Shikibu Monogatari (1990)

Run Time - 112 min.  |   Countries - Japan  |  
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Synopsis by Jonathan Crow

Veteran director Kei Kumai spins this tale about Toyoichi Otomo (Eiji Okuda) who suffers from psychological and spiritual troubles after a horrific industrial accident. He lives with his elderly mother (Kyoko Kagawa) and wife (Mieko Harada) near Mt. Aso in rural Kyushu. He seeks solace in a small religious group run by Buddhist nun Chishu-bo (Keiko Kishi) who claims to be the 68th descendant of famed 11th century poet Izumi Shikibu. The members of her sect regard her as a living saint. Yet instead of balming his soul, she riles his libido by playing a sexual cat-and-mouse game with the fragile Toyoichi. When she does bed him, it leads to a miracle healing -- followed by a terrible calamity.