Latest Documentary "The Last Waltz of the Cherry Salmon" Set for Release on October 9 (Fri) at Uplink Kichijoji and More! Trailer Released and Comments from Notable Figures Arrive Ahead of Anticipated Theatrical Premiere!

The documentary film "The Last Waltz of the Cherry Salmon" (directed by Asato Sakamoto), planned and distributed by Whole Universe General Incorporated Association (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo), will finally begin its nationwide theatrical release on October 9 (Fri) at Uplink Kichijoji, Uplink Kyoto (Kyoto Prefecture), Cinema KOBE (Hyogo Prefecture), Ueda Eigeki (Nagano Prefecture), and other locations.

Cherry salmon, a relative of salmon distributed mainly in Japan, are born in rivers as yamame, and eventually journey to the sea. They then return as cherry salmon with the arrival of spring. However, modernization obstructs this cycle. The yamame left behind in rivers across the country may symbolize the fragmented nature of the river basins whose continuity has been broken. This film depicts the world woven by the basins where cherry salmon travel, in a three-dimensional documentary format, incorporating testimonies from researchers who have continuously studied cherry salmon and those involved in fisheries.

It is as if the question is passed on from the "Iwana," a phantom fish inhabiting the headwaters depicted in the previous film "Iwana in the Milk," to the "Yamame"...

"The Last Waltz of the Cherry Salmon" Official Trailer

Director's Message

What can we do to continue to engage with fish as anglers, or with nature as human beings? This film does not depict environmental issues in river basins as mere accusations, but rather examines the complex reality where past human activities simultaneously created an unnatural world. However, instead of emphasizing the conflict between nature and society, we aim to explore the possibility of dialogue with cherry salmon by reflecting the wavering dilemma that lies between them. To open a space for re-examining the relationship between nature and society through their life's journey. That is the starting point of this work. Asato Sakamoto, Film Director

Director's Profile

Asato Sakamoto

Born in Osaka, lives in Tokyo. Film director.

Directed the documentary film "Iwana in the Milk," released in 2024. Has worked on visual works themed around views on life and death, and as a producer for the folk culture tour "Toono Meguri Toroge." Through Whole Universe General Incorporated Association, where he serves as representative director, he is involved in media strategy for the "Human and Information Ecosystem (HITE)" research area of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) Science and Technology Research and Development Center (RISTEX), engaging in activities themed around science communication that crosses fields such as natural sciences and humanities.

"The Last Waltz of the Cherry Salmon" New Comments

All living creatures live within their own "Umwelt" that suits them, within a single "global environment."

In contrast, we 8.2 billion humans live in separate "Umwelten."

In other words, only humans live in a world detached from the "global environment."

To put it bluntly, all problems would be solved if not a single human being were left on Earth. Even though our two feet cannot leave this planet for even a moment, why do humans not try to coexist with the Earth...

This work is not solely about conveying the current situation of cherry salmon.

It confronts us with how we should live.

────Kazufumi Miyazawa (Musician)

Seen through the small universe inhabited by cherry salmon, our world and its flaws.

How will I, we, survive the coming era, carrying irreconcilable contradictions?

A story that evokes unique resonance, guided by the academic and original perspectives of colorful experts leading the way and the author's

beat of reminiscence.

This is not just a documentary, but a new form of "festival" cloaked in the aura of cinema.

Dance, yourself. Even if it's a peculiar dance.

Like that fish, wriggling its fins without blinking.

Until that "dance" you weave becomes a memento of that child someday.

────Naotaro Moriyama (Musician)

As I continued to gaze at the fish, my love for them overflowed, and unexpectedly, I began to see the problems Japan faces, and even the problems humanity faces. The last flicker of the cherry salmon was as dazzling and intense as a spark.

────Komy I (Artist)

Everything that is happening on Earth now is a backlash for actions taken solely for human convenience.

Nature cannot be controlled by any means.

This film confronts us with that harsh reality.

────Fukawaryo (Talent)

"What does it mean to live like the Earth?" "What does it mean to protect nature?"

We, who live increasingly detached from nature in our daily lives.

I watched this film repeatedly, wanting to fully understand its intent, which carefully follows the cherry salmon over time as they use the entire river, from upstream to downstream, out to the sea, back into the river, swimming against the current to spawn upstream, and ending their lives.

Each time I watched, I began to question within myself, through the images, the relationship between the grand workings of nature and the workings of humans on Earth? Or rather, what is a life like that of the cherry salmon, as a human?

And I realized how much I was living in a micro-world. I believe this is an incredibly necessary work for us today, with its overwhelming visual beauty and superb sound.

────Yuri Nomura (eatrip)

While following the life journey of the cherry salmon,

I felt as if I were listening to a common "resonance" within this world.

Humans are also part of nature itself. Visible and invisible things, all of them are interconnected,

breathing here and now.

The way the Earth exists, and my own authentic self, may lie in confronting the creatures that breathe before me and their history.

