Kenji Shimizu
Photography

Sacred Forest

Naoshima, Kagawa.

Meiji Shrine, Tokyo.

~In God We Trust~

The Japanese Sacred Forest
(or Sacred Grove more precisely) refers to
woods or forests that surround
Japanese Shinto shrines (jinja),
and are found all over Japan. These days, it is recognized that
the Body of God (shintai)
resides in the main inner structure of shrines and
sacred forests are mere "attachments".
But historically, people believed big stones, rivers, or forests to be manifestations of God itself. In this particular series
"Sacred Forest - In God We Trust -",
I try to re-frame and re-divinize the Japanese Sacred Forest.

Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto.

Meiji Shrine,Tokyo.

Chikubu-jima iskand, Shiga

Ise Grand Shrine, Mie.

Naoshima,Kagawa.

Ise Grand Shrine, Mie.