By HIDEKI INOUE/ Staff Writer
May 1, 2024 at 07:00 JST
A scene from “The Yin Yang Master Zero”
Director Shimako Sato was determined to quash any preconceptions her latest film, “The Yin Yang Master Zero,” must be set in the Heian Period (794-1185).
Perhaps easier said than done, considering that the fantasy action film features yin-yang practitioners of esoteric cosmology in ancient Japan known as “onmyoji.”
They exerted physical influence on others through “shu,” a type of spell that had the power of implication and hypnosis.
Sato played with the notion of “shu” after concluding lot of fake news was circulating on social media in or around 2016 about former U.S. President Donald Trump. To her mind, it was a battle of ‘shu’ spells.
“People spread lies to control others. I thought that was ‘shu,’” the director said.
The story centers around Abe no Seimei (played by Kento Yamazaki), an apprentice at Onmyoryo, a government organization in charge of astronomy and fortune-telling.
The fact that his parents were killed has left a shadow in his heart.
When another apprentice succumbs to an unnatural death, Seimei teams up with his aristocrat friend Minamoto no Hiromasa (Shota Sometani) to confront a hidden ‘shu’ and uncover a conspiracy.
Sato has always been a big fan of “The Lord of the Rings,” “Earthsea” and other magical fantasy stories, including Baku Yumemakura’s “Onmyoji” novel series, which also features Seimei and Hiromasa.
Determined to make a movie, she spent years working on a timeline for Seimei.
Freeing herself from the constraints of historical authenticity, the director opted to have her characters speak in contemporary Japanese. The producer begged her not to use loan words, but some are spoken in the film.
Although the film is full of CGI, it was shot at Ninnaji and Daikakuji temples in Kyoto, which are closely associated with Seimei.
“Film sets can never provide the details of Buddhist statues at Ninnaji, the roofs thatched with ‘hiwada’ (cypress bark) and many other things,” she said.
“The Yin Yang Master Zero” is showing nationwide.
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