Dragons are creatures of water, dwelling in the ocean, rivers, clouds, and rain. 
Koi carp are symbols of strength and perseverance. In ancient times, a school of Koi came to a huge waterfall while swimming upstream. The fish tried to jump the falls to continue their journey. Seeing their struggle, a demon made the falls higher out of malice. The fish did not give up. After a year of striving, one fish managed to reach the top. The gods, impressed with its determination, turned it and the fish that followed into a golden dragons. These Koi are in a pond in the Imperial Palace in Tokyo. Click on the image for a larger view.
Tag Archives: Tokyo Landscapes
Photobook 2015
Photobook 2015 opened in the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA, last night. The exhibition runs until March 6th. The exhibition was in partnership with the Davis Orton Gallery in Hudson, NY. The books in the exhibition can be viewed online. Along with the self-published books (including mine), there are a couple of other exhibitions of photographs on display. The museum and the town of Winchester are well worth a visit. Click on the image for a larger view.
New Years in Tokyo
New years in Japan is a rich event. Millions of Japanese visit shrines and temples. One of the largest temples in Tokyo and one of the busiest is Senso-ji in Asakusa. This temple is famous for its gate. What it is little known for is one of the shortest rituals of the new year celebration, moja-okuri. Click on the image for a larger view.
Schoolyard Nativity
A schoolyard nativity scene in Tokyo, with pink rabbits and Winnie-the-pooh. Note the shoe boxes where students place their footwear before entering the school building. This was one of the outtakes from Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Emptiness. Click on the image for a larger view.
Holiday Illumination
Illuminations are part of the holiday season. These lights are in Tokyo where Christmas is less a religious observance than a time to have fun. This is actually a small family restaurant that is in someone’s home. Click on the image for a larger view.
Home and Homelessness Opening
Last Friday was the opening reception for the Visualizing Home and Homelessness exhibition at Lord Hall Gallery at the University of Maine, Orono. The picture on the left is my submission, a work from the Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Emptiness project. Please stop by if you are in the area. Click on the image for a larger view.
My Book Reviewed at Japan Camera Hunter
I was pleasantly surprised to see a short review of Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Emptiness at Japan Camera Hunter: you will need to scroll to the bottom of the page. Thank you Bellamy Hunt.
Sea Wall—Tokyo Landscape
An outtake from our book Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Emptiness: Tokyo Landscape. Click on the image for a larger view.
Tsukido Hachiman—Tokyo Landscape
It is no secret that Tokyo is a sea of buildings. Its reputation of using every inch of space is hard to imagine until you have been there. What is less known is the topography of hills and valleys throughout the city.
On the top of a hill in Shinjuku ward is Tsukido Hachiman Shrine. In its day, the shrine would have been a prominent site overlooking Edo. Today, it is hidden beneath layers of buildings. However, in spring, the cherry trees lining the approach make it hard to miss.
The stone gate, or Torii, dates from 1726 and is all that remains of the original shrine that was lost in the fire bombing of Tokyo during World War II. The bamboo trees attached to the front of the gate are in preparation for the new year celebration. The small area to the left of the gate is a children’s playground. Click on the image for a larger view.
This image is an outtake from Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Emptiness: Tokyo Landscape. It is one of the over 4,000 images that did not make it into our book.
Takadanobaba—Tokyo Landscape
Takadanobaba is a town between Ikebukuro and Shinjuku. It is fairly much residential with a few universities and colleges in and around the area. This particular place is where the Zenpukuji river flows into a subterranean channel—it later resurfaces when it joins the Kanda river.
This image is one of the many outtakes of the Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Emptiness project. Less than 2% of the images I took in Tokyo appear in the book.
