炎上 (Enjo)

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026

Dir. ICHIKAWA Kon
1958 | 99 mins | Japan | Japanese with English Subtitles
ICHIKAWA Raizo VIII, NAKAMURA Ganjiro II, NAKADAI Tatsuya

In the stillness of a sacred temple, one young man’s yearning for purity becomes a descent into darkness.

In postwar Kyoto, MIZOGUCHI Goichi (ICHIKAWA Raizo VIII), a troubled and stuttering youth, arrives at Shukaku Temple seeking solace and spiritual purpose as an apprentice monk, hoping one day to succeed as head priest. Having been raised himself in a temple and inspired by his father’s stories of Shukaku Temple’s divine beauty, Goichi is enchanted by its serene perfection yet tormented by memories of his mother’s adultery and his father’s death.

As the world around the temple begins to intrude — tainted by vanity, lust, and hypocrisy — his ideal of pure beauty twists into something darker. The head priest, TAYAMA Dosen (NAKAMURA Ganjiro II), a friend of Goichi’s father, keeps a geisha mistress, and with the monks profiting from tourism while indulging in worldly pleasures, Goichi’s disillusionment deepens. He becomes increasingly unmoored from reality.

Ostracised for his speech disorder and manipulated by a cynical friend (NAKADAI Tatsuya), Goichi’s remaining faith in humanity and religion completely disintegrates. What begins as reverence curdles into obsession. Convinced that the only way to preserve the temple’s purity is through its destruction, he makes a decision from which there is no return: to set it ablaze.

Inspired by true events and MISHIMA Yukio’s novel The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, this haunting psychological drama examines the fragile boundary between reverence and fanaticism, revealing the turbulent inner conflicts at the heart of the human condition. Director ICHIKAWA Kon (The Inugami Family, JFTFP25) presents the story in a dreamlike, fragmented style that mirrors Goichi’s mental descent. 4K digital remastered film.

Content warning: Contains abusive language and references to suicide

Image: © 1958 Kadokawa Pictures

The Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026

Knowing Me, Knowing You: The True Self in Japanese Cinema

The UK’s largest festival of Japanese cinema, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme (JFTFP), is back again. This is the place where cinema comes alive!

Knowing others — let alone ourselves — is not easy, as we behave differently depending on the relationship, environment, or even intention. In an age of advanced digital technology, where imagery can be readily manipulated, it is even harder to define who we, or others, truly are. This notion of identifying the self has been repeatedly explored in cinematic narratives in various ways. However, is it really possible to know our true selves? And if so, would such revelations lead to happiness and freedom, or might they instead bring disastrous and harsh consequences? With these questions in mind, the Japan Foundation Touring Film Programme 2026 showcases some of the most unmissable Japanese films nationwide across the UK. From powerful social crime dramas and laugh-out-loud comedies to gender-defining films, fantasy, and horror, the programme offers something for everyone.

Co-organised with the Japan Foundation

Major supporter: Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation

Sponsors in Kind: Calbee, Clearspring, Pentel, Athletia and SUQQU

Venue: Studio 74, Exeter Phoenix

*Subject to a £1.50 ticketing system charge. We don’t charge this to make a profit. Find out more >>