- published: 01 Nov 2014
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Sendai (仙台市, Sendai-shi?) is the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, and the largest city in the Tōhoku Region. In 2005, the city had a population of one million, and was one of Japan's 19 designated cities. The city was founded in 1600 by the daimyo Date Masamune, and is well known by its nickname, the City of Trees (杜の都, Mori no Miyako?); there are about 60 zelkova trees on Jōzenji Street (定禅寺通, Jōzenji dōri?) and Aoba Street (青葉通, Aoba dōri?).
In the summer, the Sendai Tanabata Festival, the largest Tanabata festival in Japan, is held. In winter the trees are decorated with thousands of lights for the Pageant of Starlight (光のページェント), lasting through most of December.
On 11 March 2011, coastal areas of the city suffered catastrophic damage from a magnitude 9.0 offshore earthquake which triggered a destructive tsunami.
Although the Sendai area was inhabited as early as 20,000 years ago, the history of Sendai as a city begins from 1600, when the daimyo Date Masamune relocated to Sendai. Masamune was not happy with his previous stronghold, Iwadeyama. Iwadeyama was located to the north of his territories and was also difficult to access from Edo (modern-day Tokyo). Sendai was an ideal location, being in the centre of Masamune's newly defined territories, upon a major road from Edo, and near the sea. Tokugawa Ieyasu gave Masamune permission to build a new castle in Aoba-yama (Mount Aoba), Sendai after the Battle of Sekigahara. Aobayama was the location of a castle used by the previous ruler of the Sendai area.
Actors: Kumiko Asô (actress), Ryô Iwamatsu (actor), Ittoku Kishibe (actor), Yutaka Matsushige (actor), Tomokazu Miura (actor), Jô Odagiri (actor), Takashi Sasano (actor), Machiko Washio (actress), Kyôko Koizumi (actress), Yoshizumi Ishihara (actor), Nobuyuki Takahashi (editor), Reona Hirota (actress), Yuriko Yoshitaka (actress), Takashi Tsumura (actor), Eri Fuse (actress),
Plot: Takemura has no friends and no family. He's a student but he doesn't have any particular ambitions. In other words, he isn't going anywhere fast. Were all this not enough, the sorry sad sack has a debt of 800,000 yen. Fukuhara, a surly debt collector with a glorious mullet, is on his case. After roughing Takemura up, he gives him an ultimatum-72 hours to pay up, or else. Takemura barely has his wits about him again when he runs across Fukuhara a second time, and this time the thug has a different proposal-a walk. That's right, in exchange for a million yen, Takemura must accompany Fukuhara on a walk across the city of Tokyo. Starting in a distant corner of the city, they begin their trek towards downtown, striking up a conversation. It's at this point that Fukuhara admits that he's recently killed his wife, and intends to turn himself in at Kasumagaseki police station-because, he says, it's the finest in town. The pair's itinerary, however, is hardly a quick and direct one. The disparate duo drift here and there, hanging out and coming across a host of eccentric personalities, creatures of the urban jungle's various habitats. As their walking, talking and trading truths continues, the arrangement between Takemura and Fukuhara starts to transform into friendship.
Keywords: based-on-novel, chutney, confession, curry, debt, episodic-structure, food, male-bonding, murder-of-wife, on-the-road