The Barren Zone

The Barren Zone (不毛地帯) is a novel by Toyoko Yamasaki. It was serialized in the weekly magazine Sunday Manichi from 1973 to 1978.

The novel was partially adapted into a film starring Tatsuya Nakadai and directed by Satsuo Yamamoto in 1976. It was later adapted into two television miniseries in 1979 and 2009.

Synopsis
Tadashi Iki is captured during the invasion of Manchuria and returns to Japan after being interned for over a decade in Soviet labor camps. Owing to his former position in the Imperial General Staff, he is offered a position at the expansive Kinki Corporation.

1976 film
Fumō Chitai (不毛地帯) is a 1976 Japanese film directed by Satsuo Yamamoto.

Cast

 * Tatsuya Nakadai - Tadashi Iki
 * Tetsurō Tamba - Isao Kawamata
 * Isao Yamagata - Ichizo Daimon
 * Jūkei Fujioka - Army Chief General of Kwantung Army
 * Kin'ya Kitaōji
 * Takashi Yamaguchi
 * Kaoru Yachigusa
 * Shiho Fujimura
 * Ichirō Nakatani
 * Hisashi Igawa
 * Eitaro Ozawa
 * Etsushi Takahashi - Detective
 * Jirō Tamiya - Tatsuzo Samejima
 * Hideji Ōtaki - Seizo Hisamatsu

Awards
1st Hochi Film Award
 * Won: Best Supporting Actor - Hideji Ōtaki

31st Mainichi Film Award
 * Won: Best Film
 * Won: Best Screenplay: Noboru Yamada

Cast

 * Mikijirō Hira - Tadashi Iki
 * Tomisaburo Wakayama - Ichizo Daimon
 * Atsuo Nakamura - Tatsuzo Samejima
 * Hideo Takamatsu - Tatsuya Satoi
 * Kimiko Ikegami - Naoko Iki
 * Takashi Shimura - Masaharu Tanigawa
 * Kō Nishimura - Seizo Hisamatsu
 * Tamao Nakamura
 * Ayumi Ishida
 * Ichirō Murakoshi - Narrator

Cast

 * Toshiaki Karasawa - Tadashi Iki
 * Yoshio Harada - Ichizo Daimon
 * Kenichi Endō - Tatsuzo Samejima
 * Ittoku Kishibe - Tatsuya Satoi
 * Toshirō Yanagiba - Isao Kawamata
 * Emi Wakui - Yoshiko Iki
 * Koyuki - Chisato Akitsu
 * Nicholas Pettas - Pratt
 * Mikako Tabe - Naoko Iki
 * Sheryar Khan - Oil Company Manager
 * Issei Futamata - Narrator