{ "id": "ep7cxmq7ww", "slug": "the-great-passage", "title": "The Great Passage (舟を編む)", "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.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014", "label": "Comedies of 2013 to 2014", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-symbols-to-i", "label": "Titles symbols to I", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-symbols-to-i" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "label": "Asia (other) · 2001 to 2020: Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance", "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.comedy-romance", "label": "Comedy and romantic films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.asia.t2001.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Great Passage (舟を編む, Fune o Amu) is a 2013 Japanese drama film by Yuya Ishii, adapted from Shion Miura's Booksellers' Award-winning novel about editors compiling the dictionary Daitokai; it was Japan's 86th Academy Awards entry.", "snippet": "The Great Passage (舟を編む, Fune o Amu) is a 2013 Japanese drama film by Yuya Ishii, adapted from Shion Miura's Booksellers' Award-winning novel about editors compiling the dictionary Daitokai; it was Japan's 86th Academy Awards entry.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.comedy-romance.comedies-of-2013-to-2014.alpha-symbols-to-i", "markdown": "# The Great Passage (舟を編む)\n\n**The Great Passage** (*Fune o Amu*, 舟を編む) is a 2013 Japanese drama film directed by Yuya Ishii, adapted from Shion Miura's novel of the same title about the staff of a publishing company's dictionary editorial department compiling a new Japanese dictionary[1](https://eiga.com/movie/77262/). It opened in Japan on April 13, 2013, runs 133 minutes, and was distributed by Shochiku and Asmic Ace[2](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04770/) • [3](https://jfdb.jp/title/3701).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original novel | By Shion Miura, published 2011 by Kobunsha; won first place in the 2012 Japan Booksellers' Award[4](https://cinema.eiga.com/news/20160320/3/) • [1](https://eiga.com/movie/77262/) |\n| Film release | April 13, 2013, Japan; 133 minutes; color; distributors Shochiku and Asmic Ace[2](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04770/) • [3](https://jfdb.jp/title/3701) |\n| Director / screenplay | Yuya Ishii; screenplay by Kansai Watanabe[2](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04770/) |\n| Lead cast | Ryuhei Matsuda as Mitsuya Majime, Aoi Miyazaki as Kaguya Hayashi, Joe Odagiri as Masashi Nishioka[3](https://jfdb.jp/title/3701) |\n| Subject | The compilation of the new dictionary 大渡海 (Daitokai), a mid-size Japanese dictionary of about 240,000 words[5](https://www.jff.jpf.go.jp/movie/the_great_passage/) |\n| Awards | Japan's entry for the 86th Academy Awards Foreign Language Film; six top prizes at the 37th Japan Academy Prizes including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay[1](https://eiga.com/movie/77262/) |\n| Later adaptations | TV anime in Fuji TV's noitaminA slot (2016); NHK BS Premium drama *Fune o Amu: Watashi, Jisho Tsukurimasu* (2024)[4](https://cinema.eiga.com/news/20160320/3/) • [6](https://realsound.jp/movie/2024/03/post-1603227.html) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nMitsuya Majime works in the sales department of the publisher Genbu Shobo, where colleagues treat him as an oddball. Recognizing his unusual talent for capturing words, the company transfers him to a dictionary editorial department charged with compiling a new dictionary, 大渡海 (Daitokai)[1](https://eiga.com/movie/77262/). The department is a collection of strong personalities: a veteran editor near retirement, an elderly scholar who has devoted his life to Japanese-language research, and the sociable Nishioka Masashi, who gradually grows attached to the work[2](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04770/). Kaguya, the granddaughter of Majime's landlady and an aspiring chef, becomes his love interest; although he works with words professionally, he cannot find the words to express his feelings to her[1](https://eiga.com/movie/77262/). The veteran scholar Matsumoto Tomoyuki, the dictionary's supervising editor, is played by Go Kato[8](https://eiga-square.jp/title/fune_wo_amu).\n\nThe drama unfolds over the long span of the project. The film traces the editorial team's fight across the sea of more than 200,000 words with humor, and reviews note that the film shows roughly 15 years of steady editorial work, including example-sentence collection, headword selection, and endless argument over definitions[2](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04770/) • [9](https://secure.eiga.com/movie/77262/critic/) • [5](https://www.jff.jpf.go.jp/movie/the_great_passage/).\n\n## The source novel\n\nThe story first reached print as a serial. Shion Miura wrote the work for a women's fashion magazine from 2009 for about two years before it was collected as a book, which then won the 2012 Japan Booksellers' Award, a prize voted by booksellers nationwide[7](https://1-100-do.org/pdf/naiagara_times12_221215.pdf) • [1](https://eiga.com/movie/77262/). Miura is also known for *Mahoro Ekimae Tada Benriken*, which won the 135th [Naoki Prize](https://www.edgepedia.org/naoki-prize)[2](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04770/).