🔶Cinepoetry with Photo Art on Japanese/Asian/Eurasian Cultural Heritage
Miro Ito films/Conceived & produced by Media Art League
Commissioned Work by Nara Prefecture Tourism Department
Historical Significanc of Horyu-ji Temple and Prince Shōtoku (2026/4K short movie/approx. 15 minutes/English & Spanish)—click here
Produced & conceived by Media Art League + Japan Authentic Heritage Initiative
Presented by Nara Prefecture
Directed, written, photographed/filmed by : MIRO ITO
Planning and Production: Media Art League
Photo permits by: Hōryū-ji, Tachibana-dera Temples; Ōmiwa-Jinja Shrine; Tokyo National Museum; Ikaruga Town
Performing artist by Nanto-Gakuso
Editorial Consultant: Hōryū-ji Temple
English Editing by Andreas Boettcher
Spanish Editing by The Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center/University of Salamanca
Video Size/length: 4K 15 min (English); 15 min 45sec (Spanish)
Production: 2026
Screening (English version): Miro Ito’s lecture as an integral part of the eponymous exhibition at the Spanish-Japanese Culture Center/University of Salamanca, 18th March 2026
Screening (Spanish version): Installation at the exhibition venue (from 17th March to 19th June 2026)
Scene from “Historical Significance of Hōryū-ji Temple and Prince Shōtoku” (English version)
Heijō Palace Site and Five Nearby Temples — Eastern Terminus of the Silk Roads (2025/4K video, approx. 16 minutes)—click here
Title: “Heijō Palace Site and Five Nearby Temples — Eastern Terminus of the Silk Roads” Yakushi-ji Temple, Kairyuō-ji Temple, Hokkeji Temple, Tōshōdaiji Temple and Saidaiji Temple”
Produced by: Nara Prefecture
Directed, photographed and written by : MIRO ITO
Planning and Production: Media Art League
English Editing: Andreas Boecher
The work, “Heijō Palace Site and Five Nearby Temples — Eastern Terminus of the Silk Roads”, introduces the Heijo Palace ruins and Japan’s National Treasures and “Important Cultural Properties, including secret Buddha statues, enshrined at the nearby temples as Yakushi-ji, Kairyuō-ji, Hokke-ji, Tōshōdai-ji and Saidai-ji, as well as representative traditional Buddhiist rituals and ceremonies.
Screening Schedule (Japanese Version) at Tenpyō Miharashikan: 10:36 / 12:36 / 14:36 —being screened three times a day at the Tenpyō Miharashikan VR Theatre in Heijō Palace Historical Park (Nara)
Scene from “Heijō Palace Site and Five Nearby Temples — Eastern Terminus of the Silk Roads” : Yakushi-ji Temple
A Miro Ito Film/Produced & conceived by Media Art League (Crowdfunded production)
Narrration by Zen Master Nanrei Yokota
Lecture & Screening event: “Co-existing & Co-creating Across Time” (held by JACCCO), Hibiya Library & Museum, Tokyo, February 2025
Śūnya/Kū: Live like the breeze (Sora/Kū-no-yōni-ikiru) (2025/4K short movie/9min/Japanese)—click here
Event title: “Co-existing & Co-creating Across Time”
東アジア伝統思想交流「時を超えた 共生共創」
Venue: Hibiya Library & Museum
Date: 16th February 2025
Organiser: Japan Asian Community Culture Cooperation Organization (JACCCO)
Keynote Speaker: Zen Master Nanrei Yokota/Engakuji Temple
Lecture & Screening: Miro Ito with her cine-poetry “Śūnya/Kū: Live like the breeze”
Moderator: Kiyoyuki Seguchi, Board member of JACCCO
Panel discussion: Yuji Miyamato/Former Japanese Ambassador to China・Director of JACCCO, Zen Master Nanrei Yokota, Miro Ito
Language: Japanese
Lecture and film-screening event, Tokyo’s Hibiya Library and Museum”Co-existing & Co-creating across Time and Space”, hosted by the JACCCO
Miro Ito films/Conceived & produced by Media Art League
Commissioned Work by Nara Prefecture Tourism Department
Pilgrimage to Four Temples of Yamato 1300 years of venerable sacred sites in Japan (2024/4K short movie/17min/English)—click here
Title: Pilgrimage to Four Temples of Yamato 1300 years of venerable sacred sites in Japan
Where kami deities and Buddhism cross paths with dragon adoration
Hase-dera, Murō-ji, Oka-dera, Abe Monju-in Temples
Presented by Nara Prefecture
Directed, written and photographed by MIRO ITO
Conceived and produced by MEDIA ART LEAGUE & Japan Authentic Heritage Initiative
English Editor: Andreas Boettcher
Asuka-Fujiwara—Japan’s Ancient Capitals Where the Ritsuryō System and Buddhist Culture First Flourished (2023/4K short movie/14.5min/English)—click here
Presented by Nara Prefecture
Directed, written and photographed by MIRO ITO
Conceived and produced by MEDIA ART LEAGUE & Japan Authentic Heritage Initiative
English Editor: Andreas Boettcher
Editorial Consultant: Kosaku Okabayashi, PhD, Deputy Director of the Museum, Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, Nara Prefecture
Photo permits by: Asuka Historical Museum + Department of Imperial Palace Sites Investigations (Asuka/Fujiwara Division)/Nara National Research Institute of Cultural Properties; The Museum, Archaeological Institute of Kashihara, Nara Prefecture; Nara Prefecture Complex of Man’yo Culture (Man’yo Museum); Asuka Village Board of Education; Kashihara City Board of Education; Yakushi-ji Temple, Daian-ji Temple; Asuka-dera Temple; Agency of Cultural Affairs of Japan; Nara National Museum; The Yomiuri Shimbun; Imperial House Hold Agency/Unebi Imperial Mausoleum
Scene from “Asuka-Fujiwara—Japan’s Ancient Capitals Where the Ritsuryō System and Buddhist Culture First Flourished”
Prince Shōtoku: A Beacon of East-Asian Wisdom and Aesthetics, Shining from Antiquity to the Future (2022/4K short movie/13.5min/English)—click here
Presented by Nara Prefecture
Directed, written and photographed by MIRO ITO
Conceived and produced by MEDIA ART LEAGUE & Japan Authentic Heritage Initiative
English Editor: Andreas Boettcher
Photo permits by: Hōryū-ji; Chūgū-ji; Hōrin-ji; Hōki-ji; Asuka-dere; Tachibana-dera Temples, Tokyo National Museum, The Yomiuri Shimbun
Performing artist by Kasuga-Taisha Nanto-Gakuso
Editorial Consultant: Hōryū-ji Temple
Scene from “Prince Shōtoku: A Beacon of East-Asian Wisdom and Aesthetics, Shining from Antiquity to the Future”
Miro Ito films/Conceived & produced by Media Art League
Commissioned Work by Agency of Cultural Affairs of Japan’s cluster project
Presented by Ikasu-Nara Regional Council
Online presentation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RjSWEDzltIU
Nara, Japan’s first imperial capital and the eastern terminus of the Silk Road – a cultural corridor to 1400 years of spiritual tradition (2021/33 mins/English)—click here
Directed, written and photographed by MIRO ITO
Conceived and produced by MEDIA ART LEAGUE e
English Editor: Andreas Boettcher
Photo permits by Hōryū-ji Temple, Yakushi-ji Temple, Tōdai-ji Temple, Tōshōdai-ij Temple, Saidai-ji Temple, Kōfuku-ji Temple, Kasuga-Taisha Shrine
Editorial Consultant: Kosei Morimoto, PhD, Abbot Emeritus of Tōdai-ji Temple
English Editor: Andreas Boettcher
Cinepoetry: Nara, Japan’s First Imperial Capital and Eastern Terminus of the Silk Road (Miro Ito film, presented by Ikasu-Nara Regional Council)
