mrex productions
Short Synopsis

Teijun Ogawa, a proud and rare niso (female priest) of Japanese Shingon Buddhist Sect, dies after telling her story to Reiko and Max, a Japanese couple based in New York. She told them about her desolate life since she was given to a temple at the age of seven, and her achievement of building the Enmyoin temple single-handedly. But she refused to share her view as a woman—as if the subject was taboo. Upon hearing the arrival of a young heiress, as though guided by old Teijun, the couple revisits Enmyoin.

The GateKeeper of Enmyoin is the product of their journey in search of Teijun's unspoken feelings about her womanhood before and after her death. While the dark reality of Teijun’s female priesthood in the man-dominant rural Japanese Buddhist culture is revealed, new mysteries of the untold parts of Teijun’s life emerge. The story is told through Reiko’s voice, which reflects her own journey of trying to find freedom, balance and integration of her roles as a rebel, new immigrant in the U.S., woman, wife, and mother. Soon the simple unfinished portrait of Teijun develops into a genre-bending, personal detective documentary with rich narrative flavor and spiritual sustenance.

Quotes

This feature-length experimental narrative offers an extraordinary perspective on Japanese Buddhism and feminine identity; moreover, the film’s biography morphs into a suspenseful mystery with twists and turns worthy of a Murakami novel. The GateKeeper of Enmyoin is destined to attract a diverse audience, including specialists in Japanese culture, gender studies, religion, cultural studies, memoir and biography, experimental narrative, and so on. But most importantly, it will beguile any viewer who comes with no expectations than to experience the world through an artist’s fine-tuned sensibility and generous sharing of self.
- Deirdre Boyle, documentary historian

"Part portraiture, part detective story, part religious and cultural exploration, part identity meditation, The Gatekeeper of Enmyoin manages to create a series of deeply resonant connections between the unique life and times and legacy of Teijun Ogawa, a 95 year-old female Buddhist priest, and the compellingly persistent and roving curiosity of filmmaker Reiko Tahara, a young Japanese woman living with her family in the United States.  Reiko’s probing but delicate voice-over uncovers both the simplicities and the complexities found inside the spiritual world of the Enmyoin Buddhist Temple.  Filled with mystery, magical overtones, compassion, and profound respect, The Gatekeeper of Enmyoin is also some of the most innovative documentary storytelling I’ve seen in a long time, with a brilliant musical score by Co-Director, Max Uesugi.”
- Alan Berliner, filmmaker

©2008 MRex Productions. All Rights Reserve.
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