House of Himiko

For other uses, see Himiko.

House of Himiko (メゾン・ド・ヒミコ, Mezon do himiko ^[1]), also known internationally as La Maison de Himiko, is a 2005 Japanese film directed by Isshin Inudo and starring Kō Shibasaki as Saori, Min Tanaka as Saori's father Himiko, and Joe Odagiri as Haruhiko, Himiko's lover. The film was shown at the Japanese film festival in Sydney in December 2006 (as La Maison de Himiko).^[2]

House of Himiko
Japanese poster from House of Himiko
Directed by	Isshin Inudo
Written by	Aya Watanabe
Produced by	Osamu Kubota Shinji Ogawa
Starring	Joe Odagiri Kou Shibasaki Min Tanaka
Cinematography	Takahiro Tutai
Edited by	Hirohide Abe
Music by	Haruomi Hosono
Distributed by	Asmik Ace Entertainment
Release date	August 27, 2005 (2005-08-27)
Running time	130 min.
Country	Japan
Language	Japanese

Plot

Saori is a young woman struggling to make her way in life. Her gay father, Himiko, had abandoned Saori and her mother years before. Now her father's young lover Haruhiko shows up to tell Saori that her father is dying of cancer. Still angry with her father but in need of money, Saori travels to the House of Himiko, a nursing home established by her father for gay men. Over time, a tenuous relationship begins to develop between Saori, her father, and Haruhiko.

Cast

• Jō Odagiri as Haruhiko
• Ko Shibasaki as Saori
• Min Tanaka as Tanaka
• Hidetoshi Nishijima as Hosokawa
• Torauemon Utazawa as Ruby
• Kira Aoyama as Yamazaki

Reception

In 2007, the film won the Nippon Cinema Award at the Nippon Connection Film Festival.^[3]