is a 2009 film directed by

Banmei Takahashi (or Tomoaki Takahashi) is a Japanese film director. Takahashi started his career in the pink film industry, making his directorial debut in 1972 with ''Escaped Rapist Criminal''. Due to a disagreement with his producer, Takahashi quit the film i ...

and starring

Nakamura Kantarō II Nakamura may refer to: Places *Nakamura, Kōchi, a former city in Kōchi Prefecture, Japan *Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, a ward in Nagoya city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan People *Nakamura (surname), a list of people with the surname Other uses *Nakamura s ...

as Dogen, and

Yuki Uchida (born November 16, 1975) is a Japanese actress, and a popular 1990s idol, model and singer. Biography Uchida was born in Tokyo. She practiced fencing in high school, and ranked 3rd in a tournament in Tokyo in 1991. She began her career as a mod ...

as Orin. The story is based on the novel ''Eihei no kaze: Dōgen no shōgai'' written by Tetsuo Ōtani in 2001. The film is a biography of

Dōgen Zenji Dōgen Zenji (道元禅師; 26 January 1200 – 22 September 1253), also known as Dōgen Kigen (道元希玄), Eihei Dōgen (永平道元), Kōso Jōyō Daishi (高祖承陽大師), or Busshō Dentō Kokushi (仏性伝東国師), was a Ja ...

, a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

teacher. After travelling to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

to study, Dogen founded the

Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Cáodòng school, which was founded during the Tang dynasty by Dòngshān L ...

school of Zen in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. The Buddhist Film Foundation described it as "a poignant, in-depth, reverent and surprisingly moving portrait of Eihei Dogen."

Reception

Russell Edwards of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' described it as "The origins of a spiritual tradition are depicted with prerequisite solemnity and a pleasing veneer of arthouse showmanship." Mark Schilling, writing for ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc.. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'', gave the film three and a half stars and described it as a "rare serious film about this form of Buddhism, which has had a huge cultural influence but is little understood — let alone practiced — by ordinary Japanese."

Release

The film premiered in Japan in 2009. The following year, it had its US debut at the

International Buddhist Film Festival The International Buddhist Film Festival (IBFF) is a presenter of Buddhist-themed and Buddhist-inspired cinema. IBFF includes films of all kinds: dramas, documentaries, comedies, animation, experimental work, children's films, music videos, and tele ...

. The film was released on DVD and includes a short documentary entitled ''The Zen of Dogen'' with

Kazuaki Tanahashi is an accomplished Japanese calligrapher, Zen teacher, author and translator of Buddhist texts from Japanese and Chinese to English, most notably works by Dogen (he began his translation of '' Shobogenzo'' in his twenties). He first met Shunry ...

References

External links

* * 2009 films Films directed by Banmei Takahashi Films about Buddhism Biographical films about religious leaders Japanese biographical films Films set in China Films set in Japan Films set in Kyoto Films set in feudal Japan Films set in the 13th century Dōgen 2000s biographical films 2000s Japanese-language films 2000s Japanese films {{2000s-Japan-film-stub