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The film poster

Life is fruity is a documentary film of Japanese characters released in 2017. It is directed by Kenshi Fushihara, produced by Katsuhiko Amuno, dubbed by Kiki Kirin, and photographed by Nobutaka Murata. The film was produced by Tokai Television Broadcast Company. The protagonist of the film is Shuichi Tsubata and his wife Eiko. This is a documentary film, which is mainly about the daily rural life of their husband and wife. This idyllic lifestyle has also sparked discussions in various sectors of society about the lifestyle choices of the main characters. Life is fruity was premiered in Japan on November 6, 2016, and it was toured nationwide in theatres in Kanto, Hokkaido-Northeast, Central, Kinki, and Okinawa. Books of the same name were also published in 2016.

Plot

In Kasugai City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, there is a glimpse of the woods and a beautiful log cabin in the Kasugai New Village. It is the home of 90-year-old Shuichi and 87-year-old Eiko. Shuichi, an architect who loves sailing, came here with Eiko to realize his rural life with his wife. He built a wooden house for her and planted a vegetable garden orchard. Shuichi thinks that if a person wants to live well and can't stay away from trees, he planted 180 trees on the west side of the log house. In his field, they planted more than 50 kinds of fruits and more than 70 kinds of vegetables. They have lived in this place for more than 40 years.

Shuichi, the captain of the sailboat more than 60 years ago, took the team and lived in Eiko's house because he had no money, so the two people met each other. Eiko at the time was the only daughter of a 200-year-old wine shop owner. At that time, Shuichi is a poor boy, Eiko remembers the old trousers and sandals that Shuichi wore. In that cold winter, they got married and didn't have a wedding. Shuichi always wanted to buy a sailboat worth 700,000 yen, but his monthly salary was only 40,000 yen. One day, he told Eiko about this idea. Eiko began to find ways to help her husband achieve this wish. Then she completely canceled the insurance, and the things that were valuable at home were taken to the pawn shop by her. Shuichi is unaware of it. Eiko said that this kind of thing can't tell him. Although their economy was relatively tight afterwards, Eiko believed that the quality of the diet should be maintained. She continued insist on buying the freshest ingredients in local high-end department stores.

After the migration, they insisted on self-sufficiency and lived together to care for the fruits and vegetables. Two hundred pings of vegetable land were divided into 21 pieces, each of which is planted with different ingredients, and is surrounded by fruit trees. Cabbage, eggplant, cucumber, strawberry, cherry, plum, persimmon, fig, small tangerine... they are watered and fertilized every day. They also prepared water tanks for birds to bathe and drink.Shuichi writes dozens of letters a day to people who have never met and gives them encouragement. Eiko also makes a variety of meals and desserts. Sometimes, she cured the fruits and vegetables and puts them in glass jars, sorts them and labels them and give as a present to friends.

One day the architect Shuichi received a letter of help from a mental hospital. It is mentioned that the hospital recently wanted to build new facilities. Most of their patients are people who have experienced social tempering and lost their self in the overwork. The hospital hopes that Shuichi will be able to help them save these patients. In his last days, Shuichi refused all the gratitude and design costs and replied: This is the happiest job for me in my life. Please feel free to discuss the details with me. There must be good things happening.

One afternoon in June of 2015, Shuichi took care of the field and took a nap as usual. Then he never woke up again...

Actor

Name	Introduction
Shuichi Tsubata	Born on January 3, 1925. After graduating from the University of Tokyo, he entered a Japanese housing company through an architectural design office. He has participated in numerous urban planning projects. He was a professor at Hiroshima University and a freelance critic.
Eiko Tsubata	Shuichi’s wife. Born on January 18, 1928. She grew up in a long-established Sake shop in Handa, Aichi Prefecture. She married Shuichi at the age of 27 and raised her two daughters. She likes time-consuming manual work such as fieldwork, cooking, knitting and weaving.

Producer

Name	Introduction
Kiki Kirin	Born on January 15, 1943, died on September 15, 2018. Born in Tokyo, Japan, she is a famous Japanese actress and voice actor. In 1973, she married the singer Yuya Uchida, and her representative works include "Akunin", "Even If You Walk and Walk", "After the Storm", etc. And she won the Best Actress of the Japan Film Academy Awards many times. In this documentary, Kiki Kirin acts as a narrator.
Kenshi Fushihara	Born in 1969. He graduated from the Law Department of Rikkyo University and joined the to Tokai TV Station in 1993. He served as the editor-in-chief of the Department of Public Information. In this film, he served as the director.

Issued

Production company

The film was produced by Tokai Television Broadcasting Company, Limited.

Release area

Release Information

Area	Release Date
Japan	2 January 2017
Japan	3 June 2017 ( Urayasu Documentary Film Festival )
Taiwan	10 November 2017
USA	22 March 2018 ( CineMatsuri )

Process

The production process of the documentary includes pre-planning, mid-term shooting and later editing. Documentary creation is a long-term tracking process. Before the filming begins, it need to fully contact to the protagonist and become familiar with each other. This process is called “pre-collection”. Before shoot of Life is fruity, director Kenshi Fushihara visited the protagonist Shuichi Tsubata several times. After he wrote four letters to Shuichi, the couple finally agreed to shoot.

In the mid-term shooting process, the director will form an approximate process in his mind according to the previous planning. The authenticity of the documentary makes it full of uncertainty. Life is fruity is a daily life record for Shuichi and Eiko. This includes their three meals a day and various activities.

The editing of the documentary is the most important part of from material to the film. The documentary clips are arranged in a montage language to form the final work.

Life Migration

Life immigration is a way of transforming lifestyle in contemporary society. People choose to migrate in search of a better lifestyle. Studies have shown that living in the countryside is good for the health of the human body, where the air is good, greatly reducing the risk of respiratory diseases. In this film, Shuichi participated as an architect in the new town planning 50 years ago. He wants to build a house that is close to nature. However, his plan was rejected for economic reasons. In order to realize his dream, Shuichi quit his job and took his wife to a new town. There he built the ideal building in his mind to coexist with nature.

Repercussions

Re released

This event is presented by The Japan Foundation Los Angeles and supported by JAPAN HOUSE Los Angeles. Encore screening held in Los Angeles, USA on September 29, 2018.