``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 Part 1]

Why the Kadokawa film version of "The Village of Eight Graves" never came to fruition

Initially, filming of The Village of the Eight Graves was scheduled to begin in September 1975, with a three-hour long blockbuster release date in November of the same year. Atsumi Kiyoshi was chosen to play Kindaichi Kosuke, with Ogawa Mayumi, Tanaka Kinuyo, Shimada Yoko, and Iwashita Shima among the possible cast members. The film is set in the 1950s, the same period as the original novel, and Yokomizo Seishi commented, "I really want Atsumi Kiyoshi to play Kindaichi in his original form, wearing a hakama and tearing out his shaggy hair" (Kinema Junpo, early October 1975 issue), so it was thought that this would be the first Yokomizo film to be faithful to the original.

However, production was delayed. There were several reasons for this. First of all, the script by Suzuki Takayuki was delayed. As Nomura Yoshitaro lamented, "Suzuki's script never seemed to be completed. Meanwhile, the November release date was almost decided. It was a confusing situation where the script was not even completed and the film was moving forward" ("Master of Films Nomura Yoshitaro" ), the title was put forward without any content. A speed poster (simple poster for breaking news) for "The Village of the Eight Graves," with the silhouette of a gravestone and a grave amongst overgrown weeds, had already been made, and the main staff were credited, including director Nomura Yoshitaro, original author Yokomizo Seishi (published by Kadokawa Bunko), scriptwriter Suzuki Takayuki, cinematographer Kawamata Takashi, music director Akutagawa Yasushi, and producer Mishima Yoshiji, along with the copy, "Is it the curse of a vengeful spirit or a blood-crazed demon?" However, production had not yet reached the stage of starting.

There was another problem. There was a difference of opinion within Shochiku regarding The Village of the Eight Graves. The head of the company, Chairman Kido Shiro, was opposed to the project itself, and the upper echelons were also divided on whether to make it a single blockbuster or a double feature with an additional feature. In the September 1975 issue of the industry paper Eiga Jiho, President Otani Ryuzo had this to say about the postponement of The Village of the Eight Graves:

"I had planned to make 'The Village of the Eight Graves' the peak of this year, but it seems that the script is extremely difficult. It is an adaptation from an original work. I am working with Suzuki Takayuki and Nomura Yoshitaro on the script, but it has been delayed a little, so I think this will be the biggest peak of the first half of next year."

Thus, the release date of The Village of the Eight Graves was changed from November 1975 to the following year, and the release schedule changed rapidly from the first half of the year to the second half. Kadokawa Haruki, who had proposed a partnership, was at the mercy of this. He said, "We were thinking of linking the film with the Kadokawa Bunko Yokomizo Seishi Fair in late October 1975, but no matter how long we wait, Shochiku never responds. We're just wasting time by making them wait" (The Last Kadokawa Haruki). From the film company's perspective, they were probably thinking, "Can we make a film for the convenience of bookstores?", but for Haruki, the film cannot be discussed without the noble cause of selling books. On June 13, 1975, when Haruki visited Yokomizo's house, he told Yokomizo:

"Sensei, please don't be so stingy and give us more and more works. We will have 25 titles by this fall, exceed 5 million copies, and turn the October paperback festival into a 'Yokomizo Seishi Fair'" (Weekly Dokushojin, December 29, 1975 issue)

Having made such a bold statement to Yokomizo, the Yokomizo Fair could not be postponed just because the production of "Mura of the Eight Graves" had been postponed. Therefore, Kadokawa Shoten invested 500,000 yen in advertising support for "Murder at Honjin," which was to be released on September 27th at ATG, realizing a small-scale connection between the Yokomizo Fair and the film. As a result, "Murder at Honjin" became a hit, exceeding 100 million yen in distribution revenue for the first time since ATG was established, and Yokomizo Fair also sold 2.5 million copies in October and November, leaving a strong impression as a joint publication and film. It is said that this success made Haruki decide to make a Yokomizo film on his own, marking the start of Kadokawa Films, but in reality, the success of "Murder at Honjin" had finally led to him getting serious about realizing a partnership with Shochiku's major production "Mura of the Eight Graves," and getting it on track as Kadokawa Films' first film.