The Four Heavenly Kings – Magnificent Figures Epitomising Valour at the Tōdai-ji, Tōshōdai-ji, Daian-ji and Kōfuku-ji Temples in Nara: Japanese National Treasures from the Tenpyō to the Kamakura Era (2021/20 mins/Japanese)—click here
Commissioned Work by Nara Prefecture
Presented by Nara Prefecture (2021)
Directed, written and photographed by MIRO ITO
Conceived and produced by MEDIA ART LEAGUE
English Editor: Andreas Boettcher
Language: Japanese
Photo permits by Tōdai-ji, Tōshōdai-ij, Daian-ji and Kōfuku-ji Temples
Editorial Consultant: Kosei Morimoto, PhD, Abbot Emeritus of Tōdai-ji Temple
The Four Heavenly Kings curved by Unkei, Chukondō Hall, Kōfukuji Temple, 12th century, National Treasure of Japan (c) Photographs by Miro Ito
Gigaku: Roads of Masks (7.5 mins/Japanese/English)—click here
− Gigaku: Roads of Masks (7.5 mins)
Commissioned Work by the Tōdai-ji Temple
A Miro Ito Film/Produced & conceived by Media Art League
Presented by Tōdai-ji Museum (2011)
Languages: Japanese/English
Performers: Mannojo Nomura V, ACT.JT, Ethnos
Gigaku masks: Collection of Tōdai-ji Temple (Important Cultural Properties of Japan/Nara Period)
ShinGigaku masks (produced by Mannojo Nomura V)
Music: Sukeyasu Shiba (Gigaku Gyōdō-ranjō, Gigaku Karura)
Editorial consultant: Kan’ichi Kasagi, Art & Music Director of Nantogakuso Gagaku Troupe
English editor: Andreas Boettcher
Editor/CG Creator: Yusuke Shigeta
Scene from “Gigaku: Road of Masks”
Life of Masks − Bugaku: Kasuga-Taisha Shrine and Kasuga Wakamiya Onmatsuri Festival (11 mins/Japanese)—click here
− Life of Masks − Bugaku: Kasuga-Taisha Shrine and Kasuga Wakamiya Onmatsuri Festival (11 mins)
Presented by Canon EXPO Tokyo 2010, Nara Prefecture (Association for Commemorative Events of the
1300th Anniversary of Nara Heijō- kyō)
Languages: Japanese
Editorial Consultant: Kan’ichi Kasagi (Art & Music Director of Nanto-gakuso Gagaku Troupe)
Music & Performing Arts: Nantogakuso Gagaku Troupe
Editor/CG Creator: Yusuke Shigeta
Scene from “Life of Masks: Bugaku at Kasuga-Taisha and Kasuga Wakamiya On-matsuri”
The Great Buddha Lives! (7 mins/Japanese)—click here
− The Great Buddha Lives! (7 mins)
Presented by Canon EXPO Tokyo 2010, Nara Prefecture（Association for Commemorative Events of the 1300th Anniversary of Nara Heijō- kyō)
Languages: Japanese
Editor-at-Large: Tōdai-ji Temple
Music Composer: Yasuhiro Morinaga
Editor/CG Creator: Yusuke Shigeta
List of Screening Venues (2010-2026)—click here
ー The Historical Significance of Hōryū-ji Temple and Prince Shōtoku (by Miro Ito), installation on the exhibition site, Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center, University of Salamanca, March to June 2026
ー Exhibition−affiliated lecture & screening: Two Sages of Japan: Prince Shotoku and Emperor Shomu by Miro Ito, Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center, University of Salamanca, March 2026 (Spain)
ー Co-existing & Co-creating Across Time (hosted by JACCCO), Hibiya Library & Museum, February 2025 (Tokyo, Japan)
Keynote speaker with Zen Master Nanrei Yokota
Miro Ito’s presentation: Śūnya/Kū: Live like the breeze (Sora/Kū-no-yōni-ikiru)
ー The Secret Saga Linking Nara to the Silk Road — with a Special Focus on Sogdian Culture (Lecture by Miro Ito), Nara Palace Site Historical Park, January 2025 (Japan)
Film shorts (16 mins): Heijō Palace Site and Five Nearby Temples — Eastern Terminus of the Silk Roads
ー Co-existing & Co-creating Across Time (hosted by JACCCO), Hibiya Library & Museum, February 2025 (Tokyo, Japan)
Keynote speaker with Zen Master Nanrei Yokota
Miro Ito’s talk & screening: The Great Buddha Lives!
Asuka-Fujiwara – Japan’s ancient capitals where the Ritsuryō System and Buddhist Culture first flourished in Japan was screened with Miro Ito’s five part lecture series at the Nara Palace Site Historical Park, August 2023 – February 2024.
− Prince Shōtoku: A Beacon of East-Asian Wisdom and Aesthetics, Shining from Antiquity to the Future was shown at Miro Ito’s lecture, presented by The Industry Club of Tokyo, February 2023.
− Nara, Japan’s first imperial capital and the eastern terminus of the Silk Road – a cultural corridor to 1400 years of spiritual tradition (33 mins) was presented at the exhibition co-organised by Nara Prefecture and Tsinghua University to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the normalisation of postwar Sino-Japanese diplomatic relations at the Tsinghua University Art Museum in Beijing—as an integral part of the Sense for Beauty Across Two Countries: Cultural Exchanges Between Japan and China During the Han and Tang Dynasties exhibition—September to December 2022.
− Nara, Japan’s first imperial capital and the eastern terminus of the Silk Road – a cultural corridor to 1400 years of spiritual tradition (33 mins) and The Great Buddha Lives! (7 mins) were shown at Miro Ito’s lecture, Two Sages of Japan: Prince Shōtoku and Emperor Shōmu, held by Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan and Nara Prefecture, Nara, October 2021.
− Nara, Japan’s first imperial capital and the eastern terminus of the Silk Road – a cultural corridor to 1400 years of spiritual tradition (33 mins) was shown at the event entitled Nara – a cultural corridor to 1400 years of spiritual tradition, held Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan and Nara Prefecture, Nara, February 2021.
− Life of Masks–Bugaku at Kasuga-taisha Shrine and Wakamiya Onmatsuri Festival (11 mins) was shown at Miro Ito’s lecture, presented by Nara Prefecture, Jan.-Feb. 2021.
− The Four Heavenly Kings – Magnificent Figures Epitomising Valour at the Todai-ji, Toshodai-ji, Daian-ji and Kofuku-ji Temples in Nara (20 mins) was shown at the Four Heavenly Kings Symposium, during the Nara Otateyama Festival, January 2021.
− Gigaku: Road of Masks (7.5 mins) was shown at the Nara Silk Road Symposium 2019 in Nara, during Miro Ito’ engagement as a panelist, held by the Cultural Agency of Japan; Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism; Nara Prefecture, Nara, October 2019.
− Gigaku: Road of Masks (7.5 mins) was shown at the National Bardo Museum in Tunis, during Miro Ito’s speaking engagement at the opening event, accompanying the exhibition, Road of Light, held by the Embassy of Japan in September 2019.
− Gigaku: Road of Masks (7.5 min.) and Life of Masks–Bugaku at Kasuga-taisha Shrine and Wakamiya Onmatsuri Festival (11 mins) were shown as video installations at the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens, during the exhibition, Road of Light and Hope, Jan.-Feb. 2019.
− Gigaku: Road of Masks (7.5 mins) and Life of Masks–Bugaku at Kasuga-taisha Shrine and Wakamiya Onmatsuri Festival (11 mins) were shown at the Byzantine and Christian Museum in Athens, during the affiliated lecture, accompanying the exhibition, Road of Light, held by the Embassy of Japan in Greece, January 2019.
− Gigaku: Road of Masks (7.5 mins) and Life of Masks–Bugaku at Kasuga-taisha Shrine and Wakamiya Onmatsuri Festival (11 mins) were shown as video installations at the National Museum of World Cultures in Mexico City, during the exhibition, Road of Light and Hope, Nov.-Dec. 2018.
