This is a film by Benoy K Behl, one of my favourite art critics, about the Indian gods and culture that are still thriving in Japan; this includes the writing of Sanskrit in the old Siddham script, which preceded Devanagari; chants in Sanskrit; manuscripts in Sanskrit; and the performance of Homa sacrifices (the film may have been better titled Indian Culture in Japan).
Many Indian gods, like Indra, Surya, Ganesh and others have temples dedicated to them in Japan; and of course Japan is permeated with Sanskrit Buddhism, including the Lotus, Vajrayana and Zen traditions.
The film travels all over Japan, and brings us many interviews with distinguished monastics and scholars who help throw light on how Indian culture underlies so much of the culture of Japan to this day.
As some of the names in Japan only exist in local forms you may not know you are looking at originally Indian gods and masters while there, so anyone thinking of travelling there, and indeed anyone interested in cultural relations, should study this film first.
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to see an album of stills click here