On December 4, 1975, Haruki announced that Kadokawa Shoten would enter the film production business. Specifically, the company would partner with a film company to take capital, and would adapt two of Kadokawa Shoten's bestsellers into film a year. Haruki would be in charge of producing and promoting the films, with The Village of the Eight Graves, which he would work with Shochiku, being the first film, and the Hochi Shimbun reported the following day that talks were also underway with Toho and ATG. Here are Haruki's comments:

"Our policy is not just to work with Shochiku, but to actively collaborate with film companies that are in keeping with the character of the original work. Right now, I have a few projects I want to do, including Akae Baku's 'The Blade of Oedipus' and translations. I want to create a highlight that hasn't been seen in films before, focus on the selling points, and sell them big, so that both the film and the book will be a hit."

The "Kadokawa Shoten's foray into the film industry" reported at this time was slightly different from the Kadokawa Pictures that began the following year, and was centered around a tie-up with a film company. In other words, the main focus was on Kadokawa Shoten covering a certain percentage of the production costs, giving Haruki the right to take the lead in promoting the film, and it was not the style of later Kadokawa Pictures, which would fund the majority of the production costs. As a result, the film companies' reaction was lukewarm. The aforementioned Hochi Shimbun carries a comment from Shochiku's Planning Department Director Wakita Shigeru, which simply states, "We plan to start filming Yokomizo's 'The Village of the Eight Graves' at the end of February, starting with the snowy scene. We are currently in the process of finalizing the terms with Kadokawa Shoten, so I cannot disclose any details about the content yet," which is quite curt.

In conclusion, the collaboration between Kadokawa and Shochiku for The Village of the Eight Graves did not come to fruition. After "scrutinizing the conditions," the two sides were unable to find a compromise. The biggest reason was that the aforementioned release schedule, which had been constantly changing, meant that it was not possible to coordinate with the Yokomizo Fair. Regarding this point, Nomura explained, "We considered collaborating with Kadokawa, but they wanted to complete the film quickly, and we followed the opinion of (Shinobu) Hashimoto that we could not make a good film without spending money and time, so the collaboration talks fell through" (Eiga Jiho, August 1976 issue). From the perspective of Nomura, who had made Castle of Sand and Mount Hakkoda at Hashimoto Productions, which "spent a lot of time and money," Haruki's words probably seemed like shoddy production.

Haruki, on the other hand, has a different story. "Shochiku initially demanded 400 million yen for overhead costs. It was such an exorbitant amount that we got angry and protested, and the amount went down to 200 million yen, and then to 100 million yen. This alone shows how the film industry at the time was a gamble" (Mein Kampf: Delinquent Youth Aims for the World), he says, revealing his distrust of film companies. The April 7, 1977 edition of the Hochi Shimbun carried the accounts of both Kadokawa and Shochiku.

"We will cover part of the production costs, but in return we must have someone from the US participate in the accounting audit and we must screen the film in the fall. These were conditions that Shochiku could not accept." (Shochiku)

"Since we are investing in it, we just wanted to create a system where we could get our production costs back. Also, if they don't show it at the Yokomizo Fair scheduled for the fall, then there will be no point in making the film, which is different from our policy of making films to sell books." (Kadokawa)

This is the very contrast between a long-established company and a venture business, but as Nomura revealed in later years, "Shochiku did not have a commission system like that of ' Castle of Sand', so there was an idea to involve Kadokawa in the negotiations and things started to move in that direction, but Chairman Kido Shiro was opposed" ('Master of Film Nomura Yoshitaro'), revealing that the final decision was made by Shochiku's Chairman Kido, and that this was the reason the partnership with Kadokawa was called off.

Regarding Kido's opposition, Nomura gives more details about the situation in the Journal of the Kurosawa Akira Study Group (No. 8).

"At that time, Kido-san was arguing that it was stupid for an amateur like Kadokawa to be a producer, and we got into an argument."

Kido entered the film industry in 1921 and three years later became director of Shochiku's Kamata film studio, laying the foundations for Shochiku film and becoming the father of Japanese cinema. After spending half a century in the film industry, Kido, who was chairman at the time, had already reached the age of retirement, but in 1975 he dismissed production chief Mishima Yoshiro and, due to difficulties in finding a successor, he temporarily took over as acting production chief. He took up the position at the advanced age of 81, but opposed and rejected all plans for films such as "Yellow Handkerchief of Happiness" and "The Village of the Eight Graves."

However, Kido was unaware that the decisions of the dictatorial Kido had given birth to Kadokawa Films, and that Haruki would go on to team up with other major film companies besides Shochiku and dominate Japanese cinema. Even if Kadokawa and Shochiku had reached an agreement on the partnership, it is not difficult to imagine that trouble would have arisen. In fact, considering that The Village of the Eight Graves was not completed until the autumn of the following year, let alone the autumn of 1975, Haruki was right to lose patience and act in the belief that it would be quicker to make a Yokomizo film on his own.

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