− Gigaku: Road of Masks (7.5 mins) and Life of Masks–Bugaku at Kasuga-taisha Shrine and Wakamiya Onmatsuri Festival (11 mins) were shown at the Consulate General of Japan in Chicago, during the Artist’s Talk, accompanying the exhibition, Signs of the Intangible, November 2018.
− Gigaku: Road of Masks (7.5 mins) and Life of Masks–Bugaku at Kasuga-taisha Shrine and Wakamiya Onmatsuri Festival (11 mins) were shown at the National Museum of World Cultures in Mexico City, during the affiliated lecture, accompanying the exhibition, Road of Light, held by the Japan Foundation, Mexico, November 2018.
− The Great Buddha Lives! (7 mins) and Gigaku: Road of Masks (7.5 mins) were shown at the Centro Cultural Correios Rio de Janeiro as part of Month of Japan (Mês do Japão), during Miro Ito’s speaking engagement for the opening event, accompanying the exhibition, Road of Light and Hope, held by the Consulate General of Rio de Janeiro, July 2018.
− Gigaku: Road of Masks (7.5 mins) and Life of Masks–Bugaku at Kasuga-taisha Shrine and Wakamiya Onmatsuri Festival (11 mins) were shown at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (Toronto), during the Artist’s Talk, accompanying the exhibition, Signs of the Intangible, June 2018.
− The Great Buddha Lives! (7 mins) and Gigaku: Road of Masks (7.5 mins) were shown at the Consulate General of Japan in Chicago, accompanying the exhibition, Road of Light and Hope, November 2017.
− The Great Buddha Lives! (7 mins) were shown as a video installation at the exhibition, Road of Light and Hope, Japan Foundation, Toronto, March -June 2017.
− The Great Buddha Lives! (7 mins) and Gigaku: Road of Masks (7.5 mins) and Life of Masks–Bugaku at Kasuga-taisha Shrine and Wakamiya Onmatsuri Festival (11 min.) were shown at the Japan Foundation, Toronto, during the Artist’s Talk, accompanying the exhibition, Road of Light and Hope, May 2017.
− Gigaku: Road of Masks (7.5 mins) and Life of Masks–Bugaku at Kasuga-taisha Shrine and Wakamiya Onmatsuri Festival (11 mins) were shown as video installations at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg during the exhibition, Road of Light and Hope, November 2016.
− The Great Buddha Lives! (7 mins) was shown at the Tōdaiji Museum (2011-2012).
− Gigaku: Road of Masks (7.5 mins) (Written, photographed and directed by Miro Ito, Editorial supervision: Tōdaiji Temple, Music: Sukeyasu Shiba) was shown at the Tōdaiji Museum (2012-2013).
− The Great Buddha Lives! (7 mins) was shown at the Tōdaiji Temple Cultural Center, 2010 (as part of The 7th Great Buddha Symposium).
− Commemorative Event of 1300th Anniversary of Heijō-kyo (Nara), Japan’s 1st Imperial Capital + Canon EXPO, Tokyo, 2010.
The Great Buddha Lives! (7 mins) (Written, photographed and directed by Miro Ito, Editorial supervision: Tōdaiji Temple, Music by Yasuhiro Morinaga)
Life of Masks–Bugaku at Kasuga-taisha Shrine and Wakamiya On-matsuri Festival (11 mins) (Written, photographed/filmed and directed by Miro Ito, Editorial supervision: Kan’ichi Kasagi/Nantogakuso, Music by Nantogakuso)
(Last update: June 2026)
🔶 Photo Exhibitions
Conceived & Produced by Media Art League
Photo Art & text by Miro Ito
🔸 Global Touring exhibition series: The Historical Significance of Hōryū-ji Temple and Prince Shōtoku
Her latest project explores the historical significance of Hōryū-ji Temple, Japan’s first UNESCO World Heritages site with the world’s oldest wooden building as a testament to East-West exchanges in ancient times along the Silk Roads, through extremely rare photographic and artistic materials. The Hōryū-ji’s invaluable collection of Buddhist art, that includes numerous National Treasures and designated cultural property that epitomise the cultural zenith of East Asia during the 7th century (the Asuka period).
Poster: La importancia histórica del templo Hōryū-ji y el príncipe Shōtoku (Historical Significance of Hōryū-ji Temple and Prince Shōtoku)
By offering a glimpse into the art and traditions of Hōryū-ji Temple, which inherited the finest cultural artefacts of East Asia via the Silk Roads, the exhibition aims to shed light on the spirit of harmony espoused by Prince Shōtoku in his Seventeen-Article Constitution (604), and shared wisdom of East Asia, culminating in a fusion of Confucianism and Buddhism. In today’s increasingly fragmented world, the significance of this wisdom from 1,400 years ago is a resounding appeal for our present and our future.
Prospectus: La importancia histórica del templo Hōryū-ji y el príncipe Shōtoku
The overseas premiere of the exhibition The Historical Significance of Hōryū-ji Temple and Prince Shōtoku launched during The 25th Salamanca Cultural Week of Japan (Spain) at the University of Salamanca’s Spanish Japanese Cultural Center (Centro Cultural Hispano Japoés) in March 2026 before touring the world.
🔸Global Touring exhibition series: Road of Light and Hope
Media Art League’s ongoing globally touring exhibition, short-film screening & lecture series entitled Road of Light and Hope: National Treasures of Tōdai-ji Temple are currently presented at its 13th venue of the 11th country: Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center (University of Salamanca (Spain) from 29th Sept. to 18th Dec in 2026.
“Road of Light and Hope: National Treasures of Todai-ji Temple, Nara” at Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center, Salamanca (Spain)
“Road of Light and Hope: National Treasures of Todai-ji Temple, Nara”at the Japan Foundation, Toronto
Road of Light and Hope has already been shown at 12 venues of 10 countries between 2016 and 2019. Supported by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and overseas Embassies/Consulates, Road of Light and Hope launched at United Nations Headquarters (New York) in 2016, followed by exhibitions, speaking engagements and film screenings as integral parts of Japan’s commemorative ceremonies and events abroad in renowned venues such as: Ikuo Hirayama International Caravanserai of Cultures (Tashkent); The Council of Europe and Lieu d’ Europe (Strasbourg); Japan Foundation (Toronto) and Consulate General of Japan in Chicago; Rio de Janeiro Post Office Cultural Center for Japan Month; National Museum of World Cultures (Mexico City); Byzantine and Christian Museum (Athens); Bardo National Museum (Tunis); Nara Palace Historical Park; Centro Cultural Peruano Japonés (Lima).
Exhibition: “Road of Light and Hope” at the Council of Europe (Co-organized by Consulate General of Japan in Strasbourg, Media Art League, Japan Camera Industry Institute)
To highlight the crossroads of aesthetic art exchanges between East and West, the selected cultural treasures are Buddhist sculpture masterpieces (incl. Gigaku masks) from the 8th century of the Tōdai-ji Temple as well as the 12th century Bugaku masks of the Kasuga-Taisha Shrine; both sites are part of the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site: Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara.
“Road of Light and Hope” as part of “Japan Month (Mês do Japão 2018) “, Rio de Janeiro
The core message of this project is the shared ancient Eurasian wisdom which arrived in Japan 1300 years ago via the Silk Roads and still survives to this day in the form of art. The project’s purpose is to present this Eurasian trail where beauty and wisdom interacted as both a Road of Light and Hope and the Road of the Vairocana Buddha’s introduction to Japan, where an all-inclusive vision—in which everyone is a part of everything and all is interconnected—emerged.
🔸Global Touring exhibition series: Signs of the Intangible
Signs of the Intangible, Japanese Canadian Culture Centre, Toronto
Ito’s other ongoing series of integrated exhibition, short-film screenings & lecture—Signs of the Intangible—showcases Japan’s visual mind-and-body-unity culture, with its 14 centuries long history, from a unique perspective.
