Departures
A disgraced cellist returns to his hometown and takes a job as a traditional mortician, determined to provide for his wife while confronting deep social prejudice that threatens to tear his new life apart.
“The gift of last memories.”
Synopsis
Daigo, a cellist, loses his job with the orchestra and returns to his small hometown with his wife, seeking a more affordable lifestyle. Believing he is applying for a position at a travel agency, he instead discovers he is being interviewed for a role involving more permanent departures—as an undertaker’s assistant.
Credits
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How many hands made this film
The scale of the collaboration
A crew of 71+ credited
Why a floor?
This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.
Craft leads on file
Edited by Akimasa KawashimaShot by Takeshi HamadaScored by Joe HisaishiDesigned by Fumio Ogawa
Box Office
2008 · Box office
Grossed $69.9M worldwide
Worldwide gross
$69.9M
US & Canada: $1.5M — 2% of worldwide · International: $68.4M (98%)
Also known as
- Nokan - Die Kunst des Ausklangsde
- Okuribitode
- Debarturesen
- Departuresen
- Okuribitoen
- Okuribitoes
- Departuresfr
- Okuribitofr
- Departuresit
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Cast & Crew
71 unique people credited
Top billed cast
Masahiro Motoki
as Daigo Kobayashi
Ryoko Hirosue
as Mika Kobayashi
Hirosue Ryoko
as Mika Kobayashi
Tsutomu Yamazaki
as Ikuei Sasaki
Kazuko Yoshiyuki
as Tsuyako Yamashita
Kimiko Yo
as Yuriko Kamimura
Tetta Sugimoto
as Yamashita
Takashi Sasano
as Shokichi Hirata
Toru Minegishi
as Yoshiki Kobayashi
Tatsuo Yamada
as Togashi
Yukiko Tachibana
Yukari Tachibana
as Rie Yamashita
Supporting cast
49Genjitsu Shu
Taro Ishida
as Sonezaki
Yukimi Koyanagi
Hiroyuki Kishi
Sanae Miyata
as Naomi Togashi
Ryosuke Otani
as Tomeo's Father
Mitsuyo Hoshino
as Kazuko Kobayashi
Taro Suwa
Tatsuhito Okuda
Rin Uchida
as Young Daigo
Ryoichi Suzuki
Takao Toji
Akemi Fuji
Atsushi Yamanaka
Shinji Hiwatashi
Sayuri Shirai
as Tomeo
Sadami Sakamoto
as Orchestra Manager
Wataru Ohashi
Masaaki Takarai
as Orchestra Member
Yuji Kido
Takeki Sato
as Naomi's Younger Brother
Ichibei Sato
Yoko Imamoto
Yuki Mashita
Miki Hayashida
Mari Hayashida
Mitsuyo Ishigaki
Kenzo Ryu
Miyako Hattori
as Sugawara Family's Grandmother
Momoka Iizuka
as Shiori Yamashita
Misato Abe
as Naomi's Daughter
Yuki Kurosawa
as Miyuki Kato
Keiji Kuroki
as Kato Family's Boy
Itsuki Takahashi
as Kato Family's Boy
Shoichi Ashikaga
as Kato Family's Boy
Nanase Matsuda
as Okuyama Family's Daughter
Kohei Wakabayashi
Ryukai Furukawa
as Young Boy
Yuuki Ogoe
as Young Boy
Hayato Maruyama
as Young Boy
Dai Kuboki
as Music Store Owner
Mina Kudo
as Saito Family's Granddaughter
Kunio Kamata
as Director
Hiromi Sugawara
as Stylist
Arisa Ishikawa
as High School Girl on the Bus
Chie Hiratsuka
as High School Girl on the Bus
Kei Kawai
as High School Girl on the Bus
Pablo Sacco
as Musical Instrument Appraiser
Norichika Iimori
as Conductor
Directors
1Writers
1Producers
3Other crew
5Parents Guide
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