Kakekomi
At the Asylum to Arbitrate a Hard Divorce

Date：31, May, 2020
Investigated and Written by Misaka Youhei
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Hello. I'm today mentioning about Kakekomi, a Japanese historical live action film released in 2015 May. The main stage is Tokei-ji Temple that stands in Kanagawa, Japan of Edo era (1603 – 1868). The temple, at the time, worked as a public asylum for the married women who desired to be divorced but couldn't somehow. Same as the present times, there were also wives unable to divorce by themselves for some reasons at the time.

Tokei-ji was the asylum that arbitrated their divorces. And so the women darted into the temple. Kakekomi means darting into in Japanese language. Then, did rushing into the temple suddenly let them divorced from their husbands? No. It took a long time (2 years). And naturally, the women had to be interviewed with before entering the temple. The main character Nakamura Shinjiro was a male doctor who lived rent-free in an office for the interview. Shinjiro was played by Oizumi Yo. He interviewed with some women who longed to be divorced and darted into the Tokei-ji.

Through their interviews and conversations, you will know our nature is almost the same as it used to be. There are married women who long to be divorced but can't, regardless of ages and nations. Sometimes they might look just like you. And you might be able to sympathize with what they suffered from. I don't know how popular (or unpopular) the film is overseas. But if you are already married or going to be married, it must be worth watching once. Was it dubbed into your language? I have no idea.