The Living Dragon

Incoming Editorial·Reviewed July 11, 2026

For more than half a century, Yasuaki Kurata has been one of the most prominent and singular Japanese actors in international action cinema. After becoming a major star in Hong Kong during the Golden Age of kung fu films - appearing alongside such icons as Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, Jet Li and Donnie Yen - Kurata now marks both the 60th anniversary of his acting career and his 80th birthday with an ambitious and deeply personal new project, "The Living Dragon." Structured as an anthology of three interconnected stories, the film brings together leading action directors Koichi Sakamoto, Kenji Tanigaki and Yuji Shimomura - all former members of the Kurata Action Club, who went on to earn their own fame in Japan and abroad. Moving between realism, fantasy and memory, the stories they've written for their sifu revolve around aging, unrealized dreams and the enduring spirit of those who continue to devote themselves to cinema.