Several months ago, at an exhibition titled "Matsuri," I purchased a print by American photographer Vincent Morris.
The shot, of men carrying mikoshi in Tokyo's shitamachi area Monzen-nakacho, as viewed through a shower of water thrown by spectators to cool them down, is titled "Purification," and its refreshing beauty continues to soothe and mystify.
Morris, who lives in Tokyo with his Japanese girlfriend of 12 years, mounts two or three shows of his work a year. The next, which starts June 1 with a party to run through to the end of the month, is "Eros i'belle" — 16 large portraits of entertainers and personalities who have come into focus over the last three years.