TAB Event - Mitsuhiko Imamori "Forest of the Gods, Ise Shrine"

Closes in 8 days
At Epson Imaging Gallery Epsite
Media: Photography, Art Talk

Mitsuhiko Imamori is a photographer who has conducted research on the world's insects and upland valley wooded settlements, disseminating the results of his work through essays and beautiful photographs that portray the intimate relationship between nature and man. This time, Imamori obtained special permission to photograph the Ise forest over a period of two years. This forest is a record of life itself, a sacred precinct.
With over 2000 years of history, Ise shrine is home to the Sun Goddess Amaterasu Omikami and the site of luxuriant forests. Every 20 years, the inner and outer shrine as well as all the treasures contained within them are rebuilt. The cypress forests that provide the materials for this rebuilding were once threatened, and the balance of its ecosystems disrupted, when too much lumber was felled during the Edo period. Now, in an attempt to stimulate regrowth of wild cypress, forest regeneration projects are underway.
In addition to cultivating a forest where lumbering is completely prohibited, an area was set aside for the mixed cultivation of evergreens and conifers, in which 4 to 5 thousand saplings are planted every year, with a view to supplying future trees for the rebuilding of Ise shrine in 200 years from now. This ancient rite of shrine rebuilding, with a history of over 1300 years dating from the reign of Empress Jito since 690, is an important enterprise that realizes the everlasting nature of the shrine. The forests that surround it and support its renewal are in fact the root of its eternal rebirth.

Gallery talk and autograph session by the artist
August 9th (Sat) 11:00-
August 10th (Sun) 11:00-, 14:00-

Community around this event

• 7 people want to see this event: sayama (JPN), tamaotto (日本), brollachan, and 4 others

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