Early morning at Kawai Jinja Shrine

Kyoto shrine was quiet and serene in the morning light

Larry Knipfing Mar 02, 2014 - 1 min read

<p>A lantern in front of a roof covered in frost was extremely beautiful</p>

<p>Peek at the step of the main shrine from back behind an elegant border</p>

<p>This scepter-like object was accidently left out overnight on the shrine's ceremony platform</p>

<p>Lantern at the entrance lit up in the early morning</p>

<p>Entrance to the small yet beautiful shrine</p>

<p>The shrine's gold lanterns are beautiful</p>

<p>The early morning light was soft and still on these gold lanterns</p>

<p>A large sacred tree in a corner of the shrine grounds</p>

<p>Another lantern near a wall of prayer signs in the shape of hand-mirrors</p>

<p>Reflection of stone lantern near the entrance to the shrine</p>

<p>At 7AM, I was almost all alone here</p>

Located at the south gate of Shimogamo Shrine, I almost missed Kawai Jinja. I'm glad I found it. I was there, almost alone, around 7AM on a cold December morning. Frost covered the tops of the shrine's buildings and I could see my breath moving in and out, almost like in a trance. The combination of reds, greens and golds was beautiful, and especially the gold of the lanterns grabbed my attention as they combined with the snow up high.

Larry Knipfing @larry.knipfing

Born on Long Island, New York in 1958, I have spent the last 30 years of my life living in Japan, and enjoying every minute of it! I especially love photography, and Japan is definitely one of the most beautiful places in the world to photograph! My other love is fiction writing and I have pub...