The Soul of Yamato. A Journey Through Ancient Temples of Nara. Paperback – January 13, 2026

The Soul of Yamato — A Journey Through the Ancient Temples of Nara is a photographic exploration of four of Japan’s earliest Buddhist temples: Muroji, Hasedera, Asukadera, and Okadera. Located in and around the ancient region of Yamato (present-day Nara), these temples stand at the very beginning of Buddhism in Japan and at the roots of Japanese civilization itself.Asukadera, founded in the late 6th century, marks the formal introduction of Buddhism to Japan. Hasedera and Okadera reflect the early development of devotional and esoteric practices, while Muroji—set deep in the mountains—embodies a uniquely Japanese fusion of Buddhism and nature. Together, these temples reveal how faith, landscape, and daily life became inseparable in the formative centuries of Japanese culture.Photographed over multiple visits with rare permission to work inside temple halls, this book focuses not only on sacred images—Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and guardian deities—but also on the atmosphere of the temples themselves: natural light, weathered wood, surrounding villages, fields, and mountains. All photographs were made using natural light, preserving the stillness and quiet presence of these sacred spaces.Rather than a guidebook, this volume is a visual meditation on Yamato as spiritual ground—a place where the foundations of Japanese Buddhism remain palpable in stone, wood, and landscape. The Soul of Yamato invites the reader to encounter these temples as living witnesses to the origins of Japanese faith and culture. Read more