Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on January 2013

So many Japanese films are set on the streets of Tokyo that an outside observer might think Japan is nothing but urban sprawl. The new drama Kon-Shin bucks the trend by setting its story on the scenic Oki Islands, near Shimane Prefecture. The islands are also the home of the championships of koten (classic) sumo, which is played in a ring made of giant tree trunks ceremoniously carried into the hall and covered with straw mats. The traditional wrestling serves as a link between a single mother and her friend in the film.

“There are a lot of things that aren’t available on a small island,” director Yoshinari Nishikori said at a special preview screening in Shimane. “But there other things that have continued unchanged for a long time, and that makes the lifestyle charming.” Tokyo-based actress Ayumi Ito found shooting on location helpful. “I was able to observe Shimane women during filming and take a hint from them for my performance,” the actress says. “They are quiet and work hard, but I think they are very strong women.”

Ito’s co-star says there was one drawback to filming a sumo movie. “I spent two months doing classic sumo,” Sho Aoyagi explains. “I was always covered in the ceremonial salt and started to feel like a pickle.”

Kon-Shin is currently screening nationwide.