With its eponymous print edition published in January 2023, it continues to circle the globe—accompanied by three of Ito’s short films on Gigaku and Bugaku as well as The Origins of the Noh Theatre: a Cosmos Named Okina.
The exhibition was presented both in Toronto and Chicago—before the COVID-19 pandemic—at Toronto’s Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) as well as at Chicago’s Japanese Consulate-General—in conjunction with a lecture series at the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, Northwestern University.
Initially, part of this series was shown at the NY Public Library for Performing Arts (Lincoln Center) under the title: Men at Dance — from Noh to Butoh: Japanese Performing Arts, Past and Present in 2007/2008: a tie-in exhibition to the 2007 NY Butoh Festival.
Men at Dance — from Noh to Butoh at Lincoln Center, NY
Signs of the Intangible has been established as a more extensive exhibition & screening series, introducing the origins of the performing arts tradition surviving in Japan for fourteen centuries as dedicatory performances: from Gigaku, Bugaku to Noh up to—and including— contemporary Butoh.
Representative Photo Exhibitions—click here
🔶Representative Photo Exhibitions
🔸Spain
– Road of Light and Hope: National Treasures of Todai-ji Temple, 29th September to 18th December 2026, Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center (Centro Cultural Hispano Japonés)/University of Salamanca (Organised by: Centro Cultural Hispano Japonés; co-organised by Media Art League and Japan Camera Industry Institute; endorsed by Embassy of Japan in Spain and Japan Foundation, Madrid).
– The Historical significance of Hōryū-ji Temple and Prince Shōtoku, 16th March to 19th June 2026, Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center (Centro Cultural Hispano Japonés)/University of Salamanca in commemoration of the 25th Salamanca Cultural Week of Japan (Organised by: Centro Cultural Hispano Japonés; co-organised by Japan Authentic Heritage Initiative and Japan Camera Industry Institute; endorsed by Embassy of Japan in Spain and Japan Foundation, Madrid).
🔸Peru
– Road of Light and Hope: Photo Exhibition of National Treasures and Important Cultural Property of Japan, November 2019, Asociacion Peruano Japonesa in commemoration of the 120th -year history of Japanese Immigration to Peru (co-organised by: Embassy of Japan in Peru, Asociacion Peruano Japonesa, Media Art League, Japan Camera Industry Institute; endorsed by National Federation of UNESCO in Japan).
🔸Tunisia
– Road of Light and Hope: A Voyage of Hellenism to Japan- Photographs and Text by Miro Ito, the Bardo National Museum, Tunis, September – October, 2019, commemorating the 50- years of the Japanese Embassy in Tunisia (co-organised by: Tunisian Ministry of Cultural Affairs, Bardo National Museum, Embassy of Japan in Tunisia, Japan Camera Industry Institute and Media Art League; endorced by National Federation of UNESCO in Japan).
🔸Greece
– Road of Light and Hope: A Voyage of Hellenism to Japan- Photographs and Text by Miro Ito, the Byzantine and Christian Museum, January -February 2019, as the kick-off of the commemorative event of the 120th anniversary of Greece-Japan diplomatic ties, Athens (co-organised by the Embassy of Japan in Greece/Byzantine and Christian Museum/Japan Camera Industry Institute /Media Art League; endorced by National Federation of UNESCO in Japan).
🔸Mexico
– Road of Light and Hope: National Treasures of Todai-ji Temple – Photographs by Miro Ito, the National Museum of World Culture, November -December 2018, as the commemorative event of the 140th anniversary of Mexico-Japan diplomatic relations, Mexico City (co-organised by the Japan Foundation Mexico City/Mexican Ministry of Cultures/Media Art League/Japan Camera Industry Institute; endorced by National Federation of UNESCO in Japan).
🔸Brazil
– Road of Light and Hope: National Treasures of Japan – Photographs by Miro Ito, the Centro Cultural Correios Rio de Janeiro as part of Month of Japan (Mês do Japão), 4th -29th July 2018, in commemoration of the 110th-year history of Japanese Immigration to Brazil (co-organised by the Consulate General of Japan, Rio de Janeiro/Japan Foundation/Instituto Cultural Brasil-Japão (ICBJ)/ Media Art League/Japan Camera Industry Institute; endorced by National Federation of UNESCO in Japan).
Mês do Japão (Japan Month), Rio de Janeiro 2018
🔸Canada
– Signs of the Intangible: Bodyscapes of Japan’s 1400 Years of Performing Arts, May-June 2018 in commemoration of the 90th Anniversary of Japan-Canada Diplomatic Relations (co-organised by: Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto/Media Art League/Japan Camera Industry Institute, supported by Consulate General of Japan in Toronto; endorced by National Federation of UNESCO in Japan).
Signs of the Intangible, Japanese Canadian Culture Centre, Toronto
– Road of Light and Hope: National Treasures of Todai-ji Temple, Nara – Photographs by Miro Ito, March – June 2017, co-organised by the Japan Foundation, Toronto/Media Art League/Japan Camera Industry Institute/Japan Foundation, Toronto).
🔸USA
– Signs of the Intangible: Bodyscapes of Japan’s 1400 Years of Performing Arts, Japan Information Center/Consulate General of Japan, ChicagoNovember 2018 (co-organised by: Consulate General of Japan, Chicago/Media Art League/ Japan Camera Industry Institute; endorced by National Federation of UNESCO in Japan).
– Road of Light and Hope -National Treasures of Todai-ji Temple, Nara, Japan Information Center/Consulate General of Japan, Chicago, November 2017 in commemoration of its 120-year history (co-organised by: Consulate General of Japan, Chicago/Media Art League/ Japan Camera Industry Institute) .
– Road of Light and Hope: Cosmopolitanism Embodied in the Vairocana Buddha of the Tôdai-ji Temple – Photo Exhibition of National Treasures of Japan, UN Headquarters, New York, on occasion of the United Nations Day of Vesak 2016 (co-organised by: Permanent Mission of Japan to the U.N., Media Art League Japan Camera Industry Institute).
– Men at Dance – From Noh to Butoh: Japanese Performing Arts, Past and Present, New York Public Library for Performing Arts, Lincoln Center (2007 – 2008) as tie-in exhibition to the 2007 NY Butoh Festival (supported by Consulate General of Japan in New York).
🔸France
– Road of Light and Hope (Photo exhibition of National Treasures and Important Cultural Property of Japan), co-organised by the Council General of Japan in Strasbourg /Media Art League / Japan Camera Industry Institute, the Council of Europe + Le lieu d’Europe, Strasbourg, 2016).
Road of Light and Hope, the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, France
🔸Uzbekistan
– Road of Light and Hope: The Eternal Cosmopolitanism Weaving Along the Silk Road (Photo exhibition of National Treasures and Important Cultural Property of Japan), co-organized by the Academy of the Arts of Uzbekistan / Japan Camera Industry Institute, the International Caravanserai of Cultures of Ikuo Hirayama, Tashkent, 2016).
🔸Japan
– Road of Light and Hope: A Voyage of Hellenism to Japan via the Silk Road, Izanaikan Hall of Heijo Palace (Nara Imperial Palace) as the kick-off event of the Nara Silk Road Symposium, November 2019,
(co-organised by: Ministry of Land, Transportation and Infrastructure, Nara Prefecture, Media Art League, Japan Camera Industry Institute)
– Road of Light: Ancient Route of Prayer and Dedicatory Arts in Asia, Canon EXPO, Tokyo, November 2010.
– Masks, Performance, Life’s Energy: Visitor from Past and Future – featuring Mannojo Nomura on the 1st anniversary of his death, Canon S Tower, Tokyo, and two other venues, June 2005.
– Mannojo Nomura’s NipponGaku -Traditional Japanese Dance and Performance, Japan Camera Industry Institute (joint exhibition series with Mayumi Moriyama, Chairperson of JCII, & Japanese Minister of Justice [2001 – 03], Minister of Education [1992-93]), Tokyo, June 2004.
