Next year marks the 150th anniversary of Okakura Tenshin's birth = photo below = and 100 years since his death—the founder of modern Japanese art. A film "Tenshin" (official site: "http://eiga-tenshin.com/official/") is in production for release in this commemorative year.
Effectively driven from Tokyo School of Fine Arts (now Tokyo University of the Arts), Tenshin spent his later years at Izura on the coast of Kita-Ibaraki, Ibaraki Prefecture, guiding young painters including Yokoyama Taikan. The work spotlights his struggle to pursue "new beauty." An executive committee (chair: Mayor Toyota Minoru of Kita-Ibaraki) formed in autumn 2010; the earthquake briefly threatened the project, but director Matsumura Katsuya and others continued as "a recovery-support film to energize Ibaraki." Filming is imminent. Musician Ishii Tatsuya of Kita-Ibaraki writes the theme song. A trailer on YouTube ("http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB8RxTXQLLA&feature=player_embedded") and PR badges = photo above, ¥300 = were Ishii's idea (currently sold at only three Ibaraki locations: Tenshin Memorial Museum at Izura, Mito, and Moriya).
Beyond "local films," municipalities eagerly court location shooting for regional revitalization. NHK's morning drama "Ume-chan Sensei" filmed in Takahagi, next to Kita-Ibaraki, using factory ruins and building new barracks to recreate a burnt-out Ota factory district (see "http://www.ibaraki-fc.jp/news/newslist3.php?post=529").
Palaceside Building in Takebashi also hosts frequent drama and commercial shoots. A "Location Filming Guide" banner sits at the bottom of this homepage—take a look if interested.
