| 【Contents】 | |
|---|---|
| 1 | Page Top |
| 2 | Trailer |
| 3 | Overview |
| 4 | Cast & Staffs |
| 5 | Watch on demand |
Trailer
Overview
There is a little known farming village tucked away in northern Japan called Yashiki.
Today, Yashiki is facing a youth drain, which leads to an aging population and a loss of traditions. Their bond is nevertheless as strong as ever, thanks to Bangaku, the traditional dance they are trying to protect.
The film LIONS IN BOOTS is a documentary which captures the four seasons of Yashiki village, its people and their Bangaku.
A Modern Dilemma
The villagers of Yashiki have been transformed from full-time farmers to part-time farmers with the advent of mechanised farming in the mid 1960's.
Every farmer in the village since then has taken a second job in order to be able to afford the expensive agricultural equipment and to cover the decline in the rice price.
Yashiki is caught in another spiral of change.
For decades, young villagers have been leaving the farm for the big city; trying to receive higher education, or, avoiding or refusing to become farmers; which consequently accelerates the aging of the village's population.
Is there a way to break this spiral?
Protecting a Cultural Identity
The origin of Yashiki Bangaku goes back to the Tenmei Famine of the 1780's.
During the famine, in which hundreds of thousands people died from starvation, Yashiki villagers visited the neighbouring village to learn the "lion dance" to chase away evil spirits and to ensure a good harvest.
As time went by, people added entertaining acts to the "lion dance", incorporated other functions such as initiation and education, and then began to call it Bangaku, which, like rice farming, gradually became an important part of village life.
Now, villagers need to protect Yashiki Bangaku from oblivion, not only because it is one of the very few Bangaku's to have survived the torments of times, but because it may be the only way to save their village.
A Contemporary Folklore
LIONS IN BOOTS is composed of six episodes: "Birth of Lion" (the seeding and planting), "Heart of Lion" (the young man who grew up through Bangaku), "Bond of Lion" (the youth bonded by Bangaku), "Dance of Lion" (the stage), "Prayer of Lion" (the ritual) and "Golden Lion" (the harvest).
Bangaku dance sequences along with village life scenes interweave through these episodes to enhance the visually mesmerizing and suggestive storytelling in a beautiful setting.
For the Famine of Soul Depopulation, layoff, the widening gap between poor and rich, growing working poor and a climbing suicide rate.... Over two centuries have past since the Tenmei Famine, but crisis never goes away.
By focusing on the strength of Yashiki villagers, the film attempts to heal the illness of the world and to pray for everybody's happiness as a modern-day exorcism; as a new form of Bangaku.
Cast & Staff
| Cast: | Yashiki Bangaku Preservation Society |
|---|---|
| Prodction: | Landscape co.ltd. |
| Cinematographer: | Go Nonaka, Osamu Uchida, Shigeru Tayama |
| Director: | Go Nonaka |
| Documentary / Color / Mono / 120min / 2011,2021 / Japan | |