The God of Ramen

The God of Ramen
Directed byTakashi Innami
Based onThe Fuji TV Three part series "Non Fiction"
Produced byKazuya Ajitani
StarringHiromitsu Iwaida
Music byJoe Hisaishi
Production
company
Media Research
Distributed byPony Canon
Release dates
  • June 20, 2013 (2013-06-20) (premiere, Tokyo)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

The God of Ramen (ラーメンより大切なもの ~東池袋大勝軒 50年の秘密~, Rāmen yori Taisetsu na Mono: Higashi Ikebukuro Taishōken 50-nen no Himitsu) is a 2013 documentary from Japan, on noted ramen chef Kazuo Yamagishi.

The documentary is directed by Takashi Innami and by narrated by Shōsuke Tanihara, and follows 13 years in the life of Yamagishi, examining his long career, and covering his health and business challenges in his later life, as well as the impact his work has had on ramen in Japan.

The documentary revealed some of the truths that Yamagishi had kept for years, and the heavy physical and emotional burden that he carried, in his ongoing career as a ramen chef. It addresses what drives him to continue making ramen, despite the serious series of debilitating medical issues that slowly erode his ability to work as a chef.

The film was chosen for a number of international film festivals.