Japan, between sacred and representation

A visual journey through Japan where sacred and profane coexist: rituals, daily gestures, and urban imaginaries intertwine in a suspended and complex balance.

Japan, between Sacred and Representation

This series explores Japan as a space of thresholds, where spirituality and contemporary imagination coexist. Daily gestures, religious rituals, and urban scenes intertwine in a narrative that brings sacred and profane into dialogue.

The work does not follow a geography but an invisible thread of atmospheres and contrasts. From iconic symbols such as the torii rising from the water or the cemetery under cherry blossoms, to collective rituals like the Buddha’s birthday celebration and the cloud of incense enveloping the faithful, the sacred appears as a shared and diffused experience. The ceremonial white elephant and the votive tablets evoke symbolic and spiritual dimensions, while in Hiroshima a trumpet player in front of the Dome transforms memory into a form of secular sacredness.

At the same time, the profane emerges with strength. Candles become mirrors of invisible presences, markets reveal the pragmatism of consumption, and the streets of Osaka turn into a stage where performers and cosplay girls embody hybrid identities. Children moving under giant neon signs and a selfie girl with long pink nails represent the search for identity in the urban landscape. Finally, the orange-robed monks in the subway mark the most radical collision, bringing rituality into the space of everyday life.

This series does not aim to explain Japan but to convey its complexity. Each image is an invitation to observe with open eyes and a curious mind, pausing on what exists in balance between ritual and the everyday. Photography here is not a tool to provide answers, but a means to see more clearly, not to understand everything.