# Taboo (御法度) (1999 film)
**Taboo** (御法度, *[Gohatto](https://www.edgepedia.org/gohatto)*) is a 1999 Japanese period drama directed by Nagisa Oshima (大島渚), set among the [Shinsengumi](https://www.edgepedia.org/shinsengumi), the shogunate's special police force in Kyoto at the end of the Tokugawa period. The film follows the turmoil that spreads through the strictly disciplined corps after a beautiful young swordsman, Kanō Sōzō, joins its ranks. It was Oshima's first feature in 13 years and his last, and it marked the screen debut of Ryuhei Matsuda (松田龍平), son of the actor Yusaku Matsuda.[1](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04538/) • [2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/gohatto/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Japanese release | 18 December 1999, distributed by Shochiku; 100 minutes, color, 35 mm[1](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04538/) • [3](https://sp.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=31616) |
| Director and writer | Nagisa Oshima, his first feature in 13 years and his final film[1](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04538/) • [2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/gohatto/) |
| Source | Two stories from Ryotaro Shiba's collection *Shinsengumi Keppūroku*: "Maegami no Sōzō" (前髪の惣三郎) and "Sanjō Kawara Ranjin" (三条磧乱刃)[4](https://cinemaplus.shochiku.co.jp/titles/detail/682/) |
| Principal cast | Ryuhei Matsuda as Kanō Sōzō; Beat Takeshi as Hijikata Toshizō; Tadanobu Asano as Tashiro Hyōzō; Shinji Takeda as Okita Sōji; Yoichi Sai as Kondō Isami[5](https://eiga.com/movie/12617/) |
| Music and crew | Music by Ryuichi Sakamoto, reuniting the *Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence* trio of Oshima, Takeshi, and Sakamoto; cinematography by Toyomichi Kurita; costumes by Emi Wada[1](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04538/) • [3](https://sp.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=31616) |
| Festival and awards | Shown in competition at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival (2000); Matsuda won Newcomer of the Year at the 23rd Japan Academy Prize[5](https://eiga.com/movie/12617/) • [6](https://joshinweb.jp/dp/4988105064393.html) |
| Setting | Kyoto, summer 1865 (first year of Keiō)[1](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04538/) |
## Spoilers
### Story
In the summer of 1865, the Shinsengumi, bound by the strict codes known as the Kyokuchū Hatto and Gunjū Hatto, admit two skilled swordsmen: the lower-ranking samurai Tashiro Hyōzō and the strikingly beautiful youth Kanō Sōzō. Soon after joining, Kanō is ordered by the commander [Kondō Isami](https://www.edgepedia.org/kondo-isami) to execute a member who has broken the code, and he carries out the task well; but the vice-commander [Hijikata Toshizō](https://www.edgepedia.org/hijikata-toshizo) remains uneasy about the young man, whom Kondō favors and who has not yet cut his forelocks.[1](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04538/)
Rumors then spread through the corps that Kanō and Tashiro have formed a *shudō* (male love) bond, and Kanō also takes up with the member Yūzawa Tōjirō. When Yūzawa is found murdered, the inspector Yamazaki investigates without result. Fearing for discipline, Kondō and Hijikata order Yamazaki to introduce Kanō to women, but Kanō refuses, and Yamazaki, who had persistently invited him to the pleasure quarters, is attacked on a night road. From a comb left at the scene, Kondō concludes that a jealous Tashiro was responsible and orders Kanō to kill him.[1](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04538/)
In fact, the murder and the attack were both arranged by Kanō himself. On a night at the Kamo River's Shijō Nakasu, with Hijikata and [Okita Sōji](https://www.edgepedia.org/okita-soji) watching from the shadows as seconds, the unsuspecting Tashiro is cut down by Kanō. On the way back, Okita turns back claiming to have left something behind, and Hijikata realizes from his retreating figure that Okita too has fallen under Kanō's spell.[1](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04538/)
## Production background
Oshima had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in February 1996, and he completed *Gohatto* in 1999 while still fighting the physical damage of the illness. His official site describes the production as one that observers had doubted could be realized, and notes that he traveled to Cannes after the film was selected, having at one point been near death.[7](https://www.oshima-pro.jp/)
