Shugendô Now

Tue, 28 Aug 2018 07:46:00 GMT

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 Way of Acquiring Power), practitioners perform ritual actions from shamanism, “Shintô,” Daoism, 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.

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 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?

“Shugendô Now is a beautifully filmed, aesthetically pleasing, and religiously challenging presentation of traditional ascetic practices… One learns not just about traditional Japanese religion, but how it is alive and fits into contemporary Japanese society, as well as its more cross-cultural appeal. It has stunning and well edited visuals, a fine and appealing sound track, and informative yet unobtrusive narration.”
—Paul Swanson, Japanese Journal of Religious Studies

“Shugendô Now is an in-depth observation of global awareness, but from an entirely different cultural perspective from that which we are accustomed… This is a beautiful, poetic film, free of preachiness and pretension, and it's sure to please the eco-conscious and the culturally curious alike.”
— David Campeau, John Abbott College

“Ultimately, what I took away from this film is that even the busiest, most consumerist among us have a deep human need to recognize the sacredness of the environment, a truth the film addresses in a subtle, palatable way. And while the environmental message of the film may be its "heart," the great strength of Shugendô Now is its camera work.”
— Meaghan Thurston, The Dominion

“The movie is filled with impressive visuals, from trees rhythmically swaying in the wind to reflections of cumulus clouds in pools of water… Shugendô Now ends as it began, with serene shots of nature. But in a way, the film has no beginning or end. Like the discipline of Shugendô, it's endless, an ever-evolving way of being unbound by the temporal aspects of Earthly life.”
— Luke Baynes, Burlington Movie Examiner

“Shugendo Now is an interesting and appealing study of tradition and modernity… Suitable for high school classes and college courses in cultural anthropology, anthropology of religion, environmental anthropology, and Japan studies, as well as for general audiences.”
— Jack David Eller, Anthropology Review Database

SELECTED SCREENINGS & AWARDS

Days of Ethnographic Cinema, Russia, 2012

The Inner Path Festival, New Delhi, India, 2012

International Buddhist Film Festival, Hong Kong Asia Center (Asian premiere), 2012

IBFF, Apollo Piccadilly Circus, London, 2012

IBFF, Bangkok, Thailand, 2012 Buddhist Film Festival Europe, Amsterdam, 2011

Association of Asian Studies Annual Meeting, Honolulu, Hawaii, 2011

Shugendô Film Festival, London, England, 2011

International Buddhist Film Festival, California, 2010

"Japanese Folk Religions" seminar, Harvard University, Reischauer Institute, Cambridge, 2010

Congress of the Humanities and Social Sciences, Montréal, 2010

Green Mountain Film Festival, Montpellier, VT, 2010

Festival international du film ethnographique du Québec, 2010

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Shugendô Now