Asia Grace

Misty Yellow Mountain

Huangshan, China

Misty Yellow Mountain

Those old Chinese painters were not exaggerating. I had always thought their romantic depictions of fantastic rock formations, with tiny hermitages hiding behind swirling whips of clouds, were pure fantasy. But they were only painting what they saw! It is a four hour climb to the top of Yellow Mountain (Huang Shan). In the old days hermits and monasteries clung to the peaks. Now there are a couple of hotels, which require a constant stream of porters streaming up loaded with stuff to keep replenished with towels, food, and fuel.


 

Bai Girls

Dali, Yunnan, China

Bai Girls

Three Bai girls flirt at the South Gate of Dali. Bais are a prevalent minority group in Yunnan. The girls are talking to my 10-year-old son, who happens to speak Mandarin, but doesn't look very Chinese. Fancy dress like this is usually worn by older women everyday or young women on special occasions, or to please tourists. To my eye, there is more pink in their version than is normal for the traditional dress, which tends to blue.


 

Quilt Closet

Zhongdian, Tibet

Quilt Closet

Farmhouses are without heat so Tibetan families stay warm by piling quilts on top of a futon-like mattresses which are spread on the floor. During the day they fold the blankets up and stash them in a cubby, freeing up the floor. The decoration around the room is as ornate as the quilts are colorful. In this photo there is also a shopping bag adorned with anime faces.


 

Maples, spring, temple

Japan

Maples, spring, temple

It was a Japanese temple garden, it was spring, and it was beautiful.


 

Gardening

Kyushu, Japan

Gardening

I was walking down a street in a suburban village on the island of Kyushu and I saw this guy working in his garden in front of his house. He was dressed in these very traditional clothes. They seem almost ornamental. It is possible they were not his usual work clothers since they weren't soiled at all. I took a couple of snapshots of him and he simply let me shoot, while he posed patiently. I had the sense he was very "centered."


 

Takoyaki snack shop

Kyushu, Japan

Takoyaki snack shop

Fresh baked squid "muffins" are served at this small shop on a street in Kyushu. The hot snacks are snatched up by students.


 

Kabuki Play

Osaka, Japan

Kabuki Play

Extravagent costumes, acrobatic gestures, quasi-martial arts, and drama -- that's kubuki to me a westerner.


 

Conch shell trumpet

Japan

Conch shell trumpet

Shinto priests blow a conch horn to announce the beginning of a ceremony marked by a big smoky bonfire of green juniper.


 

Shinto temple

Honshu, Japan

Shinto temple

During this ceremony the priestess ascended up the stairs until she was out of view, almost as if she had entered heaven, and when she returned he carried a leafy branch, which she waved.


 

Temple garden

Osaka, Japan

Temple garden

This priest is playing a shinoku (sp?) a traditional Japaness bamboo pan flute in his garden at the peak of spring.


 

Farmer with tabi shoes

Kyushu, Japan

Farmer with tabi shoes

A farmer in the southern island of Kyushu trues his saw, after he sharpens it. I love his boots with big toes -- a very traditional style.


 

Nara

Japan

Nara

An old snack stand serves up finger food along a lane that pilgrims to a local temple trek. Though small, the stand is full of wonderful brown textures of wood, hand-dyed cloth, and bamboo.


 

Bunraku puppets

Osaka, Japan

Bunraku puppets

In the beginning of a drama acted out by these large-scale puppets, the puppet masters are clothed and hooded in black, so their presence won't distract views. By the second act, the puppets are so real and life-like that the puppeteers take off their hoods, and the audience no longers "sees" them.


 

Kyushu

Japan

Kyushu

Throughout Japan, shrines and offerings to forest spirits are quite common. I would often see a stone pillar in the middle of a glade or along a wooded path. Here people have cloaked the gods and left offerings of coins and flowers. The colors are bright and baby-ish, as if these were children of the forest.


 

Arched bridge

Japan

Arched bridge

In the northern part of the Japan Alps, a small village has an old fashioned footbridge.


 
Asia Grace

Countries

Recent Stories

Little Buddhas, or Rakan

Little Buddhas, or Rakan

Japan

Kita writes:

I remember this place. It is the graveyard of a thousand souls. I know that a thousand buddhas were built here to guide lost souls after a battle. The buddhas also represented those who died. I'm pret...more


Water buffalo

Water buffalo

Taiwan

Michael writes:

This animal, to me, symbolizes the backbone of the Asian culture. In the Philippines this animal has worked, sweat and bled to give the Philippino indigenous a foundation to build upon in agriculture....more


Dye store

Dye store

India

Anita & Cam writes:

We suspect this is around the time of "Holi" (March or thereabouts) where these dyes are sold for the "festival of spring"....more


Rajastan

Rajastan

India

Zareen Nevrekar writes:

Quite often folk art depicts either themes from everyday life or historical/mythological stories. For example, in this picture there are two men and a cow painted on the wall. I suspect that the man...more


Samovars in tea house

Samovars in tea house

Afghanistan

Sohaila writes:

I'm from Afghanistan myself, and have lived in Canada almost all of my life. A few years ago, when i was around 14 years old, i visited Afghanistan, and stayed at some relatives houses before journeyi...more