The Story of Nembutsu: Shinran's Wishes and Light - A Thorough Analysis of the Moving Story and Profound Themes

A comprehensive review and recommendation of "The Story of Nembutsu: Shinran-sama's Wish and Light"

■Overview of the work

"Nenbutsu Monogatari: Shinran-sama's Wish, and Light" is an anime work released as an OVA on March 20, 2008. It is a 108-minute long work with one episode, and is sold by Honganji Publishing. This work is an original anime work depicting the life of Saint Shinran, directed by Takashi Ui and produced by Group TAC. Copyright belongs to ©HONGWANJI-SHUPPAN.

■ Story

The life of Saint Shinran began at the age of 9. He was taken by his uncle to become a monk under the Tendai sect priest Jien, and underwent 20 years of rigorous training at Mount Hiei. He then met Saint Honen in Yoshimizu and began the path of Nembutsu. As the teachings of Nembutsu spread among the people, the Imperial Court suppressed the practice and Shinran was exiled to Echigo Province (present-day Niigata Prefecture). Through his warm interactions with the people of Echigo, he spread the teachings of Nembutsu. Four years after his exile, he was pardoned, but he did not return to Kyoto. Three years later, he went to Hitachi Province (present-day Ibaraki Prefecture). In Hitachi Province, he worked hard for about 20 years to write "Kyogyoshinsho" and to spread the teachings of Nembutsu. He then left the Kanto region and returned to Kyoto, but confusion arose among his disciples in the Kanto region without Shinran due to their incorrect understanding of the teachings. Zenran, who was sent to put an end to this, took unexpected action, forcing Shinran to make a difficult decision.

■Explanation

"Shinran-sama, Wishes, and Light" is a new style of work that depicts the life of Saint Shinran from the Saint's own perspective. Unlike previous biographies, it depicts the suffering and joys of the people of his time in a life-size manner through the eyes of the Saint. The creators' hope is to make the Saint's humane personality and the world he aimed for feel closer to them. The production team includes the staff who worked on the popular anime "Manga Nippon Mukashi Banashi," as well as leading figures in the fields of direction, scriptwriting, music, and voice acting. It is a work that can be enjoyed by a wide range of people, from children to adults, and takes advantage of the characteristics of DVD. This work was produced to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the death of Saint Shinran, and aims to bring joy and enrichment to people through various dramas amidst the cries of the hollowing out of the soul in modern society.

■Cast

The cast includes Kobayashi Keiju as Shinran, Ishida Taro as Honen, Hibi Aiko as Matsuwaka, Shimamoto Sumi as Eshinni-sama, Koorogi Satomi as Kikubo, Omoto Makiko as Haru, and Takeshita Keiko as narrator. These actors were chosen to portray the life of Saint Shinran realistically. Kobayashi Keiju's deep voice brings out the humanity of Saint Shinran and deeply moves the audience. Ishida Taro's portrayal of Honen also portrays a character who is both strict and compassionate.

■ Main staff

The supervisor is Eiichi Taji, the editors are Noritaka Chiba and Mien Hashi, the advisor is Masaaki Nakagawa, the script is Kazuhiko Soma, the character designer is Li Proluo, the general animation director is Takeshi Ushiromura, the art director is Toshiko Abe, the color design is Miharu Sakai, the cinematographer is Shinichiro Tate, the editor is Yuji Oka, the music is Toshiyuki Watanabe, the theme song is Midori Karashima, the director is Takashi Ui, and the animation production is by Group TAC. These staff members worked together to carefully depict the life of Saint Shinran. In particular, the scriptwriter Kazuhiko Soma has constructed a story that delves deeply into the humanity of Saint Shinran, moving the viewers. In addition, the character designer Li Proluo has realistically depicted Saint Shinran's facial expressions and movements, enhancing the visual appeal.

■ Related works

"Nenbutsu Monogatari" is one of the related works. "Nenbutsu Monogatari" is also a work that depicts the life of Saint Shinran and is also published by Honganji Publishing. Through these works, we can gain a deeper understanding of the teachings and life of Saint Shinran.

■ Evaluation and recommendation

"Nenbutsu Monogatari: Shinran-sama, Negai, Soshite Hikari" is highly acclaimed as an animated work depicting the life of Saint Shinran. In particular, by depicting the story from the Saint's own perspective, viewers can feel close to Saint Shinran's humanity and the suffering and joy of the people of his time. In addition, the work is of very high quality, as it is made up of leading staff and cast members. It is a work that can be enjoyed by a wide range of people, from children to adults, and is a good opportunity to learn about the teachings and life of Saint Shinran.

Here are some reasons why I recommend this work:

• The realistic portrayal of Saint Shinran's life allows viewers to gain a deeper understanding of his humanity and teachings.
• The quality of the production is very high because it involves staff and cast members who are active on the front lines.
• It can be enjoyed by a wide range of people, from children to adults, so it is also suitable for viewing with the whole family.
• This work was created to commemorate the 750th anniversary of the death of Saint Shinran, and so it also has historical significance.
• Amidst growing concerns about the hollowing out of modern society, we aim to bring joy and enrichment to people through a variety of dramas.

As mentioned above, "Nenbutsu Monogatari: Shinran-sama's Wish and Light" is a very valuable animated work that depicts the life of Saint Shinran. I hope that many people will watch it.