Udon
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Profile
- Movie: Udon
- Romaji: Udon
- Japanese: Udon
- Director: Katsuyuki Motohiro
- Assistant Director: Takafumi Hatano
- Writer: Masashi Todayama
- Producer:
- Cinematographer:
- Release Date: August 26, 2006
- Runtime: 134 Min.
- Movie Studio: Fuji TV
- Language: Japanese
- Country: Japan
Plot
Kosuke is 31, and tired of his hometown where nothing happens. On a whim, he departs for New York with dreams of making it big. 6 months later, he straggles home... defeated, and saddled with debt.
Awaiting him are his old friends, a caring sister, a disgruntled father ...and a bowl of noodles. Namely, "udon" noodles. The town is built around udon, sustained by udon, nationally famous for udon. The region even lends its name to a particular type of udon - "Sanuki Udon."
It is the town's fixation with udon that essentially drove Kosuke away. Little does he realize upon his inglorious return that he - and the rest of the free world - are about to rediscover the miraculous wonder of this local delicacy.
The steam rises on a vastly entertaining film! The same talented production staff that shattered Japanese box office records with the thrilling "Bayside Shakedown" series reassembles to explore the mysteriously delectable depths of Japanese folk cuisine with UDON, thick noodles made from only flour, water and salt. From such humble ingredients comes a noodle dish so simple, so cheap, yet so infinitely profound in flavor and satisfying in consistency, that it has become an irreplaceable staple of the local diet, written into their culinary DNA. Udon is "soul food."
Cast
- Yusuke Santamaria - Kosuke Matsui
- Manami Konishi - Kyoko Miyagawa
- Tortoise Matsumoto - Shosuke Suzuki
- Kyoka Suzuki - Mari Fujimoto
- Takeshi Masu - Masanori Otani
- Jin Katagiri - Kenjiro Mishima
- Jun Kaname - Kazuya Aoki
- Fumiyo Kohinata - Ryoichi Fujimoto
- Katsumi Kiba - Takutomi Matsui
- Sosuke Ikematsu
- Yo Oizumi
- Kotaro Koizumi
- Daijiro Kawaoka
- Tsuyoshi Muro
- Hosshan
- Yoshiyaki Yoza
- Hideki Nakano - Nakanishi
Trailer
Facts
- 1. "Udon Country" - Sanuki (Kagawa Prefecture)
Though Japan's smallest in terms of land mass, Kagawa Prefecture and its population of approximately one million is served by nearly 900 udon shops. By comparison, there are 515 McDonald's hamburger outlets serving a population of 12.5 million in Tokyo.
- 2. Udon Pilgrimages
A variety of udon shops appear in this film, thanks to the dedicated research by devoted noodle lover and the film's director, Motohiro, who hails from Kagawa Prefecture. Motohiro visited nearly 200 noodle shops in making this film, an endeavor no less ambitious than the famous 88-shrine pilgrimage of Shikoku. In fact, so-called "udon pilgrimages" have become popular in Kagawa. This film showcases the great variety of udon dishes in the region, sending film audiences on an appetizing virtual "udon pilgrimage" themselves.
- 3. Udon Noodle Factory-Diners
Udon is a daily staple for Kagawa Prefecture residents, who average about 3 bowls a week. The prevalence of so-called "udon factory-diners" may often strike tourists as odd establishments but they function as noodle wholesalers for schools and hospitals while also feeding local walk-in customers in side stalls attached to the factory. From those bringing their own bowls to people purchasing uncooked noodles to take home, these factory-diners fulfill a variety of customer needs and testify to udon as a fixture in the daily lives of the local community. At the crux of the current udon boom is a growing craving to return to simple, fresh, healthy and affordable food amid changing dietary habits brought about by the increased availability of imported and processed foods. But even this phenomenon is going to extremes as udon tours have sprouted up offering people a chance to fly from Tokyo to Kagawa to enjoy a bowl of 100-yen (less than a dollar) noodles at a slightly prohibitive round-trip expense of 50,000 yen (roughly $450). Nevertheless, the notion of udon as a back-to-basics, indispensable "soul food" for the masses is here to stay.
- 4. Udon Legends
- A) Uko Ferry Udon
A ferry boat once shuttled between Shikoku at Takamatsu city and the main island of Honshu (at Uno Harbor). From 1909, it transported not only passengers but trains across the Seto Inland Sea, and was an indispensable lifeline for the people of Sanuki. When the ferry line ceased operation with the completion of the Seto Ohashi Bridge in 1988, the people lost local "udon" icon. The ferry had a vendor on deck known for serving limp and bland tasting udon, but was nevertheless cherished by locals as a warm, symbolic "farewell" or "welcome home" for departing and arriving locals. 20 years later, people still reminisce wistfully about those noodles.
- B) Captain Udon
Director Motohiro has introduced so many intriguing characters to Japan's pantheon of pop culture that the emergence of a new one close to his heart is sure to draw special attention. Despite an unoriginal sounding name, Motohiro promises that "Captain Udon" will become a larger than life figure. His calling card? "As long as these udon noodles remain firm and tasty, evil has no breeding ground."
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