YUDO [THE WAY OF THE BATH], Canadian Premiere, TORONTO JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL

In this light-hearted celebration of Japanese bathing culture, two estranged brothers inherit Marukin Hot Springs, a small-town bathhouse. Goro sees it as an homage to their late father; the other – struggling architect Shiro – envisions a lucrative real estate opportunity for a condo project.  When Goro is hospitalized after an accident at the bathhouse, Shiro has to take the operation over temporarily. There he meets an eclectic collection of townsfolk who impart the value of the o-furo. They include an early morning songstress, the gaijin who must prove worthy to his father-in-law, a snobbish onsen critic, and an eccentric “bath hermit” whose wild beard and eyebrows hide a deeper knowledge of the way of the bath. Funny, heartfelt and occasionally surreal, it proves we are all equal in the bath!

Starring Toma Ikuta, Gaku Hamada, Kanna Hashimoto, Fumiyo Kohinata, Akira Emoto

©︎2023 YUDO Film Partners