To commemorate Toei's 70th anniversary, "Legend & Butterfly," directed by Keishi Otomo and produced mainly at Toei's Kyoto Studio in the city of Hadami, will be released nationwide on January 27, 2023 (Friday).
The film, which is said to have a total production cost of 2 billion yen, is a spectacular epic depicting the love story of Nobunaga Oda and Princess Nohime, who is called "Kicho". The film also features a distinguished cast including Hideaki Ito, Miki Nakatani, Kinya Kitaoji, Hyorui Miyazawa, Somegoro Ichikawa, and Takumi Saito. The script was written by Ryota Furusawa, who also wrote the "Confidence Man JP" series and the NHK historical drama "Dousuru Ieyasu.

Takuya Kimura, Haruka Ayase, and director Otomo made a surprise appearance on stage after the premiere screening held at T-Joy Kyoto prior to the film's release.

Kimura appeared in kimono at the press conference held before the stage greeting, and opened his speech by saying, "The staff who dressed me in all the costumes in the film came back today and dressed me in a kimono made just for this occasion. I am happy to be here, but I am also a little bit sentimental about it," he said, expressing his gratitude as well as joy.

Director Otomo, who has also made surprise post-screening appearances in Nagoya, Gifu, and Fukuoka, said he could "feel the enthusiasm of the people who saw the film," and confessed that the reaction of "You don't have to come out yet" flowed through the audience. Mr. Kimura added, "Yes! For a moment, I was happy that they had come. But for some reason, the audience was like, "Please don't make a mess. But for some reason, there was an atmosphere of, 'Please don't make a mess. Director Otomo was also surprised, saying, "I can't believe that such a mood exists even after Mr. Kimura appears." Mr. Kimura reported that he and the director concluded, "Well, this means that he will appear before the screening, not after!" and the reporters laughed when he reported that he had come to the conclusion that the film would be shown before the screening, not after.

When asked about his memories of period dramas, Kimura said, "I was interested in period dramas even before I entered the entertainment business because I had learned kendo. At the studio in Kyoto, there were many legends of period dramas waiting with bated breath in the studio, and I felt like I was either going to make it or not. But we shared our time and worked together with the heartwarming staff. I like the way everyone worked together, the fact that no one was working with a pretense, and the "what can go wrong is wrong" stance. When I left the studio after making a film in the past, I was told, "I will do my best to come back to this studio again. I said to myself, 'Next time I hope to come back as a Nobunaga,' and that came true this time, so I am full of gratitude," he said.

Asked about the Kyoto studio, Ayase said, "There are many staff members who were involved in famous films before I was born in the city of Ohata, and I was grateful to be able to work with such senior staff members while feeling the history. There are also many sets that I have never seen before, and the open sets make you feel as if you have been transported back to the Warring States period. I love the wonderful sets, kimonos and wigs. The uchikake (a type of kimono) was also very powerful and heartfelt by the costume department.

Director Otomo said of the Kyoto studios, "When I became a freelance filmmaker, I thought, yes, let's go to Kyoto. Kyoto has the real thing, and that is how I made the decision to shoot my first film after first experiencing it. And this time, I was going to make a film that would mark the 70th anniversary of Toei, so I watched 200 period dramas from the past again, and I found that they were made in a very interesting way. The films born in Kyoto play with the genre of jidaigeki in a radical and unrestrained way. Many of the films were made during the period when period dramas were at their height of prosperity. I was drawn more and more to the interesting way in which the filmmakers' thoughts and feelings were reflected in their films. Therefore, I felt that I had to do my best not to lose to my predecessors and to create a new period drama by myself so that people will look back on "Legend & Butterfly" as the germ of a new era. We were able to make this film with the best of Toei's staff and Otomo's group, and since the movie was first made in the city of Hadami, I would like to make the place where it all began exciting once again with "Legend & Butterfly". I hope that many people will call it a new period drama, a period drama of 2025," he said with passion.