[1] Interspersed with other scenes filmed at the shrine is serene footage of the last living Yasukuni swordsmith, the 90-year-old Naoji Kariya, working on his presumably-final creation.

Li Ying stated that the film was a joint Asian project—the editor was Japanese, as was the cameraman, who had a relative enshrined in Yasukuni.

The first was from right-wing Japanese nationalists, who had the initial screenings in Tokyo Osaka to be dropped; one of the theatre operators, Humax Cinema Inc., cited safety concerns for its staff.

[2] The second was at a special preview on March 12, 2008 for Japanese legislators, arranged by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, and initiated by a group of conservative ruling Liberal Democratic Party members, who questioned the film's objectivity, which is required to receive a public subsidy.

[9] On April 3, 2008, a report from AFP indicated that some regional cinemas in Japan would go ahead with screening the film, defying pressure from nationalists.