Yuki no Hana - Tomoni Arite Blu-ray

Yuki no Hana - Tomoni Arite follows a provincial doctor's determined response to a devastating smallpox epidemic in late Edo-period Japan. Tori Matsuzaka plays Ryosaku Kasahara, a physician in the Fukui domain who feels powerless as patients die despite his efforts. His wife Chiho, played by Kyoko Yoshine, continues to encourage him as he searches for a way to protect the people around them.

Ryosaku travels to Kyoto to study with Teisai Hino, a practitioner of Western medicine portrayed by Koji Yakusho. There he learns that vaccination is already being used overseas. Bringing it to Japan, however, means obtaining vaccine material from abroad and securing the shogunate's permission. What begins as one doctor's search gradually draws in his domain and the national authorities, sustained by the people he meets and the bond with his wife.

Directed by Takashi Koizumi and based on Akira Yoshimura's novel, this historical drama also features Takahiro Miura, Shohei Uno, Issei Okihara, Ryuta Bando, Risako Miki, Miu Arai, Kazuyoshi Kushida, Kenichi Yajima, Tetsu Watanabe, Toru Masuoka, Gaku Yamamoto and Hidetaka Yoshioka.

The Blu-ray includes the 117-minute feature, a making-of film and a special interview with Matsuzaka and Yoshine. Recorded appearances cover a family screening at Seishi Elementary School, the release commemorative stage greeting and the Tokyo International Film Festival. Teasers, the theatrical trailer and television spots complete the supplementary material. Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 accompanies the film, with a separate Japanese stereo audio-description track and Japanese subtitles.