It is not easy, but I want to continue to face that.

I believe that the lessons learned through many failures will become prayers for the lost lives.

────Mamiko Hirai (Musician)

Nature is not necessary for humans to live; we are reminded that humans simply live as part of nature.

We must imagine this from the sight of salmon connecting their lives and dying.

────Masaru Tsuchida (Photographer)

In my hometown of Ina, deep in the mountains of Shinshu, we always eat salmon on December 31st to welcome the New Year. For us living along the Fossa Magna, salmon was a special fish.

From this film, I learned an important lesson: that mountain people used to renew this world by inviting the sea gods, salmon and trout.

────Mio Kitamura (Documentary Film Director / Visual Folklorist)

I am delighted that such a wonderful film has been created, following the previous work "Iwana in the Milk."

I was deeply moved by the captivating story and overwhelming visual beauty.

This film meticulously depicts not only the ecology of cherry salmon, yamame, satsukimasu, and amago, but also the feelings of the people living around the habitats of these fish, the thoughts of anglers, and even social values.

I believe that by watching this film, more people will become interested in and come to love fish.

While we can never truly speak for the fish, I offer my heartfelt gratitude to those who produced the film and those who appeared in it, with those feelings in mind.

────Tomoyuki Nakamura (Fisheries Technology Institute, National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Fisheries Research and Education Agency)

Rarely is a fish seen to exhibit such beautiful and mystical behavior.

We learned from the way of life of the cherry salmon, were admonished, and realized what we should change.

The logic we envisioned did not function as expected.

We could not compete with the tenacious wildness that stoically perpetuates life.

Maintaining a humble attitude towards nature and focusing on following its principles and reason.

That attitude will surely become a great source for carving out our future.

────Shige fumi Sato (Fly Fisher)

Although the cherry salmon is the subject, this is essentially a film about humans.

Each time I shift between diverse perspectives, I am disappointed in the existence of humans, but that disappointment also appears as hope.

This is similar to the contradiction between the blessings and calamities brought by the "river" spoken of in the film.

Originally, nature has neither blessings nor calamities.

Human views of nature, which divide the unified nature into likes and dislikes, foster indigenous beliefs and cultures, while simultaneously giving rise to the human-nature dichotomy in modern flood control.

There is no perspective that can overlook the complex network of causality symbolized by this duality.

The people depicted are somewhat nonchalant.

Their appearance overlaps with the wild animals I encounter in Hokkaido, including cherry salmon.

────Norimichi Hirakawa (Artist)

River fish that are disappearing. Increasingly severe natural disasters.

Anglers and non-anglers alike may feel in recent years that the blessings of nature and the foundations of our lives are being threatened.

The cause is not that nature is turning its fangs on humans, but rather the result of human activities pursuing efficiency and economic rationality.

This film and the cherry salmon clearly teach us that.

And in today's world, where values like cost performance and time performance dominate, it feels as if it is making a poignant appeal that pursuing efficiency and economic rationality is not always the right path.

────Taku Yoshimaya (Doctor of Fisheries)

Screening Theaters

Tokyo Prefecture

Uplink Kichijoji

October 9 (Fri) ~

Kyoto Prefecture

Uplink Kyoto

October 23 (Fri) ~

Nagano Prefecture

Ueda Eigeki

October 16 (Fri) ~

Toyama Prefecture

Otabiza

October 23 (Fri) ~

Hyogo Prefecture

Cinema KOBE

October 24 (Sat) ~

Okayama Prefecture

Enketsu Cinémarumusubi

October 30 (Fri) ~

Oita Prefecture

Hita Cinémathèque Liberté

November 28 (Sat) ~

"The Last Waltz of the Cherry Salmon" Film Overview

Story

Which Earth do we live on?

Cherry salmon, which travel between the sea and rivers, connecting life in their basins. However, the wave of modernization has severed this cycle. What have we gained and what have we lost? This film questions the state of river basins and society.

Yamame, born in rivers, journey to the sea and eventually return to the river as cherry salmon. This journey connects the forest and the sea, nurturing the life and culture of the river basin over a long period. However, the development of modern society has gradually obstructed this cycle. Tens of thousands of dams and weirs built for disaster prevention and power generation divide rivers and the sea, and abandoned forests increase the risk of disasters. The development of renewable energy, promoted as a measure against global warming, also shakes the very nature of society and its relationship with the environment. Through the life of the cherry salmon, this film questions the traces of nature and culture being lost in the shadow of economic development.

