‘Koyasan is a sacred mountain on which Kobo Daishi, a great teacher of Buddhism, founded a seminary for priestly studies and ascetic practices in the year 816 A.D. In this place, the traditional religion has been handed down for 1170 years and the name of Koyasan is famous as a sacred centre of esoteric Buddhism of the Shiregore sect. Visitors to Koyasan, whose numbers increase day after day, remain profoundly impressed by the splendid shape of the mountain the summit of which looks like a pedestal in the form of a lotus flower with eight petals. Koyasan is a hill town located al 987 m. a.s.l. in the northern part of mount Kii. The entire area has been explored carefully by Yo-shimitsu Nagasaka and his camera. Born at Koyasan, where he grew up among temples and in contact with the surrounding nature, Nagasaka shows us rough mountains, autumn leaves covered by snow, scenes created by the nature of Koyasan in different periods and seasons, almost the scenery of a holy land. Esoteric scenes of exquisite beauty, usually quite inaccessible to us, but which we are allowed to contemplate thanks to the proven artistic ability of Nagasaka which stems from an esoteric faith practised for many years. ‘Every time I looked on a beautiful scene created by nature’ – writes Nagasaka – ‘I felt deeply satisfied at having dedicated the years of my youth to photography, almost forgetting the long and rough road I had had to tread and the great sacrifices made’ Nevertheless the beauty of Mother Nature cannot only be expressed by photographic technique alone. The exquisite beauty of reality goes well beyond technique’. From the photographs on show we realise that the very countryside around Koyasan is itself esoteric buddhism, perceptible in the trees and grass that grow there and able to offer visitors a profound sense of calm in body and spirit.’