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The Japanese population's reaction to the catastrophe of March 2011 has been described as "stoic" by the Western media. The Japanese code of conduct is indeed deeply rooted in their Buddhist traditions.

This documentary presents perspectives on Buddhism as practiced by clergy and millions of families in Japan today by drawing on ethnographic fieldwork about prayer practice and mortuary rituals "on the ground". "Souls" of Zen thereby refers to one of Japan's most enduring traditions - the commemoration of ancestral spirits. We visit rural graveyards, urban temples, modern funeral halls, and public events to trace the rapid change this tradition is undergoing in the last decades and, most recently, in the wake of the tsunami.—Tim Graf