Cast (in order of appearance)

Kentaro Morita (Professor, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo) Mayumi Fukunaga (Professor, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo) Takashi Okuma (Professor Emeritus, Niigata University)

Tadashi Nakamura (Professor Emeritus, Hokkaido University) Koichi Ube (Hokkaido Research Institute for Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries) Takuya Sato (Professor, Field Science Center for Conservation and Disaster Reduction, Kyoto University)

Isao Hasegawa (Fisheries Resources Institute, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency)

Kentaro Morita (Professor, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo)

Takuya Sato (Professor, Field Science Center for Conservation and Disaster Reduction, Kyoto University)

Shingo Nakamura (Toyohira River Salmon Science Museum, Sapporo)

Junichi Tsuboi (Fisheries Technology Institute, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency)

Hiromi Takinami (Chief Priest, Tashiro Suwa Shrine)

Takashi Okuma (Professor Emeritus, Niigata University)

Mayumi Fukunaga (Professor, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo)

Tadashi Nakamura (Professor Emeritus, Hokkaido University)

Akihiro Kubota (Director, Forestry Department Manager, Hosokawa Wood Co., Ltd.)

Koichi Ube (Hokkaido Research Institute for Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries)

Kosei Takahashi (Environmental Policy Division, Nakagawa Town, Hokkaido)

Kazutoshi Hieda (Network for Considering River Basin Nature)

Shigeru Yogo (Yamagata Prefectural Fisheries Promotion Association)

Nozomi Ariga (Toyohira River Salmon Science Museum, Sapporo / Sapporo Wild Salmon Project)

Katsuya Shimada (Chairman, Japan Environmental Assessment Association)

Atsushi Iseki (Director, Nisaburo Co., Ltd.)

What are Cherry Salmon and Yamame?

Cherry salmon during spawning season, or yamame during river life stage or river-resident type.

The resident type that spends its entire life in rivers is called yamame, and the migratory type that descends to the sea is called cherry salmon. Both are the same species. While living in rivers, young cherry salmon are also called yamame. They are widely distributed in Japan from Kyushu to Hokkaido, and also inhabit areas from Taiwan to the Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russian Far East. The subspecies distributed in western Japan, satsukimasu, is similarly called amago in its resident form. Satsukimasu and amago have red spots on their sides, while cherry salmon and yamame do not. Cherry salmon are also known by other names such as yamabe, honmasu, mamasu, kuchiguro, ichanimasu, and enoha. In English, they are called masu salmon or cherry salmon.

Film Information

"The Last Waltz of the Cherry Salmon"

A Trout and the Last Waltz

Production Year: 2026 | Running Time: 95 minutes

Language: Japanese | Documentary | DCP

Theatrical Release Date: October 9, 2026

Director, Screenplay, Editing: Asato Sakamoto

Supervision: Kentaro Morita

Screenplay: Teru Wakabayashi

Cinematography: Kazuya Tanaka, Yutaro Yamaguchi, Ryohei Sawaki, Yusei Nara Underwater Cinematography: Hajime Yamauchi, Kaname Chirai, Joki Kusakawa, Satoshi Adachi

Music: DAISUKE TANABE, YOSI HORIKAWA

Key Visual: Aoi Nagasawa

Illustration: Paul Vecsei

Planning & Distribution: Whole Universe General Incorporated Association

Production: THE LIGHT SOURCE

Distribution Cooperation: weroll Inc.

[Sponsorship] Patagonia International Inc., Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd., Tiemco Ltd., foxfire, Madness Japan, Shakotan Spirit Co., Ltd., Tsuri Ticket, Japan Fly Fishers, FTF General Incorporated Association, Lecture Meeting on Comprehensive Cooperation Agreement with Nakagawa Town, Hokkaido, Yoshida Sake Brewery Co., Ltd., Good Life Island Co., Ltd. (SAKATANTO), Ennichi, Campanella Co., Ltd., Oikawa Shoten, Purveyors, Transit Higashikawa, Mizumori Natural Civil Engineering Network,

[Cooperation] Nakagawa Town, Hokkaido, SET Co., Ltd. (Mountain Research), River-Walk, weroll Inc.

[Publicity Cooperation] Montbell Co., Ltd.

[Equipment Cooperation] Sigma Corporation, MEDIAEDGE Corporation, Atomos

[Endorsement] Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Japan Wildlife Conservation Society, Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Riverfront Research Institute, Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Japan Fisheries Resource Conservation Association, Public Interest Incorporated Foundation Japan Anglers Association Environmental Committee, National Federation of Inland Water Fisheries Cooperatives, General Incorporated Association Japan Fisheries Association

Official Website: https://trout-lastwaltz.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/a_trout_in_the_film

X: https://x.com/trout_inthefilm

*When using materials related to this work, please include the following copyright notice.

©️2026 Whole Universe Association

"Iwana in the Milk" (2024) DVD & Blu-ray Information

Anticipated DVD & Blu-ray Release!

The DVD & Blu-ray of the film "Iwana in the Milk"

will begin accepting pre-orders on July 1, 2026 (Wed) at the special site for foxfire (Tiemco Ltd.).

Special Site: https://www.tiemco.co.jp/Page/Feature/trout-inthemilk.aspx

General Sale: Scheduled to be released on August 5, 2026 (Wed) at foxfire direct stores and other sales channels.