Hiroshima in pictures: A photography tour in Japan

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With staggering landscapes and ancient cultural practices alongside polished metropolitan centres, photography enthusiasts certainly aren’t short of inspiration in Japan.

Photography tour in Japan: Hiroshima Prefecture

As the home of well-preserved Edo towns; traditional industries; a picture-perfect island; and important, although tragic, history; Hiroshima Prefecture draws together many of Japan’s most fascinating dichotomies.

In October we arranged a tour for a group of photographers from the Melbourne Camera Club to bring the prefecture to life from behind the lens, setting up photo shoots at the fishing port of Tomonoura, little-visited Joge, sacred Miyajima Island and Hiroshima City.

Tomonoura

Uninhabited islets, a pier that stretches into the sea, and quaint Edo period streets make the atmospheric port town of Tomonoura the thing of postcards. It’s also a filmic muse having featured as a backdrop of blockbuster film The Wolverine and inspiration for Ghibli classic Ponyo.

After spending the day shooting the harbour and the town beyond (with cameras rather than international film crews and Hollywood stars) the club spent the night on the picturesque tiny island of Sensuijima, a short ferry ride away.

Tomonoura fishing boats - photography tour in Japan
Tomonoura fishing boats, Jim Weatherill

 

Tomonoura - photography tour in Japan
Tomonoura, Jim Weatherill

 

Watercolour painter in Tomonoura photography tour in Japan
Watercolour painter, Margaret Huxtable

 

Sunset at Seto Inland Sea island Sensujima - photography tour in Japan
Sensuijima, Jim Weatherill

Joge

While online searches don’t shed much light on the small town of Joge these days, during the Edo period (1603-1868) it was an important financial centre. This unassuming corner of Hiroshima Prefecture still has some very interesting residents. We arranged photo shoots with various locals to understand the culture and practices here today, finding that some may be unchanged from Joge’s Edo period heyday.

Monk at Zensho-ji Temple in Joge - photography tour in Japan
Monk at Zensho-ji Temple in Joge, Jim Weatherill

 

Business owner in Joge - photography tour in Hiroshima
Business owner in Joge, Jim Weatherill

 

Fan dancer in Japan - photography tour in Hiroshima
‘Hidden’, Fan dancer in Joge, Gaynor Robson

 

Elderly hands photographed in Hiroshima
‘Old Hands’, Gaynor Robson

“Joge is a fascinating village northeast of Hiroshima, dating back to the Edo period. The faces of this delightful, and very welcoming old couple were filled with character and I knew they had been through a lot together over the years. When he slipped his weathered hand in hers and she gave it a comforting little squeeze I knew that was the photo I really wanted. I quickly reframed and pressed the button.”

Gaynor Robson

Hiroshima City

To most international visitors, Hiroshima Prefecture is best known for the tragic aftermath of an atomic bomb which devastated the city during WWII. No visit would be complete without spending time at the Peace Memorial Park and the accompanying museum. The group had a guided tour of both arranged by a non-profit organisation that supports the hibakusha – literally “explosion-affected people” – and their families.

Family member of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima
Descendent of an A Bomb Survivor, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, Margaret Huxtable

 

Photograph of Hiroshima and origami birds - photography tour in Japan
‘Hiroshima Hope’, Gaynor Robson

Miyajima

Last but certainly not least, the group took a boat to the island of Miyajima – the jewel in Hiroshima Prefecture’s crown – where the Itsukushima shrine’s huge vermilion torii gate appears to float atop the waters of the Seto Inland Sea. As a UNESCO World Heritage Site deemed one of the ‘Three Views of Japan’ this impressive island is just waiting for a team of keen photographers.

Miyajima island in Japan
Miyajima Island, Norman Blaikie

 

Photography tour in Japan - Miyajima
Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island, Margaret Huxtable

 

Ukulele player on Miyajima - photography tour
Ukulele player, Margaret Huxtable

 

Miyajima torii gate on a photography tour in Japan
Miyajima Island, Susan Brunialti

Our tour was led by Everett Kennedy Brown. A photographer working in Japan for the past 25 years, Everett’s work has appeared in most global media including National Geography, Geo, Time, Newsweek, Le Monde, Der Spiegel, The Times and the New York Times.

Until late 2012 Everett was the Regional Chief Photographer for the European Press Agency (EPA) in Tokyo, a position which he had held for 10 years. Now as a tour leader Everett hopes to share his vision of the deep currents of Japanese culture that he encounters on his travels across the archipelago.

Everett Kennedy Brown, Jim Sonnemann

The group was also accompanied by Junko Okimoto, a tea ceremony instructor and master of ikebana and French style flower arrangement. Junko is also an expert on kimono culture and was available as a model during the trip.

Junko Okimoto, Norman Blaikie

For more details about a photography tour in Japan, please get in touch with our team.

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