When you think of a ‘famous romantic scene,’ what scene from which film comes to mind? Is it the scene from "Roman Holiday" (1953) where the two main characters ride on a scooter? Is it the scene from "Titanic" (1997) where the characters stand on the bow, buffeted by the wind? Or, is it the scene from "Call Me by Your Name" (2017) where the two main characters are lying in the grass? Romance depicted in movies always make our hearts melt.

For this article, we asked the movie writer from Shanghai, Haochen Xu to choose three of his favorite romantic scenes from Japanese film history. These scenes were then illustrated by the popular Taiwanese illustrator, Shiho So whose achievements include designing the characters for "Night Tempo". In this article, we welcome you to a romantic world of Japanese films woven from text and illustrations by these two artists.

Text: Haochen Xu, Illustrations: Shiho So, Editor: Miho Moriya, Satomi Hara (CINRA, Inc.)

"The Rendezvous" (Koichi Saito) recreates the phantom "Late Autumn" with beautiful Japanese imagery

The film, "Late Autumn" (2010) garnered critical acclaim when it was shown in the Forum section of the 61st Berlin International Film Festival in 2011. It featured Hyun Bin who starred in the South Korean TV drama, “Crash Landing on You” (2019–2020) and Tang Wei from the movie, "Lust, Caution" (2007), which was directed by Ang Lee. The film went on to sweep through film festivals throughout the world, including the 35th Toronto International Film Festival. It also caused a big stir when it was released in South Korea and Greater China. The major film from the Japanese director, Koichi Saito, "The Rendezvous" (1972) rode on that wave to become widely known.

Both "Late Autumn" and "The Rendezvous" are remakes of the film, "Late Autumn", a masterpiece from the great South Korean director, Lee Man-hee. In 1966, the original "Late Autumn" earned rave reviews at its preview screening before public release and was said to be Lee Man-hee’s crowning achievement. However, trouble arose during its transport to the Berlin International Film Festival and the film vanished. At the time, there was no other copy in South Korea and it became a phantom piece of work.

"Late Autumn" has been remade four times. The first of those remakes was "The Rendezvous" from Director Koichi Saito. In this movie, Keiko is a female prisoner who has been granted conditional leave accompanied by a prison guard to visit her mother’s grave. The story begins on a train when by chance Keiko sits next to a thief being pursued by a detective. The film depicts the short-lived, passionate love that burns for only two days.
When the film was released in 1972, Japan had hosted the 1964 Tokyo Olympics and was in the waning days of its high economic growth period. The two main characters have been marginalized by society and live difficult lives. Saito hones in on the two throughout this movie filmed entirely in the harsh cold winter landscape of Hokuriku.

The two are alone and lonely. There are very few lines in this movie. Saito, who was called a “poet of film,” brilliantly captures emotions not easily expressed in words. This is particularly epitomized in the train scene shown near the end of the film. In contrast to restrained, calm expressions, their emotions are undeniably tempestuous and volatile.

The French film-style theme music created by the composer, Hiroshi Miyagawa perfectly expresses the richness of emotion and romance portrayed in the movie. Above all, the acting of the film’s leads, Keiko Kishi and Kenichi Hagiwara, also known as Sho-Ken, is genuinely amazing! There is concealed intense passion in the exquisite expressions of Keiko Kishi, who especially had many close ups. Her expressions seem tinged with melancholy.

The film presents a train moving north along the Japan Sea in winter and two characters that can’t see a future. Director Koichi Saito, celebrated as the ‘Claude Lelouch of Japan,’ made film history by depicting Japanese romance with a variety of beautiful imagery.

Two characters come together in the climactic scene in "Tora-san, the Expert" (Yoji Yamada)

The film series, "It’s Tough Being a Man" starring Kiyoshi Atsumi and directed by Yoji Yamada (excluding some films) is a national film series representative of Japan. The lead character, Torajiro Kuruma, also called the vagabond Tora-san, is likely one of the most famous characters in Japanese film history. The fate of Torajiro’s romances is depicted in 48 films in the series released from 1969 to 1995 (an addition two films were later released), along with beautiful scenery encountered as he traveled throughout Japan.

To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the series, "Tora-san, Wish You Were Here" was released as the 50th film in 2019 and as of now is the last film in the series. It gained attention not only domestically, but also outside of Japan, particularly in Asia. It reaffirmed this author’s awareness that the "It’s Tough Being a Man" series and Torajiro are an important part of Japanese film culture.

