June Bride 2015
Distributed by First Pond, Los Angeles, CA; 213-545-6851
Produced by Derek Shimoda
Directed by Derek Shimoda
DVD, color, 80 min.
Middle School - General Adult
Christianity, Prisoners, Religion
Date Entered: 01/26/2017
Reviewed by Alexander Rolfe, Technical Services Librarian, George Fox University, Newberg, ORTatsuya Shindo is an atypical pastor, bearing all the marks of a Japanese gangster and holding church services in a bar (named June Bride). Many of his congregants have the same missing portion of the little finger and copious tattoos that indicate a Yakuza past. Shindo and his co-religionists preach the gospel and help ex-cons re-integrate into society, often housing them while they look for work. We meet several of these men, as well as some other ex-Yakuza who have taken a similar path; one of them, Hiroyuki Suzuki, preceded Shindo in becoming a post-prison pastor. We get an appreciation for the limits of the help he provides, and the difficulty of the work, as well as the tragedy of gang life that makes his work so important.
Shindo is charismatic, dedicated, and upbeat, and his story is well worth watching.
Highly recommended in support of social work, sociology, criminology, and religion programs.