Shinran: Path to Purity

Shinran: Path to Purity

1987 · 139 min · ★ 5.8 · Drama

In the 12th century, Buddhism was still a relatively new religion in Japan. At that time, one school (Shingon) offered extensive training in complex and very demanding practices which might eventually bring about spiritual purification and realization. Various Zen schools offered students a lengthy path, literally composed of a blank wall and unceasing meditation. Yet another school (Tendai) emphasized complex metaphysics and the study of philosophical systems. Basically, all of them were designed to cater to the few who were able to give up everything else in their lives and focus on liberation, such as scholars and noblemen. In this historical and biographical drama, this is the situation that the young Shinran (1173-1263) discovered when he began exploring Buddhism as an alternative to the violence and ceaseless civil wars that racked Japan at the time.

Directed by Rentaro Mikuni · Written by Den Fujita

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Rent or Buy

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 55m together

Shinran: Path to Purity

Free and Easy 2

Both from Rentaro Mikuni.

More from Rentaro MikuniSee all →

Kin no tamago: Golden Girl

Kin no tamago: Golden Girl · 1952

Kin no tamago: Golden Girl

Once an average and seemingly ordinary Tokyo girl, she suddenly finds herself as a TV star owing to her discovery by a casting company, which noticed photographs that her cousin had sent. When another actress falls ill she is given the role instead. Her first film is a success propelling the young actress to popularity, her own fans, money and a house. While everything looks dandy from the outside not all is well within the family however.

Free and Easy 2

Free and Easy 2 · 1989

Free and Easy 2

Hama-chan gets Su-san hooked on fishing, but Su-san has some problems to deal with; a beautiful woman saves Su-san when he collapses while fishing.

Harakiri

Harakiri · 1962

MovieActionDrama

Down-on-his-luck veteran Tsugumo Hanshirō enters the courtyard of the prosperous House of Iyi. Unemployed, and with no family, he hopes to find a place to commit seppuku—and a worthy second to deliver the coup de grâce in his suicide ritual. The senior counselor for the Iyi clan questions the ronin’s resolve and integrity, suspecting Hanshirō of seeking charity rather than an honorable end. What follows is a pair of interlocking stories which lay bare the difference between honor and respect, and promises to examine the legendary foundations of the Samurai code.

Zoku ôsho

Zoku ôsho · 1963

Adaptation of novel.

Professional Killers

Professional Killers · 1972

Professional Killers

SeriesDramaCrime

A shikakenin was an under-the-cover trade that undertook killing in Edo. Hanemon of Otowa, an agency that introduced laborers and maids, was also one of these. Katsugoro Iseya was a timber dealer who had come in as a client. His target was the constructions magistrate Hanno, and the Tatsumiya who sipped on the benefits. Hanemon who had a stong code towards killing, where he would only kill those who do no good to be in the world, accepts this request. Baian Fujieda, a needle doctor would carry out the killing. However, the professional killer Baian fails to bring down Tatsumiya. Hanemon then looks to another shikakenin, the ronin Sanai Nishimura for the role. Although Sanai's ability with the sword is good, he lives poorly in a tenement, and accepts this commission on the condition that it is kept a secret from his wife and child. Here, they close in on Hanno and Tatsumiya again...

Akai Shisen

Akai Shisen · 1980

When Ryoko, a ballerina turned disco dancer, gets entangled in a murder and a stolen 10 million yen, she must race against time to uncover the truth and return to her hometown.

The Burmese Harp

The Burmese Harp · 1956

The Burmese Harp

In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.

Kwaidan

Kwaidan · 1965

MovieHorrorFantasy

Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai marries for money with tragic results. A man stranded in a blizzard is saved by Yuki the Snow Maiden, but his rescue comes at a cost. Blind musician Hoichi is forced to perform for an audience of ghosts. An author relates the story of a samurai who sees another warrior's reflection in his teacup.

The Old Man and the Sea

The Old Man and the Sea · 1999

The Old Man and the Sea

MovieAnimationAdventure

An old fisherman makes the biggest catch of his life.

Vengeance Is Mine

Vengeance Is Mine · 1979

Vengeance Is Mine

MovieCrimeDrama

A thief, a murderer, and a charming lady-killer, Iwao Enokizu is on the run from the police.

Rikyu

Late in the 1500s, an aging tea master teaches the way of tea to a headstrong Shogun. Through force of will and courageous fighting, Hideyoshi becomes Japan’s most powerful warlord, unifying the country.

Free and Easy 19

Free and Easy 19 · 2008

Free and Easy 19

Hama-chan joins a company excursion to Oita with the rest of his department including his new junior Daisuke. Beautiful Namiko, the organizer of the trip is a contract employee and her elder brother is a fisherman. Hama-chan, as always sets out to sea for a bout of angling. He is a tad surprised when Namiko's brother consults him about Namiko's status as an unmarried contract worker...

