Source: Peatix

Pre-event to commemorate the opening of the Chinese medicine course

Screening of the film "Restoration of Poop and Corpses" with a talk by Director Yoshiharu Sekino and Chinese medicine specialist Masaaki Sugimoto ~The Cycle of Life - Humans are also part of nature~

As a pre-event to commemorate the Chinese medicine course starting in August, we will be holding a screening of the film "The Restoration of Poop and Corpses" with director Yoshiharu Sekino and a talk event with Chinese medicine course instructor Masaaki Sugimoto.

Date: Sunday, May 25, 2025
Time: 14:45 Reception starts
15:00 Start, explanation of the event, etc.
15:05 Screening begins
After the screening, there will be a short break followed by a talk session with Sekino and Sugimoto (scheduled for about 45 minutes).
Capacity: 30 people
Participation fee: Screening with talk 2,750 yen (tax included)

Movie Synopsis: Yoshiharu Sekino, an explorer and doctor known for "The Great Journey," has been thinking about the relationship between nature and humans through his life with hunter-gatherers in the depths of the Amazon. In 2015, he started a project called "Earth Permanent Residence Plan." It is a place to think about what we should do to continue living on this planet. There, Sekino meets three wise men.

Masayoshi Izawa is adamant about defecating outdoors and has been doing so for half a century.

Takatsuki Shigenori is an ecologist who explores the links between living things and nature through poop.

And then there's picture book author Tateno Kou, who persistently observes the corpse-eating creatures.

Through the activities of these three people, they looked at feces, which is considered unclean in modern life, and dead bodies, which are often ignored, and discovered that they hold hidden hints for a "sustainable future" that overturns common sense, woven together by countless living creatures... (From the official website)

"Revival of Poop and Corpses"
https://www.unkotoshitai.com
2024 / Japan / Color / 106 minutes / G-rated
Director: Yoshiharu Sekino
Producers: Aki Maeda/Arata Oshima
Cinematography: Takayuki Matsui / Hikaru Funaki / Aki Maeda Editing: Junichi Saito Sound effects: Tomoko Kaneda Sound editing: Hajime Takagi Produced by: Netsugen / Create 21 Distribution: Kirokubito

Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology selected work

Compatible with "UDCast" audio guide. *Please download the "UDCast" app to your smartphone in advance. Please listen to the audio guide with your own headphones.

<Comment from Sugimoto about this screening>

Sugimoto, who will be teaching a Chinese medicine course starting in August, was impressed by the film and has been supporting it ever since, which led to this screening. Some people may wonder why Chinese medicine and this film are connected. We asked Sugimoto what parts of the film resonated with him and how he sees the film as a Chinese medicine practitioner, so if you are interested in movies or Chinese medicine courses, please read on.

"The film depicts the idea that humans are part of nature to begin with. As for how this content is connected to Kampo medicine, it's not a direct connection between the film and the herbal medicines used in Kampo medicine, but rather a connection in terms of concepts. The human body also lives in nature, and in accordance with the laws of nature. Of course, the natural environment has an effect on the human body. Just as poop improves the soil and creates an abundant natural environment, in Kampo medicine, earth refers to the stomach and intestines (digestive system).

So, improving the condition of the stomach and intestines is the same as improving the condition of the soil for the body. In the natural cycle, soil becomes organic as feces and the corpses of living creatures decompose, but if we apply this to humans, the food we eat and other things we put in our mouths are broken down and absorbed in the stomach and intestines, some of which becomes part of our body and is then excreted and returned to nature. It circulates inside and outside the body. In other words, if the things we put in our mouths are not beneficial to our bodies, we cannot keep our stomachs and intestines in good condition and our bodies will break down. While watching this film, I would like to talk with Director Sekino about how, just as healthy soil makes the trunks and leaves of plants healthy, if our stomachs and intestines are healthy, people can live freely."

Sugimoto will also talk about the content of the four Chinese medicine courses starting in August (held on Sunday, August 24th, Sunday, October 26th, Sunday, December 21st, and Sunday, February 22nd). Please look forward to it!

Profile of Yoshiharu Sekino

©2024 "Revival of Poop and Corpses" Production Committee

Born on January 20, 1949 in Sumida, Tokyo. Graduated from Hitotsubashi University Faculty of Law in 1975. Graduated from Yokohama City University Faculty of Medicine in 1982. While studying at Hitotsubashi University, he founded the university's Expedition Club, and in 1971, he led an expedition to explore the entire Amazon River. Over the next 25 years, he traveled to South America 32 times, for a total of more than 10 years, to the source of the Amazon River, the Central Andes, Patagonia, the Atacama Highlands, and the Guiana Highlands. During this time, he felt the need for medical care in South America, so he enrolled in Yokohama City University Faculty of Medicine. He became a doctor (surgery) and worked at Musashino Red Cross Hospital, Tamagawa General Hospital, and other hospitals. He continued to visit South America during this time.

In 1993, he began his "Great Journey," a 53,000 km journey by foot and arm alone, tracing the trajectory of the human race that originated in Africa, spread across Eurasia, and reached the Americas. After setting off by kayak from Navarino Island, the southernmost point of South America, he spent 10 years reaching the finish line in Laetoli, Tanzania, on February 10, 2002.

In July 2004, they started the "New Great Journey: People who came to the Japanese Archipelago." They completed the "Northern Route" via Siberia to Wakkanai, the "Southern Route" from the Korean Peninsula to Tsushima via the Himalayas and Indochina, and the "Sea Route", a 4,700 km voyage in a handmade dugout canoe from Sulawesi, Indonesia to Ishigaki Island, reaching its goal on June 13, 2011.

1999: Winner of the Naomi Uemura Adventure Award (sponsored by Hidaka Town, Hyogo Prefecture)
2000: Travel Culture Award (Travel Culture Research Institute)
March 16th - June 9th, 2013: National Museum of Nature and Science (Special Exhibition) "The Great Journey of Humankind - A Story of Survival on this Planet"
2002-2019 Professor at Musashino Art University (Cultural Anthropology)

Profile of Masaaki Sugimoto
Representative of Kampo Sugimoto Pharmacy
He is the third generation owner of Sugimoto Kampo Pharmacy (Ofuna, Kamakura City), which was founded in 1950. He studied dyeing and contemporary art at university, and joined his family's Sugimoto Pharmacy in 2008. In 2021, he established a mobile consultation center, "Sugimoto Kampo-do Soil," in eatrip soil on the 4th floor of GYRE in Omotesando. He has been exposed to the long tradition and depth of Kampo medicine, and is researching the medicinal properties, colors, and aromas of herbal medicines, with a focus on in-store Kampo consultations. His life's work is to understand cultures around the world from the perspective of Kampo medicine and to enrich people's lives. He has held workshops and events at events such as "Healthy Music," hosted by Ryuichi Sakamoto, "Zushi Beach Film Festival," and "MUJI." He has also given lectures overseas, such as at JAPAN HOUSE and The Japan Foundation, regarding Kampo medicine as one of Japan's cultures. He is also active in a wide range of fields, going beyond the boundaries of Kampo medicine and creating installations using herbal medicines. Supervised Chinese medicine for the G20 Osaka Summit "Spouse Program" and the hot spring inn "SOKI ATAMI". Author of "Kokoro Kampo: A Guide to Heart-Warming Chinese Medicine from a Long-Established Pharmacy in Ofuna, Kamakura"

Co-sponsored by Shibuya Ward Community Plant Center/Kampo Sugimoto Pharmacy
*Photos of the screening and talk event may be used on the official website of the Botanical Garden Center, on social media, and in other media.

Venue