敵 (Teki)

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026

Dir. YOSHIDA Daihachi
2023 | 108 mins | Japan | Japanese with English Subtitles
NAGATSUKA Kyozo, TAKIUCHI Kumi, KUROSAWA Asuka, KAWAI Yumi

Old age, a quiet life… and then came the voice from the north. Who is the enemy?

WATANABE Gisuke (NAGATSUKA Kyozo) is a retired French literature professor. Since his wife passed away 20 years ago, he has lived alone quietly in a traditional Japanese house passed down from his grandfather’s generation. He leads a regular life — rising at the same time and going to bed at the same time every day. He enjoys occasional company from former students, particularly TAKATSUKASA Yasuko (TAKIUCHI Kumi), for whom he prepares home- cooked meals during her visits. Aware that his savings will run out in a few years, he silently considers ending his life while he still has enough to pay for his funeral. Gisuke feels that nothing has been left undone; everything seems to have gone as planned as he lives out an uneventful life. Until…

One day, he receives an email containing a link with a chilling message: “An enemy is coming from the north.” He initially dismisses it as a hoax, but gradually, an ominous feeling grows within him. Soon, he begins to experience haunting dreams that seem to expose his deepest sins…Is it all in his imagination? Haunted by the unknown “enemy” from the north, he loses his sense of self as his respectable facade starts to crumble.

TSUTSUI Yasutake, the original novelist, once called this work “a novel that I thought was impossible to film”. However, seasoned director YOSHIDA Daihachi (Pale Moon, JFTFP17) successfully translates the book’s deep and unconscious karma and the self that cannot let go — even in later life — into this visually striking black-and-white contemporary film.

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026

Knowing Me, Knowing You: The True Self in Japanese Cinema

The UK’s largest festival of Japanese cinema, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme (JFTFP), is back again. This is the place where cinema comes alive!

Knowing others — let alone ourselves — is not easy, as we behave differently depending on the relationship, environment, or even intention. In an age of advanced digital technology, where imagery can be readily manipulated, it is even harder to define who we, or others, truly are. This notion of identifying the self has been repeatedly explored in cinematic narratives in various ways. However, is it really possible to know our true selves? And if so, would such revelations lead to happiness and freedom, or might they instead bring disastrous and harsh consequences? With these questions in mind, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026 showcases some of the most unmissable Japanese films nationwide across the UK. From powerful social crime dramas and laugh-out-loud comedies to gender-defining films, fantasy, and horror, the programme offers something for everyone.

Co-organised with the Japan Foundation

Major supporter: Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation

Sponsors in Kind: Calbee, Clearspring, Pentel, Athletia and SUQQU

Venue: Studio 74, Exeter Phoenix

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>