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PRINT AND FRAME DETAILS
Printing
Printed on Canson Platine Fibre Rag 310gsm Paper Stock
Borders
All prints come with a 25mm (+) white border for easy framing
Framing
Frames include a white matte and black, white or raw oak finish
Shipping
Free Australia wide shipping via ASG, frames arrive ready to hang
THE STORY
Kiyomizu-dera was founded in 778 by the monk Enchin Shonin 16 years before Heiankyo (the former name for the city of kyoto) was established as the new capital of Japan. Today the temple complex Kiyomizu-dera stands after a rebuild in 1633 under the order of the third Tokugawa shogun, were the temple was burned down.
Sanjunoto Pagoda, the main pagoda of the temple is one of the tallest three stories pagodas in Japan at 31 metres in height. Painted vermillion with a dragon figure on its southeastern corner specifically placed to guard against the fires that have leveled the temples throughout its life. In 1994 the templae was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list as one of the historic monuments of kyoto. Whilst the Pagoda is a recongnisable structure within the temple complex, Kiyomizu Dera is most known for its large wooden stage just nearby which is oftened pictured during cherry blossom season.
Kiyomizu-dera was a reshoot location on this trip to Japan having photographed the temple on my stay back in 2019. The promise I made to myself is that on this trip to Japan I would avoid at all costs the standard touristy images at all costs. This self imposed rule did admittedly make shooting a lot of the Kyoto landmarks much more challenging given how photographed some of these locations were.
On our final afternoon in Kyoto I time to photograph Kiyomizu-dera a location I wasn’t feeling super confident about getting anything that amazing photo wise. The weather had been highly sporadic, with intervals of snow showers, gloomy skies and bright sun so getting something unique was going to require a lot of patience. When I arrived, I began doing long walking loops around the whole complex looking for that unique shot. On one of my loops I happened to be standing underneath the pagoda where one of the rare bursts of sunshine came through. Looking up an image quickly materialised in my mind, the bright red colour palette of the pagoda with a clear sky behind. Much more minimalist then I was anticipating but it fit the bill for my anti-touristy shot of the place.
I captured my test shots validating my idea and… waited… I ended up doing a few more loops of the temple as it began snowing before eventually settling back under the pagoda, waiting for the sun to come out and cloud to disapear. Captured with my 24-70mm at 35mm the final shot was exactly what I was hoping for. A minimalist, graphic scene with bright popping colours. I was very proud of this one, pushing myself to capture something new in such a photographed spot paid off. And, at least speaking personally, this angle is something that even I have never seen before.
Kyoto pagoda print — Sanjunoto Pagoda, Kiyomizu-dera
Underside view of Sanjunoto Pagoda, Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto
