Late in the 1500s, an aging tea master teaches the way of tea to a headstrong Shogun. Through force of will and courageous fighting, Hideyoshi becomes Japan’s most powerful warlord, unifying the country.
Cinematography
Every frame looks like a museum piece you want to live inside.
Acting
Rentaro Mikuni's stillness hits harder than any sword fight.
Direction
Teshigahara's final film—obsessive, uncompromising, utterly singular.
Director
Hiroshi Teshigahara
Rentaro Mikuni
Rikyu
Yoshiko Mita
Riki's Wife
Tsutomu Yamazaki
Hideyoshi Toyotomi
Kyôko Kishida
Wife
Tanie Kitabayashi
Mother
Ryo Tamura
Lord Hidenaga
Matsumoto Hakuō II
Lord Oda
Kichiemon Nakamura II
Lord Ieyasu
Bandō Mitsugorō X
Mitsanari
Akira Kubo
Geni
Ichirō Zaitsu
Abbott Kokei
Hideo Kanze
Rikyu's Brother-in-Law
Masao Imafuku
Ceramist
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Hiroshi Teshigahara was himself a master of the Sogetsu school of ikebana, making this his spiritual autobiography as much as Rikyu's.
The real Sen no Rikyu's death in 1591 remains debated—some scholars believe Hideyoshi ordered it for political reasons, others that Rikyu's immense popularity threatened the Shogun's ego.
JP