The film drew attention for several reunions and debuts. It brought back together the director, lead actor Beat Takeshi (北野武), and composer [Ryuichi Sakamoto](https://www.edgepedia.org/ryuichi-sakamoto) for the first time since *Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence* (1983), and it cast Matsuda, then 16 years old, in his first film role.[1](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04538/) • [8](https://movies.shochiku.co.jp/100th/gohatto/) The supporting cast mixed film actors with comedians and directors, including Yoichi Sai (崔洋一) as Kondō Isami, Masa of the comic duo Tomies, Masato Ibu, Uno Kanda, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Tomoro Taguchi, and Sakai Jirō.[5](https://eiga.com/movie/12617/) • [9](https://img-lib.musabi.ac.jp/search/index.php/document/detail-work/211)
## Themes and style
The film treats homosexuality among samurai men as its central subject, an approach the Queer Cinema Archive describes as a distinctive entry in the samurai genre for exploring queer relationships and attraction among samurai more deeply than its predecessors.[10](https://www.queercinemaarchive.com/the-archive/gohatto) Oshima himself framed the theme generally: "When you have a group of men, there always exists some aspect of homosexuality," the taboo subject that gives the film its specific attraction.[11](https://openjournals.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/kinema/article/download/912/913/2200) Film Society of Lincoln Center notes that, like *[In the Realm of the Senses](https://www.edgepedia.org/in-the-realm-of-the-senses)*, the film deals with the anti-authoritarian sway of sexuality, a nearly taboo topic in Japan at the time of release.[2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/gohatto/)
The film's visual approach drew comment as well. The allcinema database praises its aestheticized color imagery built around the homoerotic motif and Sakamoto's music, which it describes as playing with a strange charm.[12](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/159892) Film scholar Jasper Sharp's account in a study of the samurai film describes how the film punctuates its narrative with intertitles conveying details of relationships and life within the Shinsengumi, appropriating a silent *chambara* aesthetic in dialogue with the genre's history.[13](https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28950/1/6412_Bingham.pdf)
## Reception and legacy
*Gohatto* was selected in competition for the 53rd Cannes Film Festival in 2000 and was also an NYFF38 selection at the [New York Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/new-york-film-festival).[5](https://eiga.com/movie/12617/) • [2](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/gohatto/) In Japan, Matsuda received the Newcomer of the Year award at the 23rd Japan Academy Prize (2000), and the film won in four categories at the 42nd Blue Ribbon Awards.[6](https://joshinweb.jp/dp/4988105064393.html) • [14](https://www.kinokuniya.co.jp/f/dsg-10-4988105015647) On the review aggregator Kinenote it holds an average score of 67.6 points from 418 users.[3](https://sp.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=31616)
It was Oshima's final feature. He never directed again; after the film's completion he devoted himself to rehabilitation with the care of his wife, the actress Koyama Akiko, and in 2001 he received the French Order of Arts and Letters.[7](https://www.oshima-pro.jp/) The film remains in circulation on home video and streaming in Japan, with a DVD first released by Shochiku Home Video on 21 May 2000.[14](https://www.kinokuniya.co.jp/f/dsg-10-4988105015647)
## References
1. [御法度, Shochiku film database](https://www.shochiku.co.jp/cinema/database/04538/)
2. [Gohatto, Film Society of Lincoln Center](https://www.filmlinc.org/films/gohatto/)
3. [御法度, Kinenote](https://sp.kinenote.com/main/public/cinema/detail.aspx?cinema_id=31616)
4. [御法度, Shochiku Cinema Plus](https://cinemaplus.shochiku.co.jp/titles/detail/682/)
5. [御法度, Eiga.com](https://eiga.com/movie/12617/)
6. [御法度 DVD, Joshin web](https://joshinweb.jp/dp/4988105064393.html)
7. [映画監督 大島渚 公式サイト](https://www.oshima-pro.jp/)
8. [御法度, Shochiku 100th anniversary selection](https://movies.shochiku.co.jp/100th/gohatto/)
9. [御法度, Musashino Art University Image Library](https://img-lib.musabi.ac.jp/search/index.php/document/detail-work/211)
10. [Gohatto, Queer Cinema Archive](https://www.queercinemaarchive.com/the-archive/gohatto)
11. [Cannes International Film Festival 2000, KINEMA journal](https://openjournals.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/kinema/article/download/912/913/2200)
12. [御法度, allcinema](https://www.allcinema.net/cinema/pdf/159892)
13. [Jasper Sharp, samurai film study, NTU repository](https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/28950/1/6412_Bingham.pdf)
14. [御法度 DVD, Kinokuniya web store](https://www.kinokuniya.co.jp/f/dsg-10-4988105015647)
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*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 1990s › Drama films late 1990s › Released in 1999*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license