Tawny Mayer

Kiyomizu-dera. 

I took this after my walk through at Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto, Japan. It was getting dark out and the shops were closing. Droves of elementary school kids in their little yellow hats were lining up to drink from the sacred water and I had been walking around temple complexes all day. Kiyomizu-dera is a very significant temple that overlooks the city giving a very beautiful view. I made it there right as the sun was setting.  It was fantastic!

Taken by Tawny Mayer, 2011. 

Paths.

This was a photo I took at Ginkaku-ji temple in Kyoto for my final project that I themed “paths.” Unfortunately every time I told people this, they thought I was saying “pads.” 

Taken by Tawny Mayer, 2011. 

Coal Walking

It was a holiday on the day I went to Miyajima, and past Itsukushima (the floating temple) there was loud chanting, drumming and a line of people walking through hot coals. This has highly spiritual relevance; according to Shintoism there are five methods of purification. Fire, incense and salt are three of the five. Each person walking through the coals would step onto a bed of salt, say a small prayer and walk through the fire coals with incense burning around them. At the end of the coals was a small shrine they would bow at and walk off. I sat and watched this for a good 45 minutes.

These are the feet of one of the monks watching over the ritual and helping the young and elderly across the coals. 

Taken by Tawny Mayer, 2011. 

Deer! 

During my day adventure to Miyajima (off the cost of Hiroshima) there were tons of people and deer wandering around. The deer were small, cute, and brave! They weren’t afraid of people whatsoever; going up to them and taking a jab at their food or nibbling on their clothes. It was hilarious. 

Taken by Tawny Mayer, 2011. 

Hunter.

This was taken outside of Shibuya station in Tokyo. Millions of people go through this station each day and Shibuya is where all of the “young people” tend to hang out. Footage of Tokyo that shows tons and tons of people going through a giant crosswalk is taken right by this location.

Taken by Tawny Mayer, 2011. 

I took this in Asakusa, a district of Tokyo. 

It was the red light district of the 19th century in the big city, but now it’s a great spot to see some traditional architecture. 

I had wandered away from the main avenue of shopping and food with a couple of friends to explore the side streets, and saw this. I took it for my photography final, which was themed “paths” but I didn’t end up using it. 

Taken by Tawny Mayer, 2011. 

Harajuku

This was in a small circle of shops that had separate entrances and registers, but were all connected to each other. There were too many cute things to register in my brain. I thoroughly enjoyed exploring Takeshita Street (a primary avenue where a lot of the cosplay people go, and the only street in all of Japan where I saw a tattoo shop) <3 

This is also probably the least vibrant and exciting photo to ever be taken in Harajuku. Sorry. 

Taken by Tawny Mayer, 2011.