Grosses Spiel

A loyal soldier of the emperor and a revolutionary on the eve of the great Kanto earthquake, which politically marks a zero hour in Japan in 1923. Exciting and stirring! Captain Amakasu, a staunch servant of the Japanese secret police, reflects on the war of his life. For decades, he has fought a bitter battle against the anarchist and rebel Sakae Ōsugi and his wife Itō, all while remaining in the shadow of Emperor Yoshihito, who was more interested in poetry and plants than in politics and the state of his empire. Until the great Kanto earthquake of 1923 not only nearly completely destroys Tokyo but also politically signals a zero hour. In the wake of this natural disaster, the police apparatus disregards rules and laws, leaving Ōsugi helpless against those who seize power. Over 100 years after the Kanto earthquake, Hans Platzgumer tells the story of the Taishō era and a power vacuum that triggers political trench warfare – captivating and almost eerily contemporary.