Michael Kenna
Forms of Japan
This beautiful book presents a meditative, arresting, and dazzling collection of 250 black-and-white images of Japan, made over almost 30 years by the internationally renowned photographer Michael Kenna.
A rocky coast along the sea of Japan; an immense plain of rice fields in the snow; Mount Fuji towering over misty wooded hills; silent temples devoid of people but brimming with Buddhist deities; a Torii gate mysteriously emerging from moving clouds and water – these are a few images from this remarkable collection of photographs by Michael Kenna, whose black-and-white work is highly renowned.
"Forms of Japan", brilliantly designed by Yvonne Meyer-Lohr, is organized into chapters simply titled, "Sea", "Land", "Trees", "Spirit", and "Sky". The quietly evocative photographs, often paired with classic haiku poems of Basho, Buson, Issa, and others, provide a contemplative portrait of a country betterknown for its energy and industry. Gorgeously reproduced to convey the enormous subtleties that exist in Michael Kenna's traditional black-and-white silver prints, the photographs in this book include both well known and previously unpublished images from all corners of Japan: Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Okinawa, and Shikoku.
About the Author
Michael Kenna is an English photographer, now based in Seattle, USA, best known for his black-and-white landscapes. More than 60 books and monographs have been published on his photographic work, including "Forms of Japan", "Rouge", and "Holga" (all by Prestel).
