{ "id": "ep3atf4gvx", "slug": "josee-the-tiger-and-the-fish-2003-film", "title": "Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (ジョゼと虎と魚たち) (2003 film)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "label": "Drama and biographical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s", "label": "Drama films 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s.romantic-drama-films-2000s", "label": "Romantic drama films 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s.romantic-drama-films-2000s" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s", "label": "Asia (other) · 2001 to 2020: Drama films 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s", "path": [ { "id": "geo.asia", "label": "Asia (other)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001", "label": "Asia (other) · 2001 to 2020", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "label": "Drama and biographical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical" }, { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s", "label": "Drama films 2000s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (ジョゼと虎と魚たち) is a 2003 Japanese romance drama by Isshin Inudo, adapted from Seiko Tanabe's short story, starring Satoshi Tsumabuki and Chizuru Ikewaki; it drew about 300,000 Japanese admissions and inspired 2020 anime and Korean remakes.", "snippet": "Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (ジョゼと虎と魚たち) is a 2003 Japanese romance drama by Isshin Inudo, adapted from Seiko Tanabe's short story, starring Satoshi Tsumabuki and Chizuru Ikewaki; it drew about 300,000 Japanese admissions and inspired 2020 anime and Korean remakes.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-2000s.romantic-drama-films-2000s", "markdown": "# Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (ジョゼと虎と魚たち) (2003 film)\n\n**Josee, the Tiger and the Fish** (ジョゼと虎と魚たち, *Josee to Tora to Sakana-tachi*) is a 2003 Japanese romantic drama directed by Isshin Inudo, adapted from Seiko Tanabe's short story of the same name, about the love affair between an ordinary university student and a young woman with a leg disability who is pushed around her neighborhood in a baby carriage.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/40852/) It opened in Japan on December 13, 2003, runs 116 minutes, and was distributed by Asmik Ace.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/40852/) The film stars Satoshi Tsumabuki as Tsuneo and Chizuru Ikewaki as Josee.[2](https://jfdb.jp/title/45)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Release | December 13, 2003, Japan; 116 minutes; PG-12; distributed by Asmik Ace[1](https://eiga.com/movie/40852/) |\n| Director and writer | Directed by Isshin Inudo; screenplay by Ayako Watanabe, her screenwriting debut; based on Seiko Tanabe's short story[2](https://jfdb.jp/title/45) • [3](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/241441) |\n| Lead cast | Satoshi Tsumabuki as Tsuneo; Chizuru Ikewaki as Josee (Kumiko); Juri Ueno as Kanae; Koubun Arai as Koji; Hideko Niiya as Josee's grandmother[2](https://jfdb.jp/title/45) |\n| Music | Score and theme song by the band Quruli; the theme song is \"Highway\"[2](https://jfdb.jp/title/45) • [4](https://www.uedaeigeki.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/%E4%B8%8A%E7%94%B0%E6%98%A0%E5%8A%87%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%8A%E3%83%AB%EF%BC%88vol.41%EF%BC%892021%E5%B9%B41%E6%9C%88%E5%8F%B7.pdf) |\n| Setting | Osaka[5](https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/80073502) |\n| Japanese admissions | About 300,000 spectators[6](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_code=&board_seq=119719&id=&lang=j&menu_cate=culture&page=133) |\n| Later adaptations | Anime film (2020, directed by Kotaro Tamura) and a South Korean remake (2020)[7](https://www.jff.jpf.go.jp/article/joseetora/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nTsuneo, an ordinary university student, works part-time at a mah-jong parlor where customers talk about a mysterious old woman who appears at dawn pushing a baby carriage through the neighborhood.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/40852/) One early morning, sent to walk the parlor manager's dog, Tsuneo meets the carriage as it comes rushing down a slope; inside is a girl brandishing a kitchen knife.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/40852/) • [3](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/241441) The girl, who cannot walk because of an illness whose cause has never been identified, calls herself Josee and is taken on walks by her grandmother in the carriage.