\n\nThe novel follows earnest, socially awkward editor Mitsuya Majime and his colleagues in a dictionary editorial department as they build the new dictionary 大渡海[4](https://cinema.eiga.com/news/20160320/3/). The title plays on the idea presented in the work that a dictionary is \"a boat that crosses the sea of words\": compiling (編む) the boat that carries people across[7](https://1-100-do.org/pdf/naiagara_times12_221215.pdf).\n\n## Production and reception\n\nYuya Ishii, whose earlier films include *Sawako Decides* (川の底からこんにちは) and *Hara ga Kore Nande*, directed the film; his *Sawako Decides* had won the Grand Prize at the 29th Pia Film Festival and *Hara ga Kore Nande* was invited to the Forum section of the 60th [Berlin International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/berlin-international-film-festival)[1](https://eiga.com/movie/77262/) • [10](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=70669). The film was produced by the \"Fune o Amu\" Production Committee, whose members include [TV Tokyo](https://www.edgepedia.org/tv-tokyo), Shochiku, Asmic Ace, Dentsu, Kobunsha, and others[10](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=70669).\n\nThe Japanese Academy's critic page describes the film as having opened a new territory, dictionary making, within a lineage of Japanese films built around specialized worlds, and praises Ishii's treatment of the editorial debates over words and characters as if they were an action film[9](https://secure.eiga.com/movie/77262/critic/). On the review aggregator Filmarks the film holds a rating of 3.8[11](https://filmarks.com/movies/52913).\n\n## Awards\n\nThe film was selected as Japan's entry for the Foreign Language Film category of the 86th Academy Awards[1](https://eiga.com/movie/77262/). At the 37th Japan Academy Prizes (2014) it was named Best Picture, and took the top award in six categories: Best Picture, Best Director (Yuya Ishii), Best Screenplay (Kansai Watanabe), Best Actor (Ryuhei Matsuda), Best Sound Recording (Yamato Kato), and Best Editing (Shin'ichi Fushima); Aoi Miyazaki, Joe Odagiri, Takumi Saito-related crew in music, cinematography, and lighting categories received Excellence Awards, and Haru Kuroki received the Newcomer of the Year award[1](https://eiga.com/movie/77262/). It was named Excellent Work in 13 Japan Academy Prize categories in total[8](https://eiga-square.jp/title/fune_wo_amu).\n\n## Other adaptations\n\nThe story has been adapted repeatedly. Fuji TV announced a television anime adaptation in its noitaminA late-night slot for the October 2016 season; the anime, directed by Toshimasa Kuroyanagi, won the New Face Award in the [Animation](https://www.edgepedia.org/animation) division of the 21st Japan Media Arts Festival, which credited its careful depiction of the Daitokai compilation and animation-specific scenes such as a \"sea of words\" of overflowing type[4](https://cinema.eiga.com/news/20160320/3/) • [12](https://www.bunka.go.jp/j-mediaarts-festival/award/single/the-great-passage-2/index.html). In 2024 NHK BS Premium broadcast the drama *Fune o Amu: Watashi, Jisho Tsukurimasu*, which traces the more than 15-year path to the release of the mid-size dictionary and expands a selected portion of the original storyline[6](https://realsound.jp/movie/2024/03/post-1603227.html). Marking the film's tenth anniversary, a limited revival run including 35 mm film screenings was held in March 2024[1](https://eiga.com/movie/77262/).\n\n## References\n\n1. [舟を編む : 作品情報・キャスト・あらすじ・動画, 映画.com](https://eiga.com/movie/77262/)\n2. [舟を編む, 松竹 映画作品データベース](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04770/)\n3. [舟を編む, Japanese Film Database (JFDB)](https://jfdb.jp/title/3701)\n4. [「舟を編む」がノイタミナでアニメ化！, 映画.com ニュース](https://cinema.eiga.com/news/20160320/3/)\n5. [舟を編む, JFF Theater, The Japan Foundation](https://www.jff.jpf.go.jp/movie/the_great_passage/)\n6. [『舟を編む』ドラマ版だからこそ描けるもの, Real Sound](https://realsound.jp/movie/2024/03/post-1603227.html)\n7. [シネマ滝「舟を編む」（2013年4月公開）](https://1-100-do.org/pdf/naiagara_times12_221215.pdf)\n8. [舟を編む, 映画スクエア](https://eiga-square.jp/title/fune_wo_amu)\n9. [舟を編む : 映画評論・批評, 映画.com](https://secure.eiga.com/movie/77262/critic/)\n10. [舟を編む, KINENOTE](https://www.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=70669)\n11. [舟を編む, Filmarks映画](https://filmarks.com/movies/52913)\n12. [舟を編む, 第21回日本メディア芸術祭](https://www.bunka.go.jp/j-mediaarts-festival/award/single/the-great-passage-2/index.html)\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 › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedies of 2013 to 2014 › Titles symbols to I*\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/the-great-passage", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-great-passage.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": "\"The Great Passage (舟を編む)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-great-passage. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Great Passage (舟を編む)](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-great-passage)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-great-passage](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-great-passage). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Great Passage (舟を編む)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-great-passage. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Great Passage is a 2013 Japanese drama film by Yuya Ishii, adapted from Shion Miura's Booksellers' Award-winning novel about editors compiling the dictionary Daitokai; it was Japan's 86th Academy Awards entry." }