3 DRAGONS LTD. PRESENTS WORLD PREMIERE RESTORATIONS OF GAKURYU ISHII’S SHUFFLE AND MASTER OF SHIATSU AT JAPAN CUTS 2026

First-Ever 4K Restorations of Two Landmark Works of Japanese Underground Cinema to Premiere at Japan Society New York — July 11, 2026

OAKLAND, CA, UNITED STATES, June 10, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- 3 Dragons Ltd., a U.S.–Japan film initiative dedicated to preserving, restoring, and expanding the legacy of director Gakuryu Ishii, today announced the World Premiere screenings of two newly completed 4K restorations: Shuffle (1981) and Master of Shiatsu (1989). Both films will screen as a double bill at JAPAN CUTS 2026, the largest festival of new Japanese film in North America, presented by Japan Society New York, on Saturday, July 11, 2026 at 5:30 PM.

These are the first restorations of either film in any format. They have never been screened in restored form anywhere in the world. Their presentation at Japan Society New York marks the public launch of 3 Dragons’ restoration program.

Shuffle (1981, 32 min) is a ferocious adaptation of Run, a short manga by Katsuhiro Otomo — creator of Akira — that Ishii famously began filming before seeking Otomo’s permission. A single relentless chase through Tokyo’s streets, the film proved foundational to the Japanese cyberpunk movement. Cinematography by Norimichi Kasamatsu.

Master of Shiatsu (1989, 13 min) stars Tokujiro Namikoshi — the founder of modern shiatsu, who brought the discipline to the world as a formal therapeutic practice — in a short film about touch, transformation, and the cosmos. Now recognized as the seed of Ishii’s Spiritual Form Cinema, it prefigures the transcendent sensibility of August in the Water (1995) and Labyrinth of Dreams (1997). Cinematography by Noboru Shinoda.

Together the two films trace the arc of Ishii’s artistic evolution: from the anarchic punk energy of Shuffle to the inner-space, body-as-cosmos philosophy of Master of Shiatsu — the opening chapter of what 3 Dragons has termed Spiritual Form Cinema, the interior evolution of Ishii’s work from physical rebellion toward spiritual inquiry.

Both films were restored in 4K from the original 35mm negatives by qooop, Inc., a leading Tokyo-based digital restoration facility, and delivered as full DCP masters. The restoration of Shuffle was supervised by cinematographer Norimichi Kasamatsu. Restorations funded by Yanasa Creative Group and produced by 3 Dragons Ltd.

“For me, both watching movies in a theater and filmmaking exist as ways to delve deep into my own mind and body — to become aware of the hidden seeds of chaotic turmoil and emotional storms overflowing in my subconscious, and ultimately to purify them.”
— Gakuryu Ishii

“The experience is beyond dream logic. Through the pacing, the sound, the light — you are confronted with inner space. With peaceful self-reflection. I have a psychic attachment to these films.”
— Sebastian Galasso, Co-Founder, 3 Dragons Ltd.

William Heng
YanasaPR
press@yanasapr.com
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