[8](https://www.video.unext.jp/title/SID0030155) She takes the name from the heroine of a novel by Françoise Sagan, a writer whose books she loves.[9](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/018568)\n\nDrawn to Josee's strange charm, Tsuneo begins visiting her home, where she lives alone with her grandmother, avoiding contact with the outside world.[1](https://eiga.com/movie/40852/) • [2](https://jfdb.jp/title/45) The two grow close, but the relationship is strained by Tsuneo's job hunting and by his relationship with Kanae, a student of social welfare whom he is dating; when Josee learns of it she is deeply hurt and is told by her grandmother not to see him again.[10](https://u-watch.jp/movie/C0031266) • [2](https://jfdb.jp/title/45) After time passes and Tsuneo learns that Josee's grandmother has died, he visits her again and resolves to start over as her lover, taking her out to a zoo, an aquarium, and the sea to bring her into the outside world.[2](https://jfdb.jp/title/45) The film ends with the two parting, a conclusion that differs from the happy reunion endings of the later anime and Korean adaptations.[11](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/josee-tora-sakana-spoiler/)\n\n## Production\n\nThe film adapts the short story *Josee, the Tiger and the Fish* by Seiko Tanabe, an [Akutagawa Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/akutagawa-prize)-winning author, first published in 1984 in the magazine *Monthly Kadokawa* (one course syllabus gives the year as 1985).[12](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/landing/article.kci?arti_id=ART001277717) • [13](https://info.hosei-kyoiku.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/19_%E4%BA%BA%E6%96%87%E7%A7%91%E5%AD%A6%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6%E7%A7%91.pdf) In the original story Josee uses a wheelchair; the film changed this to an old baby carriage, a change that shapes the relationship between the two leads and the way Josee's strength is shown.[14](https://movielife45.com/2022/03/09/josee-the-tiger-and-the-fish/)\n\n**A debut screenwriter.** The screenplay was written by Ayako Watanabe, for whom it was a debut. According to the allcinema synopsis, she was selected after producer Osamu Kubota noticed her entry in the screenplay submission corner of director Shunji Iwai's website.[3](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/241441) The production also inserted photographs by Masafumi Sanada and illustrations by D into the film's structure.[2](https://jfdb.jp/title/45)\n\nThe score and the theme song \"Highway\" were provided by the rock band Quruli, whose soundtrack was one of the film's talking points alongside Tsumabuki's starring role.[2](https://jfdb.jp/title/45) • [4](https://www.uedaeigeki.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/%E4%B8%8A%E7%94%B0%E6%98%A0%E5%8A%87%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%8A%E3%83%AB%EF%BC%88vol.41%EF%BC%892021%E5%B9%B41%E6%9C%88%E5%8F%B7.pdf) The film was shot on 35mm in color.[2](https://jfdb.jp/title/45)\n\n## Reception\n\nThe film opened on a small release scale but earned strong reviews, and it has been described as a film that is always mentioned when the Japanese cinema of the 2000s is discussed.[15](https://minnanoeiga.com/movies/joze-tora) It drew about 300,000 spectators in Japan.[6](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_code=&board_seq=119719&id=&lang=j&menu_cate=culture&page=133) In South Korea it ran as a long-run hit: in a theater of just over 100 seats it attracted 40,000 viewers through word of mouth, and Korean audiences commented that it depicted everyday life while carrying emotional force and that it reduced prejudice toward disabled people.[6](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_code=&board_seq=119719&id=&lang=j&menu_cate=culture&page=133) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds a 91% audience score on the Popcornmeter from more than 500 ratings, with no critic reviews counted on the Tomatometer.[16](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/josee_the_tiger_and_the_fish) The 2003 film was also entered in the Montreal World Film Festival and the Chicago International Film Festival.[7](https://www.jff.jpf.go.jp/article/joseetora/)\n\n## Later adaptations\n\nThe same short story was adapted twice more after the 2003 film. An animated feature directed by Kotaro Tamura opened in December 2020, based not on the 2003 film but on a new dramatization of Tanabe's story; it ends with the two leads, having each become independent, reuniting on a hilltop rather than separating.