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  • Film: The Gatekeeper of Enmyoin

    Published September 24th, 2008

    At 6:30pm on October 1st and 2nd, The Vilcek Foundation will be holding two screenings of The Gatekeeper of Enmyoin, a film about a 95-year-old, female Buddhist priest in Japan. A synopsis of the story follows:

    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 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, as it offers a fascinating glimpse into female priesthood in the man-dominant rural Japanese Buddhist culture.

    The film will be shown at 167 East 73rd street at the aforementioned times. The filmmakers, Max and Reiko will be in attendance for a Q&A following the event. Seats are limited and a reservation is required. Please call 212-472-2500 or e-mail info@vilcek.org to reserve your seat.

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