Spirit of Japan

Japan has several millenniums rich history, nurtured by the Shinto religion and its deities (Kami) who created Japan and the world according to Japanese mythology. Later Buddhism was introduced in Japan including the famous Zen Buddhism which is closed linked to Japan in the public opinion even though it originated in China. It is interesting to see that Shinto and Buddhism beliefs are still very present in nowadays Japan not only with their shrines or temples next to ultramodern constructions but in the behavior of people, governing their world. It is common practice to go to the shrine and buy a prayer for good fortune at a horse race or an amulet (Omamori) to be successful in business or at an exam. Even the food etiquette is regulated by Shinto rules. Practices such as sticking your chopsticks in a rice bowl or passing food from one chopstick to another brings bad luck or death as it is a process performed during Shintoist funeral ceremonies. I wanted to show with these photographs the spirituality of today’s Japan, the ceremonial in every day life and to relay the zen feeling that overwhelms you when you enter a Japanese garden that has been preserved exactly as it was several centuries ago.

This photographic series was made during several stays in Japan over the period (2014-2019) with a Leica M6 and Kodak films.