Profound Desires of the Gods

Profound Desires of the Gods · 1968

Profound Desires of the Gods

Tokyo engineer Kariya arrives on a primitive tropical island, where he interacts with the Futori clan, to drill a well to power a sugar mill.

A Fugitive from the Past

A Fugitive from the Past · 1965

A Fugitive from the Past

MovieCrimeDrama

Three robbers escape with loot from a heist before one of them kills the others. Their corpses wash up near the aftermath of a maritime calamity, provoking a policeman's interest.

August Without Emperor

August Without Emperor · 1978

August Without Emperor

MovieDramaThriller

Taking the Chilean coup as an example, a group of young officers plan to overthrow the Japanese government on V-J Day. They aim to abolish the post-war constitution, restore the national army and revive the traditional spirit of Japan. As the conspiracy is exposed, the coup squadrons are wiped out one by one. The remaining squadron takes over a night train bound for Tokyo.

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto · 1954

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto

MovieDramaAction

Struggling to elevate himself from his low caste in 17th century Japan, Miyamoto trains to become a mighty samurai warrior.

More Like This

Syndromes and a Century

Syndromes and a Century · 2006

Syndromes and a Century

MovieDramaRomance

A story about director Apichatpong Weerasethakul's parents who were both doctors, and his memories of growing up in a hospital environment.

The Protector

The Protector · 2005

MovieActionCrime

A young fighter named Kham must go to Australia to retrieve his stolen elephant. With the help of a Thai-born Australian detective, Kham must take on all comers, including a gang led by an evil woman and her two deadly bodyguards.

The Last Emperor

The Last Emperor · 1987

The Last Emperor

MovieDramaHistory

A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring · 2003

Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring

An isolated lake, where an old monk lives in a small floating temple. The monk has a young boy living with him, learning to become a monk. We watch as seasons and years pass by.

Seven Years in Tibet

Seven Years in Tibet · 1997

Seven Years in Tibet

MovieAdventureDrama

Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer journeys to the Himalayas without his family to head an expedition in 1939. But when World War II breaks out, the arrogant Harrer falls into Allied forces' hands as a prisoner of war. He escapes with a fellow detainee and makes his way to Lhasa, Tibet, where he meets the 14-year-old Dalai Lama, whose friendship ultimately transforms his outlook on life.

Aśoka

MovieActionAdventure

A young Prince Asoka works to perfect his skills in battle and also deals with family conflict. During a struggle with one of his step-brothers, his mother urges Asoka to escape to stay alive. While away, Asoka meets Kaurwaki and falls in love, but must use his skills as a warrior to protect her. A dangerous and heartbreaking web of conspiracy follows, which leads Asoka to embrace a Buddhist path.

The Venerable W.

The Venerable W. · 2017

The Venerable W.

MovieDocumentaryDrama

A view of the religious tensions between Muslims and Buddhist through the portrait of the Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu, leader of anti-Muslim movement in Myanmar.

The Guardian Angel

The Guardian Angel · 2018

The Guardian Angel

MovieDramaThriller

Copenhagen, Denmark, 1951. Criminal investigator Anders Olsen follows the case of a bank robber who eyewitnesses say appears to have been acting under some kind of trance.

The Burmese Harp

The Burmese Harp · 1956

The Burmese Harp

In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.

Kundun

MovieDramaHistory

From childhood to adulthood, Tibet's fourteenth Dalai Lama deals with Chinese oppression and other problems.

Samsara

Samsara · 2002

MovieAdventureDrama

A love story situated in the Himalayas. A Buddhist monk can't choose between life and the way of the Buddha.

Tai-Chi Master

Tai-Chi Master · 1993

MovieActionComedy

Falsely accused for cheating in a martial arts competition, two boyhood friends are banished from their Shaolin Temple and go their separate ways. As adults, they join opposing sides in a civil war. When one betrays the other, they settle their differences mano-a-mano.

Night on the Galactic Railroad

Night on the Galactic Railroad · 1985

Night on the Galactic Railroad

MovieAdventureAnimation

Lonely and awkward, Giovanni struggles with his sick mother, absent father, and an afterschool job that isolates him from his peers. But on the night of the Festival of Stars, he is magically transported onto a celestial train with his only friend, Campanella. Together, they embark on an extraordinary journey through the galaxy, encountering mysterious characters and grappling with life's deepest questions.

The Insect Woman

The Insect Woman · 1963

The Insect Woman

A woman, Tome, is born to a lower class family in Japan in 1918. The title refers to an insect, repeating its mistakes, as in an infinite circle. Imamura, with this metaphor, introduces the life of Tome, who keeps trying to change her poor life.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter