The Inugami Curse

Seishi Yokomizo (1902–1981) was one of Japan’s most famous and best-loved mystery writers. He was born in Kobe and spent his childhood reading detective stories, before beginning to write stories of his own, the first of which was published in 1921. He went on to become an extremely prolific and popular author, best known for his Kosuke Kindaichi series, which ran to 77 books, many of which were adapted for stage, television or films in Japan. The Inugami Curse was adapted twice for film by Kon Ichikawa: first as The Inugami Family in 1976 and as The Inugamis in a 2006 remake. Yokomizo's mystery novels have sold an astonishing 55 million copies in his home country of Japan.

Akira Matsumoto is a bilingual screen actor who has played roles in internationally released film and TV. In recent years, Akira has worked alongside Temuera Morrison in feature film The Brighton Miracle and appeared as a Tibetan monk in Rake, alongside Richard Roxburgh. He has worked on many officially selected and award-winning projects including short film 2AM, a psychological horror – where Akira played a psychologist – that has had 45 Official Selections worldwide, collecting 14 wins in multiple categories. Akira is fluent in Japanese and enjoys working with his Standard American and Japanese accents.