“Shinto is not a religion. It is a spiritual culture nurtured for centuries by the Japanese people.”
So begins the trailer for a documentary film with the working title of Shinto: Kami no Michi by Polish director Tom Sajewski. His latest project is inspired by the animist roots of Shinto and the beauty of the shrines integrated in nature.
The documentary was made with the cooperation of a priest from Hakozaki Shrine and a priestess from Dazaifu Tenman-gu, both in Fukuoka. They exemplify the hereditary principle that remains very much a part of the modern priesthood, since in either case they belong to the families that run the shrines. They are the main characters in the film.
For the trailer Sajewski interviewed the priestess, and in answer to the question as to what is Shinto she responded with the quotation above. Of all the hundreds of definitions put forward over the years, it is one of the most apt and succinct that Green Shinto has come across. Like the gateless gate at the entrance to shrines, Shinto is something of a religionless religion.
Asked about the content of the film, Tom Sajewski writes as follows:
An interwoven story of a Shinto priestess Hiroko and priest Kazu set against the unprecedented event of the abdication of Emperor Akihito in 2019.
Shinto has been largely inaccessible to documentary filmmakers until now. The film follows the public and private lives of two Shinto priests, revealing their joy and humor and dedication but also showing the inner workings of a uniquely Japanese philosophy.
To see the trailer for the film, please take a look at the following…
https://vimeo.com/378099156
(Though the shooting for the film is finished, Sajewski is looking for investors or co-producers for the post-production stage, such as the editing, etc.)
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Click on Dazaifu Tenmangu for a Green Shinto posting.
Contact Tom Sajewski directly to be involved with making the film.