A royal love triangle where the prize is an empire—and nobody wins.
Asuka Period, Japan. Ooama no Miko meets Nukata no Ookimi when he goes with his older brother (Nakano Ooe no Miko) to her house. There Nakano Ooe is wooing Nukata's older sister, and so the two younger siblings meet and fall in love. Five years later, Ooama and Nukata are married, and a daughter has just been born. Ooama talks happily to Nukata about his plans with his brother to jointly rule their empire of Yamato. As Nukata listens to his naive, happy chatter, she becomes uneasy. Later, Nakano Ooe arrives and tells Nukata that she has grown and become very lovely. He has fallen in love with her, and wants her for his own. Caught between the two brothers, Nukata flees back to her father's house. (Takawiki)
Production
Takarazuka spectacle: every frame drips with deliberate artifice.
Acting
Women playing princes with such swagger you'll forget biology.
Costume
Asuka-period court dress reimagined through fever-dream maximalism.
Director
Shibata Yukihiro
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
JP
