Buying Saigoku Kannon

Proposal for a visual documentary on the commercialization of pilgrimage in Japan

Presentation by: Flanders Lorton (Film Production)Faculty Mentor: Rev. James Fredericks (Theological studies)

“The Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage covers 33 temples

dedicated to Kannon in Western Japan and is the most famous of Japanese pilgrimages. Kannon is the

Japanese name for the bodhisattva Avalokitasvara, or Bodhisattva of Compassion”

A pilgrimage is a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance. While it is usually to a shrine or other sacred

location, the true journey is a metaphorical one; a

journey into the self.

Common reasons for undertaking a pilgrimage include: a sense of quest,

spiritual advancement, and perhaps, promise of

this-worldly and next-worldly benefits.

“Most will admit that modern-day Japanese pilgrimages are incredibly commercialized. Today

pilgrims travel in luxury by coach & minibus in prearranged tours and nearly all purchase the

amulets, hats, satchels, staffs, bells, etc. sold in abundance by temples and shrines. In many ways the modern pilgrimage in Japan is a thinly veiled

disguise for tourism, stripped in large part of religious meaning. . .”

“...Yet, without doubt, there are still true believers”

Question:

How has the commercialization and modernization of religious pilgrimage in Japan

affected the practice and has it made these journeys any less meaningful than they were

hundreds of years ago?

How can we discover this?

- Take a team of 3 to Kyoto, Japan consisting of an interviewer/camera operator, sound technician, and translator.

- Visit select sites from the Saigoku Kannon pilgrimage.

- Interview pilgrims, tourists, monks, and temple staff about their observations and opinions on the current and past states of the pilgrimage.

- Observe and document the world we encounter to learn from and enjoy the path ahead of us.

What will we bring back?

- We will come back from Kyoto with a plethora of recorded video, and sound from our trip

-This includes interviews, footage of people, landscapes, sacred buildings and spaces, and travel footage to show modern transportation between locations

-The footage will be edited in to a narrated documentary on modern Japanese pilgrimage

-The goal is to make a film that is both informational and personal. We want the viewer to feel like a pilgrim undertaking a great journey.

Sources:Quote on slide 2 and all photographs except slides 2&4 from:

"The Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage." Saigoku Kannon Pilgrimage. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. <http://www.taleofgenji.org/saigoku_pilgrimage.html>.

Quote on slides 4/5 from:

"Guide to Japanese Pilgrims, Pilgrimages, Holy Mountains, Sacred Shrines." Guide to Japanese Pilgrims, Pilgrimages, Holy Mountains, Sacred Shrines. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. <http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/pilgrimages-pilgrims-japan.html>.

Counter argument proposing positive effects of commercialization:

Shimazaki, Hiroshi Tanaka. "Adjustment Within a Representative Japanese Pilgrimage System." Print.