– Monochrome Digital Bodyscapes, Canon Salon (Tokyo / Osaka / Nagoya), 2003.
test-patches by 66b/cell
(“Monochrome Digital Bodyscapes” by Miro Ito)
– Mannojo Nomura’s Mask Road, Japan Camera Industry Institute (same as above), Tokyo, June 2003.
🔸Germany
– Butoh : Encounter with the Flower Named Body, Japanese Culture Week in Frankfurt,Germany, 1997.
🔶Representative International Group Exhibitions
– Dedication of Flowers (Kenka) exhibition by 15 Japanese and U.S. women photographers in commemoration of the Heisei Restoration of the Kondō of Tōshōdaiji Temple”, Tokyo National Museum, 2005.
🔶Collections
New York Public Library for Performing Arts, Japan Camera Industry Institute (JCII), Tōdaiji Museum, Kasuga-taisha Kokuhoukan Treasure House
Academic Lectures—click here
🔶 Representative Academic Lectures & Symposia
– Two Sages of Japan: Prince Shōtoku and Emperor Shōmu by Miro Ito (The Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center/University of Salamanca), March 2026 (Spain)
– • Co-existing & Co-creating Across Time by Miro Ito (The Spanish-Japanese Cultural Center/University of Salamanca), March 2026 (Spain)
− Ancient Nara — A Tale of Three Cities: Asuka-kyō/Fujiwara-kyō/Heijo-kyō (5 part lecture series) at the Nara Palace Site Historical Park from August 2023 to February 2024 (Japan)
– Two Sages of Japan: Prince Shōtoku and Emperor Shōmu by Miro Ito (hosted by The Industry Club of Japan), February 2022 (Japan)
– The Sacred Beginnings: The Story of the Four Temples of Yamato—Flowers, Buddhist Statues and Events at the Man’yo Museum in Nara (held by Nara Prefecture), October 2022 (Japan)
– Two Sages of Japan: Prince Shōtoku and Emperor Shōmu by Miro Ito: As commemorative special lecture (held by Cultural Agency of Japan/Nara Prefecture) of the Nara Chrysanthemum Doll Exhibition (Japan), October 2021 (Japan)
– Participation as panelist to the Nara Silk Road Symposium 2019
（co-organized by Nara Prefecture; Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs; Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport & Tourism of Japan）
– DNA of Japanese Traditional Architecture by Miro Ito: As part of a photo exhibition, Edo/Tokyo – Seen through its edifices (JCII Collection)
Consulate-General of Japan (USA)
– Artist Talk with two short film screenings, an affiliated program to the exhibition, Byzantine and Christian Museum, January 2019 (Greece)
– El Arte como medio es un mensaje para la Universalidad. Camino de Luz y Esperanza: el sendero euroasiatico de la sabiduria, Museum Library, Museo Nacional de las Culturas del Mundo, Mexico City, November 2018 (Mexico)
– Signs of the Intangible with two short film screenings, an affiliated lecture to the exhibition with the same title, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, Northwestern University, November 2018 (USA)
– Affiliated lecture of the exhibition, Road of Light and Hope: A Eurasian Trail of Wisdom (Caminho de Luz e Esperanca: A trilha eurasians da sabedoria), Department of Japanese, Rio de Janeiro State University (UERJ), July 2018 (Brazil)
– The Last of the Samurai: the Tokugawa Shogunate delegation and the Iwakura Mission to the USA, a short lecture for the 150th anniversary of Meiji Restoration, Department of Asian Languages and Studies, Northwestern University, April 2018 (USA)
– Art as Media a Message for Universality: presentation for Visual and Material Perspectives on East Asia, Department of Art History, University of Chicago, November 2017 (USA)
– Affliated lecture: Photography of Tōdaiji Sculptures: Art as Media is a Message for Universality, Arts & Letters Hall, Department of Art History, DePaul University, Chicago, October 2017 (USA)
– Artist Talk, an affiliated event to the exhibition, Road of Light and Hope, Japan Foundation, Toronto, May 2017 (Canada)
🔶Other Lectures
– Lecture commemorating Ito’s book publication (Gokui de manabu Shashin gokoro by Film Art), Yaesu Book Center, February 2012 (Japan)
– Creative lecture for designers and product design staff of MAZDA, Mazda Research Center, 2003 (Japan)
A Commemorative lecture: “Two Sages of Japan: Prince Shōtoku and Emperor Shōmu (as part of a course at the University of Salamanca), March 2026
(Photo: Centro Cultural Hispano Japonés, Universidad de Salamanca)
Miro Ito’s lecture at University of Chicago, October 2017
🔶Historical Photo Exhibitions on Japanese Culture and Custom
Collection from JCII (Co-organised by Media Art League)
- − Edo/Tokyo – Seen through its edifices
Consulate-General of Japan (Chicago); Japan Fest, Chicago Cultural Center, April 2019 (Hosted by Consulate General of Japan, Chicago/Presented by Japan Camera Industry Institute/Co-organised by Media Art League).
- − The LAST of the SAMURAI, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Toronto, June-August 2018 in commemoration of the 90th Anniversary of Japan-Canada Diplomatic Relations (Hosted by Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto/Presented by Japan Camera Industry Institute/Co-organised by Media Art League).
“The LAST of the SAMURAI”, Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, Toronto
- − The LAST of the SAMURAI, Japan Information Center, Consulate General of Japan, Chicago, April 2018 in commemoration of its 120-year history (Hosted by Consulate General of Japan, Chicago/Presented by Japan Camera Industry Institute/Co-organised by Media Art League).
Last Update: 29th September 2026
Book Publications on Japanese Cultural Heritage
🔶Solo Book Projects
– Signs of the Intangible—Body-mind-scapes of Japan’s 1400 Years of Performing Arts
Conceived ＆ Produced : Media Art League
Edited by Japan Authentic Heritage Initiative
Author: Miro Ito
Cover: Signs of the Intangible (by MIRO ITO）published by Media Art League
Media Art League (publisher)/Japan Authentic Heritage Initiative (editing) published its first art photo art book edition early 2023: Signs of the Intangible—Body-mind-scapes of Japan’s 1400 Years of Performing Arts collects a series of photographs by photo-artist Miro Ito, presenting a visual history of Japan’s 1400-year mind-and-body-unity culture from a unique perspective. The 106 photographs include new and unpublished works together with newly-written art essays by the author herself: it also serves as the catalogue for the eponymous international exhibition series.
”Encyclopedia of Japanese Family Crests –1400 Years of Beauty & Tradition”
Conceived, Produced & Edited: Media Art League
Author: Miro Ito
– Encyclopedia of Japanese Family Crests: 1400 Years of Beauty & Tradition (Nihon no Kamon to Seishi: Dentohbi to Keifu), Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing, 2013 (Japan)
– Photographer’s Bible: (Cutting-Edge Photography: Themes, Composition, Lighting & Fine-tuning) (all text & photos), Seibundo Shinkosha Publishing, 2012 (Japan)
– Heart of Photography: Rules and Aesthetics in Photography (Gokui de manabu Shashin gokoro) (all text & photos), Film Art, 2011 (Japan)
– Encounter with the Fundamentals of Life in Nara (Kokorono Sumika Nara – Inochino Kongen Narumono to no Deai) (all text & photos), Random House Kodansha, 2010 (Japan)
Manzairaku
Conceived by Media Art League
Photo & Text by Miro Ito
Author: Miro Ito
– Miseru Shashinjjutsu (Enthralling Photography: Theme, Composition, Technique) (all text & photos), selected for inclusion in The Japan Library Association’s official reading list), MdN Corporation, 2007 (Japan)
– ManzaiRaku: Mannojo Nomura + Miro Ito (photographs/text by M. Ito), Nippon Camera, 2004 (Japan)
– The Art of Photography in the Digital Era: Views on Photography in the future (Digital jidai no Shashinjutsu) (co-authored), 2000 (Japan)
🔶Catalogue Edition
– Photographs and Haiku Poems dedicated to Ganjinwajo and Vairocana Buddha of Tōshōdaiji Temple/Catalogue Edition for “Dedication of Flowers” exhibition, 2005 (Japan)
Representative Publications in Photography Specialty Magazines in Japan/Europe (Japanese-culture related)—click here
🔶Representative Publications in Photography Specialty Magazines in Japan/Europe (Japanese-culture related)
(except media related assignments)
– Asahi Camera/Jan. 2012 (10 pp., Japan)
– Asahi Camera/Jan. 2010 (7 pp., Japan)
– Asahi Camera/Oct. 2008 (8 pp., Japan)
– Nippon Camera/Dec. 2006 (4 pp., Japan)
– Nippon Camera/Dec. 2004 (6 pp., Japan)
※Reference:《Publishing & Educational Activities》
Other Publications: Exhibitions, Portfolios, Interviews & Book Reviews on Japanese Cultural Heritage
🔶 Exhibition Related Publications (publication name/issue/title)
Le Temps (The Times)/20th September 2019, Tunisia/A Japanese photographer visits the Mediterranean: English translation—click here
Le Temps (The Times [Tunisia]) , 20th September 2019
| English |
| A Japanese photographer visits the Mediterranean |
| From among the art works exhibited in three museums, Miro Ito is proceeding to research Mediterranean influences that may have reached Japan and exchanges between East and West since antiquity.
