An Artisan's Legacy: Tsunekazu Nishioka

The read

It runs a compact 1h 28m.

Synopsis

In-depth look at the twilight years, spent training apprentices, of temple builder Nishioka Tsunekazu, who was called the "devil" as he devoted his life to temple architecture. His insistence on the gargantuan timescale of linking life to the next millennium emerges from people who knew him. Remarkable as well for showing the unknown backstage of temple architecture. Nishioka, known as "the last temple carpenter," handled the major Showa-era repairs of Horyuji temple, and in 1990 was at the scene of the reconstruction work for Yakushi temple.

Ratings

Key crew

• Yûji YamazakiDirector

Cast

• Tsunekazu NishiokaHimself
• Renji IshibashiNarrator

Themes