Why 'National Treasure' Now? The Behind-the-Scenes of 'The Resolve of Cinema' Where Actor's Bodies and Traditional Performing Arts Intersect *No Spoilers

In the 2025 Japanese film industry, the film 'National Treasure' is undoubtedly an 'event'.

It is neither a simple Kabuki film nor a mere adaptation of a literary work.
It is also a raw document that closes in on the origin of the act of 'performing'..

In this article, while avoiding spoilers, we explore why the work 'National Treasure' has moved so many people's hearts..

We will decode the 'background,' 'resolve,' and 'choices' behind it from five perspectives.

1 | Challenging the Tradition of the 'Body' - 1.5 Years of Kabuki Training -

The core of the production was the Ryo Yoshizawa and Ryusei Yokohama's Kabuki training, which was equivalent to body transformation.
Yoshizawa, in particular, spoke openly about his agony regarding the forms (kata) of the onnagata.

This process of 'breaking down and rebuilding' speaks to the current state of actors performing tradition.

Director Lee says:

2 | Makeup = A Cinematic Device as a Ritual of Transformation

'National Treasure' shows an unusual artistic obsession with makeup scenes.
However, it is not for the sake of beauty. Rather, it exists as a device to visualize the 'moment when the self changes into another'.

Director Sang-il Lee says this.

This 'transformation' is one of the biggest themes of the film 'National Treasure'.

The Director's WHY: Because Director Lee himself has been fascinated by 'actors who are possessed by their roles'

As was the case with 'Hula Girls,' Director Lee focuses on the moment of 'transformation' rather than metamorphosis.
He said the Kabuki makeup scene was so impressive that he described it as 'it was as if one soul went out and something new came in'.

The direction not found in the original work, where Shunsuke helps with the makeup, is a dramatization intended to embody the inheritance, severance, and craving of blood and talent in a single cut.

3 | Innovation in Camera Work: 'Feeling' Rather Than 'Watching'

Unlike typical stage films, 'National Treasure' has extremely few perspectives from the audience seats.
Instead, it frequently uses shots that capture the stage from behind the actors.

This is an attempt to make the audience experience the “viewer’s side” not as an observer, but to feel the loneliness and tension of the “performer’s side”.

Furthermore, the camera traverses the “reality within the stage / stage within reality / inner self within the performance” three-layered structure freely.

Director's WHY: Because Director Lee sought to capture the 'loneliness of the performing human' as someone who has experienced it

Director Lee, who also constructed an ensemble drama with a multi-layered structure in 'Rage,' showed the stage as a lonely battlefield for the performer this time. He wanted the audience to re-experience 'what the performer sees and hears' rather than just watching a standard stage film.

The reason there are many shots from behind is due to a directorial philosophy that avoids peeking at the ‘performing human’ from the outside.

4 | Psychological Strategy Embedded in the Performances

This work features three performances: 'Dojoji,' 'Sonezaki Shinju,' and 'Sagi Musume.' The selection is a
structural device to ‘let the performances tell’ the internal changes of the characters and the narrative structure.

• 'Dojoji' is the origin—the ‘meeting and synchronization’ of Kikuo and Shunsuke.

• 'Sonezaki Shinju' is the conflict—love, jealousy, and the growth and misalignment of the actors.

• 'Sagi Musume' is the arrival—a mythical moment symbolizing the beauty and madness of dance.

The performances are not merely choices, but ‘another script’ that speaks to the relationship between humans and art. The director's

WHY: Because it is a work where ‘emotion’ comes before ‘story’

The director has stated from the beginning that he 'did not want to make a film that makes people cry through the story.' That is precisely why he chose performances filled with
‘emotional archetypes’ like 'Dojoji,' 'Sonezaki Shinju,' and 'Sagi Musume' and layered the hearts of Kikuo and Shunsuke onto them.

In particular, 'Sagi Musume' presents a transformation into ‘something not human’ through Min Tanaka’s masterful dance, which determines Kikuo’s fate.

5 | Collaboration that transcends the common sense that 'it's impossible to adapt into a film'

A composition where a leading figure in the Kabuki world, Nakamura Ganjiro actually participated in the guidance, and Ken Watanabe trained the actors not only as a 'director within the film' but also as a mentor on set. There, there was a
'guardian of tradition' and a 'performer who connects' engaging in a modern baton relay.

This project is also a rare example of attempting to sublimate the mission of challenging the limits of adapting traditional culture into film through the cinematic format.

Director's WHY: Because it was necessary to master reality in order to capture a 'fiction' that is more than reality

Director Lee is an artist who has always been particular about the persuasiveness of the 'set'. Even in this film, by thoroughly collaborating with active Kabuki actors and instructors, he sought to draw out
a reality that can only exist within the fiction of cinema.

Casting Ken Watanabe, a presence capable of 'bridging reality and fiction,' was also the director's strategic choice.

Why is it a hot topic? - 'National Treasure' refers to the act of acting itself -

This film is neither Kabuki nor a typical actor-driven movie. It is an experience itself where the audience is drawn into the extremely fundamental question of
'What does it mean to act?' and 'Why can humans become someone else?'

That is precisely why it is a hot topic. The frenzy on social media, the response to the behind-the-scenes documentary, and the sobbing in theaters all converge on a single question.

For director Sang-il Lee, 'National Treasure' is a work that confronts the question
'Is acting a human act of whittling away oneself to become someone else?' head-on.

It is a 'prayer' for the performer, and a 're-questioning' for the audience.

That is why this film has become a work that 'strikes a chord' with many people, rather than just being 'understood'.

Reference/Source

• Film 'National Treasure' Official Website (https://kokuhou-movie.jp)

• Film Pamphlet (Released in 2025)

• Shuichi Yoshida 'National Treasure' (Asahi Shimbun Publications)

• Various interview articles (Eiga Natalie, CINRA.NET, Cinema Today, etc.