A collection of fifty of her works are being exhibited on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Japan’s embassy to Tunisia. |
| The approach of photographer Miro Ito’s is inscribed in her personal and aesthetic reading of Japanese spirituality, which she —through her work— strives to demonstrate with vitality and universality. Often, this photographer seeks inspiration at the Todaiji Temple in Nara and thus more profoundly becomes enthralled by the irrefutable beauty of fascinating ancient statuary. |
| The fascination of ancient statuary
Miro Ito looks to contribute to peace and the promotion of a certain form of perfection which might be ascetic, while closely linked to notions of light and hope. The approach of photographer Miro Ito’s is inscribed in her personal and aesthetic reading of Japanese spirituality, which she —through her work— strives to demonstrate with vitality and universality. Her journeys took her to Germany, North America as well as the Mediterranean where she became enthralled by the ancient statuary and masks of our distant heritage. Miro Ito found herself in Athens and then in Tunis to photograph ancient artifacts there while seeking the seeds of interculturality that provided links to Japanese traditions. |
| This approach resulted in a collection of fifty photos which will be exhibited at the Bardo Museum from 21st September to 5th October. Entitled “Road of Light and Hope”, this collection evokes a symbolic route between spirituality, Japan and the Mediterranean. The collection is made up of photos of statues and masks, including Phoenician works exhibited at the Bardo Museum. It also includes works photographed at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens and at the Todaiji Temple.
The exhibition suggests aesthetic crossings and constitutes a luminous ode to a pantheon from which arise, in their similarities and their differences, divine statues and masks from another age. This exhibition is organised for the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the establishment of the Japanese Embassy in Tunisia and many partners including the National Federation of UNESCO Associations of Japan are involved. The fascination of ancient statuary Invisible links between East and West
Certainly, the aesthetic carried by these photographs of light and hope is admirable in the capacity of this Japanese photographer to play with the details or to establish luminous dialectics between the gray and the gold of certain statues. A real immersion at the crossroads of two universes, one Mediterranean and the other Asian. Finally, this exhibition is only one of many aspects of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Japanese embassy in Tunis being established.
Indeed, Japan will be on this occasion the guest of honor of the Cinematographic Days of Carthage, We keenly await the visit to Tunisia of director Hiroshi Fugawara who will be one of the guests of honour at the festival. In addition, a concert of traditional Japanese music will close the musical October of Carthage, with the participation of Hideaki Tsuji and Keita Kamazashi, performers of shamisen and percussion respectively. For the occasion, the photographs of Miro Ito can be seen at the Bardo National Museum in this exhibition of fifty of her images and will offer a unique look not only at Japan but also at the invisible links and ties since the dawn of time between Eastern and Western cultures. (Writer: Hatem) |
metro (July 5 2018, Brazil)
Rioshow: Os Destaques de Hoje (Rio Show: Today's Highlights (July 4 2018, Brazil)/Japan Month—Annals of the Land of the Rising Sun: English translation—click here
Rioshow: Os Destaques de Hoje (Rio Show: Today’s Highlights (July 4 2018, Rio de Janeiro/Brazil)
| English translation |
| Rio show
Today’s Highlights |
| Japan Month
Annals of the Land of the Rising Sun |
| Lugia Dias Andrade |
| A series of admission-free attractions are being hosted in the Centro Cultural Correios (Cultural Centre of the Postal Service), as of today, to commemorate 110 years of Japanese immigration to Brazil.
Activities include exhibitions, film screenings and cultural workshops. |
| Among the exhibitions, the highlight is “Road of Light and Hope: the Eurasian Trail of Wisdom – Connecting East and West, North and South” by photographer Miro Ito, which brings together 50 rare photographic images on washi paper* of Buddha and National Treasures of the Todai-ji Temple in Nara, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Among the photos is one of the statue of the Great Buddha Vairocana (see photo), from 728 AD, a symbol of resilience for the Japanese.
(*translator’s note: images are printed on Japanese washi paper; instead of sheepskin (pergaminho). |
DNA(Les Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alsace)/Nov. 25, 2016, France/Light and Hope<em>—</em>A travers le regard de la photographe Miro Ito: French text with English translation—click here
Strasbourg
De la lumiere et de l’espoir
Light and Hope
A travers le regard de la photographe Miro Ito. DR
Through the eyes of photographer Miro Ito. DR
Dans le cadre des celebrations du 20e anniveraire de l’accession du Japon au statut d’obervateur aupres du Consell de l’Europe, le consulat du Japon a Strasbourg presente une exposition de photographies de Miro Ito au lieu d’Europe. Route de la lumiere et de l’espoir – illustration des influencees de la civilisation greco-romaine sur le Japon – part sur les traces des tres anciens echanges entre Orient et Occident.
As part of the celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of Japan’s obtaining observer status at the Council of Europe, the Japanese consulate in Strasbourg presents an exhibition of photographs by Miro Ito at the Lieu d’Europe*. Road of Light and Hope – illustration of the influences of the Greco-Roman civilization on Japan – follows in the footsteps of very ancient exchanges between East and West.
(*translator’s note: Lieu d’Europe is an exhibition pavilion belonging to the EU).
Cette exposition se compose de phototraphies de statues et de masques conserves dans les temples de Nara, ainsi que de deux films, qui sont un tribut aux hommes de toutes ethnies et de toutes religions, qui ont a travers les siècles contribue a l’actuelle philosophie bouddhiste japonaise.
Miro Ito est artiste, photographe, auteure et productice.
This exhibition comprises photos of statues and masks preserved in the temples of Nara, as well as two films, which are a tribute to people of all ethnicities and all religions, who have contributed through the centuries to contemporary Japanese Buddhist philosophy.
Miro Ito is an artist, photographer, author and producer.
Jusqu’au 16 decembre, au Lieu d’Europe, 8 rue Boecklin a Strasbourg. Ouvert du mardi au dimanceh de 10h a 19h. (tel) 03 88 52 85 00
Until 16th December, at the Lieu d’Europe, 8 rue Boecklin, Strasbourg. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (tel) 03 88 52 85 00
🔶Portfolio Publications (publication name/issue/title)
Asahi Camera/Jan. 2012 (Noh Performers, 10 pp., Japan)
A Dance (Ko Murobushi, by Alexander Barabanov, Jonathan Cape, London, 2011)
Asahi Camera/Jan. 2010 (Gangōji Temple, 7 pp., Japan)
Asahi Camera/Oct. 2008 (Tōdaiji Temple, 8 pp., Japan)
Commercial Photo/Dec.2007 (Okina by Hodaka Komparu, 2pp., Japan)
Nippon Camera/Dec. 2006 (Quick Silver, 4 pp., Japan)
Nippon Camera/Dec. 2004 (ManzaiRaku, 6 pp., Japan)
Commercial Photo – Digital Printing Technology/ 2004 (Monochrome Digital Bodyscpaes, 3 pp., Japan)
Shunie (February Ritual) of Tōdaiji Temple appeared in Miro Ito’s portfolio in Asahi Camera (Japan)
🔶Official Images
Official Poste /Banner/Flyer of Month of Japan (Mês do Japão) 2018, Rio de Janeiro
Official Poster of 2007 New York Butoh Festival
Official Poster of 2006 Venice Biennale (Dance Section)
Images of Ko Murobushi were used as official posters for several international dance festivals including Vienna, London, etc.
