Shugendo Now

Sunday October 2nd 2011 | 21:00 uur
De Balie | Kleine zaal
Japan | English subtitles 
+ Q&A  

Canada - 88 min - 2011

How does one integrate lessons learned from nature in daily life? This feature documentary is an experiential journey into the mystical practices of Japanese mountain asceticism. In Shugendô (The Path of Acquiring Power) practitioners perform ritual actions from shamanism, Shintô, Taoism and Tantric Buddhism. 

They seek experiential truth of the teachings during arduous climbs in sacred mountains. Through the peace and beauty of the natural world, practitioners purify the six roots of perception, revitalize their energy and reconnect with their truest nature – all while grasping the fundamental interconnectedness with nature and all sentient beings. But how does one return to the city after an enlightening experience in the mountains?

More poetic than analytical, this film explores how a group of modern Japanese people integrate the myriad ways in which mountain learning interacts with urban life. With intimate camera work and a sensual sound design the viewer is taken from deep within the Kumano mountains to the floating worlds of Osaka and Tokyo and back again. Might the two be seen as one?

Director, camera, editor: Jean-Marc Abela
Producer, research: Mark Patrick McGuire
With: Tateishi Kôshô, Inoue Ryô, Nakamura Seiichi, Nakamura Chiharu, Nakamura Hidemi, Nakamura Ayako a.o.
Sound: Mark Patrick McGuire, Jean-Marc Abela
Sound design: Jean-Marc Abela, Tyler Fitzmaurice.