丹下左膳余話 百万両の壺 (Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth A Million Ryō) 1935 All Ages
      Production still from Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth A Million Ryō 1935 / Director: Sadao Yamanaka / Image courtesy: ©NIKKATSU / View full image
When
10.45 am, Sun 7 Dec 2025 (92 mins)Where
Gallery of Modern Art, Cinema A
Accessibility
- Subtitled
 - Wheelchair Accessible
 
Admission
Free
About
A seemingly worthless family heirloom—a battered kokezaru pot—suddenly becomes the object of frenzied pursuit when it’s rumoured to contain a hidden map to a treasure worth one million ryō. But unbeknownst to the pursuers, the pot is in the care of an orphaned boy named Chobi-yasu, who uses it to house his goldfish. As rival clans, frustrated samurai and scheming relatives chase the pot across Edo, fate throws the gruff, one-armed swordsman Tange Sazen and the sharp-tongued Ofuji into the unlikely role of guardians to Chobi-yasu.
With its slapstick charm, fast-paced antics and sincere emotional beats, Tange Sazen and the Pot Worth a Million Ryō is less about riches and more about the joyful chaos of human connection. Full of warmth and wit, director Sadao Yamanaka's genre-defying comedy is an enduring classic of Japan’s early sound era.
All Ages | Contains mild coarse language, mild themes of death and gambling, very mild violence
Production Credits
- Director: Sadao Yamanaka
 - Script: Shintarō Mimura
 - Based on: the story 'Tange Sazen Yowa: Hyakuman Ryō no Tsubo' by Fubo Hayashi
 - Cinematographer: Jun Yasumoto
 - Editor: Toshisaburō Fukuda
 - Cast: Denjirō Ōkōchi, Shinbashi Kiyozō
 - Print Source: The Japan Foundation, Tokyo
 - Rights: ©NIKKATSU
 - Year: 1935
 - Runtime: 92 minutes
 - Country: Japan
 - Language: Japanese
 - Subtitles: English
 - Colour: Black & White
 - Shooting Format: 35mm
 - Screening Format: 4K DCP