NY Butoh Festival − Official Image
Photo: Miro Ito/Butoh Dancer: Ko Murobushi
🔶Interviews (on Miro Ito’s photo essay)
Mainichi Newspaper (24 June 2010)
Nara Shimbun Newspaper (13 May 2010)
Yomiuri Shimbun Newspaper (23 March 2010): English translation—click here
]Title: Home of Life and Prayer Nara (Book)
Translated by Andreas Boettcher
Miro Ito, photographer and author who has mainly been active in Europe and the United States, published her photo essay Kokoro no sumika nara: inochino kongen narumono to no deai (literally, Haven of the Heart, Nara: Encounter with the fundamentals of life) by Random House Kodansha (*1) price: JPY 1,905 (excl. tax).
One of her images from a sequence of butoh performances was selected as official poster for the 2006 Venice Biennale – Dance Section. While she has successfully been active overseas, she encountered the events of 9.11 in NYC. Immediately after that, she found the message expressed by Abbot Emeritus Shoen Hashimoto at his inaugural address dedicated to the Great Buddha: “equality and solidarity” and “tolerance and perseverance” on the internet and “was moved by the universal appeal of these words that transcend the diversity of religions”.
In an endeavour to research Japan’s rich spiritual culture, she temporary relocated there in 2004. While visiting Nara’s shrines and temples and participating in its Buddhist rituals, she became convinced that this city is a haven of life and prayer preserving teachings of “what it means to live and let live”, where “the conviction that Nara is a haven of life and prayer preserving the teachings on what it means to live and let live”, while visiting the city’s shrines and temples and participating in its Buddhist rituals.
The book includes some 40 photographs of the Omizutori (*2) ritual of Todaiji’s Nigatsudo Hall, ceremonies of Toshodaiji as well as Gangoji Temple. Interviews with such prominent personages as Kosei Morimoto (Abbot Emeritus of Todaiji Temple) and Akio Okamoto (head priest of Kasuga-taisha Shrine) are also introduced.
She is planning to publish her second book related to Nara and stated that she “wants to tackle this as her life’s work since the spiritual culture in Nara is the common heritage of all peoples.” (by Yasuo Hayakawa, The Yomiuri Shimbun)
Translator’s note:
*1) Random House Kodansha is now known as Takeda Random House since April 2010.
*2) The formal name of Omizutori is Shunie (February Ritual).
🔶Book Reviews (name of magazine/issue/title)
Weekly Toyo Keizai/20 June 2010/Haven of the Heart: Nara—Author Miro Ito: English translation—click here
🔶Haven of the Heart: Nara Author: Miro Ito
Translated by Andreas Boettcher
Author Miro Ito’s photographs strike a chord close to the core of Japan’s religions that permeates the historic strata of Nara’s temples and shrines; each of her images has an atmosphere that seems to make the existence of deities tangible.
These are highly artistic images worthy of large coffee-table books. However, in keeping with the author’s desire of making this volume accessible to a wider audience, it is put together in regular-sized photo-essay format. Nonetheless, the impact of the photographs is not lost, vividly conveying the author’s impressions of “the haven of the heart, Nara”. A lot of care went into the artwork of the book jacket design; and if one removes it, one finds an unexpected golden embossed image on the book surface.
It is also fascinating that this book includes messages of some of Nara’s representative scholars such as Abbot Emeritus Kosei Morimoto of the Todaiji Temple, Myogen Nishiyama of the Toshodaiji Temple, Taizen Tsujimura, the head monk of the Gangoji Temple as well as Akio Okamoto, Chief Shinto priest of the Kasuga-taisha Shrine. Although their ability to easily speak about how to lead one’s life is astonishing, each of their words reaches heart of the reader.
With this year being the 1300th anniversary of’ Nara’s establishment (under its original name of Heijokyo), the message of this book is even more appropriate.
Weekly Toyo Keizai/27 November 2004/This Week’s Recommendation: English translation—click here
[This Week’s Recommendation]
ManzaiRaku: Extensively and leisurely observing, to the farthest horizon…
Works of Mannojo Nomura by Miro Ito
Published by Nihon Camera / JPY3,990
Profile of Miro Ito
Photographer/author. After graduating Keio University (major: aesthetics and fine art history), she studied philosophy at the Ruhr University in Bochum as well as photography and applied art in the faculty of communication design at Essen University in Germany.
Portrait of a young kyogen master whose career once flourished…
(reviewed by Akiko Moriyama, Professor of the Musashino University of Art, translated by Andreas Boettcher)
One might wonder why Japanese society needs kyogen master Mannjo Nomura on the cusp of the 21st century. With every flip of the page in the photo book ManzaiRaku, a deep emotion starts to stir. The prelude to Nomura’s great success was his stage direction of the closing ceremony of the Nagano Winter Paralympics in 1998. Since then he has had a strikingly successful career that took off with his own initiatives such as Shingigaku and Mask Road projects in 2001.
His Shingigaku was a recreation of gigaku (*1) performances with 23 masks that were replicas of originals preserved in the Shoso-in Treasury of the Todaiji Temple (*2). While his Shingigaku performance was expanded to South and North Korea as well as the United States, his family’s school of Yorozu Kyogen performed in several European and American cities. Moreover, he endeavoured to develop new genres such as Kaidan Kyogen (kyogen of ghost stories), Onna Kyogen (kyogen by women) as well as Reproduction: Okuni Kabuki until his death on 10th June 2004.
Miro Ito started to photograph Mannojo Nomura at his Shingigaku perfomance in Washington D.C. in 2002, while she was residing in the United States. Her digital images succeed in capturing the steep career of this visitor’s (*3) last years. Nomura’s candle burned out before he could become the 8th head of the traditional kyogen family of Manzo Nomura, whose family guidance is “Extensively and Leisurely Observing, to the Farthest Horizon…”.
At the end of this volume, 66 people have paid their respective tributes, including Yasuhiro Nakasone (Chairman of the Japan-Korea Cooperation Committee) (*4). Each of their messages contains expectation as well as sorrow. Mannojo’s own words clearly explained why: “the 21st Century is said to be the Asian Era. Shingigaku is capable of conveying what Asia is, and it heralds the advent of an era of sharing culture rather than exchanging it” (quote from Mannojo Nomura’s book Mask road: maboroshi no gigaku saigen no tabi [literally: Mask road: journey to the revived phantom of gigaku]).
It certainly seems to be the common desire of Mannojo Nomura, Miro Ito, and all the others involved in this book, that Japan foster cultural exchange by sending its sharable culture westward along the Silk Road.
Translator`s Notes:
(*1) Gigaku is probably the oldest Asian mask theater.
(*2) The Shoso-in Treasury (at the Todaiji Temple) in Nara has a collection of treasure from the 8th century.
(*3) Marebito is the original Japanese term (literally, visitor).
(*4) Former prime minister of Japan (1982-1987)
Nippoon Camera (December 2003)
🔶Exhibition Reviews (publication name only)
Asahi Camera, Commercial Photo, Monthly Cameraman, Monthly Shahin Kogyo, Spur, Esquire Special Edition: Luca, Mainichi Newspaper, Design no Genba, Prints, etc.
