To commemorate the release of the film "Super High Speed! Sankin Kotai," an exhibition event titled "Nihonbashi Edo Chaya: The Starting Point of the Five Highways" kicked off on June 18th in the central hall on the first floor of the main building of the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi Main Store. It will run until the 24th.
On the first day of the event, the 18th, a feudal lord's procession of approximately 20 people, including samurai carrying palanquins, samurai carrying long spears, and others, strolled through the store as part of the opening event. The venue displayed costumes worn by the film's lead actor, Kuranosuke Sasaki, and actress Kyoko Fukada, as well as panels introducing scenes from the film and materials related to sankin kotai. Also on display were specialty products from Yunagaya Domain (Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture), the setting for the film.
On the same day, the "Fuku ga Mankai Fukushimatai" (Fuku ga Mankai Fukushimatai), a promotional team promoting Fukushima nationwide, also attended the venue and performed songs and dances promoting Fukushima. "Through this film event set in Fukushima, we hope to promote Fukushima's famous products, including peaches and sake, as well as Akabeko, a traditional toy said to bring happiness, and Ohori Soma ware (a traditional craft produced in Namie, Fukushima Prefecture), to people all over Japan. We hope that people will come and visit Fukushima, especially Iwaki City, where the film is set," said the team members. A staff member at the store commented on the film and its collaboration with Fukushima Prefecture, saying, "With the opening of Nihonbashi Fukushimakan MIDETTE, an antenna shop showcasing Fukushima's specialty products, near the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi main store on April 12, we decided to hold this event in the Central Hall to promote Shochiku (the film's producer and distributor) and Fukushima Prefecture. The Edo Chaya teahouse in the hall, modeled after a teahouse from the Edo period, is open to the public as a rest area, so we hope that customers will use it as a community space." "Super High Speed! Sankin Kotai" (director: Motoki Katsuhide) is a period comedy in which Naito Masamune (Sasaki Kuranosuke), the lord of the Yunagaya domain, is given the impossible task of completing the sankin-kotai (alternate attendance) system, which normally takes eight days, within five days by the Edo Shogunate. Naito devises a plan to accomplish the task in just four days. It will be released nationwide from June 21st.