is a 1959 Japanese

epic Epic commonly refers to: * Epic poetry, a long narrative poem celebrating heroic deeds and events significant to a culture or nation * Epic film, a genre of film defined by the spectacular presentation of human drama on a grandiose scale Epic(s) ...

religious Religion is a range of social- cultural systems, including designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relate humanity to supernatural ...

fantasy film Fantasy films are films that belong to the fantasy genre with fantastic themes, usually Magic (paranormal), magic, supernatural events, mythology, folklore, or exotic fantasy worlds. The Film genre, genre is considered a form of speculative fic ...

directed by

Hiroshi Inagaki was a Japanese filmmaker who worked on over 100 films in a career spanning over five decades. He is one of the most successful and critically acclaimed filmmakers in the history of Japanese cinema, having directed several ''jidaigeki'' epics s ...

, with special effects by

Eiji Tsuburaya was a Japanese special effects director, filmmaker, and cinematographer. A co-creator of the ''Godzilla (franchise), Godzilla'' and ''Ultraman'' franchises, he is considered one of the most important and influential figures in the history o ...

. Produced by

Toho is a Japanese entertainment company that primarily engages in producing and distributing films and exhibiting stage plays. It is headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and is one of the core companies of the Osaka-based Hankyu Hanshin Toho Group. ...

as their celebratory thousandth film, it was the most expensive Japanese film ever made upon its release and is based on the legends ''

Kojiki The , also sometimes read as or , is an early Japanese chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral traditions, and semi-historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin of the Japanese archipelago, the , and the Japanese imperia ...

'' and ''

Nihon Shoki The or , sometimes translated as ''The Chronicles of Japan'', is the second-oldest book of classical Japanese history. It is more elaborate and detailed than the , the oldest, and has proven to be an important tool for historians and archaeol ...

'' and the origins of ''

Shinto , also called Shintoism, is a religion originating in Japan. Classified as an East Asian religions, East Asian religion by Religious studies, scholars of religion, it is often regarded by its practitioners as Japan's indigenous religion and as ...

''. The film was the highest-grossing film of 1959 for Toho and the second highest grossing domestic production in Japan for the year. The film was shown in Japan in 1959 as ''Nippon Tanjo'' (''The Birth of Japan'') with a running time of 182 minutes, but it was released in the United States in December 1960 as ''The Three Treasures'', edited down to only 112 minutes. It was also shown internationally under the title ''Age of the Gods''.

Plot

''The Three Treasures'' retells the story of the

Yamato Takeru , originally , was a Japanese folk hero and semi-legendary prince of the imperial dynasty, son of Emperor Keikō, who is traditionally counted as the 12th Emperor of Japan. The kanji spelling of his name varies: it appears in the ''Nihon Shoki'' ...

legend, and features a recounting of the great battle between

Susanoo __FORCETOC__ Susanoo (, ; historical orthography: , ), often referred to by the honorific title Susanoo-no-Mikoto (), is a in Japanese mythology. The younger brother of Amaterasu, goddess of the sun and mythical ancestress of the Japanese im ...

and the legendary dragon Orochi.

Cast

Toshiro Mifune was a Japanese actor and producer. The recipient of numerous awards and accolades over a lengthy career, he is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time. He often played hypermasculine characters and was noted for his commandin ...

as Prince Yamato Takeru and

Takashi Shimura was a Japanese actor who appeared in over 200 films between 1934 and 1981. He appeared in 21 of Akira Kurosawa's 30 films (more than any other actor), including as a lead actor in '' Drunken Angel'' (1948), '' Rashomon'' (1950), '' Ikiru'' (1952) ...

as Elder

Kumaso The were a mythical people of ancient Japan mentioned in the ''Kojiki'', believed to have lived in the south of Kyūshū until at least the Nara period. The last leader of the Kumaso, Torishi-Kaya was killed by Yamato Takeru in 397. The name of ...

Kōji Tsuruta , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese actor and singer. He appeared in almost 260 feature films and had a unique style of singing. His daughter, Sayaka Tsuruta, is an actress. Career Born in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, Tsuruta was raised ...

as Younger Kumaso *

Nakamura Ganjirō II was a Japanese kabuki and film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1941 and 1980, directed by notable filmmakers such as Yasujirō Ozu, Kenji Mizoguchi, Akira Kurosawa, and Mikio Naruse. Lineage Born into a renowned Kabuki acting ...

Emperor Keikō , also known as and , was the 12th legendary Emperor of Japan, according to the traditional order of succession. Both the ''Kojiki'', and the ''Nihon Shoki'' (collectively known as the ''Kiki'') record events that took place during Keikō's all ...

Akira Takarada was a Japanese film actor best known for his roles in the ''Godzilla'' film series. Life and career Akira Takarada was born in Korea under Japanese rule, and lived for a time in Manchuria, China. His father worked as an engineer on the Sout ...

as Prince Wakatarashi *

Kinuyo Tanaka was a Japanese actress and film director. She had a career lasting over 50 years with more than 250 acting credits, but was best known for her 15 films with director Kenji Mizoguchi, such as ''The Life of Oharu'' (1952) and ''Ugetsu'' (1953). W ...

as Princess Yamato * Ichiro Arishima as Gods of Yaoyorozu * Yoko Tsukasa as Princess Oto Tachibana *

Kyōko Kagawa is a Japanese actress. During her career spanning 70 years, she has worked with directors like Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi, Yasujirō Ozu and Mikio Naruse, appearing in films such as ''Tokyo Story'', ''Sansho the Bailiff'', '' The Bad Sleep W ...

as Princess Miyazu * Setsuko Hara as

Amaterasu , often called Amaterasu () for short, also known as and , is the goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. Often considered the chief deity (''kami'') of the Shinto pantheon, she is also portrayed in Japan's earliest literary texts, the () ...

* Misa Uehara as Princess Kushinada

Production

Stuart Galbraith IV Stuart Eugene Galbraith IV (born December 29, 1965) is an American film historian, film critic, essayist, and audio commentator. Early life and education Raised in Livonia, Michigan, Galbraith first worked professionally as a film reviewer and ...

described the film as a religious epic in the style of director

Cecil B. DeMille Cecil Blount DeMille (; August 12, 1881January 21, 1959) was an American filmmaker and actor. Between 1914 and 1958, he made 70 features, both silent and sound films. He is acknowledged as a founding father of American cinema and the most co ...

that featured "virtually every star and bit player on the Toho lot".

Release

''The Three Treasures'' was distributed theatrically in Japan by

on November 1, 1959. The film was Toho's most profitable film of the year and second highest grossing domestic film of 1959. The film was released in the United States by Toho International Company with English-language subtitles on December 20, 1960. This version of the film was cut to 112 minutes.

References

Footnotes

Sources

External links

* 1959 films 1950s Japanese-language films Japanese epic films Films set in the 2nd century Films directed by Hiroshi Inagaki History of Japan on film Films with screenplays by Ryuzo Kikushima Films based on Japanese myths and legends Films produced by Tomoyuki Tanaka Films produced by Sanezumi Fujimoto Toho films Shinto in popular culture 1950s Japanese films Yamato Takeru Legend Kaiju films Toho tokusatsu films {{1950s-Japan-film-stub