I had the good fortune of living in Tokyo for ten years. It is a fabulous city. Step out of your front door and just pick a direction—you are bound to find amazing things. Click on the image for a larger view.
Category Archives: Japan
Paulo Coelho and the Balloon, Part 5
In Paulo’s novel The Alchemist, the hero Santiago has a vision, or, more correctly, an experience of the world as whole, where the macrocosm and microcosm are one. In a balloon, there is no wind. There is no sense of motion; the world moves around you, the still point.
Paulo Coelho and the Balloon, Part 4
Breakfast and conversation followed our return to Earth. What was Paulo like? It would be hard to say. I think it is a conceit to think we can know anyone in a brief encounter, or even after a long friendship. I guess my impression of this man would be this image, this slice of time and space.
Paulo Coelho and the Balloon, Part 3
The balloon flight was scheduled early in the morning. While most of the Kanto plain is developed, a large wetland exists north of Tokyo and is perfect for hot-air ballooning. The weather, however, was typical, hazy and overcast.
Paulo Coelho and the Balloon, Part 2
Paulo’s Japanese publisher Masao Masuda of Jiyu-sha had a wonderful balloon with a satellite image of the Earth printed on it. I was in a second balloon. Paulo is standing to the right of Masuda-san in the basket.
Paulo Coelho and the Balloon, Part 1
On October 24th, 1995, I shared a remarkable experience with the Brazilian author Paulo Coelho. He was in Japan to promote his new book. We shared the same publisher who took us just outside Tokyo for a hot-air balloon ride.
Sacred for a Day
Shinto festivals are community rites. The god of the local shrine is transferred to a portable shrine, which is carried through the parish in an all-day event. Teams sing and dance while carrying their divine host. Along the way, these bearers stop for refreshment.
There are no sermons. This is no proselytizing. The revelation is far more subtle, far more profound. The place, the people are sacred for this day and for every day that follows. Click on the image for a larger view.
Asakusa Kannon Temple in Tokyo
One of the largest temples in Japan is in Asakusa in Tokyo. Sensoji (or Senso Temple) is dedicated to Kannon, the Bodhisattva of compassion. The grounds are always packed with crowds of visitors, of worshippers. The Japanese come to wish or to offer thanks for wishes granted. The wishes that are carried here reflect the facets of life–the gift of a child, success in an exam, a new job, cures for illness, hopes for prosperity, or solace for the deceased. No matter the wish, no matter the burden, the atmosphere is always like a festival. Click on the image for a larger view.
Futon Daiko—The Picture Story
How do you separate luck and talent? Talent can get you good images, competent images. But those magic moments, where do they come from? Personally, I feel those pictures are given, rather than taken.
This image from Futon Daiko: A Japanese Festival is a result of many chance factors. The crowd was huge and pushed me back against a stone lantern; the force of the crowd split the lens hood on another camera in my bag. Needing some kind of support to make a long exposure—a tripod was not going to work—I clamped my camera on a steel I-beam supporting a branch of an 800-year-old camphor tree at arms length above my head. So far, so good. Just one problem. How do I frame the picture? I could not see through the viewfinder.
For those without a photography background, there is a technique or style known as shooting full frame. The photographer frames the image in the camera and does not recompose or crop later. I have used this style for my entire career—an unnerving way to work as there are no fixes later. So guessing the camera position, guessing the focus, guessing the exposure, here is the result, just as the camera saw it.
How much of this image is mine? How much luck? How much the good graces of the god Hachiman? I doubt the question can ever be answered. But I feel blessed to be there to take the picture, or maybe to receive it.
Futon Daiko: A Japanese Festival
We are pleased to announce our new publication that has just been released in the Apple iBookstore: Futon Daiko: A Japanese Festival.
Japan has an ancient and mysterious culture that seems impenetrable to the outsider. Experience is the essence of the native Japanese religion of Shinto. This volume of photographs explores the Japanese festival, or matsuri, embodied in shrine Shinto. The book follows the two-day Futon Daiko festival at Mozu Hachiman Shrine in Sakai, Japan, after an introduction to another variation of the festival at Ogikubo Hakusan Shrine in Tokyo. William Ash’s photography shows the passion and power of these rites. The book provides a beautiful introduction to shrine Shinto with forty-six photographs, two illustrations, and an illustrated glossary.
