Black Belt

Kuro-obi (黒帯, internationally Black Belt) is a Japanese film by director Shunichi Nagasaki, which premiered on 13 October 2007. The story is set in 1932: after the death of master Eiken Shibahara, his three pupils clash over the black belt, the symbol of succession, while the military police want to take control of their dojo. One of the pupils holds to the master's pacifist principles, another defeats the attackers. Japanese sources set the story in Japan, English Wikipedia and some reviews in Manchuria. We did not find a real event on which the film would be based, and we regard the characters as fictional. The film rests on its cast: the three lead roles are played by dan holders from three different schools of karate. Akihito Yagi (Giryu) is a grandson of Meitoku Yagi, the founder of Meibukan Goju-ryu, Tatsuya Naka (Taikan) is an instructor of the Japan Karate Association, that is, of Shotokan, and Yuji Suzuki (Choei) practises Kyokushin. According to Japanese sources, the Japan Karate Association cooperated on the film in particular. For Yagi, acting was new; before shooting he went through acting training with the Ikeda-juku theatre group. According to an interview, director Nagasaki visited Okinawa to see karate techniques on the spot. The running time is 95 minutes. Fuyuhiko Nishi, who prepared the film and led its fight scenes, later made High Kick Girl! (2009), in which Naka and Yagi star again.

Martial arts in this work

Fight choreography

Fuyuhiko Nishi, who also appears in the film, is credited with planning and leading the fight scenes; Akihiro Noguchi did the action coordination. The lead actors did not direct the choreography, but each shows his own school: Naka Shotokan, Yagi Meibukan Goju-ryu, Suzuki Kyokushin. The difference between styles is thus part of the casting itself. The fights were shot without wires, in sand, mountains and mud, where the final duel also takes place; Naka called the outdoor shooting physically demanding. Whether the strikes were full contact or stopped short of the target, we did not find in the sources.

People and martial arts

• Shunichi NagasakiDirector
• Fuyuhiko NishiAction director· Karate
• Akihito YagiActor — as Giryu· Meibukan Goju-ryu (real practitioner)
• Tatsuya NakaActor — as Taikan· Shotokan (real practitioner)
• Yuji SuzukiActor — as Choei· Kyokushin (real practitioner)
• Yosuke NatsukiActor — as Eiken Shibahara· Karate (portrays the art on screen)
• Akihiro NoguchiStunt coordinator