A photo exhibition featuring photographer Mika Ninagawa's gorgeous shots of Kyoto and its geisha district will be held from April 14th to May 13th at the "Eki" Kyoto Museum, located inside JR Kyoto Station.

©mika ninagawa, Courtesy of Tomio Koyama Gallery
Mika Ninagawa is one of Japan's leading contemporary photographers, whose energetic work continues to attract significant attention both at home and abroad. Her wide-ranging insight into arts and culture has led her to serve as a director of the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This exhibition, in which Ninagawa takes on Kyoto, a symbol of Japanese culture and aesthetics, head-on, is comprised of the "geisha district," where the essence of Kyoto's traditional aesthetics has been accumulated, and the beautiful "scenery" of Kyoto throughout the four seasons, with around 120 exhibits, making it a "Kyoto fantasy four seasons picture scroll."

15 Geisha and Maiko  ©mika ninagawa, artbeat publishers
Kyoto's five geisha districts (Gion Kobu, Miyagawacho, Pontocho, Kamishichiken, and Gion Higashi) have each carefully preserved their traditional culture and performing arts, passing them on to the future through the hands of women. Special sets were created for each of the 15 geisha and maiko selected from each of these five geisha districts. Ninagawa meticulously captured the essence of Kyoto's traditional aesthetics, which have been passed down to the present day. This film, which took more than two years and involved numerous visits to Kyoto, will be screened here in Kyoto for the first time.

This exhibition is being held as an Associated Program of the 6th KYOTOGRAPHIE Kyoto International Photography Festival 2018. The works on display will also be published as a luxurious photo book by Mitsumura Suiko Shoin Co., Ltd.

The appeal of Mika Ninagawa's photographs lies in the mixture of fact and fiction, and the appeal of "Kyoto" and "geisha district" is further amplified by Ninagawa's worldview.