THE FINAL PIECE Press Notes and Photo Gallery From Shochiku

Photo courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd. ©️2025 THE FINAL PIECE Film Partners

Official Site: https://movies.shochiku.co.jp/banjyo-movie/ (Japan)

What is it that enables us to say we are truly alive?
This mystery begins with a man's corpse found on a mountain, holding a bag of valuable shogi pieces. What gradually unravels is a startling truth and a painful and sad ‘life choice’.

Shochiku has provided information and photos for their new film, THE FINAL PIECE (盤上の向日葵, Banjo no Himawari), based on the 2017 bestseller The Sunflower on the Shogi Board by author Yuko Yuzuki. The films stars Kentaro Sakaguchi (SIGNAL THE MOVIE, PARADES) and Ken Watanabe (THE LAST SAMURAI, INCEPTION , GODZILLA, KOKUHO).

THE FINAL PIECE opens in Japan this Friday, October 31st.

Japanese poster. Photo courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd. ©️2025 THE FINAL PIECE Film Partners

English promotional art. Photo courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd. ©️2025 THE FINAL PIECE Film Partners

Synopsis

A human skeleton is discovered in the mountains. The only clue to solving the case is a rare shogi (Japanese chess) piece found with the remains—one of only seven sets still in existence. Suspicion falls on Keisuke Kamijo, a genius shogi player who suddenly appeared on the scene and became an overnight sensation.

As two detectives investigate the murder, a key figure emerges who knows Keisuke's past: Tōmei Shūkei, a man who lived in the underworld through high-stakes shogi gambling. What happened between Keisuke and Tōmei? The mystery surrounding Keisuke's upbringing begins to unravel. It was unimaginably harsh...

Photo courtesy of Shochiku Co., Ltd. ©️2025 THE FINAL PIECE Film Partners

Details

Release Date: Friday, October 31, 2025 (Japan)
Release Information: Nationwide Roadshow
Run Time: 122 Minutes

CAST
Keisuke Kamijo: Kentaro Sakaguchi
Shigeyoshi Tomyo: Ken Watanabe
Kuranosuke Sasaki
Tao Tsuchiya
Mahiro Takasugi
Takuma Otoo
Akira Emoto
Ikkei Watanabe
Ukon Onoe
Tae Kimura
Fumiyo Kohinata

STAFF
Director & Screenplay: Naoto Kumazawa
Original Story: The Sunflower on the Shogi Board by Yuko Yuzuki (Chuokoron-Shinsha)
Producers: Takashi Yajima, Satoko Ishida
Cinematography: Shoji Ebara
Production Design: Takashi Nishimura
Editors: Naoto Kumazawa, Hiroshi Sugimoto
Sound: Hironobu Tanaka
Music: Harumi Fuuki
Theme Song: “Two People in the Fading City” by Southern All Stars (Taishita Label / Victor Entertainment)

Production: “The Final Piece” Film Partners
Distribution: Sony Pictures Entertainment / Shochiku

About Shochiku Co., Ltd.

Shochiku traces its origins to 1895 when Takejiro Otani presented his first stage play. They also produced the first color motion picture in Japan, and have expanded into TV dramas, video contents, Kabuki presentation, theater operations, and real estate. The company has become a symbol of enduring tradition as the exclusive promoter of the Kabuki theater in Japan as well as widely known as the creator of the world’s longest-running feature film series, TORA-SAN. The company is making all possible efforts to develop business in various fields, including multimedia and co-productions, across generation, national, and cultural borders.