Bushido

Bushido (碁盤斬り, 2024) is a Japanese period drama you can watch online on iFILM. Directed by Kazuya Shiraishi, the film stars Tsuyoshi Kusanagi as Kakunoshin — a ronin who lost his name and his domain to a false accusation of theft, and has spent years in Edo with only his daughter and a habit of playing go.

The board game runs through the whole film as a quiet constant: a space where character cannot be faked and every move stays on record. When a familiar face surfaces with the truth about the original frame-up, Kakunoshin moves with the same precise patience he brings to the game. Kaya Kiyohara plays his daughter Okinu; Jun Kunimura is the slippery townsman at the centre of the intrigue.

The script draws from rakugo — the Japanese oral storytelling tradition — and keeps that form's unhurried tempo. Long silences, exact dialogue, and a payoff that earns every minute of the buildup. Stream Bushido (2024) online on iFILM.