Michael Kenna–Japan / A Love Story

ICP is excited to host this exhibition sponsored and presented by Nikkei and the Financial Times as part of their 10-year celebrations, underscoring a shared commitment to the arts and cross-cultural exchange, and photography’s unique ability to shape how we see the world. 

Michael Kenna’s journey with Japan spans nearly 40 years—a story of dedication, devotion, and wonder. His photographs are quiet meditations, capturing not just a place, but a feeling, a presence.

Michael has taught me so much—his passion, his humility, and the way he shares his vision so generously. His images invite us to see the world differently, to slow down, to feel. That is what great photography does—it connects us across time, cultures, and emotions.

What I’ve always admired is the way Michael creates space—for the landscape to speak, and for us to listen. He’s not trying to impress; he’s trying to understand. And in doing so, he helps us do the same. His photographs carry a sense of stillness, of care, of deep respect for the land and the people connected to it. There’s a quiet poetry to it all—rooted in tradition but always reaching toward something universal. 

This exhibition, made possible through the generosity of Nikkei and the Financial Times, brings that spirit to life. Thanks to their support, Michael’s work has reached thousands. People have described the experience as moving, uplifting—something close to visual poetry. The response has been heartfelt. The Japan Society put it best: “Simply beautiful and inspiring—please go and see it with your own eyes.” I couldn’t agree more. 

—Peter Fetterman

“On my first visit to Japan, I was blown away by the aesthetics, the spiritual and religious aspects, the curiosity of the people, their friendliness and generosity. Later, I went up to Northern Hokkaido in the middle of winter, and it looked to me like a stark sumi-e ink painting, a white canvas with Kanji characters marked on it. I’ve been in love with the place ever since.”

—Michael Kenna

About The Artist

Michael Kenna’s photographic journey spans over five decades, rooted in a philosophy of patience, reverence, and poetic simplicity. Born into a working-class Irish Catholic family in northern England, Kenna’s early life shaped his enduring sense of humility and devotion. Initially drawn to the priesthood, he ultimately found his spiritual path in photography — a vocation that has taken him across the globe, and most intimately, across the landscapes of Japan.

Kenna speaks of photography as a passionate calling, not a profession. Whether waiting for the perfect light at dawn or dusk, or quietly observing the rhythm of a shoreline, Kenna sees each photograph as a gift discovered, not made. He considers himself a messenger — someone who gathers and delivers moments of stillness and beauty.

His images are composed with care and quietude. Often made using long exposures and traditional analog methods, they reflect an embrace of the unknown. “Doubt is central to faith,” he notes — a perspective that aligns his artistic process with the mystery of the natural world. He values unpredictability — not knowing exactly how the light and time will shape each image — and finds in that uncertainty a wellspring of creativity.

Kenna’s work is deeply influenced by the Shinto philosophy of Japan, where he has returned regularly for almost forty years. In this tradition, nature is sacred — alive with presence and memory. His photographs of torii gates, trees, and temples evoke a serene stillness and deep respect for the landscape. “Photography is about honoring and respecting the world around us,” he says. His practice is as much a form of meditation as it is image-making. He often returns to the same locations — not to replicate, but to re-engage, to experience the place anew. “Nothing is ever the same twice. Everything is always gone forever,” he reflects. Each visit, each frame, becomes a moment held in the balance between presence and impermanence.

Kenna’s darkroom is an extension of this meditative process. He prints each image by hand, embracing subtle variations that echo the uniqueness of each encounter. His silver gelatin prints are intentionally small — inviting close, intimate engagement. He resists spectacle in favor of nuance, drawing viewers into quiet acts of contemplation.

With his current touring exhibition, Japan: A Love Story, Kenna shares one hundred images spanning nearly four decades. They are not just landscapes — they are visual poems, distilled emotions, and meditations on time, light, and memory. These works gently encourage us to pause, to reflect, and to reconnect with the deeper rhythms of the world around us.

Through his photography, Kenna captures the visual essence of the land — the deep time of its making, a capacity to feel its significance. His images do not impose — they offer. And in their stillness, they remind us of something essential: our enduring need for beauty, quiet, and connection.

Over a fifty-year career, Kenna has presented nearly a thousand solo exhibitions worldwide. His work is held in more than one hundred permanent collections, among them the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris; The Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Tokyo; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Shanghai Art Museum; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Born in Widnes, Lancashire, England in 1953, Kenna lives with his family in Seattle, Washington, and continues to photograph throughout the world. 

Header image: Red Crown Crane Feeding, Tsurui, Hokkaido, Japan, 2005. © Michael Kenna/Courtesy Peter Fetterman Gallery