🔶Media Contributions (publication name/issue/title)
Mainichi Newspaper/4 August 2010/Exquisite Nara: Reminiscences of Kami and Buddha by Miro Ito: English translation—click here
[Title of the Feature: Aoniyoshi – Nara, former imperial Capital celebrating 1300th Anniversary]
Exquisite Nara: Reminiscences of Kami and Buddha by Miro Ito
(translated by Andreas Boettcher)
Visiting Nara is like a series of gem-like experiences where the tangible and the intangible interact with each other, whether it is peoples’ hearts or minds. Amidst the 1300 year tradition, —first, a gift of the kami and Buddha, and secondly, the fruits of human skills and perseverance—, our heart encounters kami and Buddha, resonating through the past, present and future.
I myself have pondered the question how to lead my life, which was instrumental in my going to Germany where I became a photo artist and art pundit. In the absence of absolutes in our transient lives, I came to sense “the eternal present” in the medium of photography, which can similarly be found in haiku-verses of the poet, Basho Matsuo.
Since then, through photography I sought to encounter the fundamentals of life, which are par se synonymous with sparks of the intangible, sacred world lying in the abyss of the “seen” world. Subsequently, I emigrated to the USA where I experienced the events of 9.11. Through my incessant quest for the fundamentals of life despite its fragility and transience, I encountered Nara.
What sustains my life is the prayer itself. In every 15th of August, the Manto-kuyo (Festival of Ten Thousand Lanterns) is held in the Todaiji Temple, when the small double-doors in front of the face of the Great Buddha are to be open. Against the background of the deep blue sky in the twilight, the Great Buddha’s golden face emerges in resplendent light. The Great Buddha statue is the enlightened Buddha himself. At the same time, this luminous giant statue symbolizes the infinite light illuminating the universe.
I sense this light as being omnipresent, enlightening our minds and heart; the Great Buddha is truly alive.
On the other hand, we encounter the word at the Mantoro (Festival of Ten Thousand Lanterns) at the Kasuga-taisha Shrine. The lantern is but a small space between dusk-like darkness and shimmering brightness, transporting the thoughts of people from the past to the future. In glittering corridors of light, the lanterns set the stage for a rendezvous with the kami.
When visiting Nara, we come to realize our lives themselves are no more than fleeting moments amidst the eternally changing and flowing cycle of life. If there is anything unchangeable, it would be the reverence of something sacred; whether kami or Buddha.
This reverence is not based on an exclusive faith, prone to reinforce discord among religions. It should be seen as the peace at the end of the beacon of our spirituality. It is the awareness that we can help, support and complement each other joining our lives with others.
(The Mainichi Newspaper, Western Japan Edition, published in the special feature: Aoniyoshi — Nara, fomer imperial Capital celebrating 1300th Anniversary).
Mainichi Newspaper (4th August 2010)
Mantoro: Festival of ten Thousand Lanterns
Kasuga-taisha Shrine
Photo by Miro Ito
ASAHI CAMERA (January 2009) — 4 page spread: New York de Shashin no Kako/Genzai/Mirai wo Kangaeru (literally, “Thinking over Past, Present and Future of Photography from New York City”), special feature to Miro Ito’s monthly contribution, “Gokui de Manage Shashin Gokoro”)
ADVERTISING (Vol.7/10 May 2002) — 3 page spread: Post 9/11 Jinsei no nakani Shinjitsu wo! (literally, “Post 9/11 Searching for the Truth within ones lives!”), text by Miro Ito
NEXT STAGE (BS Japan) ― 11 min. broadcast: New York wa ima (literally, “What now, New York City?”), photography & poems by Miro Ito (MC: Ken’ichi Shimomura), 5th October 2001 (Japan)
WEEKLY TOYO KEIZAI (6 October 2001) — 8 page spread: I LOVE NY – In Memory of the Victims of the World Trade Center Disaster, photography & text by Miro Ito
Tribute in Light – Ground Zero
New York 2002
Photo by Miro Ito
Media Assignments
🔶Commitment to a Sustainable World
Our humble commitment as MEDIA ART LEAGUE is to promote affirmative action, utilising our modest abilities in order to spread sustainability awareness by reporting exemplary achievements around the globe, particularly in the architectural & urban planning and construction sectors.
Specifically, we interview prominent opinion leaders, leading world architects, top executives, experts/professionals to identify & present their thoughts and visions ― together with outstanding examples actually being implemented and improved on a dynamic scale for a better, sustainable urban environment.
So our modest commitment will hopefully provide a beacon of awareness, insight and involvement as to what each of us can do towards a sustainable world — through technology, art and philosophy.
A ’Tower of Light’ that Symbolises Rebirth ー One World Trade Center
(Architect: SOM) Photo by Miro Ito
🔶 Leveraging Our Experiences in Specialty Quality Publications
Miro Ito and Andreas Boettcher frequently contributed articles/features to several specialty quality publications — in the NIKKEI Group (NIKKEI Business Publications) — from the early 1990s to 2000s in Europe, Japan and the Americas. Representative articles to date include: Redevelopment of Central Berlin, Urban Planning in Frankfurt (NIKKEI ARCHITECTURE), as well as redevelopment projects in Barcelona, Paris (NIKKEI CONSTRUCTION), and Toronto (OFFICE AGE, Tokyo).
Special Features from Americas (publication name/issue/title)—click here
🔶Special Features from Americas (publication name/issue/title)
- NIKKEI CONSTRUCTION (14 November 2016 ) — 9 page spread: (Canada Toronto) Ontario Kohan ni Arata na Main Street/Queens Quay West (literally: [Civil Engineering Wonders of the World] Queens Quay West – A Rejuvenated Thoroughfare On the Shores of Lake Ontario), photography and text by Miro Ito (co-authored by Andreas Boettcher).
- NIKKEI CONSTRUCTION (12 September 2016 ) — 14 page spread:(New York State, USA) Zenchoh 5km no Toka-kyoh wo Kakekae – Bei Manhattan kara Kita 40km ( literally: [Bridge] “Construction of New Tappan Zee Bridge -“Renewal of 5 Km.- long River-spanning Bridge 40km. North of Manhattan”), text by Miro Ito + Andreas Boettcher, featuring interviews with Jamie Barbas, Khurram Saeed (NYSTA).
- NIKKEI CONSTRUCTION (22 February 2016 ) — 14 page spread: (New York City, USA) Kyodai Toshi no Chika wo Happa de Horu ( literally: “[Subway] Excavation with Subterranean Blasting in an Urban Megalopolis”), photography & text by Miro Ito (associate editor: Andreas Boettcher) featuring interview with Michael Horodniceanu (President of MTACC).
- NIKKEI ARCHITECTURE (14 January 2016) — cover photo & 6 page spread: (Connecticut State, New Canaan, USA) Bokkateki na Fuhkei ni ukabu Kawa no yhona Meisoh Kuhkan (literally, “Grace Farms river-like meditative space floating arcadian landscape”), photography & text by Miro Ito (associate editor: Andreas Boettcher).
- NIKKEI ARCHITECTURE (10 July 2015 ) — 8 page spread: (New York City, USA) Fukkatsu wo Shohchohsuru ‘Hikari no Toh’ – Tohkashinai Biru wo Mezasu (literally, “One World Trade Center: A ’Tower of Light’ that Symbolizes Rebirth & Strives to be Indestructible”), photography & text by Miro Ito (associate editor, Andreas Boettcher) + Interview with Daniel Libeskind.
- NIKKEI ARCHITECTURE (25 July 2012) — 8 page spread: (New York City, USA) Chiku 81nen no Matenroh wo Shoh-eneka – The Empire State Building (literally, “The Greening retrofit of the Empire State Building”), photography & text by Miro Ito (associate editor: Andreas Boettcher) + Interview with Anthony Malkin.
Nikkei Architecture
(January 14 2016 issue)
Cover Photo by Miro Ito
(Last update: November 2016)