The Photographs of John Einarsen

This is the first in a new, occasional series of profiles of Kyoto-based photographers. Each photographer will choose five of their favorite pictures from around Kyoto and tell us a little about what those pictures mean to them. To start us off, Kyoto Journal‘s John Einarsen was kind enough to send me some wonderful black and white images of Shinnyodo; a temple complex on Mount Yoshida. John says…

All these images are from a place near my house where I take walks to find quiet, think, engage with a new visitor, or share intimate conversation with friends (alive or passed on). It contains two temple complexes, Kurodani and Shinnyodo, a cemetery, two pagodas, two bells, dirt lanes, Buddhas and beautiful maple trees. A very special corner of Kyoto!

John Einarsen is originally from Colorado. He fell in love with Kyoto on his first trip here and settled down here in the early 1980s. His photographs have been published in Kyoto: The Forest Within the Gate and in the new book Zen Gardens and Temples of Kyoto. He is also the founder editor of Kyoto Journal which he began with other poets and writers in 1986. From 2013-2015 he served as an advisor to the Japan Times and in 2013 received the Commissioner’s Award of the Japanese Cultural Affairs Agency. He lives near Kyoto’s Nanzenji temple.

Zen Gardens and Temples of Kyoto by John Dougill and John Einarsen was released by Tuttle Publishing on October 10th 2017. This is “the first comprehensive guide to Kyoto’s most important Zen garden and temple sites” and includes detailed introductions to over 50 Japanese temples and gardens with information on early morning meditation sessions, temple food offerings and special green tea sets along with other “insider” information. The book is available from amazon.com, amazon.co.jp, and amazon.co.uk.

“The exquisite photography of Einarsen evokes the beauty that is embodied within Zen’s philosophy, while Dougill describes the physical constructs that house the illusive yet enduring concepts.” —Judith Clancy, author of Kyoto Gardens and Kyoto City of Zen