Ask This of Rikyu

Sen no Rikyu, the revered master of the tea ceremony, serves under the rule of the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Their bond, forged on mutual respect and shared aesthetic pursuit, begins to fracture. Hideyoshi, whose ambitions lean toward displays of power and opulence, increasingly clashes with Rikyu's austere philosophy, which finds profound beauty in imperfection and simplicity. An inevitable conflict arises between art as an expression of the soul and art as an instrument of political ambition. The film immerses us in the world of wabi-sabi, where every gesture, object, and moment of silence carries weight, all while courtly intrigues threaten to shatter this delicate ideal.