Koto received a roadshow theatrical release in Japan on December 6, 1980 where it was distributed by Toho.[1] It received a regular theatrical release in Japan on December 20, 1980.[1]
Reception
Donald Richie writes in The Japanese Movie that "Ichikawa dramatizes alienation in his remake of Kawabata's Koto, where twin sisters long-separated meet again and must face a dramatized estrangement."[7]