A wife's secret codes helped change WWII — and history forgot her name.
Onodera Yuriko sets off for Sweden where her husband, Major General Onodera Makoto, is stationed as a military attache in Stockholm during World War II. Called the "god of intelligence", Makoto is an intelligence officer of the Russian service of the Japanese Army General Staff. Fluent in Russian and German and trusted by the spies of many countries because of his integrity, his office would eventually become the most important Japanese intelligence post in Europe. From the day of her arrival in Stockholm, Yuriko helps her husband's intelligence activities. She encrypts the highly classified information obtained by Makoto and sends it in coded telegrams to the General Staff Headquarters in Japan every day. Husband and wife have jointly undertaken this intelligence work for confidentiality.
Acting
Yakushimaru's wordless intensity carries entire scenes.
Production
Period Stockholm recreated with melancholic precision.
Director
Tsuyoshi Yanagawa
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Major General Onodera was real; his wife Yuriko's role in cryptography was classified until 2000s documents surfaced.
The film sparked debate in Japan about 'kagemusha wives' — women whose contributions remain officially invisible.
JP
