Buffett and Trump are no match for this—His Highness’s Tax Scheme Turns the Economy Around

By / MOOK Scenic Spots Travel Life Network Editorial Team
 
Acclaimed as the "Heisei-era Shiba Ryotaro," historian Iida Michifumi gained widespread recognition when his bestselling novel *The Samurai Ledger* was adapted into a major film in 2010. This movie is based on his work *Selfless Japanese*, specifically the chapter "Taniya-ya Juzaburo," directed by Yoshihiro Nakamura, who helmed *The Snow White Murder Case* and *Predicted Peril*. Director Yoshihiro Nakamura stated that he had long wanted to create a disaster-themed film, and the original story highlights the resilience of people from Tohoku—that’s precisely why it was brought to the screen.

This is a true story set over two hundred years ago during the Edo period. At the time, the Sendai Domain suffered from depleted state coffers, so heavy taxes were imposed. Every night at Yoshikawa Post Station, villagers fled with their families to escape debt, earning it the notorious nickname “Night Escape Village.” The villagers suffered terribly until a local wise man, tea master and moneylender Sugawara Yasuhei (played by Eita), devised a brilliant plan to “zero-fold repay” the taxes to His Highness (tax evasion?).

They planned to lend His Highness (played by Hayama Yuzuru) one thousand ryō (equivalent to three hundred million yen today!) and then charge him exorbitant interest, which they would then pay back to His Highness as annual tax revenue—essentially using His Highness’s own money to pay the villagers’ taxes.

Despite risking beheading, the daring villagers executed the plan. But how could a group with nothing but courage scrape together three hundred million? Compound interest, revolving loans, price indices, and inflation? This is an unexpected period comedy—a tale of Edo-period samurai turning the economic tables on His Highness, blending humor and laugh-out-loud moments.

[Info]
*His Highness’s Tax Scheme*
Director: Yoshihiro Nakamura
Cast: Atsushi Ito, Eita, Satoshi Tsumabuki, Yuko Takeuchi, Ryuhei Matsuda
Genre: Comedy
Country: Japan
Release Date: 9/30
Runtime: 129 minutes
Production Company: Skyhorse Pictures

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