In "It’s Tough Being a Man", the unspoiled scenery of Japan naturally draws attention, but so do the love stories portrayed in the films. In nearly all the stories, up until the middle of the film Torajiro is infatuated with the leading lady, or ‘Madonna,’ that he meets on his travels and becomes a close confidant, but when he returns to his hometown of Shibamata the films turn from love stories into human dramas and Torajiro suffers a broken heart. Even so, the fact that every year so many people wanted to watch "It’s Tough Being a Man" is probably also due to the appeal of the main actor, Kiyoshi Atsumi.

As the series progressed, the overall structure of the stories began to slightly change. In the early part of the films, you think that they are love stories about Torajiro, but as the tales unfold his role turns into that of a mediator who makes various efforts to bring the young guest stars together.

One of the particularly memorable films is the 30th movie, "Tora-san, the Expert" (1982). In this film, Torajiro really shines a light on the two guest stars that appear in the story. He seems to behave in the best supporting actor’s role, as it were. According to Shochiku Co., Ltd., the movie attracted the third highest number of viewers in the series (2.282 million).

In this film, Torajiro travels to Oita Prefecture. He visits a hot spring hotel and becomes acquainted with a young man, Saburo who takes care of chimpanzees at a zoo. Torajiro takes a liking to the simple and honest Saburo, and helps with a memorial service for Saburo’s mother who had been a maid at the hotel. The Madonna of the movie, Keiko who just happens to be staying at the same hotel also participates in the memorial service.

However, it is not Torajiro who gets together with Keiko. The older Torajiro acts likes some kind of love coach and gives advice to Saburo and Keiko.

The guest star in this movie is the singer, Kenji Sawada. The gap between this star who was at the time at the height of his popularity and his portrayal of the unlucky-in-love Saburo was very interesting. The role of the Madonna, Keiko was played by the talented Japanese actor, Yuko Tanaka who uttered the memorable line, “Well, Saburo is a handsome man.”

The two characters’ romance stumbles along, but in the Ferris wheel scene at the end, their relationship at last reaches its climax. A Ferris wheel often appears in Japanese movies, but there are very few scenes that are this romantic. In an enclosed space and alone in the ‘floating world,’ the two young people finally share their true feelings. Without a doubt, both Torajiro and the viewers wish them happiness.

"Heavenly Forest" (Takehiko Shinjo) is a pure romance capturing once-in-a-lifetime love

"Love Letter" (1995), the feature film debut from Director Shunji Iwai, is extremely popular not only in Japan, but also in South Korea and Chinese speaking communities. After its theatrical release in 1999 in China, many movie fans on review sites called it the best love story in Asian film history. It was re-released after 22 years on May 20, 2021 and took in 65 million yuan (approx. 1.1 billion yen) at the box office. This reinforced the fact that love stories from Japan are also still very popular in Asia.

Director Isao Yukisada had a hand in many films as the assistant director to Director Shunji Iwai and helmed the film, "Socrates in Love" (2004). It became a mega hit that raked in 8.5 billion yen in its first year of release. The abbreviation for the Japanese title, ‘Sekachu’ became trendy and created a social phenomenon that launched a pure love story boom for Japanese films not only in Japan, but also various Asian countries. Movies that include "Be with You" (2004), "Rainbow Song" (2006), and "Koizora" (2007) all became hit films in Asia.

One of those, "Heavenly Forest" (2006) is still garnering an enormous amount of popularity. It was directed by Takehiko Shinjo and stars Hiroshi Tamaki and Aoi Miyazaki. The film is based on the novel, “Collage of Our Life – Another Story” by Takuji Ichikawa and can be called an orthodox pure love story.

The main character, Makoto finds it difficult to make friends. He enters university and meets the other main character, Shizuru who falls instantly in love with Makoto. She starts taking pictures to get close to Makoto whose hobby is photography, but Makoto already has feelings for a classmate, Miyuki.

The highlight of this film is without a doubt the character of Shizuru. Her name written in kanji means ‘quietly flowing,’ and this main character, which truly brings to mind a quietly flowing river, further raises the bar on the ‘purity’ of pure love stories. The kiss scene in the forest that occurs halfway through the film happens when Shizuru’s feelings for Makoto are still unrequited. When he asks what she wants for a birthday present, Shizuru says she wants him to kiss her to pose for a photo so she can enter a self-portrait in a competition under the theme of ‘lovers.’ The ultimate romantic scene is created in an innocent forest where there is no one to interrupt.

After watching the entire film, viewers will understand just how important this kiss scene is. Shizuru’s yearning that is revealed at the end is sure to remain forever in the minds of many viewers. Aoi Miyazaki who played Shizuru gave a wonderful performance. The original writer is also said to have complimented her great performance of the character of Shizuru who considerably matured and transformed through the story. Indisputably, "Heavenly Forest" is her most important work from her 20s and one of the best films from the 2000s, the golden age of pure love films.