(Japanese translation follows English, 日本語訳は英文の後に続きます。)
Long Before Today's Gender Debates, History Was Made in a Tokyo Courtroom
Sneak Preview Screening: "Blue Boy Trial" (Buru Boi Jiken)
followed by a Q&A with director Kasho Iizuka and actress Miyu Nakagawa
Monday, November 10 at 6:00 pm
In Japanese with English subtitles
Japan 2025 106 minutes
Directed by: Kasho Iizuka
Written by: Tsuneo Miura, Yuiko Kato, Kasho Iizuka
Produced by: Hitoshi Endo, San Kimu, Kenichi Yoshida, Mariko Arai, Kosuke Oshida
Starring: Miyu Nakagawa, Kou Maehara, Ataru Nakamura, Izumi Sexy, Reo Sanada,
Hirofumi Rokugawa, Taihei, Kiyohiko Shibukawa, Hajime Inoue, Sei Ando, Kenji Iwaya,
Masayo Umezawa, Takashi Yamanaka, Junpei Yasui, Ryo Nishikido
Film courtesy of Nikkatsu
"Blue Boy Trial" explores an extraordinary and little-known moment in Japan's legal and social history. Inspired by true events, the film begins in 1965 with the enforcement of Japan's anti-prostitution laws and the legal loophole that exempted male sex workers - known as "blue boys" - because prostitution was defined as a transaction between a man and a woman. When authorities were unable to arrest the blue boys themselves, they instead targeted the surgeon who had performed gender-affirming surgeries for some of them, leading to a sensational trial that dominated the tabloids.
Focusing on the stories of the three trans women who testified as witnesses for the defense, director Kasho Iizuka ("Angry Son") recreates 1960s Tokyo with stunning visual authenticity. From the smoky nightclubs and bustling back alleys to the intense atmosphere of the courtroom, production designer Kentaro Kosaka and costume designer Ayumi Tanaka pay meticulous attention to period detail and every shot is a feast for the eyes.
The film features a remarkable ensemble cast, led by Miyu Nakagawa in her screen debut as Sachi, alongside Izumi Sexy as her indefatigable friend Ahko and Ataru Nakamura as their nemesis Mei. Their testimonies - and the questions they raised - ignite a debate that resonates as powerfully today as it did six decades ago. In one courtroom scene, Ahko is being questioned by the attorney for the defense. When he comments that having to live the life of a woman trapped in a man's body "must have been agony," she replies that "it made me want to die." When the line of questioning leads to her being characterized as mentally ill, leaving her in tears, the viewer is left wondering how many of those tears are acting and how many are real, shed for members of the queer community who are living through similar battles even today in 2025.
In a scene after the trial ends, one of the characters dryly remarks that "history will prove us right." To find out who said it and whether their prediction comes true, please join us for this sneak preview of "Blue Boy Trial" before the Japan release on November 14.
For more (in Japanese): https://blueboy-movie.jp/
Writer-director KASHO IIZUKA studied film in college. His 2011 debut short, "Our Future," based on his own experiences as a transgender man, won the Special Jury Prize at the Pia Film Festival before traveling overseas. His first commercial feature was "The World for the Two of Us," released in 2022. He won the Most Promising New Talent Award at the 2022 Osaka Asian Film Festival for his feature debut "Angry Son," which traveled to international film festivals and was released in 2023. "Blue Boy Trial" will world premiere at the 2025 Tokyo International Film Festival.
Actor MIYU NAKAGAWA underwent gender reassignment surgery at the age of 21, an emotional and physical process that was documented in Yukio Tanaka’s 2017 film "Onnaninaru." She makes her acting debut as the lead in "Blue Boy Trial," following a two-month audition process.
Please make your reservations at the FCCJ Reception Desk 03 3211-3161 or register online.
All film screenings are private, noncommercial events primarily for FCCJ members and their guests.
- Thomas Ash, Film Committee