In 1971, author and film scholar Donald Richie published a poetic travelogue about his explorations of the islands of Japans Inland Sea, recording his search for traces of a traditional way of life as well as his own journey of self discovery Twenty years later, filmmaker Lucille Carra undertook a parallel trip inspired by Richies by then classic book, capturing images of hushed beauty and meeting people who still carried on the fading customs that Richie had observed Interspersed with surprising detours a visit to a Frank Sinatra loving monk, a leper colony, an ersatz temple of plywood and plaster and woven together by Richies narration as well as a score by celebrated composer Toru Takemitsu, The Inland Sea is an eye opening voyage and a profound meditation on what it means to be a foreigner