Asia Grace

Japan Photographs

Maples, spring, temple

Maples, spring, temple

It was a Japanese temple garden, it was spring, and it was beautiful....


Gardening

Gardening

I was walking down a street in a suburban village on the island of Kyushu...


Takoyaki snack shop

Takoyaki snack shop

Fresh baked squid "muffins" are served at this small shop on a street in Kyushu....


Kabuki Play

Kabuki Play

Extravagent costumes, acrobatic gestures, quasi-martial arts, and drama -- that's kubuki to me a westerner....


Conch shell trumpet

Conch shell trumpet

Shinto priests blow a conch horn to announce the beginning of a ceremony marked by...


Shinto temple

Shinto temple

During this ceremony the priestess ascended up the stairs until she was out of view,...


Temple garden

Temple garden

This priest is playing a shinoku (sp?) a traditional Japaness bamboo pan flute in his...


Farmer with tabi shoes

Farmer with tabi shoes

A farmer in the southern island of Kyushu trues his saw, after he sharpens it....


Nara

Nara

An old snack stand serves up finger food along a lane that pilgrims to a...


Bunraku puppets

Bunraku puppets

In the beginning of a drama acted out by these large-scale puppets, the puppet masters...


Kyushu

Kyushu

Throughout Japan, shrines and offerings to forest spirits are quite common. I would often see...


Arched bridge

Arched bridge

In the northern part of the Japan Alps, a small village has an old fashioned...


Cormorant Fishing Party

Cormorant Fishing Party

Ukai is an ancient Japanese style of night fishing which is so peculiar that parties...


Osaka

Osaka

Picnics under cherry blossoms is a uniquely Japanese tradition. It's a time to dress up...


Gathering herbs

Gathering herbs

I spotted this farmer walking along the tiny slivers of untamed land (never real wilderness...


Moss god

Moss god

Burning incense is the east Asian way of blessing a god. This idol is a...


Temple garden, Nara

Temple garden, Nara

The magnificant view from the great room in the house of a temple priest. The...


Little Buddhas, or Rakan

Little Buddhas, or Rakan

I came across this scene not far from a temple in Kyoto. The hundreds of...


Cherry Blossom vendor, Osaka

Cherry Blossom vendor, Osaka

Nothing is too bright at cherry blossom time. Masks, some based on traditional Japanese plays...


Bamboo cutter, Kyushu

Bamboo cutter, Kyushu

Bamboo shoots are a delicacy. They are cooked in soups, and occasionally eaten raw. They...


Inn, Toyama

Inn, Toyama

In the streets of old Japan, windows and doors are caged in wood grids. This...


Farm house, Ogamashi

Farm house, Ogamashi

Two weavers rest in a traditional farm house in the Ogamashi region of Japan, near...


Rice planting, Takayama

Rice planting, Takayama

Modern Japan has long supported small farmers despite its rapid industrialization. These three women plant...


Thousand cranes

Thousand cranes

Paper-folding, or origami, is an ancient Japanese art. Almost every Japanese kids learns how to...


Biwa player, Kyushu

Biwa player, Kyushu

Traditional players of the biwa instrument strumed along while they recited ancient ballads. This biwa...


Kyoto cemetery

Kyoto cemetery

Where land is scarce, cemeteries are packed close and nearly vertical. This one rolls up...


Archery, Kagoshima

Archery, Kagoshima

The art of archery is all about concentration and style. It's not about hitting the...


Tori

Tori

A tunnel of tori gates create a dramatic entrence to a temple....


Plum blossoms

Plum blossoms

Classic image of old Japan....


Gasso house

Gasso house

Snowfall in Japan Alps, northern Honshu....


Gossips, Kyushu

Gossips, Kyushu

These three women were sitting in a doorway (raised floor) in a fishing village along...


Bamboo

Bamboo

The most surprising thing to me about bamboo was to realize that it could grow...


Pilgrims

Pilgrims

Pilgrimages are still an important element in Japanese spiritual life. These women are dressed for...


Ogamachi valley

Ogamachi valley

In the Japan alps the traditional arts still linger. This village features many gasso houses...


Drummer, Noh Play

Drummer, Noh Play

In the courtyard of a temple complex, the musicians in a traditional Noh show take...


Obon festival, Nara

Obon festival, Nara

In the obon festival, folk get dressed in their evening robes and light candles that...


Temple Garden Gatehouse

Temple Garden Gatehouse

The austere lines and simple elegence of Japanese style are very evident in this gatehouse...


Takayama

Takayama

There aren't too many places left in Japan where folks still wear traditional clothing all...


Osaka-jo Castle

Osaka-jo Castle

Of all the many castles I saw in Japan, this one struck me as the...


Noh play, Osaka

Noh play, Osaka

The headdress of this character in a Noh play displays the crane, a highly symbolic...


Temple offering

Temple offering

The colorful ribbons hanging from the rafter in this temple are grasped (as this women...