For obvious reasons, I donโt seek out cemeteries in my travels. ๐ If I happen to be at one such location, I usually donโt make photographs, out of respect for the spirits that may be around.
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When we arrived at Kozenji Temple (่็ฆ
ๅฏบ) in Kiso-Fukushima in rain, my legs followed my eyes to the cemetery in the back of the temple instead. While there, I found myself fighting the strong urge to photograph. In the end, the urge won.
Kozenji Temple was established in 1434 by the 12th Kiso lord Nobumichi (ๆจๆพไฟก้), who himself was buried there, along with the 19th lord Yoshiyasu Kiso (ๆจๆพ็พฉๅบท). Itโs the name on the grave stone next to his though that gave away the family origin - Minamoto no Yoshinaka (ๆบ็พฉไปฒ), the last name that traces back to one of the four noble clans during the Heian period in Japan. It is from there I was able to learn the history of the family and the stories of this Kiso clan.
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By the time we left, we were covered in as brilliant of colors as those rain-saturated maple leaves. I couldnโt believe that I enjoyed photographing in a cemetery so much. I was even more nicely surprised to have happened upon one for people with stories from hundred of years ago.
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I hope I did the cemetery justice while respecting privacy.
