Ichirô Zaitsu

A group of old men take over an empty house and proclaim it to be a new “country” they have founded, called Yama. (“Yamato” is one of the oldest names for Japan, “yama” itself means “mountain.”) The men basically refuse to be thrown out of this domicile by some gangsters, and they are successful for several months. Their resistance started on December 8th, the date Pearl Harbor was bombed (not the 7th because one crosses the International Date Line and gains a day while heading west from the U.S.) and lasts until August 15th, the date when Japan officially surrendered at the end of World War II.Read More »

Four Black American slaves, freed in Civil War, make their way to California and set sail for Africa, only to land in feudal Japan. They are held prisoner of the emperor, who also has a passion for music. The prisoners get out their own instruments and bring Dixieland Jazz to Japan.Read More »

Quote:
A Nutshell Review: Dixieland Daimyo, 26 October 2006
Author: DICK STEEL from Singapore

My initial reaction was, this sure is one strange movie. Set in the late 19th century and after the end of the American Civil War, three slaves decided to make their way back to Africa, but en route, found themselves on the shores of Japan after a shipwreck. From then on, it’s a weird mix of Japanese shogun intrigue and jazz music fused into a somewhat nonsensical end.Read More »