Rikyu (film)

Infobox Film
name = Rikyu


image_size =
caption = DVD Cover Art
director = Hiroshi Teshigahara
writer = Genpei Akasegawa
Hiroshi Teshigahara
Yaeko Nogami (novel)
starring = Rentaro Mikuni
Tsutomu Yamazaki
music = Tōru Takemitsu
cinematography = Fujio Morita
editing = Toshio Taniguchi
distributor = Capitol Films (USA)
released = nowrap|flagicon|Japan September 15, 1989
runtime = 135 min
country = Japan
language = Japanese
amg_id = 1:41439
imdb_id = 0098204nihongo|"Rikyu"|利休|Rikyu|1989 is Hiroshi Teshigahara's film about the 16th century master of the Japanese tea ceremony, Sen no Rikyū. The film focuses on the late stages of life of Rikyū, during the highly turbulent Sengoku period of Feudal Japan. It starts near the end of Oda Nobunaga's reign, with Rikyū serving as tea master to Nobunaga, and continues into the Momoyama Period. Rikyū 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, Rikyū 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, Rikyū 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.

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.

Awards

Rentaro Mikuni won the Best Actor Award of the Japanese Academy for his roles in this film and Tsuribaka nisshi of the same year. He also won four other Japanese acting awards for the role. Tōru Takemitsu won the Japanese Academy award for best musical score. Director Hiroshi Teshigahara won awards from the Berlin International Film Festival, and the Montréal World Film Festival.

External links

*
* " [http://www.filmref.com/directors/dirpages/teshigahara.html#rikyu Rikyu] " at Strictly Film School
* " [http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/1989/dm002110.htm Rikyu] " at the Japanese Movie Database