Shin-Osaka Station that day, then move to Osaka Station and Yodoyabashi. The reason for starting on location in Osaka was to start from the beginning of the story and carefully get the rhythm right before beginning the long-term shoot. It was also likely based on the fact that, although filming was planned across the country, the majority of filming would take place in the Kansai region. A press conference was held at Shochiku's Osaka branch that day, attended by director Nomura Yoshitaro and lead actor Hagiwara Kenichi, and media companies based in Osaka flocked to Shin-Osaka Station to cover the filming.

The memorable first cut was the following line from the script:

"S5 Shinkansen Osaka Station

Tatsuya comes out wearing a suit and tie.

× ×

You get in a taxi at a taxi stand, tell the driver your destination, and the taxi starts driving off.

The camera captures Shoken from a distance with a bird's-eye view as he leaves The Terminal at Shin-Osaka Station, then zooms in to close in. Wearing a white jacket, pants, and a white bucket hat, Shoken looks around, checks his watch, and starts walking.

The shots taken at this time were also used in the first trailer, but if you compare them with the same scene in the finished film, you'll notice that Shoken's costume has changed to a gray suit, he's not wearing a hat, and the bag he's holding is different. Also, in the same shot in the fourth trailer, he's carrying the bag on his shoulder, and you can see that multiple takes were shot at this time with different movements.

The reason why the costumes are different between the trailer and the finished film is that the trailer was shot in a mock shoot with the media invited, and later the cast changed into the proper costumes and filmed again, but most of the other footage, such as the limestone cave shown in the first trailer, was not used in the finished film. Shoken running through the cave is also wearing a white bucket hat, which is not seen in the main film, and it seems that it was reshot for the main film. Therefore, most of the footage shot in 1976 was probably intended as a "trailer shoot" to convey to the media the fait accompli that filming had begun.

That day, Shoken continued on to Osaka Station, where Kawamata Takashi's camera followed him secretly as he walked through the crowds. Shoken headed toward Yodoyabashi, where many law offices are dotted. This scene, too, appears to have been reshot at a later date, as Shoken's costume was changed in the finished film, and there is also a scene in which he walks through Kitahama with Ogawa Mayumi, whose role had not yet been decided at this point. Thus, with a sort of warm-up atmosphere, the year-long filming of "The Village of the Eight Graves" began quietly.

However, not all of the footage shot in August 1976 was for the special trailer. The scenes at Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport), filmed in late August, make an impressive appearance at the beginning and end of the finished film. Tatsuya, played by Shoken, is set to work in the aircraft guidance department, and filming took place at Spot 22 at Haneda Airport as well as the J3 waiting room of the guidance department. There is a scene in the film in which Tatsuya guides an airplane, but since Shoken could not play the role of someone guiding a real moving jumbo jet, a Mr. M from the guidance department, who looks very similar to Tatsuya, was chosen as a stand-in. In the scene where he stands in front of a stopped airplane, it is Shoken himself.

The company's internal newsletter, "AGS Dayori," has written a detailed account of this shoot, including behind-the-scenes shots from the shoot. It shows Shoken receiving instruction from the head of the guidance department on how to use the paddle, and also shows him chatting with employees in the same work clothes during breaks in shooting. The magazine also includes a letter Shoken sent after the shoot. It conveys the atmosphere during the shoot, so we've quoted it below.

"Thank you for all your help during the filming. Thank you for teaching me how to move the paddle and other movements. Guiding planes may seem like a modern, glamorous job at first glance, but when I dressed up as a marshal and actually went to the workplace to imitate it, I felt that it was a very nerve-wracking, difficult job. This is true for other jobs as well, but in this job in particular, I felt that human relationships are more important than anything else. It's going to get colder from now on, so everyone please take good care of yourself and do your best."

Meanwhile, around this time, it was reported that Mayumi Ogawa had been cast in the role of Miyako Mori, a main cast member who had not yet been decided at the time of the production announcement. Regarding her appearance, Ogawa had this to say:

"The appeal of the original work is that Detective Kindaichi solves cases that are filled with the blood, passion, and mysterious beauty that are unique to Japan in a rational and scientific way, but I think that what's popular with young people these days is rather irrational passion and occult elements. So Miyako also emphasizes that point." (Hochi Shimbun, August 30, 1976)

This was a positive comment about the occult depictions that were changed from the original work, but the following year, when he spoke with Yokomizo on the television program "Subarashiki Nakama II," the following exchange took place regarding "The Village of the Eight Graves."

Ogawa (continued): Is it possible that this woman, Miyako, is experiencing a split within herself?

Yokomizo: It seems that way.

Ogawa: A spirit from 400 years ago...

Yokomizo: That's how it is in the new scenario.

We can see a glimpse of Ogawa trying to interpret the role of Miyako in an occult way, and Yokomizo coldly brushing it off. In the aforementioned article, Ogawa said that a friend who is into fortune telling told him that he had to do a Yokomizo work someday, so he bought seven or eight books and started reading them, and received the offer while he was reading the second one, "The Village of the Eight Graves." Perhaps Ogawa was the most suitable casting for the role, as he understood Shinobu Hashimoto's concept better than anyone else.

After filming in Osaka and Haneda, the following month, the scene of defeated warriors from 400 years ago walking to a pass overlooking the village of eight graves was shot in Akiyoshidai, Yamaguchi Prefecture. The first part of filming ended in mid-November and was suspended until April of the following year, as Yoshitaro Nomura and Shinobu Hashimoto headed to the snowy Hakkoda mountains, far from the village of eight graves. The full-scale filming of "Mt. Hakkoda" was about to begin.

Nomura himself was involved in "Hakkoda Mountain" as a producer, and had planned to shoot "Kichiku", based on a novel by Seicho Matsumoto, from December 1976 to January of the following year, while "The Village of the Eight Graves" was on hold. However, he could not afford to work on three films at once, and the production of "Kichiku" was postponed until 1978. Shochiku's chairman, Kido Shiro, is said to have recommended that they make "Kichiku" rather than "The Village of the Eight Graves" and other films.

"The Village of the Eight Graves," which took longer than normal filmmaking, had an open set for the Yatsuhaka Shrine in Hino Town, Hino District, Tottori Prefecture, built in February 1977. Filming actually took place in the summer of that year, but in order to create a dilapidated atmosphere, the set was built at this time of year and left exposed to the elements.

Atsumi Kiyoshi and Sukekiyo's Night