This image was photographed during an evening visit to the Buddhist temple at Daikaku-ji, the 9th century villa of Emperor Saga in Kyoto, Japan. Two rows of structures with sliding panels were separated by a long narrow garden. I photographed the silhouette of a cherry tree in the garden against the warm glow of the gilded screen visible through the open sliding doors of the room across the way. I was struck how the real tree I was photographing was identical to the depicted tree in the painting. Nature was imitating art.
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