KUMIKO 久美子 Longtime beautiful child: Geisha, Kyoto, Japan (txt./pic.)

Within an ultramodern society Japan still maintains traditions passed down from generation to generation, making it one of the most beautiful and intriguing places in the world.

Photograph by Clancy Lethbridge

A geisha in Kyoto, Japan, applies the blood-red lipstick that completes her traditional makeup. Modern geisha carry on an ancient profession; they privately entertain Japan's rich and powerful men and maintain total confidentiality.

Photograph by Jodi Cobb

I shot this photograph on the way to the Silver Temple in the Sakyo ward of Kyoto, Japan. Beautiful culture, beautiful country, and beautiful people.

Photograph by Evan Williams

Geisha Dancing

A forbidden pleasure for samurai, geisha dancing with its silken sweep of kimonos still graces the stage of the Gion Kobu Kaburenjo theater in Kyoto. Such entertainments, part of the emerging urban culture in Edo-period Japan, conflicted with the sober tastes of the shogun. Many samurai, however, couldn’t resist the excitement and eagerly attended performances, often in disguise.

Photograph by Michael Yamashita

Japan

Standing at low tide, the torii on Miyajima is thrown into silhouette as the sun sinks behind a mountain. The famous vermilion gate was built in 1875 and is the largest in Japan, standing about 53 feet (16 meters) high. Torii are traditionally built as entrances to Shinto shrines.

Photograph by Paul Whitton

Geisha Portrait

A geisha stands with sealed lips symbolizing a code of honor. Entertaining Japan’s male elite through music, dance, song, and conversation, geisha are valued as much for discretion as for beauty. The famed icons of Japanese culture have practiced their gei, or art, for over 250 years.

Photograph by Jodi Cobb
Businessman, Chiba

Traditional lanterns illuminate a walk home in Chiba, one of the five main cities that surround Tokyo Bay. Tokyo and its satellite cities are at the center of Japan’s politics, arts, commerce, and communications, the bay area having attracted millions with new jobs and lifestyles following the devastation of World War II.

Photograph by Jonny Taise

Breakfast, Tokyo

A father cradles his sleeping son during breakfast at the Daiwa Sushi restaurant in Tokyo’s immense Tsukiji Fish Market. "Everything there is really fresh," says photographer Justin Guariglia. "But also very expensive."

Photograph by Justin Guariglia

New Year’s Rice Cakes

Rice cakes, or mochi, are a favorite in Japan, particularly during the New Year, when they are traditionally given as gifts, set out decoratively in the home, or offered at shrines and temples. Their surfaces dusted with flour, the sticky, glutinous cakes are often stuffed with sweet beans or served in soup and, when not made by hand in a complex process, are widely available in supermarkets.

Photograph by Phil Iossifidis

Paper Lanterns

Paper lanterns decorated with script glow orange in Japan. The Japanese language commonly uses 15,000 kanji characters, which are borrowed from Chinese. Schoolchildren as young as seven must confront the language’s complexities, such as learning to write some of the 200-plus characters for the sound “shou.”