Rental x Family
The Day His Book Became a Film
Director / Screenwriter: Takehito Sakamoto / Released June 10, 2023
Director / Writer
Takehito Sakamoto
Based on
Yuichi Ishii "The Human Rental Shop"
Lead Actor
Shun Shiotani
Release
June 10, 2023
"The Human Rental Shop" — Yuichi Ishii's Confession
In 2019, Yuichi Ishii compiled his life story and the story of Family Romance into a single book. "The Human Rental Shop" (Tetsujinsha). It was a candid confession of a man who went from being a care worker to founding a rental family business, handling over 18,000 requests, and serving as "father" to 23 families with 35 "children."
The book chronicles numerous episodes from Ishii's experiences. Attending a daughter's kindergarten entrance interview as a "father" for a single mother, seeing off a terminally ill elderly person as their "son," attending over 60 weddings as the "groom" — laughter, tears, and philosophical questions arising at the frontlines of rental family work.
His motto is "More joy than the real thing." Real emotions dwell within fake relationships — Ishii expressed that paradox in his own words. The book received significant media attention and eventually led to talks of a film adaptation.
"More joy than the real thing" — real emotions dwell within fake relationships.
— Yuichi Ishii, Family Romance motto
"The Human Rental Shop" by Yuichi Ishii (2019, Tetsujinsha)
Book Information
From Book to Screen
After Herzog's "Family Romance, LLC" (2019) gained worldwide attention, interest in rental families grew within Japan as well. Ishii's book "The Human Rental Shop," published in 2019, offered a different perspective from the Herzog film — Ishii's own inner world and the stories of his clients.
Director and screenwriter Takehito Sakamoto restructured multiple episodes from Ishii's book into three independent stories. While Herzog employed techniques that blurred the boundary between documentary and fiction, Sakamoto chose to depict the world of rental families as a clear dramatic narrative film.
Yuichi Ishii himself participated as a cameo — a special appearance as the original author. Actor Shun Shiotani was cast in the lead role of the rental operator. In Herzog's film, Ishii played "Yuichi Ishii" himself, but in "Rental x Family," a professional actor plays "an Ishii-like character" — that contrast itself is fascinating.
Herzog made a film about "the very existence of Yuichi Ishii." Sakamoto made a film about "the stories Yuichi Ishii witnessed." From the same material, two entirely different films were born.
Production Details
Three Families, Three Truths.
A Single Mother's Wish
The story of a single mother who rents a "father" for her daughter. The daughter has never met her father. The mother contacts Family Romance, and a rental father is dispatched. The relationship starts awkwardly, but gradually their "father-daughter" time becomes something warm.
But a relationship built on lies must eventually end. When the daughter asks, "Are you my real father?" — what does the rental father answer? The most heartbreaking moment that Ishii himself has faced countless times is depicted here.
The Dependent Family
The story of a parent and child who become dependent on a rental family. What was supposed to be a one-time request becomes repeated bookings. Daily life without the rental family becomes unbearable. The "rental family" feels more comfortable than the "real family" — both the client and the rental side get drawn into this inverted situation.
A story that confronts the deepest issue of Ishii's business head-on — "Is rental a temporary solution, or does it create new dependencies?"
The Girl Who Learned the Truth
The story of a girl who discovers the truth about her father after her mother's death. While sorting through her mother's belongings, the girl finds a contract with Family Romance. The man she believed was her "father" was a rented stranger.
The girl is shocked. But at the same time, memories resurface — the time spent with her "father" was a lie, but it was warm. The emotions were real. In place of a "real father," there was "real love." Even after learning the truth, those memories don't disappear.
The Performers
Shun Shiotani
Lead (Rental Operator)
Plays the protagonist modeled after Yuichi Ishii
Nanami Kawakami
Cast
Yua Shiraishi
Cast
Denden
Cast
Chiaki Kawamo
Cast
Yuichi Ishii
Cameo
Special appearance as the original author
In the Herzog film, Ishii played "Yuichi Ishii" himself. In "Rental x Family," Shun Shiotani plays "an Ishii-like character" while Ishii himself makes a cameo — appearing at the edge of the screen as the original author. The nested structure of fiction and reality unfolds across the two films.
Rental x Family (2023) / Director: Takehito Sakamoto
Rental x Family (2023)
Rental x Family (2023)
Rental x Family (2023)
Rental x Family (2023)
Rental x Family (2023)
Original "The Human Rental Shop" (Tetsujinsha)