The term ukiyo-e (浮世絵) translates as “picture(s) of the floating world”. It is a genre of Japanese art, depicting subjects such as female beauty, scenes from history and folk tales, travel scenes and landscapes, flora and fauna, and erotica.
‘Floating world’ is a modular multimedia project about Japan and its landscape.
During this solo trip, in search for inspiration, I explored a little portion of the Nakasendō trail between Magome-juku (馬籠宿) and Tsumago-juku (妻籠宿) in the Gifu Prefecture - an old route that connected Tokyo to Kyoto during the Edo period. I also visited Mount Kōya (高野山) in the Wakayama Prefecture, a special place for Japanese Buddhism and home to more than a hundred temples.
To access Kōyasan I walked the Choishi Michi trail, an ancient pilgrimage route marked by stone signposts.
Encountering tall trees, green moss, silky clouds, unfamiliar birdsongs, soft rain - the landscape had an aura I had never felt. I immersed myself in the beauty and tried to honour this fascinating place, grateful that some moments were captured on film by my Nikon EM.
Head to clementineblue.bandcamp.com to hear the music inspired by this trip.