The pointed vermilion roofs of a three-storey pagoda rise into a blue sky with white clouds, a small bell hanging below the lowest eave.

Kiyomizu-dera Pagoda

Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto, Japan. 2025

This was my last of the four frames: the pagoda’s roofs rising to their point, a bell hanging from the lowest eave, and clouds moving behind. The only other thing in the frame is a few green leaves in one corner.

Kiyomizu-dera is one of the busiest temples in Kyoto. Looking up is the one direction in which it is empty.