The Book of the Dead (Shisha no sho) (NR)

synopsis

As Buddhism is being introduced to Japan from China, Iratsume, a woman of noble descent becomes obsessed with this mysteriously new religion. One night in a rapturous trance, Iratsume sees a luminous vision that she believes to be the Buddha, compelling her to leave home and journey to a sacred temple. There she sees Otsu, a young Prince who was executed 50 years earlier.While Iratsume mistakes the prince's spirit the very incarnation of the great Buddha, the ghost mistakes Iratsume for the last woman he eyed at the moment of death. As a act of great devotion, Iratsume decides to make a giant shroud for the prince to heal his soul and the Prince begins to haunt the young woman and those around her. The pair embark on a impassioned battle of wills, one longing for the material world, the other striving for the spiritual.