[7](https://www.jff.jpf.go.jp/article/joseetora/) • [11](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/josee-tora-sakana-spoiler/) A South Korean live-action remake directed by Kim Jong-kwan, starring [Han Ji-min](https://www.edgepedia.org/han-ji-min) as Josee and [Nam Joo-hyuk](https://www.edgepedia.org/nam-joo-hyuk) as the young man, was also released in 2020; its director has said he kept the sharp gaze on people and deep love of humanity that he found in the original story and the Japanese live-action film.[7](https://www.jff.jpf.go.jp/article/joseetora/) • [17](https://cinema.ne.jp/article/detail/48057) A 2025 academic study of the story and its three film adaptations examines how the representation of disabled women changed across these transcultural versions.[18](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ajhs/28/0/28_314/_article)\n\n## References\n\n1. [ジョゼと虎と魚たち（2003）: 作品情報・キャスト・あらすじ, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/40852/)\n2. [JFDB - ジョゼと虎と魚たち, Japan Film Database](https://jfdb.jp/title/45)\n3. [ジョゼと虎と魚たち, allcinema](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/241441)\n4. [映劇1月号2021（上田映劇ジャーナル vol.41）](https://www.uedaeigeki.com/cms/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/%E4%B8%8A%E7%94%B0%E6%98%A0%E5%8A%87%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%8A%E3%83%AB%EF%BC%88vol.41%EF%BC%892021%E5%B9%B41%E6%9C%88%E5%8F%B7.pdf)\n5. [ジョゼと虎と魚たちを観る, Netflix](https://www.netflix.com/jp/title/80073502)\n6. [韓国でロングランする日本映画「ジョゼと虎と魚たち」, KBS WORLD](https://world.kbs.co.kr/service/contents_view.htm?board_code=&board_seq=119719&id=&lang=j&menu_cate=culture&page=133)\n7. [アニメはハッピーエンドが苦手？ 『ジョゼと虎と魚たち』監督が語る, JFF Theater](https://www.jff.jpf.go.jp/article/joseetora/)\n8. [ジョゼと虎と魚たち(邦画 / 2003) - 動画配信, U-NEXT](https://www.video.unext.jp/title/SID0030155)\n9. [ジョゼと虎と魚たち(2003) | 映画, WOWOWオンライン](https://www.wowow.co.jp/detail/018568)\n10. [ジョゼと虎と魚たちの配信サービス・あらすじ・キャスト・作品概要, ユーウォッチ](https://u-watch.jp/movie/C0031266)\n11. [『ジョゼと虎と魚たち』ネタバレ｜結末の意味と配信情報, VOD TIMES](https://www.vod.pricey.jp/josee-tora-sakana-spoiler/)\n12. [「조제와 호랑이와 물고기들(ジョゼと虎と魚たち)」에 나타난 장애여성상, KCI](https://www.kci.go.kr/kciportal/landing/article.kci?arti_id=ART001277717)\n13. [人文科学研究科（法政大学大学院 資料）](https://info.hosei-kyoiku.jp/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/19_%E4%BA%BA%E6%96%87%E7%A7%91%E5%AD%A6%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6%E7%A7%91.pdf)\n14. [『ジョゼと虎と魚たち』短編小説と映画とアニメを比べてみた, Yoko映画チャンネル](https://movielife45.com/2022/03/09/josee-the-tiger-and-the-fish/)\n15. [ジョゼと虎と魚たち（2003年）のあらすじ・評価・配信, みんなの映画](https://minnanoeiga.com/movies/joze-tora)\n16. [Josee, the Tiger and the Fish, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/josee_the_tiger_and_the_fish)\n17. [韓国版『ジョゼと虎と魚たち』が繊細かつ大胆な最高峰のリメイクになった理由, CINEMAS＋](https://cinema.ne.jp/article/detail/48057)\n18. [A Study on the Representation of Disabled Women in a Japanese Short Story and Its Film Adaptations in Japan and Korea, Asian Journal of Human Services (2025)](https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/ajhs/28/0/28_314/_article)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 2000s › Romantic drama films 2000s*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/josee-the-tiger-and-the-fish-2003-film", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/josee-the-tiger-and-the-fish-2003-film.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (ジョゼと虎と魚たち) (2003 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/josee-the-tiger-and-the-fish-2003-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (ジョゼと虎と魚たち) (2003 film)](https://www.edgepedia.org/josee-the-tiger-and-the-fish-2003-film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/josee-the-tiger-and-the-fish-2003-film](https://www.edgepedia.org/josee-the-tiger-and-the-fish-2003-film). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Josee, the Tiger and the Fish (ジョゼと虎と魚たち) (2003 film)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/josee-the-tiger-and-the-fish-2003-film. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Josee, the Tiger and the Fish is a 2003 Japanese romance drama by Isshin Inudo, adapted from Seiko Tanabe's short story, starring Satoshi Tsumabuki and Chizuru Ikewaki; it drew about 300,000 Japanese admissions and inspired 2020 anime and Korean remakes." }