The truth of Zen Morita Therapy.
| 【Contents】 | |
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| 1 | Page Top |
| 2 | Trailer |
| 3 | Overview |
| 5 | Cast & Staffs |
| 6 | Watch on demand |
Trailer
Overview
Zen influenced mental hospital in Japan
On a vernal day, a young man suffering from a neurosis (anxiety disorder) confines himself to Sansei Hospital in Kyoto. Located within the pale of Buddhist Tofuku-ji Temple, the hospital was established as a private Morita-therapeutic institution in 1922 by a Zen monk, and hence it is believed to be under considerable Zen influence. There, indeed, inpatients are called "trainee" and spend their days like that of an ascetic monk, following strict rules and keeping silence.
Is this a therapy, religious or just a mind control
The man feels uncomfortable at first with the Sansei lifestyle. The therapy brings out doubts and his own inner conflicts, yet the hospital director Doctor Usa repeats, "the interpretation of your mind leads to neurosis (anxiety disorder), thus the cure is to not form ideas within your mind, to not think, but to attain enlightenment…and you must always hide yourself behind your face." In this treatment setting, dotted with handwritten posters that say, "One Who Talks Can Never be Cured", the man gradually becomes influenced by the doctor's theory. Are the neurosis (anxiety disorder) curse and the religious enlightenment the same thing? Is this a form of Morita therapy? Could we call this a medical practice? Is this a religion? Or just a mind control?
The truth of mysterious mental hospital
While accompanying the man on his spiritual journey in seeking a cure, all the way from his admission to the Sansei Hospital until a year after his discharge, a camera penetrates for the first time into the institution, and reveals the esoteric practice described hitherto only by devoted ex-patients.
Cast & Staff
| Cast: | Naoyuki Shisaku, Shin-ichi Usa |
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| Produced by: | Japan Psychiatric Consortium |
| Cinematographer: | Shigeru Tayama |
| Music: | Fylue Deau |
| Medical Consultant: | Susumu Maruyama (psychiatrist / National Institute of Mental Health) |
| English Subtitle: | Samuel Paul Kawashima |
| Director: | Go Nonaka |
| Documentary / English Subtitle / Color / Stereo / 124 min / 2009(Original) & 2019(Remaster) | |