A story hidden in a single photograph From the winning and outstanding works of “Love Letter to Kyoto”
Yoshie Doi
 4th Kyoto Love Letter Kana Kitagawa , Tokyo |
 5th Kyoto Love Letter Winner Masahiro Ninomiya , Fukuoka |
A long, long story is hidden in each photograph. The first photograph was created by Kana Kitagawa, who lives in Tokyo, and was the entry of the 4th Love Letter to Kyoto competition. The light reflected on the surface of the Kamo River is beautiful. Originally, the aesthetics of looking at the scenery reflected on the water surface have existed in Kyoto since the Heian period, during the time of Emperor Saga. It has been passed down that watching the moon reflected on the water surface is elegant.
There is also a custom of reflecting the character Daimonji (大) of the Gozan no Okuribi bonfires in a cup of water and drinking the water. It is a kind of charm to prevent stroke. However, the cup is too small to reflect the character Daimonji, so some people reflect it on a tray or a basin instead.
Also, in Kyoto, there is a custom that expressing one’s feelings indirectly, rather than speaking directly, is considered to be a sign of consideration and aesthetics.
The caption read, “The smell of the morning breeze, the smell of fragrant bread in the morning, the lively young university students in the afternoon, the sound of the lazy river flowing in the afternoon, the sound of the bells ringing from somewhere in the evening, the hustle and bustle of people rushing home in the evening. I love blending into the everyday life of Kyoto. I want to continue to cherish the everyday life of Kyoto that I see because I love it so much.” The photographer’s kind personality seems to be projected in the photo.
In any case, this work contains various historical mysteries and is very Kyoto-like.
The second photo is a work by Masahiro Ninomiya, who won an award in the 5th Kyoto Love Letter Competition. He lives in Fukuoka Prefecture, but he loves Kyoto and has visited the city many times with his wife.
This photo, which shows the size of the torii gate of Heian Shrine, was built by the citizens of Kyoto, who rose up against the sinking of the city after the Meiji Restoration, to commemorate the 1,100th anniversary of the founding of the capital. Heian Shrine was built with the donations of Governor of Kyoto Prefecture, who had traveled around the country to collect donations、and was built with generous donations from the people of Kyoto Prefecture. I heard from the chief priest that there was originally a plan to build a pavilion for the Expo, but as a pavilion would only be temporary, it was decided to build a shrine instead. Apparently the area around the current zoo was initially considered as a possible location, but due to opinions that the direction was poor, the current location was decided upon.
It is said that at the ground-breaking ceremony for Heian Shrine, each neighborhood wore matching yukata robes and danced all day and night. They even stopped by businesses house on their way home and danced in the crowd. I have heard that the people of Kyoto exploded with joy in this way. That joy is reflected in the size of the torii gate in this photo. This photo represents the strength of the people of Kyoto. This is a photo that contains many hidden stories.
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Translated by Masami Otani
