Gezicht op een Shinto tempel en de Hokogatake rots bij Haruna, Japan before 1903

This photograph of a Shinto temple was taken by Kusakabe Kimbei, but we don’t know exactly when. Look at the stark contrast of light and shadow and the way it almost flattens the temple and the natural landscape around it. It feels like a drawing; the temple sits nestled against the rock face, with steps carved into the landscape leading up to it. I wonder what Kimbei was thinking as he framed this shot? Did he want to show us how architecture blends with nature? I like to think he was pondering the relationship between humans and the divine when making this image. The temple becomes a bridge between the earthly and the spiritual realms. Painters and photographers have long been in conversation, each inspiring and pushing the boundaries of the other’s work. Maybe Kimbei was influenced by the soft focus and atmospheric perspective of the Impressionists. Whatever the case, this photograph is a testament to the enduring power of images to capture the ephemeral and the eternal.