Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme: Tale Of A Butcher Shop

ある精肉店のはなし (Aru seinikuten no hanashi)

An award-winning documentary about the Kitades and their family-run butcher shop in Kaizuka City (outside Osaka), where they have been raising and slaughtering cattle, and selling their meat in their small shop for over 100 years. Aya Hanabusa’s touching documentary follows the family upon their decision to shut down their long-running slaughterhouse and looks at how the three butcher siblings have devoted their lives to the trade.

Containing unflinching scenes of animal slaughter, the film reveals the intricate, old-fashioned and reverential procedures the family follow in processing the meat. The seventh generation of their family’s business, the Kitades are descendants of the Buraku people, a social minority in Japan who are still subject to discrimination today and Hanabusa’s film touches upon the family’s continuing struggle to make their living despite the persistence of ancient prejudices.

Warning: Some scenes that show the slaughtering process may be disturbing for viewers.

Tale Of A Butcher Shop, dir. Aya Hanabusa, Japan 2013, 109 mins, Japanese with English subtitles

Special ticket offer: four tickets for the price of three!

The ICA Cinema is now completely ad-free. Please note that there will be no trailers shown before this feature. This film is rated 12.