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1989 Japanese film
Rikyu
(
利休
,
Riky?
, 1989)
is
Hiroshi Teshigahara
's film about the 16th century master of the
Japanese tea ceremony
,
Sen no Riky?
.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
The film was adapted from the novel of
Yaeko Nogami
.
[5]
[6]
Synopsis
[
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]
The film focuses on the late stages of life of Riky?, during the highly turbulent
Sengoku period
of feudal Japan.
[5]
It starts near the end of
Oda Nobunaga
's reign, with Riky? serving as tea master to Nobunaga, and continues into the
Momoyama Period
.
[5]
Riky? is portrayed as a man thoroughly dedicated to
aesthetics
and perfection, especially in relation to the art of tea. While serving as tea master to the new ruler
Toyotomi Hideyoshi
, Riky? finds himself in a uniquely privileged position, with constant access to the powerful feudal lord and the theoretical ability to influence policy, yet he studiously avoids deep involvement in politics while attempting to focus his full attention to the study and teachings of the way of tea. To the extent that he expresses himself, he does so diplomatically, in a way to avoid disrupting the harmony of his relationship with Hideyoshi. Yet, as society is changed violently and radically around him, also finding himself the focus of jealousy and misdirected suspicions, Riky? ultimately can not avoid confronting larger social issues. He is compelled to express an opinion on Hideyoshi's military plans. This one breach of his studied isolation from world affairs leads quickly to tragic consequences. The closing scene shows Riky?, entering a bamboo forest at night alone amid an electrical storm. Subtitles inform the viewer that he committed ritual
Seppuku
in 1592, presumably on this night.
Background
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Director
Teshigahara
, himself a master and teacher of the Japanese traditional art of
ikebana
, brings the viewer into appreciation and deep sympathy for Rikyu's aesthetic idealism and his careful diplomatic efforts to avoid excessive entanglement in political affairs. The film itself is very studied in its aestheticism, and very expressive of the shocking force of life intruding into the guarded hermetic space of the artist/idealist.
Cast
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Other Credits
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Awards
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Rentar? Mikuni
won the Best Actor Award of the Japanese Academy for his roles in this film
[6]
and
Tsuribaka Nisshi
of the same year. He also won four other Japanese acting awards for the role.
T?ru Takemitsu
won the Japanese Academy award for best musical score. Director
Hiroshi Teshigahara
won awards from the
Berlin International Film Festival
, and the
Montreal World Film Festival
. The film was selected as the Japanese entry for the
Best Foreign Language Film
at the
62nd Academy Awards
, but was not accepted as a nominee.
[8]
See also
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References
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External links
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]