After visiting Yakushiji and Tōshōdaiji on April 30, 2021, I was deeply moved by the beauty of the moss garden at Ganjin’s Mausoleum, and returned on May 4 to photograph it to my heart’s content.

On April 30, 2021, I visited Yakushiji and Tōshōdaiji.
At that time, I was truly moved by the beauty of the moss garden at Ganjin’s Mausoleum in Tōshōdaiji.
Because beautiful moss spread out like a carpet.
Unable to forget that emotion, I revisited Tōshōdaiji on May 4.
My purpose was to photograph the moss garden of Ganjin’s Mausoleum to my heart’s content.
Almost all of this video work is the moss garden of Ganjin’s Mausoleum.
Sunlight poured down, creating light and shadow upon the moss.
That contrast of light and shadow was also truly beautiful.
The green was not merely green.
Receiving the sunlight filtering through the trees, the carpet of moss seemed to be quietly breathing.
Tōshōdaiji is a place that possesses a special stillness even among the ancient temples of Nara.
And around Ganjin’s Mausoleum, an even deeper time flows.
When one thinks of the name of Ganjin Wajō, the stillness of this moss garden goes beyond mere beauty.
There is something like prayer there.
The music consists of recordings available on YouTube.
Fauré: “In Paradisum” from the Requiem.
Debussy: Rêverie.
Piano: Hélène Grimaud.
Grieg: Last Spring.
Philharmonia Orchestra.
Schumann: Träumerei.
Piano: Tomohisa Ushida.
Again, Fauré: “In Paradisum” from the Requiem.
Finally, Fauré: Sicilienne.
Violin: Ginette Neveu.
On that day, I photographed that prayer-like green to my heart’s content.
The video runs 16 minutes and 52 seconds.
Light pouring down upon the moss garden.
Green spreading out like a carpet.
The time of an ancient temple, quietly filling the air.
This video is a record of the beauty of Japan that I saw at Ganjin’s Mausoleum in Tōshōdaiji on May 4, 2021.