Notes on Sandō Compositions: April 2025 by Yukihito Kono

A photo zine by Japanese photographer Yukihito Kono.

This publication is the first volume in a new series compiling memo-like photographs taken at various sandō (approach paths leading to shrines) across Japan, as part of research for a project exploring Shinto shrine spaces. While the previous work, Sandō Compositions (2024), focused on the movement along these paths through monochrome images, this series captures the rich and diverse scenery that unfolds along the sandō in vivid colour. This first volume features photographs taken over several days in April 2025 at Dazaifu Tenmangū in Fukuoka Prefecture.

"The shrine grounds (keidai, literally “inside the boundary”) are spaces where one becomes acutely aware of borders and domains. In order to purify both the dwelling of the gods and one's own mind, the grounds are carefully maintained by priests and priestesses to preserve an orderly appearance. Yet despite these efforts, the condition constantly shifts as leaves fall and gravel accumulates.

Initially, Kono was drawn to the serendipitous compositions created by these chance elements, but over time, the ever-changing scenes along the sandō began to feel like a microcosm of the world itself. These photographs depict the dynamic interplay between natural forces and human order within the shrine grounds, captured through the rich compositions formed by gravel and fallen leaves."— Sandō Compositions (2024)

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Title: Notes on Sandō Compositions: April 2025
Artist: Yukihito Kono
Publisher: Self-published, June 2025
Format: Softcover, saddle-stitched
Size: 182 mm × 257 mm
Pages: 39
Language: English
Edition: 50 copies + 2 AP
Price: ¥2,500