Name in Japanese: ムービー・シティー彦根
Pronunciation: mūbii shitii hikone
NHK, Japan’s national broadcaster, is known for its year-long historical dramas, which cover the lives and times of notable personages from Japan’s past. The very first of these dramas focused on Ii Naosuke. It was aired in 1963, and naturally, some of the action was filmed at Hikone Castle, including the title scenes.
Since then, Hikone and the surrounding region has become one of the favourite places for directors to produce films, dramas, and advertisements that require a historically plausible backdrop. Hikone itself has one of Japan’s twelve castle towers that survives since the Edo period, and the city retains the atmosphere of a castle town with many original buildings. Within the Ōmi region, there are numerous buildings from the Edo and subsequent periods that are still in excellent condition. The unspoilt natural environment of the area also lends itself to recreating the atmosphere of the olden days on film. In 2018, thirty-one movies, dramas, TV programs and ads were filmed in Shiga.
Besides the ideal built and natural environment, there are other good reasons why Ōmi is so convenient for movie production. There are large movie studios located in Tōkyō and Kyōto, and Ōmi can be used as a location with Kyōto as a base.
The Hikone Film Commission offers a range of support for movie production, including centralized management of operations such as recommending locations and handling the licensing required for shooting. Local government and private companies have systems in place to support production with award-winning staffing and catering. Ōmi Beef is very effective in maintaining the morale of actors and crew alike.
Nevertheless, filming in historic buildings has some limitations and to enable the shooting of action scenes without restriction, a large open set was built in Toriimoto near the old Nakasendō road. Here, violent episodes such as the assassination of Sakamoto Ryōma can be filmed. In fact, you can still find his blood splashed across one of the sliding doors. It features realistic Edo-period houses, gardens, and streets, a teahouse, and a number of gates. The set has even been used to shoot a Hollywood movie with an A-list American star.
When the set isn’t being used for regular shooting, plans are underway to use it for flying drones, where the complex flight paths and novel surroundings present exciting challenges for drone pilots.
Future projects include starting a video production college and attracting productions for non-traditional media such as YouTube. We also plan to offer visitors the opportunity to star in their own professionally edited movie based in Ōmi. We’ll also be offering an artificial reality app showing the locations where various productions have been filmed, with links to the actual footage and information on shooting points, angles, and other background.
Ōmi – coming to a cinema, TV, or device near you – soon!