Smiles at Yasukuni

Yasukuni Jinja, the unfamous temple which hosts millions of Japanese soldiers' soul, is not a place you would think first for collecting smiles and tenderness. And this is, specifically why I wanted to make a shoot session there.

Every July, for 3 days, Yasukuni Jinja organises one of the largest matsuri in Tokyo and Yasukuni turns into one of the happiest place in the city.

Let's face it, matsuri are pretty empty gatherings if you focus on lanterns, food shops and repetitive dances. My own opinion after attending matsuri for a few years. It is only recently that I understood what make a good matsuri: people at matsuri.

The crowd of Yasukuni is very young and friendly. Couples, groups of students and more recently a lot of foreigners too.

Many boys and girls in yukata walk the half kilometer from the sacred temple to the huge torii. So many beautiful people with their own story.

I wanted to focus on people small details. Their winks, their smiles, their glance, the world they want to create around them, their bubble...

People can create amazing bubbles of theirs. The point is capturing it without entering it. Keeping the full respect for their intimacy while capturing the beauty of those people in the crowd.

Sometimes they notice. They just greet you with a smile which means "We saw you taking our picture. Thank you for understanding, thank you for respecting, this is our secret, ね？".